Where to stay in Bavaria: the 3 areas to know in 2026
The Bavaria our members write about comes down to three towns, and that is the first thing to know before you book: Munich first, by a long way, then Schwangau and its castles, and Ettal in its valley.
Two things decide the rest. Beer is a Munich affair, and several of our members push back against it: "and yes, Munich isn't all about beer!!!" And Neuschwanstein Castle, which almost all of them compare to a fairy tale, takes thirty minutes to visit. Three areas below, and one real question: do you sleep below the castles, or head back to Munich for the night?
Compare hotel prices in Bavaria
In a hurry? Find the best accommodation deals in 3 clicks.
Compare live deals from Booking, Expedia, Agoda and other partners.
A very beautiful place that is worth taking a day to make the trip and visit.
One base or several?
The durations our members give are almost all about Munich: three sights in the city claim half a day or more on their own. At the castles it is the other way round: the visit lasts thirty minutes and it is the journey that takes the day.
- A long weekend: Munich, three nights, no car. Our reviews give three full half-days there, the English Garden, Nymphenburg Palace and the Pinakothek der Moderne, with the centre covered on foot in between.
- A week: Munich then Schwangau: four nights in the city, one below the castles. The night in Hohenschwangau does not buy a longer visit, it buys the first slot of the morning, which our review recommends booking in advance.
- Ten days: Add Ettal, two nights, between the other two. It is Ludwig II's third castle, and our member says the opposite of Neuschwanstein about it: small, detailed, not oversized.
- Two weeks: Extend Munich rather than invent a stop: the Allianz Arena, the Deutsches Museum and BMW Welt each have a member's account, and none of them fits into a morning.
How much driving between two bases?
Everything starts from Munich, the only town in the guide with an airport and a connecting station. The direct train takes a little over two hours to reach Füssen, four kilometres from the castles; the car only saves half an hour. Inside the city, our reviews are unanimous: tram, metro and walking.
| Route | Driving time | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Munich → Schwangau | 1 h 45 | 120 km on the A96 then the B17 |
| Munich → Füssen | 2 h 10 | direct train every two hours |
| Munich → Ettal | 1 h 15 | 90 km on the A95 then the B23 |
| Schwangau → Ettal | 1 h 15 | 60 km via Steingaden |
| Marienplatz → Nymphenburg | 20 min | tram 17 |
| Marienplatz → Allianz Arena | 20 min | metro U6, Fröttmaning |
| Marienplatz → English Garden | 10 min | metro U3 or U6, Universität |
At a glance: our picks by traveller type
Pick the profile that fits you and go straight to the recommended area.
Map of the areas in Bavaria
See how the areas sit relative to one another before choosing your base. Click a name to jump to its description.
Munich Altstadt, Maxvorstadt, Schwabing, Neuhausen
The town our members write about most, and the only one where beer comes into it
Our members almost all say the same thing, and it matters for where you stay: it can be done on foot. "You can visit it on foot", "the pedestrianised old centre is very pleasant", "a picturesque pedestrian centre", "the city is easy to explore on foot". One member adds the other half of the reasoning, "well-connected by public transport", which the reviews of the outlying sights confirm: the Allianz Arena "is easily reached by tram", Nymphenburg is "a little way out of Munich, but relatively easy to get to". Sleeping outside the old walls therefore costs you twenty minutes, not a day. Which district to pick is settled in our city guide.
Well-connected by public transport and with plenty of green spaces, the city is easy to explore on foot.
What to see and do in this area
Where to stay in this area
Hotel Bayerischer Hof Luxury
Promenadeplatz, five minutes from Marienplatz, 337 rooms and a 1,300 m² spa on the roof. The city's historic address, and it is inside the old walls.
Platzl Hotel Mid-range
167 rooms facing the Hofbräuhaus München, a five-minute walk from Marienplatz. Both our reviews of the tavern mention noisy communal tables: from here you just go up to bed.
Hotel Torbräu Mid-range
At the Isartor, run by the same family since 1903 and open since 1490: the city's oldest hotel. Ten minutes from the Deutsches Museum.
Hotel Laimer Hof Budget
A neo-Renaissance villa from 1886, 23 rooms, next door to Nymphenburg Palace and five minutes from the Hirschgarten, Europe's largest beer garden. It is the answer to our review's advice, "I recommend trying out the beer gardens when the weather is nice".
Pros
- Our members describe it as a city made for walking
- One member calls the English Garden Munich's unmissable green space: according to our review, an afternoon is not enough to see all of it
Cons
- It is the most expensive city in Germany, and from 19 September to 4 October 2026 the rates bear no relation to the rest of the year
- Our members warn that a single sight can eat up half a day: Nymphenburg, the English Garden, the Pinakothek
Schwangau and Hohenschwangau Hohenschwangau, the village centre, the Alpsee
The most reviewed place in the region, for a thirty-minute visit
No place in the region inspires our members like Neuschwanstein Castle, and most of them reach for the fairy tale or Disney: "you really would think it was a Disney castle straight out of a fairy tale", "a magical place, worthy of a fairy tale", "the castle that was the model for Sleeping Beauty's castle". One member goes further back, all the way to "Wagner, a close friend of Ludwig II of Bavaria". Not one of them speaks ill of the castle. Two say the same thing about the visit, and that is what decides the night: photographs are forbidden inside, and the tour lasts half an hour. The village itself is "a picturesque little village at the foot of the Alps".
I did regret that the tour was a bit short (about 30 minutes). I would have loved to take more time to discover the secrets of the monument!
What to see and do in this area
Where to stay in this area
Hotel Müller Hohenschwangau Mid-range
40 rooms at the foot of both castles, open since 1910. Hohenschwangau Castle is a five-minute walk away, the village centre 2.5 km.
AMERON Neuschwanstein Alpsee Resort & Spa Mid-range
The former Schlosshotel Lisl, on Neuschwansteinstraße, with rooms looking at one castle or the other, sometimes both. The closest address to Neuschwanstein Castle on foot.
Pros
- Sleeping here means being at the counter when it opens: our review recommends "booking tickets in advance", and the slot is timed
- One review recommends winter, "especially in winter with the snow", when Munich is best seen indoors
Cons
- Thirty minutes of guided tour, no photographs: our review explicitly regrets it
- Two castles and a museum, and that is it: our members describe nothing else in the village
Ettal and the Ammergau Alps Ettal, the abbey, the Loisach valley
Ludwig II's third castle, small and refined
The member who writes about this valley says the opposite of the others: at Linderhof Palace, "you won't find an oversized palace here that impresses you with its sheer scale". What it remembers is "the gardens, the exterior and interior decor", "full of details that show a lot of taste and effort". It is the same royal signature as Neuschwanstein, 60 km away, in exactly the opposite register: small, finished, lived in. It is an area of its own because you sleep differently here, in a high valley rather than in a ticket-office hamlet.
You won't find an oversized palace here that impresses you with its sheer scale.
What to see and do in this area
Where to stay in this area
Klosterhotel Ludwig der Bayer Budget
101 rooms facing Ettal Abbey, indoor pool and saunas included in the rate, views over the Ammergau Alps. Ten minutes from Linderhof Palace.
Pros
- The lowest rates in the guide, and an indoor pool included in the price at the Ettal hotel
- 1 h 15 from Munich and 1 h 15 from Neuschwanstein: it is the balance point between the two other areas
Cons
- The area our members talk about least
- A car becomes useful in the Ammergau valley
Our tips for booking the right place
- Beer, a Munich affair: In Schwangau and Ettal our members never mention it: it is a Munich thing, not a Bavarian one. And several push back against the cliché they quote, with the same turn of phrase: "known for its beer festival, there is plenty else to see and do there", "famous for Oktoberfest, it also offers many activities and tourist sites to visit", and, at the modern art museum, "and yes, Munich isn't all about beer!!!" The others explain it rather than sell it: at the Hofbräuhaus München, "you understand why beer matters so much in Bavaria, why Oktoberfest exists", and "there is a sort of locker where the regulars keep their own steins".
- The sixteen days that change the budget: 19 September to 4 October 2026: This is the date that sets the price. Oktoberfest is held on the Theresienwiese, west of the centre, and Munich is already the most expensive city in Germany for the rest of the year. Our review says it is worth the trip, "the atmosphere during Oktoberfest is absolutely wild, worth experiencing at least once in your life, even if you don't like beer", and it adds the qualifier that counts, "the party is everywhere, without ever turning nasty". If you are not coming for it, shift your dates: the city itself does not change.
- Thirty minutes at Neuschwanstein, and a day to get there: That is the gap our members describe, and it decides the night. "I did regret that the tour was a bit short (about 30 minutes)", writes the most precise member; the Bavarian palace administration states the same duration and only sells timed slots. Against that, "a very beautiful place that is worth taking a day to make the trip and visit". Two reviews add the practical constraint: "photographs are not allowed inside the castle, and since the site is very busy, I recommend getting tickets in advance". Sleeping in Hohenschwangau does not lengthen the visit, it secures the slot.
- Nymphenburg: three members, three durations, and each one is right: "The visit is fairly quick, under an hour", reckons the first, who is talking about the interior. "Count on at least half a day on site", corrects the second, who adds the gardens and the museums. "Count on a full day, because the garden is just as worth the trip", concludes the third, who spent two hours in the park. All three describe the same palace, "the German Schönbrunn": what separates them is what they timed. The same gap applies to the English Garden, "I spent an afternoon there and did not begin to cover it all".
- The Marienplatz Glockenspiel: the times, and the warning: "Come and watch the carillon, which comes to life every day at 11 and 12, and even at 5 in summer", writes the first. The second confirms, "the tower has a clock with a lovely carillon that chimes every day at 11 and 12". The third adds what is missing, and it is the most useful part: "do check the times carefully, because the shows only last a few minutes". Staying inside the old walls means you can come back another time: it is the most concrete argument for sleeping in the centre.
- Munich, the castles, Ettal: the Bavaria of this guide: Nuremberg, Augsburg, Bamberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Würzburg, Regensburg and Garmisch-Partenkirchen do not appear here: our members have not written about them yet. This guide sticks to what they have experienced: Munich, the castles, and the Ettal valley.
- Booking Munich between 19 September and 4 October 2026 without meaning to: those are the sixteen days of Oktoberfest, in the most expensive city in Germany.
- Going up to Neuschwanstein without a ticket: the visit is only possible in a guided group, on a timed slot, and our review recommends getting it in advance.
- Allowing a morning for Nymphenburg Palace: most of our members count half a day or a day there, gardens included.
- Turning up at the Marienplatz carillon at roughly the right time: our review warns that the show "only lasts a few minutes".
- Looking in this guide for an address in Nuremberg, Bamberg or Regensburg: our members have not written about them yet.
FAQ: where to stay in Bavaria
How many nights in Munich?
Sleep below the castles or head back to Munich?
Do you need a car in Bavaria?
Where to sleep cheaply in Bavaria?
When is the best time to go?
Keep exploring
Things to do in Bavaria
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first!