Vivir en Baviera

Welcome to a quality and way of life which have made Bavaria one of the world’s favorite areas in which to live, work and vacation.

This traits constitute one key reason why so many companies and so many high-skills persons flock to move to Bavaria. And the willingness of the companies to go to and grow in Bavaria and of personnel to be recruited to work in Bavaria explain, in turn, the state’s ability to sustain Germany-best rates of growth.

In addition to the high rates of growth and the high levels of prosperity and potential which they produce, this quality of life is comprised of the state’s unspoiled and surpassingly beautiful countryside and the time-crafted villages dotting them. Like Bavaria’s charming and cosmopolitan cities, these villages are home to the traditions, festivities and cuisines making life in Bavaria so rich and memorable.

Other components of Bavaria’s quality of life are to be experienced everywhere in the state: performing arts at their best (in 40 concert halls, theaters and opera houses, each with a world-famous ensemble and many forming part of the state’s renowned festivals), the finest in the visual arts (showcased in the 1,200 museums in the state) and architecture (more than 100,000 castles, cathedrals and other buildings in the state have been placed under conservation schemes), and open-hearted and generous hospitality.
The best ways to experience all this: come to Bavaria for an unforgettable day, stay for a week or a month of memorable highlights—and make sure that your visit includes one of our world-famous fests.

Celebrating the highlights of the state’s long history and living traditions, these fests include those in Landsberg am Lech (Ruethenfest), Dinkelsbühl (Kinderzeche), Kaufbeuren (Tänzelfest), Furth (Drachenstich) and especially Nuremberg. Its Christmas market is a worldwide draw—as is another fest in the state—Munich’s Oktoberfest. Its six million visitors make it the largest of its kind in the world. Other favorites are Straubing’s Gäubodenfest, Augsburg’s Plärrer, Nuremberg’s Bards’ Fest.

The best way to visit these festivals and the communities hosting them: make your way down one of the state’s “Roads”. Prime among them: the Romantic Road. Running from Lower Franconia to the southern Allgäu region, it links many of the world’s most celebrated and picturesque cities and regions: from Würzburg (whose edifices eloquently testify to the magnificence of the Baroque era) and, via the Vale of the Tauber, to Rothenburg ob der Tauber; and from there on to the Pfaffenwinkel, a favorite with the world’s landscape artists, and the royal castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein.

Bavaria’s Alps are one of the world’s favorite sights—and places to prove your mettle. In summer, the mountains are scaled by climbers and hikers. In winter, their snowy slopes and valleys are musts for downhill and crosscountry skiers. Making their ways through the mountains are more than 100 long-distance cycling trails. Nestled at the base of the mountains are the pristine lakes so popular with sailors, windsurfers and swimmers.

Also at home in the state are big-time sports and sporting events. Staged in 2006, football’s World Cup will be followed in 2011 by its skiing counterpart.

After reading the above, it’s easy to why Bavaria is Germany’s leading tourist destination. Each year, more than 25 million people—or one fifth of the country-wide total—visit the state.