Go behind the scenes of Germany’s most famous exports and discover how German cars, chocolate and beer are made. Many factories in Germany open their doors to curious visitors and give them an insight into how their products are made, made and sewn, from start to finish.
Before taking a factory tour in Germany, be sure to call ahead or check their website and ask about reservations and tours in English. And don’t forget to visit the factory outlets afterwards for some great deals.
BMW Car Factory Munich
Direction
Am Olympiapark 2 , 80809 Munich , AlemaniaGet directions
Telephone
+49 89 125016001
Web
Visit the website
For BMW fans, Munich offers no less than three points of interest, all within walking distance of each other:
The BMW Museum – Trace the history of the famous automobile.
BMW World – An architectural masterpiece that is the delivery hub for BMW and also houses showrooms, design workshops and workshops for children.
BMW Plant – Offers fascinating tours – put on your factory safety glasses and coats and watch the giant transporters lift the BMW 3 Series up for computer-controlled robots to weld.
- Where : Petuelring 130, 80809 Munich
Haribo Gummy Factory
Direction
Am Neutor 3 , 53113 Bonn , AlemaniaGet directions
Telephone
+49 228 90904440
Web
Visit the website
The most famous gummy bears in the world come from Germany. Haribo Goldbären (golden bears) was born in 1920 in Bonn, West Germany.
Today, Haribo is the world’s largest gummy candy manufacturer. Although you cannot enter the factory itself, you can visit the Haribo factory shop, near the original factory, which features an exhibition on Haribo and offers a wonderful variety of gummy bears at sweet prices.
- Where : Am Neutor 3, 53113 Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Erdinger Munich Brewery
Direction
Franz-Brombach-Strasse 1, 85435 Erding, AlemaniaGet directions
Telephone
+49 8122 4090
Web
Visit the website
The world’s largest wheat beer brewery is located near Munich and combines tradition and modern technology. At the Erdinger Brewery, the purest ingredients with ancient recipes make their way through a high-tech bottling plant.
On your tour, you will observe the brewing process from start to finish, explore the fermentation and filtration cellars, visit the computer-controlled warehouse, and learn how beer is loaded and shipped around the world. More than a million bottles leave this brewery every day, but you can enjoy your fresh Hefeweizen at the beer garden brewery.
Beer lover? Also take a look at the best brewery tours in Germany.
- Donde : Franz-Brombach-Str. 1-20, 85435 Erding, Germany
Cologne Chocolate Museum
Direction
At the Chocolate Museum 1A, 50678 Cologne, AlemaniaGet directions
Telephone
+49 221 9318880
Web
Visit the website
The Cologne Chocolate Museum houses a glass chocolate factory, where visitors of all ages can see the cocoa bean being turned into a chocolate bar. All the machines in the small chocolate factory have viewing windows, so you can get a detailed overview of the individual production steps.
The exhibition tells you all about the rich history of chocolate, from the Mayan “drink of the gods” to today’s commercials. If all this talk about chocolate made your mouth water, head over to the 10-foot-tall chocolate fountain. The museum staff will be happy to dip a piece of waffle into the hot chocolate for a taste.
Where : Am Schokoladenmuseum 1A, 50678 Cologne
Meissen Porcelain Factory
Direction
Talstrasse 9, 01662 Meissen, AlemaniaGet directions
Telephone
+49 3521 468332
Web
Visit the website
300 years ago, the first porcelain in Europe was discovered in Meissen, near Dresden. Today, Meissen porcelain ( Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen ) with its trademark, the crossed swords, is one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers in the world.
You can tour various workshops that demonstrate the process of making fine Meissen porcelain by hand, from modeling to painting. There is also a museum, which houses a collection of 20,000 pieces from all periods, and an outlet store where you can browse for some bargains.
- Donde : Talstrasse 9, 01662 Meissen
VW Factory y Autostadt Wolfsburg
Direction
Heinrich Nordhoff Street, 38440 Wolfsburg, AlemaniaGet directions
Once again his cars, it is Germany after all. And the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg is just an hour from Berlin and prides itself on being the largest car plant in the world. There is a large automobile museum, several pavilions dedicated to the various VW cars, driving courses for adults and children, restaurants, a hotel, and of course the factory itself, which you can visit.
Another highlight: Board a glass elevator that takes you to the top of the 160-foot-tall glass Car Tower. They hold up to 800 custom cars, which are picked up by their buyers fresh from the factory.
Its adjacent ‘Autostadt’ (automobile city) is a dedicated automobile theme park offering everything automobile enthusiasts of all ages dream of.
Donde : Stadtbrücke, 38440 Wolfsburg
Steiff Factory and Museum
Direction
Margarete Steiff-Straße 1, 89537 Giengen an der Brenz, AlemaniaGet directions
Children and collectors all over the world love the German Steiff plush toys with their unique “button on the ear”. Created in 1880 by the German seamstress Margarete Steiff, the stuffed animals are made from only the best materials, such as felt, mohair or nickel silver.
You can visit the birthplace of the famous toys, Giengen, 90 miles west of Munich. After stopping by the world’s largest Steiff store, be sure to visit the interactive toy museum and workshops where stuffed toys are still created by hand.
Dónde : Margarete-Steiff Platz 1, 89537 Giengen an der Brenz
Visit to the Jagermeister factory
Direction
Jägermeister, Campestraße, 38302 Wolfenbüttel, AlemaniaGet directions
Not only suitable for the children of Frat, discover the German liquor of Jagermeister with a visit to its headquarters in Wolfenbüttel (about 200 km west of Berlin).
Tours last 1.5 hours, and although you won’t discover all the secret ingredients (there are 56!), English or German guides take visitors through the production, herb cellar, and tasting.
Where : Wolfenbuettel, Germany
