Upper Bavaria: Tegernsee, Chiemsee and the Eagle’s Nest

Route description

Leave Munich on the A8 towards Salzburg and turn south at Holzkirchen for Tegernsee, about 55 km. The lake is ringed by villages and walking paths, with a former monastery and its beer hall at Tegernsee itself. Continue east over Schliersee and through Bayrischzell to the Wendelstein cable car at Osterhofen; the cog railway from Brannenburg on the Inn side is the slower, more scenic option.

Rejoin the A8 to Bernau or Prien for the Chiemsee, Bavaria’s largest lake. Boats leave from Prien-Stock harbour to the Herreninsel, where Ludwig II built his copy of Versailles, and to the Fraueninsel with its convent and fishermen’s cottages. A small steam tram runs in summer from Prien station to the pier. Allow a full day for both islands; parking at Stock is large and suits motorhomes.

Drive north-east about 65 km through the Chiemgau to Burghausen on the Austrian border. Its castle runs for more than a kilometre along a ridge above the Salzach, and you can walk through six courtyards for free. From here follow the B20 south through Laufen and Freilassing to Berchtesgaden, about 90 km; this avoids the Austrian motorway, which would need a vignette.

Above Berchtesgaden, the Obersalzberg Documentation Centre explains Hitler’s mountain retreat. The Kehlstein road beyond is closed to private cars, so park at the centre and take the special bus, then the brass lift through the rock to the Eagle’s Nest. It runs from mid-May to October, weather permitting. Finish at the Königssee nearby if you have time; the lakes are clearest and quietest in June and September.