Experience the best of Füssen

Füssen lies in the Allgäu, in the far south of Bavaria, where the Lech River leaves the Alps and the Austrian border is only a few kilometres away. Its medieval centre has narrow lanes, painted houses and the High Castle, whose walls are decorated with painted windows, while the baroque monastery of St Mang stands beside the river. The town has long been a centre of lute and violin making.

Four kilometres away, the village of Hohenschwangau lies between two lakes, the Alpsee and the Schwansee, with two castles above it: Hohenschwangau, where King Ludwig II spent his youth, and the white fairy-tale Neuschwanstein, begun in 1869 and never finished. The Marienbrücke, a bridge over a gorge, gives the classic view of Neuschwanstein. The Forggensee reservoir offers walks, and the Wieskirche, a baroque pilgrimage church, lies to the north-east.

Allgäu cheese turns up in Kässpatzen, noodles baked with cheese and onions, alongside Obatzda, a spiced cheese spread, white sausage, pretzels and local beer. Summer is for hiking and swimming in the lakes, autumn colours the forests, and winter snow dusts the castle towers.