It’s confirmed… I prefer traveling in Germany over France.
I know, I know… Quell horreur!
How could anyone prefer Germany over France!? I mean, it’s FRANCE!
I’ll tell you how. And by the end of this post, you might have Germany leapfrog France on your travel wish list.
But before we get into it, some context:
Who am I? And where do I come from?
Hi! In case you’re new here, I’m Joe Baur, an American-German who’s been traveling, eating, and face-planting on trails all around Germany and beyond for the past eight years.
If you’re interested in more videos featuring some of my adventures around Germany and the rest of Europe, I’ve got ‘em right here on my channel –– from running an FKT around the Ringbahn in Berlin to torturing myself in the mountains of a North Macedonian ultramarathon.
I share that not just to shamelessly plug my other stuff that takes me much longer to edit, but because it tells you what kind of traveler I am. I want trails. Lots of ‘em.
I’m less interested in seeing the obvious tourist favorites. In fact, I didn’t even see the Eiffel Tower until my third or fourth visit to Paris. And I only saw it because I needed to go on a run and I thought running by the thing would be as good a reason as any to finally see it up close.
France bashing? Travel snobbery?
Please don’t mistake anything in this video as France bashing or travel snobbery. Some people want to see the Eifel Tower! Statistically, it is one of if not the most popular attractions in all of France. And getting to see it in the flesh (or… in the iron, I suppose?) might be the trip of a lifetime.
If that’s you, then have it! The Eiffel Tower isn’t in Germany so book that trip to Paris, throw on your Moulin Rouge fishnets, and go nuts!
BUT! If you’re not as motivated by planning your trip around one cultural attraction, then you might prefer Germany –– especially if you’re like me, someone who happens to be vegetarian and is always on the hunt for new trails to run or hike.
French food is… delicious?
First off, the food. A lot of people say they want to go to France for the food. But I question how much people around the world actually know about French food. Most imagine a baguette, some cheese, and a glass of wine.
Lovely!
But in practice, it’s meat on butter on meat on butter. Finding delicious vegetarian options is not easy in France, especially the further south and more rural you get.
I often end up looking for international restaurants that are more likely to offer vegetarian options because it’s just part of that cuisine, like a Lebanese falafel plate.
Rarely am I able to find something that’s irrefutably French and vegetarian. Ratatouille was even a rarity. Rata-freakin’-touille!
Germany as a vegan or vegetarian
Germany, on the other hand, is much easier to travel around as a vegan or vegetarian, especially when you’re in a city like Berlin –– a place I’ve argued is the most vegetarian-friendly city in all of Europe.
Even in the countryside, you’ll generally find salads –– good ones, not spiteful ones –– and fresh pasta dishes with regional ingredients, like the beloved Pfifferlinge mushroom.
Yes, stereotypical German food is very heavy on the meats. It’s like that Arby’s commercial with the obnoxious tagline: “We have the meats!”
I mean, really, is your writer an insecure high school jock?
Except instead of Arby’s, it’s Deutschland. If that’s your thing, Deutschland has, for better or worse, the meats.
But they also have options for those of us who prefer our little piggies merrily crying “wee! Wee! Wee!” all the way home.
I’ve hiked to many-a-trail-side-Hütte in Germany and I’ve never struggled to find vegetarian options.
But in France… I’ve always had to research in advance or remind the hotel kitchen staff, only to most recently be served a small plate of lightly sautéed vegetables with no seasoning.
Less lovely than the baguette with wine and cheese, to say the least.
German trails vs. French trails
Now let’s talk about why you might prefer traveling to Germany over France if you’re motivated by hiking and trail running.
Let me preempt the comments… Yes, France has incredible landscapes and long-distance hiking trails. The views might even beat what Germany has to offer if you prefer the Pyrenees or rolling hills with lavender fields and rocky coves with views of the Mediterranean.
The problem is, from my experience, the trails are poorly marked. So instead of enjoying the trail, you’re constantly backtracking or second-guessing yourself, looking at your GPX route wondering where in all of God’s green goodness that freakin’ turn is supposed to be.
An anecdote! Last week, I was in southern France at a rural hotel. The cultural differences are pretty obvious from the get go. In France, everyone shows up to breakfast dressed better than I can pull off at a wedding. In Germany, they’d be in their hiking boots with Wanderstöcke, a backpack, and a bucket hat.
After breakfast, I set off on some local trails. A few kilometers in, I was merrily skipping along a rocky yet runnable trail up to the remains of an abandoned stone building swallowed up by the forest.
From there… there wasn’t any indication of where to go. I followed my route as best as possible and started climbing up the cliff side. But there was no sign, no marker, and eventually, anything resembling a trail stopped. So I bailed.
I tried following another trail I passed earlier. No sign or marker, but hey! It wasn’t overrun with brush. And then suddenly, little flags started popping up, painting on the side of stones and trees –– only to once again disappear and lead to a dead end.
When I put this out there on Threads, someone suggested I was unfamiliar with the color system used for way marking trails like the GR. I suppose I would be unfamiliar with that, but this wasn’t the GR.
These were regional trails. Germany has long-distance hiking trails that are incredibly well marked with plenty of information available online for GPX tracks and the like but they also give the same love and care to smaller, regional trails.
Almost any village will have signs in the town center pointing to different trails and indicating what the marker will look like. I usually download a GPX track to be safe. But honestly, I’d have to try to get lost on a German trail.
Another French person responded, saying that they grew up with zero way marking and prefer it that way. That’s fine! I don’t mind getting lost on a trail. Ya know… Within reason.
But I’m speaking primarily to overseas travelers, like Americans, who already suffer from criminally low vacation time and maybe don’t have the time or the confidence to get lost on a trail in a foreign country where they don’t speak the language.
English in Germany vs. France
On that linguistic note, English is much more widely spoken in Germany than in France. Like any country, some German will go a long way in rural corners of the country. But in an emergency, you’ll likely find someone who can speak English. Less so in rural France, especially the south. Bonne chance with the Anglais there.
(Sidebar, I’m all about language learning and coming prepared with some basics when traveling anywhere as a common courtesy to be a good guest. But the Duolingo owl isn’t going to save you when you’re in a jam.)
So if you want to experience some hiking or trail running in Europe with relative ease –– relative because, ya know, the German Alps are still Alps, even if they’re well marked –– then you might prefer traveling to Germany over France.
Not to mention the rail system in some parts of Germany seems tailor-made for long-distance hiking, especially in the Mosel and Rhineland, where you can easily hike along a long-distance hiking trail for a number of stages and take the train back to your hotel or wherever you started.
I love traveling in France!
Now I’ve already noticed that some people, for whatever reason, take it personally when I simply say I prefer traveling in Germany over France. Expressing an opinion on the internet is always a perilous thing. Someone will always be there to tell you that your opinion is wrong.
So let me wrap this up by saying… I love traveling in France! Running around Alsace was… God, I can’t believe this is the word that came to mind but I’ll roll with it… heavenly! It was heavenly.
I’ve just come to prefer one over the other. At the end of the day, it’s like arguing LeBron versus Jordan. Ultimately, who cares? They’re both once-in-a-generation phenoms. Whether you end up in France or Germany, there are certainly worse places to be.
BUT! If you want to know more about traveling around Germany, I’ve got a whole playlist dedicated to it on my channel, from jumping off a mountain in Allgäu to running around one of the most beautiful villages on the entire continent.
And if I’ve persuaded you to plan a trip to the Deutschland, I can help you plan that trip! I offer German ––and even Europe ––trip planning consultation to help get you off the beaten path and make the most of your time overseas.
