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Series of mountain ranges in the German state of Bavaria
Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Bavarian Alps are part of the Alps and are located in Germany at the southern end of the federal state of Bavaria and continue across the border into Austria. The region is considered one of the most beautiful landscapes of Germany and ranks as one of the most scenic places in all of Central Europe. This is where German or Bavarian stereotypes of lederhosen, dirndls, weißwurst, and glistening alpine peaks come true. Ironically it only comprises less than 3% of Germany's total area. It is also a very rural area, abundant with wildlife and many glacial lakes and thick fir tree forests. It has much more in common, both culturally and geographically, with its neighbours Tyrol and Salzburg Province in Austria than the rest of Germany to the north.
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Largest lake in Bavaria
At 2,962 m is the highest mountain in Germany. Can be reached with cable car from Garmisch-Partenkirchen
5h, Red-class hike, Kreuzeck to Hammersbach
6.5h, Red-class hike, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
5h, Black-class hike, Bayerwald
3.5h, Red-class hike, Hufnagelstube
6h, Blue-class hike, Spitzingersrr Kirche vis Rotwandhaus
The closest major cities are Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck. The border to Austria is open to passport-free travel. There are both excellent road and rail links from the above cities.
Read in the guideConsidering the rural and mountainous nature of the region, the area's rail network is well established and its hub is in Munich. There are many connections to neighbouring Innsbruck and Salzburg in Austria.
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Innsbruck · International · INN
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Füssen in Allgäu is an enchanting town in the south of Bavaria, Germany known for the Hohes Schloss and its Basilica and former Benedictine monastery of St Mang. The world famous Neuschwanstein Castle is situated a few kilometres to the east.
The Allgäu is the south-eastern part of Bavarian Swabia at the northside of the Alps. The biggest part of it is located in Bavaria, a smaller one in Baden-Württemberg, but also on the borderland of Austria with the Kleinwalsertal belongs to Allgäu.
Bad Reichenhall is a spa town in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, near Salzburg, Austria. Bad Reichenhall has a population of 18,500 (2020).
Mittenwald is an Alpine town in the German state of Bavaria. Although it only has a population of 7,200 people (2023), it has a great tradition of violin-making.
See also Berchtesgaden National Park. Berchtesgaden is a small, picturesque and historic town (population 7,700 in 2019) in the southeast of the German state of Bavaria, within a small enclave surrounded on three sides by the Austrian border.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is in Upper Bavaria. Garmisch-Partenkirchen lies at the foot of the Zugspitze in the Werdenfelser Land in Upper Bavaria and is Germany's most important winter sports metropolis, Olympic venue and important international winter sports center in the entire Alpine region.
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