LAKE STARNBERGER SEE AND LAKE AMMERSEE – TRIPS TO THE FIVE LAKE

Guests on a bathing jetty at Lake Ammersee in the vicinity of Munich.

Munich is characterised not only by its many cultural and leisure activities in the city, it is also in the perfect location with its close proximity to the Alps and some of the most beautiful lakes in Bavaria.

Munich is characterised not only by its many cultural and leisure activities in the city, it is also in the perfect location with its close proximity to the Alps and some of the most beautiful lakes in Bavaria.

The Five Lakes Region is one of the most well-known and popular tourist destinations in Bavaria. It constitutes the area around Lake Starnberger See, Lake Ammersee, Lake Wörthsee, Lake Pilsensee and Lake Weßlingsee and provides an ideal local recuperation region for the people of Munich for weekend and day trips.

Lake Starnberger See and Lake Ammersee are the two largest of them, and they can each be reached in a good half an hour from Munich.

Lake Starnberger See – the prince’s lake with its special charm

As the fifth largest lake in Germany and, after Lake Chiemsee, the second biggest lake in Bavaria, Lake Starnberger See is not only a popular trip destination for many people from Munich and tourists from all over Bavaria, it has also become the chosen home of many wealthy urbanites because of its beautiful panoramas and view of the Alps as well as its proximity to Munich. Numerous old villages with a lake view and picturesque castles decorate the banks of the lake, which is why access to the beach is usually only possible through private land. The lake is also famous because of the mysterious death of King Ludwig II, who is said to have drowned in the lake close to the village Berg in 1886.

A Playground for Leisure Seekers

Lake Starnberger See additionally offers many leisure opportunities for sightseers and visitors. The so-called “bathing spot paradise” between the small towns of Pöcking and Possenhofen with sunbathing areas, swimming piers, barbecuing facilities, and a volleyball court, as well as a separate beach area for wind surfing, is a popular place for old and young to spend a lovely summer day. Additionally, there are many surfing and sailing schools, boat hire shops and outside swimming pools, as well as a 46km long looping path for hiking and biking around the lake, thus there is something on offer for every sort of leisure seeker.

On Lake Starnberger See there are also six motor boats from the Bavarian lake boat trips available and they offer round trips, liner trips and special excursions in the summer months. The “MS Phantasie” sails from the pier in Starnberg to the beautiful Bavarian village Bernried. This little village is always worth a trip with its old wooden houses, the St. Martin parish church, and the Fantasy Museum with the expressionist collection of Lothar-Günther Buchheim. The piers of the village Berg, with King Ludwig II’s castle Berg, the Tutzing pier with the Guggerhof from the 16 century, and the Kustermann Park are popular starting points for an eventful day at Lake Starnberger See.

Getting there from the Platzl Hotel Munich

Lake Starnberger See is easy to reach from the Platzl Hotel Munich. You can either drive there by car in around 30 minutes on the A7 in the direction of Garmisch, or take the S6 from Marienplatz in Munich, which goes to the Tutzing station every 20 minutes daily in around 50 minutes.

Lake Ammersee – where nostalgia meets the present

Lake Ammersee is the third biggest lake in Bavaria. It was formed around 14,000 years ago by melting glaciers in the Ice Age. It belongs to the county of Landsberg am Lech and comprises a surface area of 47 km² and it offers a large selection of water sports, leisure time, culture and tradition in the beautiful Nature of the Lake Ammer region.

Abundant Recreational Opportunities

Lake Ammersee is the ideal place to take a day trip with the whole family on a warm, sunny day. The many beach sunbathers, cosy beer gardens, and the beautiful biking and hiking trails around the lake attract many visitors on the weekends. Family friendly hikes, such as the discovery hike through the Burgwald to Dießen, for example, is an exciting experience for nature and forest enthusiasts of every age. But the surfing and sailing fans are also guaranteed to get their money’s worth with the favourable wind conditions.

The nostalgic steam boat trips are also especially popular on Lake Ammersee. The season of the five passenger ships of the Bavarian lake boat trips begins after Easter. The “RMS Herrsching,” a paddle steamer which invokes nostalgic feelings, the “RMS Dießen,” a paddle wheel steamer for romantic lake journeys, as well as three motor boats belong to the Lake Ammersee fleet. There are piers in Schondorf, Utting, Holzhausen, Riederau, Dießen, Herrsching, Breitbrunn, Buch and Stegen where you can board from and either buy a one-way or round trip tickets. A special insider tip is the boat trip from Westufer to Herrsching, from where you can make the approximately one hour hike to the Andechs Abbey. You can enjoy there a delicious Bavarian snack and a fresh Andechs beer in the Abbey’s beer garden with its Benedict hospitality and Bavarian cosiness.

Getting there from Platzl Hotel Munich

Lake Ammersee can be reached from the Platzl Hotel Munich by car in about 40 minutes on the A 96 in the direction of Lindau to Herrsching on Lake Ammersee. To avoid parking problems and heavy traffic, the S-Bahn travels every 20 minutes daily from Marienplatz to Herrsching with a journey time of around 50 minutes.