Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Palaces
Veitshöchheim
Veitshöchheim Palace (Schloss Veitshöchheim) is the former summer retreat of the prince-bishops of Würzburg, set in one of Europe's finest surviving Rococo gardens. Located about 5 miles (8 km) down the Main River from Würzburg in northern…
Palaces
Pommersfelden
Schloss Weissenstein in Pommersfelden is a showpiece of Franconian Baroque and is still owned by the Counts of Schönborn. Built as a country residence for a prince-bishop, it has a spectacular staircase hall, a marble hall and a picture ga…
Palaces
Oberschleißheim
Schleißheim Palace in Oberschleißheim, just north of Munich, is a complex of three Baroque palaces set in a vast French-style garden. The New Palace, with a facade more than 300 meters long, is the centerpiece, flanked by the Old Palace an…
Other
Ahorntal
The Sophienhöhle (Sophie Cave) near Ahorntal is one of the most beautiful show caves in Franconian Switzerland, a limestone landscape in northern Bavaria between Nuremberg and Bayreuth. It sits on the slope of the Ailsbach valley next to B…
Lakes
Starnberg
Lake Starnberg (Starnberger See) is Munich's favorite lake, stretching about 12 miles (19.5 km) south from the town of Starnberg toward the Alps, only 15 miles (25 km) from the city. Germany's fifth-largest lake is lined with villas, beach…
Waterfalls
Sonthofen
The Starzlachklamm near Sonthofen is a narrow limestone gorge at the foot of the Grünten mountain in the Allgäu region of southern Bavaria. Secured walkways and bridges lead past waterfalls, swirling potholes and steep rock walls packed wi…
Lakes
Lenggries
The Sylvenstein Reservoir (Sylvensteinspeicher) near Lenggries is a turquoise mountain lake in the Isarwinkel region of Upper Bavaria, framed by the Karwendel range. It lies about 75 kilometers south of Munich on the road between Bad Tölz…
Lakes
Tegernsee
Lake Tegernsee is one of the most popular Alpine lakes in Upper Bavaria, set in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps about 30 miles (50 km) south of Munich. Five villages ring its shores, including the town of Tegernsee with its former monas…
Caves
Pottenstein
The Devil's Cave (Teufelshöhle) near Pottenstein is the largest of roughly 1,000 caves in Franconian Switzerland, a craggy hill region in northern Bavaria about an hour's drive from Nuremberg. A guided tour leads through lofty halls filled…
Churches & monasteries
München
The Theatinerkirche, or Theatine Church of St. Cajetan, on Odeonsplatz in Munich is Bavaria's first Baroque church and one of the best-known landmarks of the old town. Its yellow facade, huge dome and twin towers define the city skyline. A…
Theme parks
Erding
Therme Erding, just northeast of Munich, is widely described as the largest thermal spa in the world – a vast indoor and outdoor complex of thermal pools, a wave pool, water slides and saunas. Only about 9 miles (14 km) from Munich Airport…
Castles
Coburg
Veste Coburg is a vast medieval fortress perched about 160 meters above the town of Coburg in northern Bavaria, close to the border with Thuringia. Often called the "Crown of Franconia," it is one of the largest and best-preserved castle c…
Industrial heritage
Kochel am See
The Walchensee Hydroelectric Power Station in Kochel am See is one of Germany's great industrial landmarks and still produces electricity a century after it opened. Six enormous steel pipes carry water from Lake Walchensee down roughly 200…
Monuments
Donaustauf
The Walhalla near Donaustauf, just east of Regensburg, is a hall of fame built in the form of a Greek temple, high above the Danube River. King Ludwig I of Bavaria created it to honor great figures of the German-speaking world, and today m…
Mountains & peaks
Bayrischzell
The Wendelstein is a 6,030-foot (1,838 m) peak in the Bavarian Prealps, about an hour southeast of Munich, and one of the classic viewpoint mountains of Upper Bavaria. Its rocky summit, crowned by an observatory and a transmitter mast, can…
Castles
Eichstätt
Willibaldsburg Castle towers over the town of Eichstätt and the Altmühl Valley in Upper Bavaria, roughly halfway between Munich and Nuremberg. For centuries it was the seat of the prince-bishops of Eichstätt. Today it houses the Jura Museu…