Bavarian Alps, Danube and Altmühl Valley

Lindau is a Bavarian city on an island in Lake Constance, connected to the mainland by a bridge and railway dam. At the Lindauer Hafeneinfahrt, you'll see the six-meter-high statue of the Bayerischer Löwe and a 33-meter-high lighthouse from 1856. In the Old Town, you'll pass the Mangturm, a former lighthouse from the twelfth century with a colorful tiled roof. You can cycle from the quays along the lake shores or visit the nearby vineyards.

Oberstdorf is Germany's southernmost municipality and is located in the Allgäu Alps at an altitude of 813 meters. You can reach the summit of the 2,224-meter-high Nebelhorn by cable car or hike across the alpine meadows of the Fellhorn. In the valley, the Breitachklamm cuts through the rocks, one of Central Europe's deepest gorges.

Schloss Neuschwanstein is a nineteenth-century castle of King Ludwig II that towers above the forested hills of the Allgäu. From the Marienbrücke, you have a view of the white structure, while in the surroundings you can walk along the Alpsee or the Forggensee. Nearby, you can visit Schloss Hohenschwangau, the former summer residence of the Bavarian royal family, or the old town of Füssen.

The Zugspitze dominates Garmisch-Partenkirchen as Germany's highest peak, reachable by cable car. In Partenkirchen, colourful Lüftlmalerei adorns the facades of historic merchant houses. Visitors to the Olympiaschanze will see the steep ski jump used during the Winter Olympics. Above the abyss, the floating Alpspix platform reveals the deep gorge. Amidst the lively terraces, Bavarian traditions and mountain panoramas immediately stand out.

Tegernsee is a picturesque mountain lake in the Bavarian Alps, where water and mountains meet in a relaxed way. With the Wallbergbahn, you float to the top of the Wallberg for expansive views over the Tegernsee Valley. In the eighth-century Kloster Tegernsee, you can taste local beer in the Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus. Along its shores, you'll find hiking trails and water sports facilities. A relaxed atmosphere surrounds the lake, where the mountains reflect in its clear waters.

Munich surprises with a mix of historical splendor and green urban oases. On Marienplatz, you can admire the Neues Rathaus and the fifteenth-century Frauenkirche, whose towers rise high above the city. In the expansive Englischer Garten, you'll find a permanent wave on the Eisbach where surfers show off their skills. The daily Viktualienmarkt offers local products and is surrounded by historic beer gardens that define the lively atmosphere of the city center.

The expansive waters of Chiemsee surround royal palaces and car-free islands at the foot of the Alps. On Herrenwörth stands Schloss Herrenchiemsee, a lavish palace built in the style of Versailles. On the car-free Fraueninsel, a medieval monastery is nestled among flowery gardens. The cable car to Kampenwand takes you to hiking trails with views over the water. In the lively harbors, you can see white sailboats bobbing in front of the jagged mountain peaks.

Berchtesgaden is located in the Bavarian Alps, near the only national park in the German Alps, where the Watzmann mountain, with a height of 2,713 meters, rises above the landscape. You can sail across the Königssee to the pilgrimage church of Sankt Bartholomä, a lake that measures 190 meters at its deepest point and lies between steep rock faces. At the top of the Kehlstein stands the Kehlsteinhaus, built in 1938, a structure at an altitude of 1,834 meters that is accessible via a lift in the rock.

Passau is located where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers converge at the Dreiflüsse-Eck. In the baroque Old Town stands St. Stephen's Cathedral, home to one of the largest cathedral organs in the world, consisting of 17,974 pipes. From the thirteenth-century Veste Oberhaus fortress, you can overlook the point where the three rivers with their different colors merge. In Höllgasse, you will find local galleries and artisan shops.

Regensburg is located at the northernmost bend of the Danube and has a medieval city center that is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Here you can walk across the twelfth-century Steinerne Brücke to the Porta Praetoria, a Roman city gate from 179 AD. In the center, you can see the Gothic Regensburger Dom and the Altes Rathaus, where the Perpetual Diet of the Holy Roman Empire was seated.

At the Donaudurchbruch, the Danube forces its way through a narrow gorge between eighty-meter-high limestone cliffs. On the bank lies Kloster Weltenburg, an atmospheric abbey with the oldest monastery brewery in the world. From the Befreiungshalle on the Michelsberg, you look out over the wide, forested valley. Those who follow the paths along the banks will see the rugged rock formations towering high above the water. The atmosphere is lively when visitors gather for a glass of beer in the courtyard.

In the Altmühltal, the Altmühl flows past limestone rocks, a landscape with millions of years of history. In the quarries of Solnhofen, you can discover 150-million-year-old fossils in the Solnhofen Limestone. Above Eichstätt, the Willibaldsburg, an old castle, offers a wide view. Burg Prunn, another old castle, also towers seventy meters high above the Altmühl Valley. In this peaceful environment, you can walk along the Altmühl and discover the rich history of fossils and castles.

Monumental buildings in Augsburg recall the city's 16th-century wealth as a trading hub. The ochre-yellow houses of the Fuggerei house residents in the world's oldest social housing complex. The Golden Hall shines in the Augsburger Rathaus, and paintings hang amidst gilded ornaments in the Schaezlerpalais. A network of canals and water towers is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On the lively Maximilianstraße, you can stroll past facades and the statues of the Augustus Fountain.

Lindau is a Bavarian city on an island in Lake Constance, connected to the mainland by a bridge and railway dam. At the Lindauer Hafeneinfahrt, you'll see the six-meter-high statue of the Bayerischer Löwe and a 33-meter-high lighthouse from 1856. In the Old Town, you'll pass the Mangturm, a former lighthouse from the twelfth century with a colorful tiled roof. You can cycle from the quays along the lake shores or visit the nearby vineyards.