Must-see attractions in Bavaria

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    Schloss Linderhof

    Bavarian Alps

    A pocket-sized trove of weird treasures, Schloss Linderhof was Ludwig II’s smallest but most sumptuous palace, and the only one he lived to see fully…

  • Fussen, Germany - August 7, 2015: Beautiful view of world-famous Neuschwanstein Castle, the nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace built for King Ludwig II on a rugged cliff, with scenic mountain landscape near Fussen, southwest Bavaria, Germany.

    Schloss Neuschwanstein

    Füssen

    Appearing through the mountaintops like a mirage, Schloss Neuschwanstein was the model for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. King Ludwig II planned this…

  • Schloss Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, Germany

    Schloss Hohenschwangau

    Füssen

    King Ludwig II grew up at the sun-yellow Schloss Hohenschwangau and later enjoyed summers here until his death in 1886. His father, Maximilian II, built…

  • Germany, Bavaria, Wetterstein mountains, Zugspitze, Summit cross

    Zugspitze

    Garmisch-Partenkirchen

    On good days, views from Germany’s rooftop extend into four countries. The return trip starts in Garmisch aboard a cogwheel train (Zahnradbahn) that chugs…

  • Munich/Germany-September 8 2017:.Exterior of camp facilities with memorial sculpture and wall,  at Dachau Concentration Camp, Munich, Germany.; 
KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau

Shutterstock ID 760718488; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau

    Bavaria

    Officially called the KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau, this was the Nazis’ first concentration camp, built by Heinrich Himmler in March 1933 to house political…

  • 500px Photo ID: 141403461 - Photo by Savvy Gao

    Schloss Nymphenburg

    Munich

    This commanding palace and its lavish gardens sprawl around 5km northwest of the Altstadt. Begun in 1664 as a villa for Electress Adelaide of Savoy, the…

  • Residenzmuseum

    Munich

    Home to Bavaria's Wittelsbach rulers from 1508 until WWI, the Residenz is Munich's number-one attraction. The amazing treasures, as well as all the…

  • Residenz, Wurzburg, Germany

    Würzburg Residenz

    Würzburg

    The vast Unesco-listed Residenz, built by 18th-century architect Balthasar Neumann as the home of the local prince-bishops, is one of Germany’s most…

  • Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

    Alte Pinakothek

    Munich

    Munich's main repository of Old European Masters is crammed with all the major players who decorated canvases between the 14th and 18th centuries. This…

  • Isar Cycle Route, Monopteros in background, English Garden, Munich, Upper Bavaria, Germany

    Englischer Garten

    Munich

    The sprawling English Garden is among Europe's biggest city parks – it even rivals London's Hyde Park and New York's Central Park for size – and is a…

  • Interior view of the Pinakothek der Moderne, Rotunda, Munich, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

    Pinakothek der Moderne

    Munich

    Germany's largest modern-art museum unites four significant collections under a single roof: 20th-century art, applied design from the 19th century to…

  • Streetview on Luitpold Prinzregent Statue and Bavarian National Museum Munich

    Bayerisches Nationalmuseum

    Munich

    Picture the classic 19th-century museum, a palatial neoclassical edifice overflowing with exotic treasure and thought-provoking works of art, a repository…

  • Schloss Herrenchiemsee

    Chiemsee

    An island just 1.5km across the Chiemsee from Prien, Herreninsel is home to Ludwig II’s Versailles-inspired castle. Begun in 1878, it was never intended…

  • BERLIN - JANUARY 10: Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin was founded in 1982 in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin and exhibits a large collection of historical technical artifacts January 10, 2010 in Berlin.; Shutterstock ID 70200388; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Deutsches Museum

    Munich

    If you’re one of those people for whom science is an unfathomable turn-off, a visit to the Deutsches Museum might just show you that physics and…

  • View at the Konigssee from Malerwinkel

    Königssee

    Berchtesgaden

    Gliding serenely across the wonderfully picturesque, emerald-green Königssee makes for some unforgettable memories and photo opportunities. Cradled by…

  • Kaiserburg (Imperial castle) & Sinwellturm (tower), N|rnberg (Nuremberg), Bavaria, Germany

    Kaiserburg

    Nuremberg

    This enormous castle complex above the Altstadt poignantly reflects Nuremberg's medieval might. The main attraction is a tour of the renovated residential…

  • Hitler's Eagle Nest in Germany

    Eagle's Nest

    Berchtesgaden

    At 1834m above sea level, the Eagle's Nest was built as a mountaintop retreat for Hitler, and gifted to him on his 50th birthday. It took around 3000…

  • BMW World, built 2003 - 2007 by Coop Himmelblau, Munich, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

    BMW Welt

    Munich

    Next to the Olympiapark, the glass-and-steel, double-cone tornado spiralling down from a dark cloud the size of an aircraft carrier holds BMW Welt, truly…

  • Deutsche Bahn Museum

    Nuremberg

    Forget Dürer and wartime rallies, Nuremberg is a railway town at heart. Germany's first passenger trains ran between here and Fürth, a fact reflected in…

  • Neues Schloss Schleissheim

    Bavaria

    The crown jewel of Schleissheim's palatial trio is the Neues Schloss Schleissheim. This pompous pile was dreamed up by Prince-Elector Max Emanuel in 1701…

  • Museum Brandhorst

    Munich

    A big, bold and aptly abstract building, clad entirely in vividly multihued ceramic tubes, the Brandhorst jostled its way into the Munich Kunstareal in a…

  • Schloss Ehrenburg

    Nuremberg & Franconia

    The erstwhile residence of the Coburg dukes, Ehrenburg is a must for fans of the British monarchy – it was here that Prince Albert spent his childhood and…

  • Schloss Thurn und Taxis

    Regensburg

    In the 15th century, Franz von Taxis (1459–1517) assured his place in history by setting up the first European postal system, which remained a monopoly…

  • Dokumentation Obersalzberg

    Berchtesgaden

    In 1933 the tranquil Alpine settlement of Obersalzberg (3km from Berchtesgaden) in essence became the second seat of Nazi power after Berlin, a dark…

  • Asamkirche

    Munich

    Though pocket sized, the late-baroque Asamkirche, built in 1746, is as rich and epic as a giant's treasure chest. Its creators, the brothers Cosmas Damian…

  • Markgräfliches Opernhaus

    Nuremberg & Franconia

    Designed by Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, a famous 18th-century architect from Bologna, Bayreuth's opera house is one of Europe's most stunningly ornate baroque…

  • Dom St Peter

    Regensburg

    It takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the dim interior of Regensburg’s soaring landmark, the Dom St Peter, one of Bavaria’s grandest Gothic…

  • Cuvilliés-Theater

    Munich

    Commissioned by Maximilian III in the mid-18th century, François Cuvilliés fashioned one of Europe's finest rococo theatres. Famous for hosting the…

  • Kunstareal

    Munich

    The Kunstareal is the compact Maxvorstadt area, roughly defined by Türkenstrasse, Schellingstrasse, Luisenstrasse and Karlstrasse, which is packed with…

  • Golf Museum

    Regensburg

    Claiming to be Europe's best golf museum (not counting Scotland, home to the British Golf Museum), this fine repository of wooden clubs, ivory tees and…

  • Schloss Harburg

    The Romantic Road

    Looming over the Wörnitz River, the medieval covered parapets, towers, turrets, keep and red-tiled roofs of the 12th-century Schloss Harburg are so…

  • Münchner Stadtmuseum

    Munich

    Installed for the city's 850th birthday (2008), the Münchner Stadtmuseum's Typisch München (Typically Munich) exhibition – taking up the whole of a…

  • Kloster Andechs

    Bavaria

    Founded in the 10th century, the gorgeous hilltop monastery of Andechs has long been a place of pilgrimage, though today more visitors come to slurp the…

  • Olympiapark

    Munich

    The area to the north of the city where soldiers once paraded and the world's first Zeppelin landed in 1909 found a new role in the 1960s as the…

  • Bamberger Dom

    Bamberg

    Beneath the quartet of spires, Bamberg’s cathedral is packed with artistic treasures, most famously the slender equestrian statue of the Bamberger Reiter …

  • Veste Coburg

    Nuremberg & Franconia

    Towering above Coburg's centre is a story-book medieval fortress, the Veste Coburg. With its triple ring of fortified walls, it’s one of the most…

  • Königsplatz

    Munich

    Nothing less than the Acropolis in Athens provided the inspiration for Leo von Klenze's imposing Königsplatz, commissioned by Ludwig I and anchored by a…

  • Marienplatz

    Munich

    The epicentral heart and soul of the Altstadt, Marienplatz is a popular gathering spot and packs a lot of personality into a compact frame. It's anchored…

  • Watzmann reflecting in Obersee

    Berchtesgaden National Park

    Berchtesgaden

    Forty years old in 2018, the wilds of this 210-sq-km park still offer some of the best hiking in Germany. A good introduction is a 2km trail up from St…

  • Wieskirche

    Bavarian Alps

    Located in the village of Wies, just off the B17 between Füssen and Schongau, the Wieskirche is one of Bavaria's best-known baroque churches and a Unesco…