Germany
Along Germany's southern rim, the Bavarian Alps stack fairy-tale castles, onion-domed churches and painted villages beneath the country's highest peaks. It is a landscape of lakes and beer gardens as much as summits, with grand spa resorts and lakeside hotels an easy hour or so from Munich.
Germany's alpine capital sits below the Zugspitze, with the Partnach Gorge, Olympic heritage and year-round mountain access.
The southeastern corner delivers the region's most dramatic scenery, from the fjord-like Königssee to the Eagle's Nest high above.
Munich's favourite lake pairs elegant shoreline hotels and spas with rowing boats, brewery halls and gentle mountain walks.
Castle country in the west, where Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau rise above the Forggensee and the Romantic Road ends.
Expect hearty Bavarian cooking — pork knuckle, pretzels, lake fish — alongside refined hotel dining rooms and centuries-old breweries. Evenings mean beer gardens under chestnut trees in summer and firelit hotel bars in winter.
Neuschwanstein, summer toboggan runs, gorge walks and boat trips on the Königssee make the region effortlessly family-friendly. Cable cars put big-mountain scenery within reach of any age.
Couples come for lakeside spa suites on the Tegernsee, the electric boat across the Königssee to St Bartholomä and the Zugspitze summit on a clear day. Winter adds sleigh rides and mulled wine in the snow.
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