German Alps, Füssen German
January 5, 2024 - by Muriel Dassen
As Füssen is located in south-west Bavaria in the foothills of the Alps surrounded by mountains and lakes it is perfect as the central point for our German Alps tour! The charming city of Füssen is at the end of the Romantische Strasse, the Romantic Road, and right at the Deutsche Alpenstrasse, the German Alpine road. And of course we will be going on both of those famous roads in our rides here. Füssen is also located on the ancient Roman Via Claudia Augusta, on the river Lech and right next to the border with Austria at a hight of 800 metres / over 2.500 ft. And very close to the so called Königsschlösser, the Royal castles. And these are the 7 things we think you should not miss in Füssen, Germany, during your German Alps motorcycle tour.
Of course you can download the GPX / ITN files and full e-books of the 2 rides we have in this tour via our roadtrip planner but you can already find the info in this blogpost.
High above Füssen's historic city centre lies this castle, the Hohes Schloss, literally the high castle. The building dominates the city, was built between 1486 and 1505 and is considered one of the most remarkable secular buildings in the whole of Germany. And it will give you a nice view on the Altstadt. You should be able to visit between 11 and 17, but it is closed on Mondays. For more information you can visit this website, although only in German.
Benedictine Monastery St. Mang
Füssen is famous for its significance for lute and violin making between the 15th and 18th centuries. And if you are interested in this part of Füssens history, this
former Benedictine monastery St. Mang is definitely worth a visit as it now houses the Museum of the City of Füssen and one of Europe's finest collections of
historical lutes and violins. And it should have the same opening hours as the Hohes Schloss: from 11 to 17, closed on Mondays. For more information you can check out this website, again only in German.
Some 3.5 km / a bit over 2 miles outside of Füssen you can find one of the most iconic and famous fairytale castles…..in the WORLD! And not only because of its breathtaking location. With building this castle King Ludwig II fulfilled his dream of a medieval castle here in the 19th century. The work began in the summer of 1868. The Gateway Building was completed first, which was ready for occupation at the end of 1873, but was not completed until 1892, even after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886 and the castle was already opened to the public. And yes, you can still visit the castle, but only as part of a guided tour and it is very advisable to book tickets in advance (for a day ánd timeslot). Take in mind that you will still have to walk up, take the horse-drawn carriage from Hotel Müller or take the
shuttle bus from Parking 4 up the 1,5 km/almost 1 mile steep uphill road. We did visit in 2017 and loved it, but especially thé view (see picture) from the Marienbrücke that can be done without the guided tour or going in the castle. Visit these links for more info on the castle and booking tickets in advance.
Located a stone's throw from Neuschwanstein you can also find Schloss Hohenschangau, where Ludwig II spent his childhood and that served as his summer residence until his death. Maybe a bit less spectacular location, but still beautiful at the Alpsee and a bit more easy to reach. And you will find some restaurants and terraces here and if your are lucky you will find a spot with a view….either on the castle or the lake! Also for this castle you can visit these links for more information and booking tickets in advance.
And what about this tree crown path 'Ziegelwies'. Only a bit over 1,5 km / almost 1mile you can walk from treetop to treetop over a length of 480 m / 1.500 ft. At a height of up to 20 m/65 ft, you get a completely different impression of the landscape, of the river Lech and the mountain peaks in the distance. Especially from one of the suspension bridges. And if you walk the total trail you will cross the border into Austria. The path is only supported at four points, which makes it even a very special piece of architecture. It is open daily from 10:00 to 19:30 and you will have to pay a fee of a few euros per person. But it is something fun and special to do!
Although only in German, you can visit this website with more info.
Nowadays, Füssen's economic significance is mainly based on tourism, especially with Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles in the immediate vicinity.
Therefore you will find enough facilities in the Altstadt of Füssen and is therefore very nice to have a stroll and end your day on one of the terraces.
Recommended hotels:
Booking.com Fabulous 8.8
With private parking garage – reservation needed and fee applicable
With bar and restaurant
In city centre of Füssen
Booking.com Very good 8.2
With private on site parking – not covered - reservation needed and fee applicable
With bar and restaurant
In city centre Füssen
Booking.com Very good 8.2
With private parking garage - reservation needed and fee applicable
With bar and restaurant
In city centre Füssen
Booking.com Good 7.9
With private on site parking not covered – parking, reservation not needed, fee applicable
15 minute walk into city centre Füssen
Booking.com Fabulous 8.7
With free private on site – not covered -
5.5 km / almost 4 miles outside of Füssen, several restaurants at Hopfensee in 5 to 10 minute walk
Ride 1
The German Alps lie in the Southernmost part of Bavaria against the Austrian border. It is a wonderful area with clear blue mountain lakes and high peaks. This is our first ride of our German Alps tour which is 215 km / 135 miles going West of Füssen and we’re staying mostly in Germany. But we will be crossing into Austria for 2 short parts of this ride. Although the Deutsche Alpenstrasse is a very nice route to do on its own, it does really travel from East to West and the other way round of
course which is not ideal for a day ride. But we will definitely be doing parts of that route.
As we thought it is time for some coffee and maybe a little stretch of our legs we added a stop in the centre of the city of Kempten in the GPX / ITN file. Kempten is in the centre of one of Germany's most beautiful tourist regions where we are in now, Allgäu. The town's history dates back to Celtic times, after which the Romans settled on the right bank of the river Iller and it became one of the most important cities in the Roman province of Raetia. We had an early start of this ride so had our Sissi and Franzl breakfast at the - very pink - Sissi Zuckerbáckerei & Café. You know Sissi: the duchess in and princess of Bavaria and through her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I queen of Hungary. Played brilliantly by Romy Schneider in the iconic movies. If you already want to have a look, visit the Sissi café website here.
For our next stop we have added a parking in the centre of Oberstaufen, a ski area with 38 km almost 24 miles of slopes. A pleasant town at an altitude of 791 metres / 2.500 ft. And also in summer you can find some restaurants here. We had a late breakfast, so skipped lunch here. Especially because we want to have some time to spend at the last stop of this ride.
The Breitachklamm is a gorge created by the river Breitach and is one of the deepest gorges of the Bavarian Alps and even Central Europe. It is said quiet spectacular so we added the parking with easy access to the GPX / ITN file. Because from this parking it is possible to walk into the Breitachklamm. You can do the circular walk or walk all the way up and take the bus back, we can recommend to walk into the Breitachklamm until you really have to start climbing and then return. After that, it is NOT an easy walk AT ALL and by then you have seen the mos spectacular parts anyway. There is a small entrance fee and you will have to pay for the parking as well, but we thought it is very spectacular and as it's so easy to reach we do recommend it if the weather is OK.
The Deutsche Alpenstrasse has been chosen to be part of the top 100 sights in Germany. Cruising the Alpine foothills on gentle curves, enjoying fantastic panoramic views, passing castles, monasteries, historic towns and traditional villages and some mountain lakes. And on its website that you can visit here it says that Motorcyclists are warmly welcomed. That being said, we have made sure that we do not hit any of the restricted roads in Germany or Austria, because although we are warmly welcomed on this road, there are a few restrictions in this area unfortunately.
We are ending this perfect ride in the German Alps at a perfect location to have a view or even visit the other German highlight in this area besides riding in the area:
the Royal castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. More on both castles can be found above in the info on Füssen itself!
Ride 2
This is ride 2 of the German Alps motorcycle tour and we’re going to start of with riding a part of the Deutsche Alpenstrasse ánd the Romatische strasse. The Deutsche Alpenstrasse is going through Füssen and we aready did another part in our ride 1. The Romantische Strasse is the most popular tourist route in Germany, going from Würzburg to Füssen. The name the Romantische strasse refers to the feelings many tourists and visitors get when seeing the beautiful more than well-preserved medieval towns, churches, monasteries and beautiful castles. Well, romantic or not, it sure is a good start of this ride. Ride 2 is 225 km / 140 miles and going East of Füssen. And also in this ride we will be going into Austria for a short part of this ride, of course avoiding the restrictions in this area.
Bichl is a ski resort in winter giving access to the Mayrhofen ski area. We thought it was time for a coffee and found Café Bäckerei Eberl. It is closed on Tuesdays but
then there is a little café at the petrol station just down the road. And from here we will be following the Deutsche Alpenstrasse again right until our next stop!
We are leaving the Deutsche Alpenstrasse for a bit at the Fallerklam Brücke, but will be picking up another part later in the ride. Since Bad Tölz the ride has been following the river Isar which winds in a big curve up to the Sylvenstein dam. This Faller Klamm Brücke apparently is one of the most photographed motifs and it being the Deutsche Alpenstrasse one of the most popular panorama roads. So we added a stop at the parking for a KODAK moment. And right at the other side of the bridge you can find another viewpoint where you could also have a picnic for lunch. We were experiencing some really wet weather so had lunch at the next stop in this ride.
So we were still following the river Isar but the ride and the river will each be going their different ways from Wallgau, where we have added a stop if you prefer to have lunch here at a restaurant or imbiss at least. There is Hotel Post with a nice terrace, but that is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, or the Imbiss Sur Alten Sattlerei, where we had a nice currywurst mit pommes. From Wallgau we will be following the Deutsche Alpenstrasse for the last part of this ride.
If you fancy a drink or maybe another stretch of your legs, we have added another stop in Oberammergau to the GPX / ITN file. Oberammergau is famous for its folk art and passion plays with an interesting origin. The Thirty Years' War and the plague in the 1600’s killed almost the entire population of the village. The surviving inhabitants swore that if they were spared they would perform a play about the Passion of Christ. And from that day on, there were no more deaths and the villagers kept their word. And still every 10 years some 2000 people take part in the six-hour spectacle.
Go on your own QUAZY RIDE
You can download the GPX / ITN files of the rides and the full e-books via our roadtrip planner and then we hope you will enjoy the rides you will be doing in this Quazy Rides German Alps tour and your stay in Füssen.
If you are posting on social media, don't forget to tag Quazy Rides or use the #QuazyRides, because we LOVE to see you having fun with our rides.
