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Bavaria with Kids

Bavaria is the region that lets a family stay in one place and still see three different kinds of trip. Munich is a compact, green city with one of the largest science museums in the world; the Alps, the lakes and Legoland are all inside a two-hour radius on regional trains; and the castles at Hohenschwangau are the image most children already have of Germany. The trade-off is Neuschwanstein itself, which is a half-day round trip, a steep uphill approach and a timed ticket, in exchange for an interior tour of about half an hour.

Best for ages
3+
Suggested stay
4–7 days
Best months
May–Sep, Dec
Daily budget
€280

Mid-range, family of four

Why Bavaria works with children

  • One base covers the whole region

    Munich's S-Bahn and regional trains reach the lakes in under an hour and the Alpine towns in under two, so hotels do not have to change.

  • The age range is genuinely covered

    Legoland and the museum children's zone for under-eights, castles and mountain railways for older children, and city districts that suit teenagers.

  • Beer gardens work as family restaurants

    Bavarian beer gardens allow visitors to bring their own food to the self-service areas, and most of the large ones have a playground beside the tables.

  • Swimmable lakes on a train line

    Starnberger See and Tegernsee have public lidos and gentle shorelines, and both are reachable without a car.

  • Castles that need no explanation

    Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau sit on facing hillsides above a lake, which lands visually before any history is introduced.

Where to stay

Best areas in Bavaria for families

4 areas cover most trips here; the difference is mainly first visits and walkable days versus mountain and lake days.

  • Munich Altstadt and Isarvorstadt

    Best for first visits and walkable days

    Central, flat and within walking distance of the market, the river and the main squares, with the widest choice of apartments. The most expensive part of the city, and noisy on summer weekends.

  • Munich Hauptbahnhof and Ludwigsvorstadt

    Best for day trips and value

    Every regional train and airport service starts here, which shortens the Alpine and Legoland days by half an hour at both ends. Cheaper rooms, but a scruffier immediate neighbourhood after dark.

  • Fuessen and Schwangau

    Best for an early start at the castles

    Staying overnight below Neuschwanstein converts a five-hour round trip from Munich into a short morning walk to the first ticket slots. Very quiet in the evening and dependent on hotel kitchens for dinner.

  • Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Tegernsee

    Best for mountain and lake days

    Cable cars, gorges and lidos on the doorstep, and a genuine change of scenery from the city. Journeys back to Munich run about ninety minutes, so this is a second base rather than a day trip.

Family hotel picks in Bavaria

  • Apartment near the Isar in central Munich
    Isarvorstadt / AltstadtMid-range

    Apartment near the Isar in central Munich

    A two-bedroom apartment costs less than two hotel rooms, adds a kitchen and a washing machine for a two-week trip, and puts the river path, the market and the science museum within walking distance so the transport day starts later.

    • Kitchen and washing machine
    • Walking distance to the Deutsches Museum and the old town
    • Tram and S-Bahn within a few minutes
    • River meadows and playgrounds along the Isar

    Fitting a family in

    Two-bedroom units sleep four to five without a rollaway. Listings described as one bedroom plus a sofa bed are the ones to check carefully, because many are studios in practice.

    Watch out. Many older blocks have a small lift or none at all, which matters on a fourth floor with a pushchair and suitcases. Rates across the whole city climb steeply during the mid-September to early-October festival weeks.

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  • Village guesthouse room below the castles
    Fuessen / SchwangauMid-range

    Village guesthouse room below the castles

    Staying overnight below Neuschwanstein turns a five-hour round trip from Munich into a short walk to the first ticket slots of the morning, which is the difference between an easy castle day and an exhausting one.

    • Walking or short bus distance to the castle ticket centre
    • Family rooms and adjoining rooms are standard in this area
    • Breakfast usually included
    • Lake swimming and flat valley cycle paths nearby

    Fitting a family in

    Village guesthouses commonly offer a family room sleeping four, often with a separate small bedroom. Confirm whether a cot or third bed is charged per night.

    Watch out. These villages empty out after the last coach leaves and there is very little open in the evening. Many guesthouse kitchens stop serving early and take one closing day a week, so dinner has to be planned rather than found.

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All family stays in Germany

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Things to do in Bavaria with kids

  • Neuschwanstein Castle
    CultureBook ahead

    Neuschwanstein Castle

    Bavaria

    The nineteenth-century hillside castle above Hohenschwangau that most children already recognise, with the neighbouring Hohenschwangau castle and a lake on the valley floor below it.

    Ages
    5–16
    Time
    5h
    Adult, from
    €21

    Good to know. Entry is a timed, non-transferable online slot and there is effectively no on-the-day option in summer. From the ticket centre it is a steep 1.5 km climb of around thirty to forty minutes, or a shuttle bus or horse carriage that still leaves a walk. The guided interior tour lasts roughly half an hour, covers a handful of rooms, involves many stairs and does not allow pushchairs. The Marienbruecke viewpoint closes in ice and high wind.

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  • Legoland Deutschland
    Theme parkBook ahead

    Legoland Deutschland

    Bavaria

    A Lego-themed park at Guenzburg, about ninety minutes from Munich by regional train and shuttle, built around gentle rides, build zones and a large miniature-model park.

    Ages
    3–11
    Time
    8h
    Adult, from
    €50

    Good to know. Aimed squarely at under-twelves, so teenagers tend to run out of interest by mid-afternoon. A large share of rides sit at 1.00 to 1.20 metres or require an accompanying adult, and the park closes for the winter, reopening in spring.

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  • Deutsches Museum, Munich
    Museum

    Deutsches Museum, Munich

    Bavaria

    One of the largest science and technology museums in the world, on an island in the Isar, with aircraft, ships, mining tunnels and a separate hands-on zone for younger children.

    Ages
    3–16
    Time
    5h
    Adult, from
    €15

    Good to know. Too large to see in one visit, so it is worth choosing two or three halls in advance. Parts of the building have been closed in rotation for a long modernisation programme. The children's area has its own capacity limit and can be full at busy times.

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Getting around Bavaria

Munich's MVV covers trams, buses, U-Bahn and S-Bahn on one zonal ticket; children under six travel free and six to fourteen pay a reduced fare. The Bayern-Ticket covers up to five travellers across the whole state on regional trains and local transport for a day, which is the cheapest way to reach Legoland, the lakes or the castles. It is not valid on ICE or IC services, and on weekdays it does not start until 09:00, so an early castle slot has to be ticketed separately.

Bavaria tips for families

  • When to go

    Book the castle slot before booking anything else that day

    Neuschwanstein entry is a timed, online, non-transferable slot, and the day has to be built backwards from it: a train to Fuessen, a bus to Hohenschwangau, then thirty to forty minutes uphill on foot or a shuttle that still leaves a walk at the top. Missing the slot means missing the interior entirely.

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  • Food

    Bring lunch to the beer garden

    In the self-service sections it is normal and permitted to eat food brought from outside, provided drinks are bought on site. With four or five people that turns an expensive meal into a bakery stop, and the large gardens have playgrounds in sight of the tables.

  • When to go

    Check the Oktoberfest dates before booking

    The festival runs from mid-September to the first days of October and distorts the whole city: room rates climb steeply, family rooms disappear months ahead and the transport around the grounds is crowded from the afternoon onwards. Families who do want to see it should go on a weekday afternoon, when the funfair side is calmest.

  • Packing

    Treat the cable cars as weather-dependent

    Alpine cable cars stop for high wind and thunderstorms, often at short notice on a summer afternoon, and the temperature at the top can be fifteen degrees below the valley. Warm layers travel in the day bag even in August, and a gorge or a lido works as the fallback.

Bavaria with kids: common questions

How many days do you need in Bavaria with kids?
Four to seven. Four covers Munich, the castles and one lake or mountain day. Seven adds Legoland, a second Alpine day and a slower pace, which matters because the castle and Legoland days are both long ones.
Is Neuschwanstein worth it with young children?
The setting is, the interior often is not. The approach is a steep uphill walk or a shuttle, the guided tour runs about thirty minutes and covers a handful of rooms, and pushchairs cannot go in. Families with under-fives frequently get more out of the lakeside path, the Marienbruecke viewpoint and skipping the interior ticket.
Do you need a car in Bavaria?
No. Munich, Fuessen, Guenzburg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the main lakes are all on regional lines covered by a single group day ticket, and Munich parking is expensive with a low-emission zone in the centre. A car only helps for the smaller Alpine valleys.
Munich or Fuessen as a base for the castles?
Munich for a trip with more than one focus, Fuessen or Schwangau for a night if the castles matter most. Staying below the castles buys the first morning slots and removes a five-hour round trip, at the cost of an evening with very little open.
What is there to do in Munich if it rains?
The Deutsches Museum absorbs a full day on its own, and the city also has a large transport museum, an aquarium and covered markets. Rain is the day to move Legoland or the Alps and use the indoor list instead.

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