Bad Dürkheim, Germany

Bad Dürkheim is a town of roughly 22,000 residents set along the German Wine Road in the Palatinate region of Rhineland-Palatinate. Each September the Dürkheimer Wurstmarkt, first recorded in 1417 and now the world's largest wine festival, draws about 600,000 visitors to its stalls and tasting tents. On the town's edge stands the Dürkheimer Riesenfass, a giant wine barrel built in 1934 that holds 1.7 million litres and contains a working wine bar inside. A 450-metre Gradierwerk saltworks dating from the 18th century lines the slopes, while the 11th-century Limburg Abbey ruins overlook the whole town from 300 metres above.