Foreign tourists vote Hamburg city rail as best tourist attraction in Germany

 

HAMBURG – A model railway in the northern city of Hamburg, believed to be the world’s longest, has been voted the best attraction in Germany by foreign tourists for a sixth time, the German National Tourist Board said on Thursday.

Some 25,000 people from 20 countries participated in the online survey between March and July 2024 in which Hamburg’s Miniatur Wunderland, or Miniature Wonderland, came out on top.

Next in the ranking were the Europapark and Phantasialand theme parks in western Germany, followed by the Nürburgring motorsport circuit, the mediaeval city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and the capital Berlin.

The famous Neuschwanstein castle finished 11th in the list, with the city of Hamburg ranked 14th. The founders of Miniatur Wunderland were delighted to be honoured once again by the online vote.

“For us, this is a huge acknowledgement of all the hard work and love that our team puts into Wunderland every day. The fact that so many people appreciate our little wonderland and give us their vote touches us deeply and makes us very proud,” co-founder Frederik Braun said in a press release.

Together with his brother Gerrit and a third business partner, Braun founded the popular tourist attraction in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt district in 2000 and has been steadily expanding it ever since.