Things to do in Munich & Bavaria

Munich is the gateway to Bavaria: a city of beer gardens, baroque churches and the Marienplatz town hall, with the Alps visible on clear days. Within a couple of hours lie some of Germany's best-loved sights, above all King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein, perched on a crag above Hohenschwangau.

To the north, Franconia has two remarkably preserved old towns. Nuremberg's imperial castle looks over half-timbered lanes and Gothic churches, while Bamberg's UNESCO-listed centre, with its town hall built on a bridge, is one of the most charming small cities in Europe.