Old Bavaria: Traditional Germany

The route leads through Bavaria's comparatively flat midsection. The short distance allows time for a detour through Landshut, a quaint Lower Bavarian town with a main street lined with Renaissance buildings beneath a hill-top castle. The church, built in 1389, has the world's tallest brick steeple.

The route leads past Nuremberg, the 2nd largest city in Bavaria and the cultural centre of northern Bavaria. The settlement grew up around the castle, which played a major role in the administration of the Holy Roman Empire: The assembly that governed the empire, called the Imperial Diet, was held there every year.

The recommended route leads past the medieval city of Würzburg. The most famous of the city's many sites is the Old Bridge dating back to 1473. From here you can take the "Romantic Road" (Romantische Straße), an old trade route that connects many of the area's most picturesque villages, or continue on the main motorway.

A worthwhile detour if time allows is a trip down the "Romantic Road" (Romantische Straße) to Dinkelsbühl, an enchanting town surrounded by medieval walls and towers. A little further south you will pass Ulm, which boasts the world's tallest church, Ulm Cathedral.

Those travellers not in a hurry should take the route via Garmisch-Partenkirchen that cuts across a corner of Austria, then follows the German Alpine Road ("deutsche Alpenstraße") with its magnificent views of the Bavarian and Austrian Alps. The route leads along side roads parallel to the Austrian border all the way from Garmisch past scenic Tegernsee to Chiemsee.

The short stretch leads out of the foothills of the Alps to Bavaria's capital.