Germany has so much enchantment off the beaten path that it's easy to get lost here. In fact, one of the joys of travel is wandering about at leisure, making new discoveries of your own.

If you're a time-pressed traveler, with only 1 or 2 weeks for Germany, you may find these two itineraries most helpful: Germany in 1 Week or Germany in 2 Weeks. If you've been to Germany before, you might want to focus on less-visited parts of the country -- perhaps a drive along the Fairy-Tale Road.

Germany is so vast and so filled with treasures that you can't even skim the surface in 1 or 2 weeks -- so relax, don't even try. Instead, we recommend you enjoy only the nuggets on a first visit, including Berlin, Munich, Heidelberg, Ludwig's castles, and highlights of the Romantic Road, saving the best of the rest for another trip.

Germany ranks with France and England in offering Europe's fastest and best-maintained highway systems (autobahns), and it also has one of the fastest and most efficient public transportation systems in the world, especially in its national train system. You can travel by train from Berlin to Munich in 6 3/4 hours -- or fly much quicker, of course.

The itineraries that follow take you to major attractions and charming towns. The pace may be a bit breathless for some visitors, so skip a town or sight occasionally to have some chill-out time -- after all, you're on vacation.