The 12 Best Crime & Cemetery Tours in Germany

1.Sex and Crime in St. Pauli Tour for Ages 18+

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 15,447 reviews Our pick

Spend two hours in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district with a local guide such as Johanna, Axel, or Roberta. Visit Zur Ritze and its basement boxing club, hear stories about Herbertstrasse, the Nutella and GMBH gangs, Davidwache, and Jack the Ripper, then receive entry to a premier show club. Public tours are in German; private tours can be booked in English.

“Our tour guide Michael was fantastic, great tour to do, would highly recommend”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Melaten Cemetery Life, Love and Death Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 2,728 reviews · 2 hours · from $16

Walk through Cologne’s Melaten Cemetery with a German-speaking guide such as Ede, learning about famous local figures, ornate tombs, the former leprosy hospital area, and the links between life, love, and death. This two-hour, barrier-free tour covers a peaceful 400,000-square-meter cemetery and runs in most weather.

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Medieval Dungeons Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 1,726 reviews · from $11Best value

Meet outside Nuremberg’s Old City Hall for a 45-minute guided visit to twelve medieval cells and a mostly original torture chamber. An English or German-speaking guide, including guides such as Nick, Alex, Wolfgang, or Dimitri, explains medieval justice, prison life, and the harsh path to confession. Expect stairs, tight rooms, cold air, and grim stories.

“Our guide Dejan Grasser was well informed. Made the history come alive. Answered all questions. Was funny but imparted knowledge freely Only issue, tour was a bit fast and unable to take a lot of photos. Found this tour very interesting”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Medieval Tour in Nuremberg in Spanish

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,374 reviews · from $19Top rated

Walk through Nuremberg with a Spanish-speaking guide such as Fede, tracing witchcraft, medieval trades, fountains, legends, Kaspar Hauser, and the old city walls. This 2.5-hour route begins at Hauptmarkt at 3:30 pm and ends at Kaiserburg. Expect outdoor sightseeing, plenty of stories, and a group of up to 30 people.

“Fede se comunicó con nosotros y nos ayudó para encontrarnos con él. Se nota que ha estudiado mucho y conoce la historia, entre chistes y la lluvia nos hizo una tarde muy amena. Nos brindó mucha información acerca de la ciudad en la éRead more”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Melaten Friedhof: Guided tour with all senses

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 709 reviews · 2 hours · from $20

Walk 2.5 kilometers through Cologne’s Melaten Cemetery with guides such as Kerstin, Ortrud, or Dietmar. Expect stories about Napoleon, carnival, famous graves, Anna Pavlova, Hennes, and a medieval Grim Reaper figure, plus wildlife and a 200-year-old plane tree. Tours run in German for private or small groups.

“gut organisierte Tour mit sehr kompetentem Guide. Zu empfehlen”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Executioner’s Tour of Cologne in German

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 464 reviews · from $18

Join a costumed German-speaking guide at the Heinzelmännchenbrunnen for a 1.5-hour walk through Cologne’s historic centre. You’ll follow an executioner’s route, hear how executions could go wrong, and learn why headsmen also worked as knackers, dog-catchers, and gold-seekers. The tour is for ages 18 and older.

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Melaten Cemetery Celebrities and Curiosities

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 458 reviews · 2 hours

Spend two hours at Cologne’s Melaten Cemetery with a private German-speaking guide. Learn how this former leper village and execution site became a peaceful central cemetery, then see 55,000 graves, grand monuments, Millionaires Alley, the oldest grave, and the architect’s tomb. Guide Manfred Speier is known for lively stories and sharp local detail.

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Raven Black Witches and Executioners Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 294 reviews · from $25

Meet your guide at Frauenkirche for a 105-minute German-language walk through Munich’s southern old town. Hear stories of witches, executioners, grave-diggers, and other outcasts as you cross the Hackenviertel and Angers quarter to Sendlinger Tor. Guides such as Dhruv are happy to help English speakers follow along.

“The tour was really good and interesting, I can only recommend it. Our tour guide Dhruv was really nice, explained everything and answered everyone’s question. It would be even great if the tour is offered, from time to time, in English as well.”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Crime Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 243 reviews · from $19

Walk Hanover’s old town and city center with a German-speaking guide, linking famous crimes to original locations such as Leibnizufer, Hanebuth-Gang, Clevertor Prison, and Kröpcke. You’ll hear about Haarmann, Hanebuth, the Königsmarck Affair, and other cases during a two-hour, rain-or-shine tour.

“Die Tour war auch für uns gebürtige Hannoveraner ein tolles Erlebnis. Informationen die wir so nicht wussten. Eine angehme Gruppengröße und wir wurden aktiv mit einbezogen. Sehr zu empfehlen.”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Immersive Medieval Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 232 reviews · 1h 15m · from $23

Meet your German-speaking guide at Bamberg’s tourism office, sip medieval mead, and take on the role of a noblewoman or craftsman. Over 75 minutes, explore side streets and historic sights while handling period-style props, drawing well water, and learning how ordinary people lived in Bamberg.

Check availability →Read our full review

11.DunkelWeimar, true crime citytour and game

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 64 reviews · 3 hours

Follow a roughly 3-kilometer route through central Weimar and its nearby park as Goethe’s son guides you by smartphone. Audio stories cover crimes, scandals, art thefts, secret societies, Nazi-era events, and famous figures from Bach to Schiller. Answer quiz questions, solve small puzzles, collect points, and set your own pace in German or English.

“Mann hat einiges über Weimar erfahren! Die Entfernungen zu den Punkten war gut zu laufen. Man kommt an Plätzen vorbei die sonst nicht auf einem Spaziergang liegen.”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Ganz schön gruselig – das Mittelalter wird lebendig!

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 26 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $16

Walk Goslar’s UNESCO-listed old town at dusk with a German-speaking guide and hear how medieval citizens, guilds, and city officials kept order. The route brings up the Beisskatze, pillory, torture, and witchcraft. It is wheelchair accessible, costs $16, and is not suitable for children under 12.

Check availability →Read our full review