Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Mountains & peaks
Bayerisch Eisenstein
The Großer Arber is the highest mountain in the Bavarian Forest, rising to 4,775 feet (1,455.5 m) on the border region between Bavaria and the Czech Republic. Locals call it the "King of the Bavarian Forest." A gondola lifts you almost to…
Old towns & squares
Nürnberg
The Hauptmarkt in Nuremberg is the main square of the Old Town and one of the most famous market squares in Germany. Two of the city's icons, the Gothic Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) and the gilded Beautiful Fountain (Schöner Brunnen),…
Mountains & peaks
Kochel am See
The Herzogstand is a 1,731-meter mountain in the Bavarian Pre-Alps, rising above the lakes Walchensee and Kochelsee, about 70 kilometers south of Munich. A cable car takes you most of the way up, so you can enjoy sweeping alpine views with…
Gardens & parks
München
The Hofgarten in Munich is a Renaissance garden right behind Odeonsplatz and one of the most pleasant green spaces in the old town. Laid out in the early 17th century, it is centered on the Diana Temple and framed by arcades and neat flowe…
Viewpoints
Berchtesgaden
The Kehlsteinhaus, better known as the Eagle's Nest, sits on a rocky ridge high above Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. Built in the late 1930s for the Nazi party, it is now a mountain restaurant with one of the finest views in Germany,…
Churches & monasteries
Andechs
Andechs Abbey (Kloster Andechs) crowns the "Holy Mountain" above the Ammersee lake, about 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Munich, and is one of the most rewarding day trips from the city. Here a dazzling Rococo pilgrimage church, a working B…
Churches & monasteries
Bad Staffelstein
Banz Abbey (Kloster Banz) crowns a hill above the Main valley near Bad Staffelstein in Upper Franconia. Facing the Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen across the valley, the former Benedictine monastery forms the heart of the scenic area known as…
Churches & monasteries
Ottobeuren
Ottobeuren Abbey in the Bavarian Allgäu is one of the finest Baroque monasteries in Germany, often called the "Swabian Escorial." The Benedictine community has lived here since 764, and its basilica, with three domes, frescoes and white-an…
Churches & monasteries
Kelheim
Weltenburg Abbey near Kelheim sits on a bend of the Danube River, right at the entrance to the Danube Gorge, where the river squeezes between towering limestone cliffs. This Benedictine monastery is famous for three things: a breathtaking…
Lakes
Kochel am See
Lake Kochel (Kochelsee) is a clear Alpine foothill lake in Upper Bavaria with views of the Herzogstand, Heimgarten and Jochberg mountains. It lies about 70 kilometers south of Munich and works as an easy day trip: you can swim, walk the sh…
Old towns & squares
München
Königsplatz in Munich is a neoclassical square in the Maxvorstadt district and a centerpiece of the "Athens on the Isar" that King Ludwig I wanted to build. The Propylaea to the west, the Glyptothek to the north and the State Collections o…
Old towns & squares
Lindau (Bodensee)
Lindau harbor, with its stone lion and white lighthouse guarding the entrance, is one of the most photographed sights on Lake Constance. It sits on Lindau Island in Germany's far southwestern corner of Bavaria, where Germany, Austria and S…
Mountains & peaks
Neuschönau
Lusen is one of the most distinctive peaks in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany's oldest national park, on the border with the Czech Republic. Instead of trees, its 1,373-meter (4,505-foot) summit is capped by a vast field of gran…
National parks
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden National Park in the far southeast corner of Bavaria is Germany's only Alpine national park. Stretching from the emerald Königssee lake to the 8,900-foot summit of the Watzmann, it packs fjord-like scenery, high pastures, lim…
Mountains & peaks
Oberstdorf
The Nebelhorn is the signature mountain of Oberstdorf, the southernmost market town in Germany in the Allgäu Alps of Bavaria. A modern cable car lifts you from the edge of town to the 7,297-foot (2,224 m) summit, where on clear days you ca…
Museums
München
The Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich's Maxvorstadt district is one of Germany's largest museums for modern art, architecture, graphic art and design. Opened in 2002 and designed by Stephan Braunfels, it houses four independent museums unde…
Castles
Kulmbach
Plassenburg is a massive hilltop castle above the town of Kulmbach in northern Bavaria, and one of the most impressive Renaissance fortresses in southern Germany. Once a stronghold of the Hohenzollern dynasty, the family that later ruled P…
Churches & monasteries
Regensburg
Regensburg Cathedral (Dom St. Peter) is the finest Gothic church in Bavaria and the centerpiece of Regensburg's UNESCO-listed Old Town on the Danube. Its twin spires rise 105 m above the medieval rooftops, and inside you will find one of t…
Gardens & parks
Feldafing
Rose Island (Roseninsel) is the only island in Lake Starnberg, a short boat ride from the shore at Feldafing, about 30 km (19 miles) southwest of Munich. King Maximilian II of Bavaria turned it into a romantic retreat with a rose garden an…
Industrial heritage
Berchtesgaden
The Berchtesgaden Salt Mine (Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden) is Germany's oldest working salt mine and one of the top things to do in the Berchtesgaden Alps, close to the Austrian border near Salzburg. Miners have extracted salt here continuou…
Palaces
München
Blutenburg Castle in Munich's Obermenzing district is a late medieval moated castle on the Würm river and one of the few medieval castle complexes near the city center. A small lake, a manor house, defensive walkways and a late Gothic chap…
Palaces
Coburg
Ehrenburg Palace (Schloss Ehrenburg) in Coburg was the town residence of the dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and is dressed in a rare English-style Gothic Revival facade designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Inside you will find Baroque stuc…
Castles
Schwangau
Hohenschwangau Castle in Schwangau, near Füssen in southern Bavaria, is the yellow castle facing Neuschwanstein across the valley and the place where King Ludwig II spent his childhood. Smaller and more lived-in than its famous neighbor, i…
Palaces
Aschaffenburg
Johannisburg Palace (Schloss Johannisburg) in Aschaffenburg is one of the most important Renaissance palaces in Germany and the defining landmark of this Bavarian town on the Main River. Built of red sandstone with four towering corner tur…