Bavaria

Holidays by Destination Europe Germany Bavaria 

Germany is not as yet an obvious choice for a family holiday, but football world cup publicity is putting the country on the tourist map, and those families who try the country come back enthused.

Like the British, Germans do not dote on children wily nilly, but they are aware of what they like and need, and they provide it. This is particularly true in Bavaria which sees more than two million families visiting every year.

The draw, along with an extraordinary number of family attractions, is some of the best family friendly accommodation Family Travel has seen; the level of provision and breadth of activities leaving even the best of UK family-friendly hotels looking feeble in comparison.

The draw is more than that though. The ?Free State' has the glossy quality that comes from prosperity (derived both from agriculture and companies like BMW and Siemens), and combines that with both a southerly in temperament ? Catholic rather than Protestant - and a German reliability about everything from swimming pools to public transport.

There are also vast forests, fairy tale castles, mediaeval cities, lakes and rolling hills, reaching the Alpine peaks. Picture postcard villages, churches and monasteries all add charm and styles ranging from fine baroque to kitsch, along with traditional peasant art.

The traditional tourism images do still exist. Locals really do wear Lederhosen, as well as more everyday versions of traditional clothes; they most definitely drink rather good beer; and they frequently listen to brass bands ? often combining all of these at one of the many local festivals.

And while some resorts are world-famous, other parts, for example in the Bavarian Forest, offer places to get away from it all much more cheaply.

Unless you speak good German a small dictionary or phrase book could be helpful. Although in even smaller towns you will find good English speakers, in the countryside there are fewer and many are not yet used to seeing non German speaking tourists ? though the local tourist office will always help.