Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Landmarks
München
The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl in Munich is probably the most famous beer hall in the world and a must on many first trips to Bavaria. In the heart of the Old Town, a few minutes' walk from Marienplatz, locals, regulars' clubs and visitors from…
Zoos
München
Hellabrunn Zoo (Tierpark Hellabrunn) in Munich is one of Germany's most popular zoos and a top family day out in the Bavarian capital. Set on about 40 hectares (100 acres) of riverside meadows along the Isar in the south of the city, it is…
Museums
Nürnberg
Albrecht Dürer's House in Nuremberg is the former home and workshop of Germany's most celebrated Renaissance artist. Dürer lived and worked in this striking half-timbered house by the Tiergärtnertor gate for almost two decades. Today it is…
Theme parks
Rammingen
The Allgäu Skyline Park in Rammingen, near the spa town of Bad Wörishofen in Bavaria, is one of the largest amusement parks in southern Germany. It sits right beside the A96 autobahn, roughly 50 miles (80 km) west of Munich, and its towers…
Landmarks
München
The Allianz Arena in Munich is the home of FC Bayern and one of the most recognizable sports venues in the world. Its inflated, diamond-patterned skin glows red on match nights and can be seen for miles across the plains north of the city.…
Landmarks
Würzburg
The Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke) in Würzburg is the city's oldest crossing over the Main River and one of the most photographed spots in Franconia. Twelve Baroque statues of saints line the stone arches, with the old town and cathedra…
Old towns & squares
Passau
Passau's Old Town sits on a narrow peninsula where the Danube and Inn rivers meet, with the smaller Ilz joining just opposite, which is why Passau is called the "City of Three Rivers." Pastel Baroque houses, the green-domed St. Stephen's C…
Historic sites & memorials
Kempten (Allgäu)
The Cambodunum Archaeological Park in Kempten preserves the remains of one of the most important Roman towns in what is now southern Germany. On a hill above the Iller River in the Allgäu region, you can walk through a rebuilt Gallo-Roman…
Museums
Ingolstadt
The Audi museum mobile in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, tells the story of the four-ring brand inside a striking round glass building at the Audi Forum, next to the company's headquarters and main plant. About 100 cars, motorcycles and bicycles tra…
Other
Wiesenttal
Bing Cave (Binghöhle) in Streitberg is one of the best-known show caves in Franconian Switzerland, a hilly region of limestone cliffs and castles north of Nuremberg. A level path about 270 m (885 ft) long follows the bed of an ancient unde…
Gardens & parks
München
The Botanical Garden Munich-Nymphenburg covers 21.2 hectares and is one of the larger botanical gardens in Germany. It lies just north of the Nymphenburg palace park and grows about 16,000 plant species, from alpine flowers and rhododendro…
Waterfalls
Oberstdorf
The Breitachklamm near Oberstdorf in Bavaria's Allgäu Alps is one of the most dramatic gorges in the Alps. Over about 1.5 miles (2.5 km), the Breitach River has cut up to 490 feet (150 m) deep into the rock, and a secured walkway leads you…
Castles
Falkenstein
Falkenstein Castle (Burg Falkenstein) crowns a granite cone about 60 m (200 ft) above the small spa town of Falkenstein in the Upper Palatinate, on the edge of the Bavarian Forest. Surrounded by a wooded park full of huge granite boulders,…
Castles
Riedenburg
Prunn Castle (Burg Prunn) stands on a limestone cliff 70 meters above the Altmühl Valley and is one of the most picturesque castles in Bavaria. The whitewashed hilltop castle with its massive keep dates in part to around 1200 and is famous…
Castles
Landshut
Trausnitz Castle (Burg Trausnitz) towers above the old town of Landshut in Lower Bavaria and was for centuries a seat of the Wittelsbach dukes. Behind its medieval walls you'll find an elegant Renaissance courtyard with arcades, the "Fools…
Castles
Burghausen
Burghausen Castle in the Bavarian town of Burghausen, right on the Austrian border, is listed by Guinness World Records as the longest castle in the world, stretching 1,051 meters (about two-thirds of a mile) along a narrow ridge. Six cour…
Old towns & squares
Dinkelsbühl
Dinkelsbühl is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Germany, a postcard-perfect stop on Bavaria's Romantic Road between Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Nördlingen. Behind an almost complete ring of walls and four gate towers, you'll fi…
Lakes
Grainau
Eibsee is an emerald-green mountain lake near Grainau in the Bavarian Alps, set directly beneath the north face of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain. Its clear water, a scatter of small wooded islands and the wall of rock rising al…
Gardens & parks
Wonsees
The Sanspareil Rock Garden (Felsengarten Sanspareil) in Wonsees, near Bayreuth in northern Bavaria, is one of the most unusual 18th-century gardens in Europe. Instead of clipped hedges and fountains, Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth turne…
Fortresses
Würzburg
Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg crowns a hill about 100 m above the Main River and is the city's most famous landmark. For nearly five centuries it was the seat of Würzburg's prince-bishops, before they moved into the grand Residence in to…
Lakes
Schwangau
Lake Forggensee near Füssen in the Bavarian Allgäu is Bavaria's largest reservoir, with the Alps as a backdrop and Neuschwanstein Castle just beyond its shore. It is a lovely add-on to a visit to the castle: you can take a boat trip, walk…
Museums
Bad Windsheim
The Franconian Open-Air Museum in Bad Windsheim (Fränkisches Freilandmuseum) is the largest open-air museum in Bavaria and shows how people in Franconia once lived and worked. Across 45 hectares, more than 120 historic buildings from all o…
Churches & monasteries
Chiemsee
Fraueninsel (Frauenchiemsee) is a tiny, car-free island on Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria, about an hour southeast of Munich, and home to one of the oldest convents in the German-speaking world. Fishermen's cottages, flower gardens and a white B…
Museums
Nürnberg
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg is the largest museum of cultural history in the German-speaking world and one of the top things to do in Nuremberg. Spread across a medieval Carthusian monastery and striking modern wings, it t…