Holidays to Bavaria

Exhilarating alpine scenery, vast forests, fairy tale castles, miraculously preserved medieval cities and international centres of culture like Munich are all to be found in Germany’s largest and most distinctive state.

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In the German Alps to the south are famous resorts like Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berchtesgaden, lovely lakes like the Chiemsee, often called the Bavarian Sea, with Herrenchiemsee Palace situated on its largest island, and the wealthy Starnberg 5-Lake District, just outside Munich. Bavaria is home to Oberammergau, site of the world-renowned Passion Play, staged every 10 years.

On the Austrian border the town of Füssen guards the approach to the Royal Castles built by “crazy” King Ludwig, and to the East, in the Bavarian Forest, is the old imperial city of Regensburg, and the beautifully sited ancient cathedral city of Passau. Augsburg just an hour’s drive from Munich is Germany’s second oldest city.

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Franconia (Franken) is a region of northern Bavaria, a State of Germany that formerly was a separate duchy of the Holy Roman Empire. Franconia has been a part of Bavaria for over 200 years, but still retains a character all of its own, even to the point of bottling some of its superb white wine in the distinctive “Bocksbeutel” flagon. Franconia is also renowned for beer and is home to more breweries per square kilometre than any other region in Europe.

Franconia’s chief places are the cities of Nuremberg and Würzburg and the town of Bamberg, each a major centre of fine art and beautiful architecture, while Bayreuth, with is famous Wagner Festival, draws music-lovers from all over the world and Coburg, with its stately castles and location in upper Franconia, makes it ideal for excursions into Thuringia. The discerning visitor will be no less tempted by smaller gems like medieval Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the “Romantic Road” – one of Germany’s principal tourist routes, which runs from north to south, right through Bavaria, from Würzburg in Franconia to Füssen in the Bavarian Alps.