Bavaria attractions

The former summer residence of the Prince Elector Carl Theodor, Schwetzingen Castle (Schloss Schwetzingen) is one of Germany’s most magnificent Baroque palaces. Built by Prince Elector Johann Wilhelm in the late 17th century, the castle is best known for its landscaped gardens and idyllic cherry blossom orchards.

Nuremberg’s picturesque Old Town (“Altstadt”), located inside the city’s medieval walls, has been lovingly restored after being bombed during World War II. This walkable historical heart is home to picturesque half-timbered houses, a bustling square (Hauptmarkt), the Frauenkirche, Nuremberg Castle, and the Schöner Brunnen fountain.

Located in a former prison and courthouse, the fascinating Medieval Crime Museum reveals the history of law in Germany and Europe. The exhibits showcase 50,000 objects—including torture devices, executioner tools, and shame masks—and offer insight into witch trials and notorious criminals from the Middle Ages.

Standing on a hilltop near Lake Ammersee in south Bavaria, the Andechs Monastery is Bavaria’s oldest pilgrimage church, a working Benedictine abbey, and a brewery and tavern rolled into one. Pilgrims come for the monastery’s holy relics while others come to admire the church before enjoying the country views over beers and Bavarian food.

Stretching across the Danube River, the Old Stone Bridge is a restored medieval bridge in Regensburg that connects the city’s historical center with two of the river’s islands. Since the 12th century, this bridge has provided access to the islands of Upper Wöhrd and Stadtamhof and treated pedestrians with superb city views.

Munich’s predominant event area and the home of the Oktoberfest beer festival, the Theresienwiese (Wiesn occupies over 100 acres (42 hectares of prime central Munich. While the name means meadow, most of the grass is long gone, leaving the 60-foot (18-meter Bavaria statue to take center stage.

Towering a dizzying 955 feet (291 meters) over the surrounding Olympic Park; Munich’s Olympic Tower is one of the city’s tallest buildings and boasts its highest observation deck. Built for the 1972 Olympic Games, it’s more than just a Munich landmark—it’s also a TV broadcasting tower and home to a museum and restaurant.

Stately Munich may have a fairly conservative reputation, but bohemian Schwabing is where the city lets its hair down. North of the city center, Schwabing features some of Munich’s most prominent universities and prettiest green spaces, plus shops, restaurants and buzzing bars aplenty.

Marienberg Fortress is a castle on a hilltop overlooking the Bavarian city of Wurzburg. Dating back to the 12th century, the castle is a symbol of the city’s resilience as it has been damaged and painstakingly rebuilt over the years. The vast fortress includes a museum, formal gardens, a baroque armory, and magnificent viewpoints, too.

The Jewish Museum (Jüdisches Museum) provides insight into the history and cultural traditions of Jewish people in Munich. Through a mix of permanent and temporary exhibits, the museum covers topics such as life after World War II, religious practices, and the contribution of Munich’s Jewish community to science and modern thought.

St. Jacob’s Church (St. Jakobskirche) is a Lutheran place of worship in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Built between the 14th and 15th centuries, it’s been a pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages. Pilgrims come to see the Altar of the Holy Blood by Tilman Riemenschneider—a wood carving with a glass vial that’s believed to hold Christ’s blood.

The German National Museum dates back to 1852 when it was founded to showcase the art, history, and culture of German-speaking areas from prehistoric times to today. It is home to more than 1 million objects, with around 25,000 exhibited at any time. These items range from Stone Age tools to jewelry, armor, and artwork by notable German painters.

Munich’s Paulaner Brewery (Paulaner Brauerei) dates back to 1634, when monks first started brewing beer on the Nockherberg hill by the River Isar. While commercial production has moved outside of the city, the small brewery still boasts a restaurant and beer garden, and hosts an annual beer festival.

Located at the confluence of the Danube and Wornitz rivers, the Bavarian beauty of Donauworth is famous for its colorful townhouses, which were carefully restored after World War II. It’s also home to the quirky Käthe-Kruse-Puppen-Museum, dedicated to the life and creations of dollmaker Käthe Kruse.

Following the Danube River for about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers, the flat and easygoing Danube Cycle Path (Donauradweg in German is one of Europe’s top leisure cycling routes. The most popular stretch runs between Passau (Germany and Budapest (Hungary via Vienna (Austria and Bratislava (Slovakia.

Wertheim Village is an open-air outlet mall with over 100 retailers, designed to resemble a Bavarian village, complete with Tudor-style edifices. Here, you'll find a mix of German and global brands and plenty of restaurants and cafes.

Munich is known for its beer halls, and the most celebrated of them all is Hofbrauhaus. Formerly the royal brewery, Hofbrauhaus is now owned by the state government and serves thousands of revelers a year who come to raise a stein of beer and listen to live music. They also have one of the largest tents at Oktoberfest.

Munich's Tierpark Hellabrunn, one of the largest zoos in Europe, offers a range of opportunities for encountering animals, from a petting zoo with goats and deer to a “polarium” with penguins and polar bears. The area is organized geographically by continents and the natural habitats of the animals.

Mullersches Volksbad is an art nouveau structure that dates back to 1901, when it opened as Munich’s first public swimming baths. The space has undergone renovations to preserve its original features, with ornaments and paintings that give a twist to modern swimming pools. Along with taking a dip, visitors can relax in a Finnish sauna and a Roman-Irish steam bath.

The Munich outpost of the legendary Hard Rock Cafe, this restaurant delivers hearty American-style fare with a bonus of music memorabilia. When a burger craving strikes and you're near Munich’s famous Hofbräuhaus, check out Hard Rock. This spot serves food and drinks, including cocktails and Bavarian beer for lunch and dinner.

Around a one-hour drive north of Munich, Ingolstadt Village is a designer outlet mall and paradise for shopping lovers—you can get up to 60 percent off regular retail prices. There are more than 100 stores in the complex, which is home to international brands such as Armani, Calvin Klein, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, and Versace.

Munich's Gasteig cultural center, on the banks of the Isar, showcases top performers year-round. It's home to the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule education center, and the municipal library. There are multiple performance spaces booked with a full program of events.

Set in the forested foothills of the Spessart Mountains along the banks of the Main River, Aschaffenburg is one of northern Bavaria’s most picturesque towns. Less than an hour from Frankfurt, but still largely off the tourist trail; it’s known for its verdant parks, notable art galleries, and storybook architecture, including a Renaissance castle, medieval Old Town, and Roman-inspired Pompejanum.

The Lenbachhaus is a twofer for Munich visitors. It's one of Europe’s largest art and cultural history museums, and its vast collection comes housed in a Florentine-style villa built for the painter Franz von Lenbach. It’s perhaps most famous for exhibiting works from the Blue Rider—der Blaue Reiter—movement, plus other contemporary German movements from the 20th century.

The mountainside retreat of Obersalzberg—located above the town of Berchtesgaden on the Bavarian-Austrian Border—is famous for being Hitler’s mountain headquarters, where high-level Nazi Party meetings were held. Hitler’s mansion was called the Berghof, and he also owned the nearby Eagle’s Nest building, now a restaurant.

The world’s oldest public housing complex is both a historic landmark and a fascinating example of a Catholic social housing system. Founded by the Fugger family in 1521, it’s home to around 150 residents, all of whom pay an annual rent of one Rhenish gulden (less than one euro) and three daily prayers.

Slides and a cute mine train take you underground to see 500-year-old salt works at the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine. Cool air fills the mine’s rugged tunnels, while modern light displays illuminate small water reservoirs. Combining scenery with information and a dose of fun, this experience is designed with the whole family in mind.

The colorful, detailed facades of buildings lining Ludwigstrasse—some adorned with paintings—are a main draw to this quaint road in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Small shops, restaurants, and traditional Bavarian inns also attract visitors to this cobblestone street, a pleasant place to sit back, relax and soak up the charming atmosphere.

The Nuremberg Palace of Justice is a historic landmark that’s famous for being the setting of the Nuremberg Trials, where Nazi war criminals were prosecuted after World War II. Courtroom 600, where these trials took place, was a working courtroom until 2020, and you can visit this room, watch media installations, and see the Nuremberg Trials Memorial on the top floor.

The Würzburg Residence in Southern Germany is a masterpiece of baroque architecture that is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The most impressive features of this attraction—born from the 18th-century ambition of prince-bishops and brought to life by Europe's finest artists—include a grand staircase by Balthasar Neumann and the expansive ceiling frescoes by the Venetian maestro Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.