Mittenwald

Mittenwald lies about 80 kilometres (as the crow flies) south of Munich, right on the Austrian border, between the Karwendel and Wetterstein mountains at an altitude of around 912 metres. Since 1689 the village has been a centre of violin making, founded by Matthias Klotz. About ten independent master violin makers work here today, and there is also a state vocational school for musical instrument making and the Violin Making Museum. The painted façades known as Lüftlmalerei are distinctive too, as is the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, which Joseph Schmuzer gave a Baroque makeover in 1740.

An hour or two is enough for a walk around the village. The Karwendelbahn cable car, opened in 1967, takes about seven minutes to climb from the valley station at 933 metres to the summit station at 2,244 metres; it is considered Germany's second-highest cable car. Allow a morning for it in clear weather and bring warm clothing, as it is much colder at the top.