20km (12 miles) N of Garmisch-Partenkirchen

No one could ever accuse the residents of this pretty town set in a wide mountain valley of sitting around doing nothing. They put on a world-famous passion play every 10 years and in the meantime make intricate wood carvings and paint the fronts of their houses with utterly charming frescoes. You can stroll through this beehive of activity in about an hour, but you’ll want to spend most of your time here just outside of town at Schloss Linderhof, the most aesthetically pleasing of King Ludwig’s castles.