Bavaria does not lie by the sea — and hardly misses it. Between the edge of the Alps and the Danube hundreds of lakes glitter, and scarcely anything is as sacred to Bavarians as “their” water: the morning swim before work, the beer garden on the shore, the jump from the jetty into crystal-clear, often astonishingly cool depths. From the wide “Bavarian sea” to the still mountain lake in the Alps there is something for every longing — and on many shores a spa waits in the evening to round off the summer day. A small declaration of love in several chapters.
Bavaria's large lakes at a glance
Sorted by area — a click on the name leads directly to the portrait:
| Rank | Lake | Area | Distinction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Constance | 536 km² | Germany's largest lake (DE/AT/CH) |
| 2 | Chiemsee | 79.9 km² | The Bavarian sea, Herrenchiemsee |
| 3 | Lake Starnberg | 56.4 km² | Five Lakes region, Sisi & Ludwig II |
| 4 | Ammersee | 46.6 km² | Andechs Abbey, sailing waters |
| 5 | Walchensee | 16.3 km² | Turquoise green, up to 190 m deep |
| 6 | Tegernsee | 8.9 km² | The spa town of Bad Wiessee |
| 7 | Königssee | 5.2 km² | Deepest & cleanest lake (192 m) |
| 8 | Eibsee | 1.8 km² | Below the Zugspitze, crystal clear |
Lake Constance — the shared sea
At 536 square kilometres Lake Constance is the largest lake in Germany — and the most generous into the bargain, for it belongs to three countries at once: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A curiosity on the side: exactly where the border runs in the open Obersee, the three neighbours have never bindingly determined to this day. Each has its own legal view and all live perfectly well with it — the lake somehow belongs to everyone. Bavaria's window onto the “Swabian sea” is Lindau, whose old town lies on an island of its own; the famous harbour entrance is guarded by a stone lion and a lighthouse.
The Chiemsee — the Bavarian sea
So Lake Constance is shared — the Chiemsee is not. At 79.9 square kilometres it is the largest lake lying entirely in Bavaria, and precisely for that reason the locals carry it before them with visible pride as the “Bavarian sea”. Embedded in the Chiemgau, the Alps within reach, it holds two famous islands: the Herreninsel with the never-completed Herrenchiemsee Palace — the “Bavarian Versailles” of the fairy-tale king Ludwig II — and the Fraueninsel with its Benedictine convent more than a thousand years old, an artists' idyll and a fish smokehouse included.
The Tegernsee — wellness with tradition
No lake is as elegant and at the same time as homely as the Tegernsee. Around the deep blue basin line up fashionable places, well-kept lakeside promenades and hotels of the upmarket class. Its wellness tradition is genuine: in Bad Wiessee an abundant iodine-sulphur spring bubbles that made the place a spa town a good hundred years ago. Add a Bavarian matter of course — the quaffable Tegernsee beer from the Bräustüberl in the former monastery. Mountains, healing water and cosiness: at hardly any lake do active and restful holidays combine so effortlessly.
The Five Lakes region: Lake Starnberg and the Ammersee
Only half an hour south-west of Munich the Five Lakes region begins. Its star is Lake Starnberg: at 56 square kilometres the fifth-largest lake in Germany and, thanks to its depth of up to 128 metres, richer in water than any other after Lake Constance — and rich in history too, from Sisi's childhood in Possenhofen to the mysterious death of King Ludwig II near Berg. Right next door lies the quieter Ammersee, a paradise for sailors. Above it thrones the “holy mountain” with Andechs Abbey, whose monastery brewery has been rewarding pilgrims and hikers with freshly tapped beer for centuries.
Walchensee and Eibsee — the Bavarian Caribbean
Whoever considers “Caribbean” and “Bavaria” a contradiction has not yet been to the Walchensee. At an altitude of 802 metres its water shines turquoise green; at up to 190 metres it is one of the deepest lakes in Germany and so clear that divers can see many metres. Above it the Herzogstand invites you to a mountain tour. Its little brother, the Eibsee directly below the Zugspitze at around 1,000 metres, shines perhaps a shade greener still — crystal-clear water with tiny islands. Swimming and mountain hiking in one day? No problem here.
The Königssee — Bavaria's stillest jewel
Far to the south-east, squeezed between the sheer walls of the Watzmann, lies the Königssee — for many the loveliest lake in the country and at the same time the cleanest and deepest in Germany (up to 192 metres). So that it stays that way, only quiet electric and rowing boats have run here since 1909. With one of them you reach the world-famous pilgrimage church of St. Bartholomä with its red onion domes, lying picturesquely on a peninsula. A high point of every trip: the boat stops, a player sounds a horn — and the “echo wall” throws the notes back several times over.
And many more
The list is far from exhausted with that. The family-friendly Schliersee, the often particularly warm Staffelsee near Murnau with its seven islands, the Kochelsee at the foot of the Herzogstand, the high-alpine Spitzingsee above the Tegernsee or the Forggensee at the feet of Neuschwanstein Castle — Bavaria has a lake for almost every preference. That is precisely the appeal: here you never finish discovering new favourite shores.
Wellness by the lake
As different as the lakes are, they have one thing in common: they are what makes wellness complete. A day on the water — swimming, sailing, a boat trip, a walk along the shore — and afterwards sauna, massage and a rest room with a view into the green. Whoever is looking specifically for houses by the water can browse our topic special wellness by the lake.