How we know: Sources are listed at the end. Weather figures are official climate normals; route facts come from airport listings. Wildly does not publish fare averages in prose; live prices are on the linked route pages.
Germany has two famous calendar anchors, Oktoberfest and the Christmas markets, and a long, pleasant stretch in between that most visitors underrate. For cities, castles and the Rhine, May–June and September–early October give the best weather-to-crowd ratio. Winter outside December is the quiet season for both tourism and transatlantic demand. If Oktoberfest or the markets are the point of the trip, book Munich or the market cities well ahead and accept that hotel prices, not flights, are what spike.
Berlin weather by month
Official 1991–2020 climate normals for Berlin, published by the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). Munich runs a little cooler and wetter; Frankfurt and the Rhine a little milder.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain | |---|---|---|---| | January | 38°F (3°C) | 28°F (−2°C) | 1.6 in | | February | 41°F (5°C) | 29°F (−2°C) | 1.2 in | | March | 48°F (9°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 1.4 in | | April | 59°F (15°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.1 in | | May | 67°F (20°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 2.1 in | | June | 73°F (23°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 2.4 in | | July | 77°F (25°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.8 in | | August | 77°F (25°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 2.1 in | | September | 68°F (20°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.7 in | | October | 57°F (14°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 1.6 in | | November | 46°F (8°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.5 in | | December | 39°F (4°C) | 30°F (−1°C) | 1.5 in |
Summer is the wettest season by volume (July averages the most rain), which surprises people; the showers are usually short. Winter is cold, grey and dry, with daylight down to about eight hours in December.
Season by season
December–February (winter). Christmas markets run from late November until just before Christmas Eve in most cities; the week after Christmas is quiet and cold. January and February are the low season for tourism: museums and concert halls are the draw, and Karneval/Fasching livens up Cologne, Düsseldorf and Mainz in the run-up to Lent.
March–May (spring). Temperatures climb from the high 40s to the high 60s. Beer gardens open in April, asparagus season (Spargelzeit) runs April to late June, and Easter weekend brings a short domestic travel spike. Late April through May is a strong window for Bavaria, the Rhine and Mosel valleys and the big cities.
June–August (summer). Warm, long days (light past 9:30pm in June) and the busiest period at Neuschwanstein, Heidelberg and Rothenburg. German school holidays are staggered by state across July and August, so lakes, the Baltic coast and the Alps fill up. Expect the odd thunderstorm.
September–November (autumn). Oktoberfest in Munich runs from mid-September to the first Sunday in October (Wikivoyage), and Munich hotels price accordingly; the rest of Germany is calm and pleasant in that window. October brings wine festivals along the Rhine and Mosel and foliage in the Black Forest. November is dark and quiet until the markets open.
Getting there from the US
Frankfurt (FRA) is Lufthansa's main hub and the busiest German gateway; Munich (MUC) and Berlin (BER) are the other principal international airports (Wikivoyage). From Munich, Lufthansa flies to Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Newark, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington Dulles; United serves Munich from Chicago, Denver, Houston, Newark, San Francisco and Washington Dulles; Delta flies from Atlanta and, seasonally, Detroit; American from Charlotte. Frankfurt has an even larger US network across Lufthansa, United, Delta, American and the leisure carrier Condor. Some routes are seasonal, so check the schedule for your dates.
For current prices see JFK to Frankfurt, Chicago to Munich, Newark to Munich and LAX to Frankfurt, or compare every origin on the flights to Frankfurt and flights to Munich hubs.
When fares tend to be lowest
US–Germany demand tracks the northern-hemisphere holiday calendar: highest from mid-June through August and over Christmas and New Year, lowest from mid-January through March and in November before the markets. Oktoberfest moves Munich hotel prices far more than it moves transatlantic fares, because the festival crowd is mostly domestic and European.
Frankfurt and Munich are also big connecting hubs, so a fare to a smaller German city often prices close to the hub fare. Set a price alert on the route you actually want; Wildly checks prices daily on the routes you track and emails you when the fare drops to your target.
Entry requirements for US citizens
Germany is in the Schengen Area. US citizens have visa-free entry for up to 90 days within any 180-day period (Wikivoyage, "Germany — Get in"); the 90 days count across all Schengen countries combined. Carry a passport valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure from the Schengen Area.
The EU's ETIAS pre-travel authorisation is not yet operating. As of 17 September 2026, Fragomen reports the EU has no proposed commencement date on its official site and will give several months' notice before launch. Check the official EU ETIAS page before you fly.
Where to go, by season
- Winter: Berlin's Museum Island, Munich's Deutsches Museum, Dresden, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie; Nuremberg, Dresden and Cologne for Christmas markets.
- Spring: Rhine and Mosel valleys, Heidelberg, the Romantic Road, Munich beer gardens.
- Summer: Bavarian Alps and Berchtesgaden, Black Forest hiking, the Baltic coast and Sylt, Saxon Switzerland.
- Autumn: Munich for Oktoberfest if that is the goal, otherwise wine country and foliage; Franconia and the Mecklenburg lakes are quieter alternatives.
FAQ
When is Oktoberfest? Mid-September to the first Sunday in October, on Munich's Theresienwiese (Wikivoyage). Book Munich lodging months ahead; the rest of the country is unaffected.
When do the Christmas markets run? Most open in the last week of November and close on or just before 24 December. The best-known are Nuremberg, Dresden and Cologne; smaller towns like Esslingen and Bamberg are less crowded.
Is winter a bad time to visit Germany? Not for city trips. Expect highs near 40°F and about eight hours of daylight, but everything indoors runs normally and it is the quietest period for transatlantic travel outside the holidays.
Should I fly into Frankfurt or Munich? Frankfurt for the Rhine, Heidelberg and central Germany; Munich for Bavaria and the Alps; Berlin for the northeast. Germany's rail network makes any of them workable for a two-city trip.