11 Best Sights in The Bavarian Alps, Germany

The deep, mysterious, and fabled Königssee is the most photographed panorama in Germany. Together with its much smaller sister, the Obersee, it's nestled within the Berchtesgaden National Park, 210 square km (81 square miles) of wild mountain country where flora and fauna have been left to develop as nature intended. No roads penetrate the area, and even the mountain paths are difficult to follow. The park administration organizes guided hikes from June through September.

Despite its distance from Munich, the beautiful Chiemsee drew Bavarian royalty to its shores for its dreamlike, melancholy air. It was on one of the lake's three islands that King Ludwig built Schloss Herrenchiemsee, his third and last castle, which was modeled after Louis XIV's Versailles. As with most of Ludwig's projects, the building was never completed, and Ludwig spent only nine days there. Nonetheless, what remains is impressive—and ostentatious. Ferries leave from Stock, Prien's harbor. You can take an 1887 steam train from Prien to Stock to pick up the ferry. A horse-drawn carriage (from mid-April to late October) takes you from the boat dock to the palace itself. The palace's state rooms can only be visited as part of a 35-minute guided tour; English-language tours are timed to coincide with each ferry's arrival. The most spectacular room is the Hall of Mirrors, and also of interest are the ornate bedrooms, the "self-rising" table, the elaborately painted bathroom, and the formal gardens. The south wing houses a museum about King Ludwig's life. Also on the island is the Augustinian Monastery where Germany's postwar constitution was drawn up in 1948; it is now a museum.

Built between 1870 and 1879 on the spectacular grounds of his father's hunting lodge, the Linderhof Palace was the only one of Ludwig II's royal residences to have been completed during the monarch's short life. It was the smallest of this ill-fated king's castles, but the charming, French-style Rococo confection inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles was his favorite country retreat. From an architectural standpoint, it's a whimsical combination of conflicting styles: lavish on the outside, somewhat overly decorated on the inside. The formal gardens contain interesting elements such as a Moorish pavilion—bought wholesale from the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition. According to hearsay, while staying at Linderhof, the eccentric king would dress up as the legendary knight Lohengrin to be rowed in a swan boat on the grotto pond; in winter he took off on midnight sleigh rides behind six plumed horses and a platoon of outriders holding flaming torches. The palace is only accessible with a 25-minute guided tour.

The highest mountain (9,718 feet) in Germany is also the number-one attraction in the area. You can't see this world famous peak from Garmisch-Partenkirchen until you've made your way up the mountain—it's hidden from view on the ground and is often mistaken for the nearby Alpsspitze—so it's worth braving the glass-bottom cable car for the view both on the way up and for the Alpine panoramas once you've reached the peak. Opened in late 2017, the record-setting cable car ascends 6,381 feet over a distance of 10,451 feet in around 10 minutes. It's an engineering marvel on its own. Combined with the view from one of three restaurants' sunny terraces at the summit, the Zugspitze is awe-inspiring. To use the cable car, start in Grainau, 10 km (6 miles) outside town on the road to Austria. An unlimited one-day round-trip ticket is also valid for unlimited rides on the Gletscher Bahn, a gondola for skiers and hikers that covers the skiable "Zugspitzplatt," or flats. You can also combine a cable car ride with a leisurely 75-minute ride on a cog railroad, the Zahnradbahn. There are also a number of other peaks in the area with gondolas for both skiers in winter and hikers in summer, including the Hausberg Seilbahn, which takes you to a kid-friendly ski area. A four-seat cable car likewise will take you to the top of one of the lesser peaks: the 5,840-foot Wank for €24. From there, you can tackle both mountains on foot, provided you're properly shod and physically fit. Or stop over at the Alpspitze, from where you can hike as well.

In the early 19th century King Ludwig I built this elaborate saltworks and spa house, in vaulted, pseudomedieval style. The pump installations, which still run, are astonishing examples of 19th-century engineering. A "saline" chapel is part of the spa's facilities, and was built in exotic Byzantine style. A museum in the same complex looks at the history of the salt trade. As the salt deposits beneath the building are no longer top quality, parts of the building have been converted to office spaces and a trendy restaurant, but you can tour the underground infrastructure.

Boats going between Stock and Herrenchiemsee Island also stop at this small retreat known as Ladies' Island. The Benedictine convent there, founded 1,200 years ago, houses a small community of nuns. One of its earliest superiors, Irmengard, daughter of King Ludwig der Deutsche, died here in the 9th century; her grave in the convent chapel was discovered in 1961, the same year that early frescoes there were brought to light. The chapel is open daily from dawn to dusk. Otherwise, the island has about 50 private houses, a couple of shops, and a guesthouse where visitors wishing to take part in the nuns' quiet lives can overnight. You can walk around the island in about 20 minutes—just don't miss partaking in the Benedictine Sisters' delicious fruit liqueurs, gingerbread, and marzipan.

Opened in 2015, this interactive museum brings the surrounding national park to life for children and adults alike with a rotating exhibition focusing on the wildlife and diverse nature to be found in the area. There's also a library and cinema.

One of the region's main attractions, this salt mine was once owned by Berchtesgaden's princely rulers. Where once only select guests were allowed to see how the source of the city's wealth was extracted from the earth, today an hour-long tour will transport you via a miniature train nearly 1 km (½ mile) into the mountain to an enormous chamber where the salt is mined. Included in the tour are rides down the wooden chutes used by miners to get from one level to another and a boat ride on an underground saline lake the size of a football field. You may wish to partake in the special four-hour brine dinners down in the mines. These are very popular, so be sure to book early.

Besides its beer and spirits, Ettal has made another local industry into an attraction, namely cheese, yogurt, butter, and other milk derivatives. You can see them in the making at this public cheese-making plant. Tours are offered daily at 11 as long as there's a minimum five people to take part.

The last royal resident of the Berchtesgaden abbey, Crown Prince Rupprecht (who died here in 1955), furnished it with rare family treasures that now form the basis of this permanent collection. Fine Renaissance rooms exhibit the prince's sacred art, which is particularly rich in wood sculptures by such great late-Gothic artists as Tilman Riemenschneider and Veit Stoss. There are two weaponry rooms exhibiting hunting tools, including rifles from the 19th century, and a beautiful rose garden out back. You can also visit the abbey's original, cavernous, 13th-century dormitory and cool cloisters. Castle visits are only possible on an hour-long guided tour, held Monday to Thursday at 11 am and 2 pm and Friday at 11 am. Check online in advance, as the Wittelsbach heir still occasionally stops by for a visit, at which times the castle is closed to visitors.

The region's culture and history are intriguingly presented in this museum, part of which is housed in a building dating from around 1200, with an addition and expansion completed in 2018 to make space for rotating art and local history exhibitions. Spread over 19 rooms and five floors, the exhibits explore traditional aspects of life in the Werdenfelser region, which was an independent state for more than 700 years, until 1802.