Bavaria is the largest of Germany's states and, for many visitors, the most rewarding. The Alps run along its southern edge, the Danube cuts across the north, and between them you'll find medieval towns, baroque churches, dense forests, and some of the world's best beer. It's the Germany of the postcard — and it mostly lives up to the image.
Munich is the obvious starting point: a proper European capital with world-class museums, a serious food scene, and Oktoberfest every autumn. But the rest of Bavaria is just as good. Nuremberg sits at the centre of Franconia with a striking walled old town and a heavy, necessary history. Regensburg is one of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities, largely overlooked by tourists. Bamberg is famous for its smoked beer and its perfectly intact baroque skyline.
In the south, the Alps push hard against the border with Austria. Berchtesgaden offers dramatic mountain scenery and the sombre Eagle's Nest. Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the base for the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak. And the fairy-tale castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau near Füssen draw more visitors than anywhere else in Germany outside Munich.
The Romantic Road connects a string of picture-perfect medieval towns — Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Augsburg, Würzburg — through the rolling hills of Franconia and Swabia. It earns its reputation. Allow at least a week if you want to do it properly.
