The best driving roads in Bavaria

Bavaria is the gateway to alpine driving for anyone flying into Munich. Within an hour of MUC you're on the Deutsche Alpenstrasse threading the foothills; within three you're at the Stelvio. The region itself has more to offer than just transit, though: the Alpenstrasse from Lindau to Berchtesgaden is a proper 450-kilometre scenic route, and the small back roads through Berchtesgadener Land and the Allgäu reward unhurried exploration.

What Bavaria does best is combine. A long autobahn morning out of Munich on the A9, then south onto the Alpenstrasse, then across into Tyrol or South Tyrol — that sequence is one of the great European driving compositions. Surfaces are German-good throughout. The autobahn approaches keep your average speed up; the alpine connectors give you the corners.

Munich is the natural base. Garmisch-Partenkirchen works for the Zugspitze approach. For the eastern end, Berchtesgaden puts you on the Rossfeldpanoramastrasse and a short hop to the Salzburg autobahn. Build a four-day Bavaria-and-borders trip and you'll cover terrain that would take a week elsewhere.