There simply aren't enough superlatives to describe Munich's world-famous Oktoberfest. Held on the Wies’n fairground from the middle of September to the beginning of October, the festival is opened with the traditional cry of "O'zapft is" (the barrel is tapped).

When 2,000 red Bengal lights bathe the famous sights of the Rhine and the riverside promenades between Bonn and Linz in a festive glow on the first Saturday in May, the illusion of the "Rhine in Flames" is created.

Every year on Ascension Day Leipzig welcomes an international audience to the Bach Festival in celebration of the famous erstwhile cantor of St. Thomas' Church.

Every May for two and a half weeks, Dresden Music Festival, Germany's most popular classical music festival, captivates international audiences with concerts in the city's finest venues.

In terms of size, the Stuttgart Beer Festival is second-only to the Oktoberfest in Munich. It takes place at the end of September every year in the area around the 24 metre high fruit column and originated in 1818 as a harvest festival following a famine.

Late-night opening for museums, a concept popular in a number of other cities, takes place twice a year in Berlin. More than 110 institutions take part in the event, ranging from museums and archives to memorial sites.

Since 1955, Kassel has provided the setting for the world's most important exhibition of contemporary art. New exhibition concepts are showcased alongside current trends that are moving the modern art scene.

Every year on the second weekend in June, there are wedding celebrations all over Wittenberg. However these are no ordinary matrimonial festivities, they're a toast to the wedding vows of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora.

Carnival is the first thing that springs to mind when Germans think about Cologne, where it is celebrated in a particularly lavish and traditional fashion. Over five fun-packed days it's the Jecken (carnival jesters) that hold court at the carnival festivities.

Kiel, the regional capital of Schleswig-Holstein, is the venue for the Kiel Week regatta, the greatest sailing event in the world and the biggest summer festival in northern Europe.