Germany in 2010 has many cultural festivals in its 10 "Magic Cities:" Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart.
Berlin at night is a magical experience, the "Long Night of the Museums," is a special nocturnal experience when over 100 museums and galleries across the city open their doors late until 2:00 am, offering visitors an all-you-can-see evening of exhibitions, guided tours and special events. Tickets cost $18 per person, including a shuttle service along several routes (January 30 and August 28, 2010). Then, for twelve days Germany’s capital illuminates its most famous attractions with special light installations in the "Festival of Lights" (October 19 - 31, 2010)
Cologne on the Rhine River is known for its cathedral, hospitality and mood to party. Carnival is the city’s offical fifth season and the Rose Monday parade is an annual highlight (February 23, 2010). Cologne is also home to the oldest and most vital gay communities in Germany. In 2010 the city will host 8. Gay Games attracting athletes from all arround the globe, making Cologne for one week the gay capital of the world (July 31 - August 7, 2010). 
The royal city of Dresden in Saxony is world renown for its culture and art scene, hosting some of the most fascinating collections in the world. Combining two major anniversaries, the 450th year of the Dresden Art Collection and the 300th anniversary of the nearby Meissen Porcelain workshop, the Japanese Palais will host a special porcelain exhibition with some of the most valuable works from Meissen (April 18 - October 1, 2010). www.friedrich.meissen.com and celebrating Dresden’s culture and food is the annual Elbhang Riverside Fest from Loschwitz to Pillnitz along Sanony’s Wine Route. Here you can indulge in local wine and specialites in front of the spectacular Rive Elbe panorama (June 25 - 27, 2010
Duesseldorf is known as the "Art city," boasting spectacular architecture from Frank Gehry and David Chipperfield as well as other cutting edge galleries and museums. Duesseldorf’s second Quadriennale, a series of high caliber fine art exhibits in nine of the city’s major art houses and galleries such as K20, K21, Benrath Castle, Museum Kunst Palast and NRW-Forum Duesseldorf, features work from artists Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Marcel Broodthaers and others (September 2010 - January 2011). Also in 2010 the city celebrates the 200th birthday of his famous citizen, the world renowned composer Robert Schumann, who lived and worked in Duesseldorf. The Schumann Festival 2010 features special concerts in several venues with famous musicians and orchestras (May 28 - June 14, 2010) www.magic-cities.com
Frankfurt is not only Germany’s major airport and financial center, it is also a great cultural and culinary city, showcasing both these features in two great summer festivals. The annual Museum Embankment Festival along the Rhine is one of Europe’s largest cultural festivals featuring countless art and crafts stalls and Frankfurt’s fabulous museum row, with reduced-price admission and many special exhibitions (August 27 - 29, 2010). The Rheingau Wine Festival in Frankfurt’s central culinary street "Fressgass" is a superb festival featuring fine food and wine at over 30 stalls representing vineyards from some of Germany’s most renowned wine-growing regions, the nearby Rheingau (September 1 - 10, 2010).
The harbor city of Hamburg in Germany’s north is famous for its maritime flair. Hamburg was Germany’s main port of emigration to the US and the BallinStadt Emigration Museum gives visitors from the US the chance to see where their ancestors left from. Every year the city celebrates with hundreds of thousands of visitors the Harbor Birthday on the banks of the River Elbe. For three days the harbor is transformed into one big festival ground with food stalls and beer bars, showcasing music, dance and attractions like the parade of historic sailing boats (May 7 - 9, 2010). www.magic-cities.com 
Hannover, in northern Germany, is the former seat of the Guelph dynasty that also ruled Britain, and offers every year the best fireworks. Artists from around the world light up the sky over the Baroque Herrenhausen Gardens with their choreographed pyrotechnics in the "International Fireworks Competition" on five nights from May to September 2010. In the summer every year, Hannover hosts Europe’s largest Schuetzenfest (marksmen festival). The festival is at least 500 years old. Around 12,000 participants - marksmen, brass bands, drums & fifes, colorful floats and horse-drawn carriages - march in the festival procession from the New Town Hall. Up to 200,000 spectators pack the streets. The nine day long festival boasts local food, drinks, dance music and customs (July 2 - 11, 2010).
Leipzig is since centuries a center of culture, music and arts. The city in Germany’s East offers a fascinating mix of historic and contemporary art. Home to composers Bach, Mendelssohn, Wagner and Schumann, Leipzig hosts four famous music festivals every year. The year starts off with the Bach Festival and the reopening of the Bach Museum after two years of construction (March 20 - 21, 2010). Highlight in 2010 though is the Robert-Schumann-Festival for the composers 200th birthday, celebrating and showcasing Schumann’s work in original places and settings (September 9 - 19, 2010). Showcasing Leipzig’s vital contemporary art scene is the celebration for artist Neo Rauch’s 50th birthday, exhibiting his paintings from 2007 - 2010 for the first time (April 8 - August 31, 2010). 
Munich, Bavaria’s capital, celebrates, in 2010, the 200th anniversary of the world’s largest beer festival - the Oktoberfest. Large beer tents, freshly brewed special Oktoberfest beer, Bavarian music and dance along with culinary specialties from pretzel to pork knuckles (September 18 - October 3, 2010) are enjoyed by all. Besides the Oktoberfest Munich hosts every year one of the largest and most beautiful Christmas Markets in Germany on its town square, the Marienplatz. The Tollwood Winter Festival offers an alternative take on the Christmas Markets - be surprised. (November 25 - December 31, 2010).
Stuttgart, in the southwest of Germany, close to the Black Forest, offers great annual culinary and wine festivals. The festival season starts with the family-friendly Stuttgart Spring Festival (April 17 - May 9, 2010). Thereafter, the elegant Summer Festival with its white pavilions and fairy lights attracts gourmets from near and far (August 5 - 8, 2010) and each year lovers of fine wines meet at "Stuttgart Wine Village", one of Germany's largest wine festivals serving over 350 outstanding wines right in the heart of the city on the Market Place and Schiller Square (August 25 - September 9, 2010). Ending the season is Germany’s second largest beer festival, the Cannstatter Was’n, just outside of Stuttgart featuring local beer, culinary treats, music and customs (September 24 - October 4).
Vist www.magic-cities.com for more information