edited:23.10.99 current for: 1999/2000

Winter holidays in Bavaria

Bavaria with ist four tourist regions - Allgäu/Bavarian Swabia, Franconia, Upper Bavaria and East Bavaria - presents itself to ist guests as the ideal country for winter holidays, being conveniently located for transport and easily and quickly accesible by road, rail and air.

Unique in ist diversity, Bavaria offers the grandeur of the winter mountain world and snow-covered, relaxing low mountain ranges, the foothills of the Alps under a white mantle of snow and extensive plains. It is especially Bavaria`s river and lake land-scapes which possess a special charm of their own in the cold season of the year and provide their visitors with the experience of unspoilt nature and relaxing tranquillity. 

There is a wide variety of opportunities to pursue winter sports in Bavaria. Traditionally the main emphasis is on Alpine and cross-country skiing on pistes and tracks off all degrees of difficulty, for beginners and old hands. The slopes in the Bavarian Alps (Allgäu/Bavarian Swabia and Upper Bavaria) between the winter sports resorts of Oberstdorf and Berchtes-gaden leave no skiiers` wishes unfulfilled: breakneck racing speeds for advanced skiers and leisurely down-hill runs for beginners and the less adventurous. International winter sports events enthral guests from all over the world. For cross-country skiers who appreciate a peaceful winter landscape thousands of kilometers of tracks have been marked out in the low mountain ranges of East Bavaria and Franconia. Ohter winter pleasures in Bavaria include ice skating and curling, sledging and winter hiking. 

For many winter guests in Bavaria, however, not only the snow conditions are important. There are attractive alternatives to an active skiing holiday which are not dependent on the weather: adventure baths and sports in the gym, fitness courses, health cures and the wide-ranging pro-grammes offered by the so-called "Häuser des Gastes", or Guest Centres.

It is especially on winter evenings that folk-dancing groups in their local costumes cultivate old customs that still live on. Precisely at this season of the year there is time to enjoy at your leisure folk music, sometimes rousing and sometimes serene, typical local food and drink and Bavarian hospitality.

Celebrating has always been an integral part of the Bavarian way of life, but at carnival time, called Fasching in Upper and East Bavaria and Franconia and Fasnacht in Allgäu/Bavarian Swabia, the motto "Live and let live" is put into practice. The tradition of `driving out the winter`, which goes back to heathen times, the old Bavarian liking for play acting, performing music and dancing distinguishes the local Bavarian pranks from, for example, the Carnival goings-on in the Rhineland.

Visiting museums, concerts and theatres is in Bavaria part of the popular winter pro-gramme in the towns for guests and the local population. And here the current trend towards the musical in the Bavarian towns in all four regions can, in the mean-time, not be `overheard`. Bavaria`s towns provide the visitor on a journey of discovery an impressive and characteristic picture of the country and its people.

Looking after your health as part of the holiday experience - wellness is `in`. More and more guests would like to do something for their physical and mental well-being while on holiday. During the winter the altogether 121 Bavarian curative spas and health resorts - with their different locations (in the lowlands, low mountains and the Alps), with their diverse treat-ments(thermal, mineral, curative springs, mud baths, climate), with special kinds of spa treatments according to Kneipp and Schroth - offer the best possible conditions for a salutary health holiday. Besides the classic and out-patient health cure, Bavaria`s spas and health resorts have developed a new kind of offer entitled "Health Time in Bavaria". This programme does not restrict the guests in any way. Body and mind find diversity in every form. The right combination of fitness and relaxation, of fun and sport, of nature and culture make these offers attractive for everyone.

"Winter Packages", special arrangements for city breaks, wellness and winter sports will also keep your holiday expenditure down to a minimum by giving excellent value for money.

To put you in the right mood for a winter holiday in Bavaria please ask the Bavarian Tourist Board for the brochure entitled "Winter in Bavaria - Recreation and Diversity".

Information obtinable from the

Bavarian Tourist Board
D-80535 Munich
Phone: ++49-98-21239730
Fax: ++49-89-293582

Bavarian Health Resorts Association
P.O.Box 1063, D-94066 Bad Füssing
Phone: ++49-8532-975590
Fax: ++49-8532-21367

Tourist Board of Allgäu/Bavarian Swabia
Fuggerstr. 9, D-86150 Augsburg
Phone: ++49-821-33335
Fax: ++49-821-38331

Tourist Board of Franconia
Fürtherstr. 21, D-90429 Nuremberg
Phone: ++49-911-264202
Fax: ++49-911-270547

Tourist Board of Munich-Upper Bavaria
Bodenseestr. 113, D-81243 Munich
Phone: ++49-89-8292180
Fax: ++49-89-82921828

Tourist Board of East Bavaria
Luitpoldstr. 20, D-93047 Regensburg
Phone: ++49-941-585390
Fax: ++49-941-5853939

Further information: