Places to Visit in Bavaria

Bavaria (Bayern) is officially the Free State of Bavaria, and at roughly 70,500 square kilometres it is the largest of Germany's sixteen federal states by area. It runs from the Franconian wine and brewing towns in the north through the Danube plain to the Alps along the Austrian border, with Munich as the state capital and its largest city. Bavaria's political identity is distinct: it was a kingdom under the Wittelsbach dynasty until 1918, and the palaces built by its rulers, from Nymphenburg and the Munich Residenz to Neuschwanstein, are among the most visited heritage sites in Germany.

Bavaria's climate is more continental than the north's: summers are warm and often thunderous, winters are cold with reliable snow in the Alpine south, and foehn winds can raise temperatures suddenly near the mountains. May to September is the peak window for beer gardens, lakes and hiking, while late November and December bring Christmas markets across Bavarian towns and cities. Munich's Oktoberfest, which normally runs from mid or late September to the first Sunday of October, sharply raises hotel prices and fills trains across the region.

Bavaria is well served by rail, with Deutsche Bahn regional trains and the Bayern-Ticket day pass giving cheap access to day trips from Munich, though tickets to headline sites such as Neuschwanstein sell out and are best booked ahead. Catholic holidays are observed strictly, with shops closed on Sundays and public holidays including Corpus Christi and All Saints' Day.