London, February 2017: Looking to travel off-the-beaten track, exploring some of Europe's most stunning cultural attractions and landscapes? Then the German regions of Saxony and Thuringia tick all your boxes. Come see us at IMM 2018 for our “Best of Cultural Heart of Germany”, featuring delightful destinations, special events and inspiring travel ideas!

Saxony and Thuringia are young-at-heart classics, combining buzzing cities with cosy towns and top classic culture with cutting-edge creativity. Take music, where internationally renowned visitor favourites such as the Leipzig Bach Festival and Thuringia Bach Festival, or institutions such as Leipzig's world-famous Gewandhaus Orchestra, celebrating its 275th anniversary this season, and Leipzig Opera, founded 325 years ago, coexist with off-the-beaten track highlights. “Sandstone and Music”, for instance, is a splendid festival with a wide variety of performances set against the backdrop of Saxon Switzerland's stunning sandstone mountains. Or how about the popular “SonneMondSterne” open-air, held each summer in the small Thuringian town of Saalburg and attracting an international crowd of electronic music heads.

Apart from the major cultural hubs Dresden, Leipzig and Erfurt, there's also lots to discover in smaller towns: Görlitz, for example, Germany's easternmost town on the Polish border, not only features 4,000 (!) lovingly restored buildings spanning half a millennium of European architectural history that in recent years have attracted numerous Hollywood filmmakers looking for authentic locations, but also the great international “Via Thea – Street Theatre Festival” in summer.

Or Weimar, the small but mighty cultural centre with 16 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Bauhaus ensemble. The art and design movement was founded in Weimar in 1919 and from there, went on to conquer the world. A new, stunning Bauhaus museum will open in Weimar next year as part of the 100-year celebrations. Speaking of museums, car buffs shouldn't miss the recently opened modern extension of the August Horch Museum in Zwickau. The museum, set in the town's former Audi factory, tells the story of the more than 100-year-old tradition of car making in Saxony. Discover all this and much more in the “Cultural Heart of Germany”!

Note to the Editor

The Cultural Heart of Germany is a tourism initiative of Saxony Tourism, www.visitsaxony.com, and Thuringia Tourism, www.visit-thuringia.com. The two neighbouring states feature a unique cultural heritage and rich musical tradition that the Cultural Heart of Germany promotes in the UK.

Travel information:

Easy access to the Cultural Heart of Germany: Ryanair to Leipzig and all major airlines to Berlin.

New: ICE high-speed rail link cutting travel times from Munich and Nuremberg – Munich-Erfurt 2 hrs 15 min, Nuremberg-Erfurt 1 hr, Munich-Leipzig 3 hrs 15 min, Nuremberg-Leipzig 2 hrs

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CulturalHeartofGermany

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CulturalGermany

For press and image enquiries please contact:

B Connects. Barbara Geier Content Services

On behalf of Cultural Heart of Germany (Saxony & Thuringia)

barbara@bconnects.net,  phone 07983 242 195