Oberammergau rewards slow walking. The village is small enough to circle on foot in an hour, but every other facade carries a painted scene — biblical, fairy-tale, or local — and you want to stop at each one. The Pilatushaus is the most famous example. The Rococo parish church of St Peter and Paul is the architectural set-piece, and the Oberammergau Museum is the place to learn how the woodcarving tradition fits into village life.
Beyond the village, the Ammergau Alps rise on every side. Walks lead from the main street up to Kofel, the village's craggy emblem, and across to Ettal Abbey. The Laber and Kolben cable cars carry you above the treeline without effort. Schloss Linderhof, Ludwig II's most personal palace, is ten kilometres south.