Surroundings of the Hotel am Badersee

Of all the villages in the Bavarian Alps, Grainau has what is perhaps the most beautiful location, at the base of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany, and only 5 kilometres southwest of the well-known resort city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The village sprawls in a park-like terrain, with bus and train service linking the different parts. The climatic health resort is the ideal place to stay, be it summer or winter. Grainaus unique climate is wonderfully suited for a variety of recreational and sporting activities. You will also enjoy the fact that the village's original character has been preserved thanks to strict building codes. More than 100 kilometres of hiking trails which inclines from gentle to moderately steep depart from the village and offer you blissful relaxation and awesome views. Close to 60 kilometres are also maintained in the winter. Or visit also the Ammergau alps with Oberammergau, the centre of wood carving and the passionplay.

Nature

Vacation between wonderful nature and mountains:

Zugspitze

At almost 3,000 metres (10,000 ft), the Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain. It offers an experience which nobody can easily forget. Whether you are a nature lover, sun worshipper, skier or hiker, there is something here for everybody. You'll gain a splendid impression of this unique mountain on the Zugspitz round trip.

Hoellentalklamm, an exciting gorge

The gorge is cut deep into the cliffs with the Hammersbach mountain stream tumbling down over jagged rocks, gushing through the narrow opening between the towering cliffs. Take along raingear to protect from the cold river water!

Culture

Linderhof Palace - Dreams and realities

Ludwig II, who was crowned king in 1864, began his building activities in 1867/68 by redesigning his rooms in the Munich-Residenz and laying the foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle. Linderhof Palace, the eventual result of a long period of building and rebuilding, is the only large palace King Ludwig II lived to see completed.

Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. It illustrates the ideals and longings of Ludwig II more vividly than any of his other buildings. The castle was not designed for royal representation, but as a place of retreat. Here Ludwig II escaped into a dream world - the poetic world of the Middle Ages.

Entrance tickets can only be bought at the "Ticketcenter Hohenschwangau" in the village of Hohenschwangau below the castle. You must therefore buy your ticket before you go up to the castle.

The abbey of Ettal

Ettal, almost 900 meters above sea level, is located in a narrow mountain valley of the Western Alpine foothills. The Ettal religious community has consisted of approximately fifty to sixty members in recent years. In addition to its spiritual and ecclesiastical mission of Eucharistic Services and the Divine Office in common it maintains as its main activity a private high school with boarding school (approximately 420 pupils). It also conducts pastoral missions and activities. The economic basis of the abbey consists of that which the monks themselves produce and earn as well as of a number of undertakings such as a brewery, the making of liqueur, hotel, and publishing house.

Museums and exhibitions

Buchheim Collection - Museum of Imagination

The Buchheim Museum is located directly on the banks of Lake Starnberg. The path from the visitors' parking area to the museum is lined with old trees, charming ponds, pagodas, as well as works fashioned out of wood and metal: Nature - Art - Architecture

The Glentleiten Open Air Museum

We invite you to a varied walk through the extensive museums grounds, with its woods, pasturage and historical gardens. Some 60 buildings - farms, mills, Alpine buildings, workshops and much more - have been reconstructed here. Complete with their entire furnishings, they convey a living picture of Upper Bavaria's past and how it has been influenced by the farming community.

Werdenfels Museum in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

The Werdenfels Museum is one of the most beautiful museum in Bavaria. It reflects the history and the culture of the Werdenfels county. It verifies a rich culture on various levels: from highly advanced sacral object to simple object of rural folk culture. The museum collection gives impression about life and work long gone, also about customs as well as the artistic sense of the population.

Violin Making Museum

The local history of Mittenwald which is woven into violin making inseparable and the development of instrument making from the times of Matthias Klotz until today. It houses about 200 instruments from all renowned Mittenwald workshops; high quality master violins as well as the simple instruments of trading companies, children violins up to double basses, also guitars, cisterns and zithers.