3 beautiful destinations to visit in German Allgaeu (south Bavaria)
Updated: Jan 6
A vacation in the Allgaeu is one thing above all: versatile. From a leisurely city trip, to a hike to wonderful waterfalls or a mountain tour with panoramic views - there really is a suitable excursion for everyone here.
You can find our three absolute highlights from our last trip to Allgaeu in this blog post.
Table of Content
1. Fuessen - a dreamlike city at river Lech & the fairy tale castle Neuschwanstein
If you are heading to Neuschwanstein Castle, you should definitely make a stop in the picturesque town of Füssen. Füssen is located on the Austrian border and is only about 4 km away from the world famous Neuschwanstein Castle.
In addition to the turquoise-colored Lech river, this small town in the Ostallgaeu region also offers a wonderful historic town with many restaurants and cafés. Strolling through the medieval alleys, Italian vacation flair comes up quickly.
Other sights in Fuessen include the Benedictine monastery of St. Mang, which houses the museum of the city of Füssen, and the Lech Falls - a 12-meter-high weir which was built in the 18th century, over whose five steps the Lech flows into a narrow gorge.
We recommend to enjoy the wonderful view of the Lech Falls from the "Maxsteg". Alternatively, you can cross the Maxsteg and continue on a small hiking trail. This is also where our picture was taken.
We parked on a small, free parking lot in front of the Lechbrücke and were on foot from then on (we have linked our parking spot for you on our map above).
If you come to Fuessen only because you want to see the Lechfall, you can try to get one of the few parking spaces directly at the Lechfall.
Fairytale castle Neuschwanstein
The fairy-tale castle Neuschwanstein is one of the most famous sights in Germany and was built in 1884 by the Bavarian King Ludwig II. The castle was fitted with the latest technology of the time. Which included an electric bell system for servants, central heating system and telephones.
Unfortunately King Ludwig died before the castle was finished.
Neuschwanstein Castle is an absolute tourist hotspot and very popular with visitors from all around the world. For this reason, we have sought a somewhat less frequented angle on the most famous building of the Allgaeu.
Compared to the years before Corona, however, tourism is now still relatively humane - if you have the opportunity: better visit the castle before all travel restrictions have been lifted again.
2. Buchenegger Wasserfälle
Probably the most famous and, from our point of view, also the most beautiful waterfalls in the Oberallgaeu are the Buchengger waterfalls. These are located in the small community of Oberstaufen in the high alpine "Oberallgaeu".
What makes these waterfalls so special is best seen from above: over the millennia, two "natural pools" (or "Gumpen" in Allgäu jargon) have formed.
During the summer months, many people jump into the ice-cold water here from heights of 17 and 30 meters, respectively.
The lower "pool" is up to 5 meters deep - nevertheless, a jump is not completely safe, as the water level fluctuates from time to time.
How to get to the Buchenegg waterfalls?
The Buchenegg waterfalls are insanely difficult to reach by car, as the access road to Buchenegg is largely closed. In addition, it is aggravating that you can hardly park near the waterfalls. This is pointed out by several signs of the municipality and residents.
Directly in front of the small forest, which leads you to the Buchenegg waterfalls is a parking lot. However, only people with a disabled pass are allowed to park here.
We had not informed ourselves well enough in advance, so we did not know this right than. For a short time we even thought we would now have to break off and turn back.
Finally, however, we met purely by chance a local resident who allowed us to park our car on his property.
That was our great luck - especially because it was very early in the morning, because we actually wanted to be at the Buchenegg waterfalls already for sunrise.
Hike to the Buchenegg waterfalls
The actual route to the Buchenegg Waterfalls is via one of three different hikes:
Either starting from Buchenegg (steep serpentine path from the Hündlebahn parking lot near Oberstaufen).
Or two different hiking routes starting from Steibis (parking lot Imbergbahn).
Since we didn't walk either of the hikes ourselves, we can't tell you more about them and can only refer you to our source for more information.
Our experience at the Buchenegg waterfalls
From our "parking lot" we had about a 1.5 km walk to the Buchenegg waterfalls. These are located within a small forest, which you have to hike down along a path. At the beginning you can't see the waterfalls yet, but you can hear them!
As soon as you arrive at the waterfalls, a view like in a jungle paradise opens up to you, but in the middle of the Allgaeu.
Despite bad weather, a gigantic sight!
3. To the sunrise at mountain lake Schrecksee
Our hike to the Schrecksee is undoubtedly one of our most beautiful nature experiences ever. Nestled in the middle of the nature reserve of the Allgaeu High Alps you can visit a gigantic mountain lake at an altitude of over 1,800m on the border between Germany and Austria.
But how to get to the Schrecksee?
At 865m altitude, in the middle of the Allgaeu, you can find the very original village Hinterstein. From here you start at the (payable) hiking parking lot "Auf der Höh" the rather demanding, altogether 17km long hiking route up to one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in Germany.
If you want to save a small part of the way (about 3km), you can take the bus and get driven to the bus stop "Auele". For us, however, this was out of the question, because we wanted to arrive at the Schrecksee already at sunrise and at 2:45 in the morning there are no buses yet :-)
Should you also start before sunrise, please do not forget your head flashlight, this is really essential to get safely to the destination. A cell phone flashlight is not an appropriate alternative.
From the parking lot you walk the first part along a gravel path next to a pasture. Here you can already hear the first cowbells. In the dark it feels completely different.
The dirt road finally ends and you will find a tarred road in front of you. When you pass an electricity plant after a while, you know you're on the right track.
Shortly after the electricity plant (on the left side) you will find some signposts, which also indicate that you are on the way to Schrecksee, further there is a little turnstile, which you have to pass.
From here the actual hike starts, which begins quite steeply. On the partly narrow gravel paths, good hiking shoes really pay off.
If you go up the path in the dark (at your own risk!) this is like a real adventure: In the cone of light of our flashlight we have felt our way up step by step.
At this ungodly hour it is still totally quiet up on the mountain, even the cows on the pasture are still sleeping and were a little astonished when, awakened by our steps and the light of our flashlight, they discovered the first hikers of the day.
At this time of day one should therefore behave particularly quietly and respectfully in order not to frighten any animal. Try to disturb them as little as possible.
During a short break we took a look at the sky and were flashed by the moon and the billions and billions of stars that were shining towards us. At this time we agreed that getting up at 1 o'clock in the morning was absolutely worth it. You simply have to have experienced something like that in your life!
After about 3 hours of hiking and the one or other detour, we were at the top of the mountain even before sunrise and could look for a suitable photo location without having to rush.
Accompanied by the distant roaring of the deer, we were allowed to experience the most beautiful sunrise that you can imagine in the best weather. Even a few chamois have shown themselves.
After being the only human beings at the summit for more than 2 hours, the first hikers were now arriving peu à peu and we got ready for the descent again after a short breakfast on the mountain.
We found the descent much more strenuous than the ascent. Trekking poles would certainly have been helpful to relieve the knees a little. When we finally arrived at our car, we were not 10min on the road when we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a local "Almabtrieb" with hundreds of cows. This has of course delayed the way back considerably, but was in any case nice to watch.
Something to mention: at sunrise in September at an altitude of over 1,800m it is quite cool at the summit. If you are also heated up from the climb, it can quickly become quite cold. We were not so well prepared for this, but fortunately had our Hamaka hammock with us, in which we have temporarily wrapped and thus warmed up :-)
4. What does a vacation in the Allgaeu cost?
All of our here described trips where free of charge - you only need money for parking, food and gas. For our visit to Neuschwanstein Castle, we paid 8€ for the parking tag (the 8€ parking fee is for 6 hours, each additional hour is extra) RVs pay 10.50€ for the same period. If you want to visit the fairy tale castle from the inside there is an entrance fee of 15€ per adult (children under 18 don't have to pay).
If you want to hike to the Buchenegg waterfalls, you can park for free at the parking lot "Hündlebahn" in Oberstaufen, the entrance to the Buchenegg waterfalls is also free of charge.
For a hike to the Schrecksee mountain lake you have to pay 2.50€ parking fee for the hiking parking lot "Auf der Höh" (1-day park ticket). If you use the bus for the first part of the route, there will probably also be costs here. On the summit there is no hut to stop at, which means you have to take your own provisions. On the way back, however, you can eat in a restaurant at the electricity plant.
What are your favorite destinations in the Allgäu? Feel free to tell us in the comments below this post or via the contact form!
