Regensburg & the Danube
The ostentatious Neues Schloss was built for Duke Ludwig the Bearded in 1418. Fresh from a trip to wealth-laden France, Ludwig borrowed heavily from…
Must-see attractions in Bavaria
Augsburg
The heart of Augsburg’s Altstadt, this large, pedestrianised square is anchored by the Augustusbrunnen, a fountain honouring the Roman emperor; its four…
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
Munich
Bavaria's oldest university, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität started out as a political football for its rulers. Founded in Ingolstadt in 1472, the…
Deutsches Medizinhistorisches Museum
Regensburg & the Danube
Located in the stately Alte Anatomie (Old Anatomy) at the university, this sometimes rather gory museum chronicles the evolution of medical science as…
Nuremberg & Franconia
The final resting place of St Willibald’s sister, the Kloster St Walburga is a popular local pilgrimage destination. Every year between mid-October and…
Munich
Karlsplatz and the medieval Karlstor (a gate) form the western entrance to the Altstadt and the pedestrianised shopping precinct along Neuhauser Strasse…
Munich
The huge Theresienwiese (Theresa Meadow), better known as Wies'n, southwest of the Altstadt, is the site of the Oktoberfest. At the western end of the …
Munich
The Asamkirche may be more sumptuous, but the Klosterkirche St Anna is actually a collaboration of the rococo era's top dogs; Johann Michael Fischer…
Munich
The soot-blackened façade of the neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus is festooned with gargoyles, statues and a dragon scaling the turrets; the tourist office is on…
Passau
An entrance in the side of the Altes Rathaus flanking Schrottgasse takes you to the Grosser Rathaussaal, where large-scale paintings by 19th-century local…
Nuremberg
This bustling square in the heart of the Altstadt is the site of daily markets as well as the famous Christkindlsmarkte (Christmas Markets). At the…
Munich
The 1890s Justizpalast witnessed the Weisse Rose trial of Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst on 22 February 1943. They were condemned to…
Munich
Munich's massive Siegestor was modelled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome and looks like a miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Built to…
Munich
Office workers catching some rays during their lunch break, stylish mothers pushing prams, seniors on bikes, a gaggle of chatty nuns – everybody comes to…
Munich
Munich usually feels more cosy than cosmopolitan, but one exception is the Fünf Höfe, a ritzy shopping arcade whose modernist design is as interesting as…
Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts is housed in a three-storey neo-Renaissance building. Founded in 1808 by Maximilian I, it advanced to become one of Europe's…
Munich
Munich's verdant New Botanical Garden segues smoothly from the north side of the palace park and ranks among the most important in Europe. About a century…
Munich
Alter Hof was the starter home of the Wittelsbach family and has its origins in the 12th century. The Bavarian rulers moved out of this central palace as…
Passau
Gothic architecture contrasts with 20th- and 21st-century artworks at Passau's Modern Art Museum. The rump of the permanent exhibition is made up of…
Regensburg
The most tangible reminder of the ancient rectangular Castra Regina (Regen Fortress), where the name ‘Regensburg’ comes from, is the remaining Roman wall,…
Munich
The mustard-yellow Theatinerkirche, built to commemorate the 1662 birth of Prince Max Emanuel, is the work of Swiss architect Enrico Zuccalli. Also known…
Bavarian Alps
Aside from the Passion Play, Oberammergau's other claim to fame is its Lüftmalerei, the eye-popping house facades painted in an illusionist style. The…
Regensburg & the Danube
At the western end of the Domberg you'll find Germany's largest ecclesiastical museum. The building contains a Fort Knox–worthy collection of bejewelled…
Munich
Maximilianstrasse culminates in the glorious Maximilianeum, completed in 1874, a decade after Maximilian II's sudden death. It's an imposing structure,…
Nuremberg
On the northern side of the Pegnitz, near the Karlsbrücke, is the impressive half-timbered Weinstadl, an old wine depot with two half-timbered storeys…
Munich
The sombre twin-towered Ludwigskirche, built by Friedrich von Gärtner between 1829 and 1844, is a highly decorative, almost Byzantine, affair with one…
Regensburg & the Danube
The museum complex at Neues Schloss includes the Bayerisches Polizeimuseum, which lives in the Turm Triva, built at the same time as the complex's Reduit…
Munich
The classical Ruhmeshalle is an open gallery of famous Bavarians, whose busts adorn the wall like hunting trophies. The hall curls horseshoe-like around…
Augsburg
Rising above the Rathausplatz are the twin onion-domed spires of the Renaissance Rathaus, built by Elias Holl from 1615 to 1620 and crowned by a 4m-tall…
Passau
Roman Passau can be viewed from the ground up at this Roman fort museum. Civilian and military artefacts unearthed here and elsewhere in Eastern Bavaria…
Munich
If you're looking to keep the kids amused, SeaLife is the place to head. Reef sharks, moray eels and seahorses are among the 10,000 creatures on display,…
Regensburg & the Danube
The Gothic Kreuztor (1385) was one of the four main gates into the city until the 19th century and its redbrick fairy-tale outline is now the emblem of…
The Romantic Road
Work on Donauwörth's landmark town hall began in 1236, but it has seen many alterations and additions over the centuries. At 11am and 4pm daily, the…
Augsburg
About 300m east of the main train station, as you head towards the Altstadt, you’ll come to the Synagoge Augsburg, an art nouveau temple built between…
Munich
St Nikolaikirche was first built in 1315 in Gothic style, only to go all baroque three centuries later. Outside the prim church ensemble of St Nikolai and…
Nuremberg
Standing like a space probe on the northwestern corner of the square is the 19m (62ft) Schöner Brunnen. A replica of the late 14th-century original, it is…
The Romantic Road
Located just outside the easternmost town gate, this is an engaging place to entertain young minds, bored with the Romantic Road's twee medieval pageant…
Munich
The rather pompous neo-Romanesque Pfarrkirche St Anna im Lehel arrived on the scene in 1892 when the Klosterkirche St Anna im Lehel became too small…
Regensburg & the Danube
The Heimatmuseum is in possession of a golden chalice and a skullcap that was used by Pope Benedict XVI in his private chapel in Rome. It is only open to…
Munich
Your lift ticket to the Olympiaturm also buys access to the small if quirky Rock Museum. Ozzie Osbourne's signed guitar, a poem penned by Jim Morrison and…
