We explored the Bavarian Swabia region as a family and were able to discover lots of sights and exciting experiences: beautiful old towns, majestic castles, imposing churches, cute animal encounters and great amusement parks. Our round trip took us through various towns such as Neu-Ulm, Augsburg, Wemding, Nördlingen, Dillingen an der Donau, Lauingen and Günzburg. We went on two alpaca hikes, visited Roggenburg Abbey and visited the LEGOLAND Deutschland theme park and the PEPPA PIG Park. Here you can find a summary of our detailed travel reports.
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Interesting facts about Bavarian Swabia
Bavaria plus Swabia makes Bavarian Swabia: That’s “where Bavaria speaks Swabian” 🙂 Bavarian Swabia includes the UNESCO World Heritage city of Augsburg and six other exciting regions. The region boasts a wealth of historic towns and a wide range of activities: churches, monasteries, castles and museums alternate with historic cityscapes and attractive family destinations. Many sights are connected by the Romantic Road, Germany’s most famous vacation route.
In addition, Bavarian Swabia is a diverse region for nature lovers: whether river hopping by bike, geological history in the Geopark Ries or the Bavarian-Swabian Way of St. James pilgrimage. To get to know the region better, it’s worth downloading the “Bavarian-Swabian Listening Tour App” onto your smartphone free of charge.
There are currently 21 listening tours throughout Bavarian Swabia, which you can listen to individually, regardless of opening times or guided tour dates. You are navigated from listening point to listening point via GPS and receive interesting information about the region and its sights.
The Bavarian Swabia region
Cities, castles & activities – the most beautiful places in Bavarian Swabia
The two-country city of Ulm/Neu-Ulm
“Where Bavaria is just one step away from Swabia” – this is the slogan used by the two-state city of Ulm/Neu-Ulm to promote itself.
As a medium-sized city, Ulm on the Baden-Württemberg side of the Danube, together with its young sister city Neu-Ulm on the Bavarian side of the Danube, is an attractive travel destination and a twin city of superlatives: it is home to the world’s tallest church tower, the world’s crookedest hotel and one of the largest preserved fortifications in Germany. From Ulm, it is worth making a detour to the Blautopf in Blaubeuren (Baden-Württemberg), which is located around 20 km west of Ulm on the eastern edge of the Swabian Alb.
You can find our detailed travel report about Ulm/Neu-Ulm with many more photos here.
The Roggenburg Monastery
Founded in 1126 and located around 30 km south-east of Ulm, Roggenburg Monastery is a canon monastery of the Premonstratensian order. Today, the monastery grounds are home to an educational center, a museum, a monastery store and a monastery garden with an ivy labyrinth and herb garden. At the center is the monastery church “Mariä Himmelfahrt”, completed in 1758, one of the most important rococo buildings in Bavarian Swabia.
You can find our detailed travel report about Roggenburg Abbey with many more photos here.
An alpaca hike with Sajama Lama
Woolly fur, big brown googly eyes and a friendly look: It doesn’t take a minute to take alpacas to your heart ❤ Walking with alpacas is a very special adventure that you can experience here in Bavarian Swabia at the llama and alpaca farm Sajama Lama. To get to know the llamas and alpacas a little better, we went into their enclosure and were greeted warmly.
As we had a few treats for the little guys in our hands, the animals weren’t too shy. After the feeding session, we went for a 1.5-hour walk across meadows, fields and forest paths. When we got back to the enclosure, we were able to watch the alpacas and llamas for a while and take a few souvenir photos. What a great experience!
You can find our detailed travel report about our alpaca hike with many more photos here.
The UNESCO city of Augsburg
Augsburg is a large city in the southwest of Bavaria and has around 300,000 inhabitants. This makes it the third largest city in Bavaria after Munich and Nuremberg. The city is characterized by its Roman roots and the Fugger and Welser trading dynasties.
With more than 2,000 years of history, it is the oldest city in Bavaria and the second oldest city in Germany after Trier. Several magnificent Renaissance buildings in the city justify its nickname as the “northernmost city in Italy”. Since July 2019, Augsburg has been able to boast the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site. The people of Augsburg have earned this distinction thanks to their historic water management system, the “Augsburg Water Management System”, which includes 22 monuments – canals, waterworks, hydroelectric power plants and monumental fountains.
You can find our detailed travel report about Augsburg with many more photos here.
Harburg Castle
Harburg Castle is located on the Romantic Road and is one of the largest, oldest and best-preserved castle complexes in southern Germany. The history of the former Staufer imperial castle dates back to 1150. It is particularly remarkable that the Harburg has survived numerous sieges, battles and wars over the centuries. It once served as a residence and seat of government for rulers and as a reception venue for imperial and royal celebrities. A one-hour guided tour of the castle gave us an insight into the past and illustrated the history of the very well-preserved complex.
You can find our detailed travel report about Harburg Castle with many more photos here.
The fuchsia and pilgrimage town of Wemding
Wemding is a tranquil town with just under 6,000 inhabitants in Bavarian Swabia, located on the edge of the Ries crater formed by a meteorite impact.,Due to its location, the town is part of the Ries Geopark, the Donau-Ries vacation region and the Altmühltal Nature Park.,Wemding is known nationwide as a pilgrimage town and fuchsia town. The view from the air is also special, as the old town of Wemding is surrounded by a circular town wall dating back to the 14th century.
You can find our detailed travel report about Wemding with many more photos here.
The medieval town of Nördlingen & the Nördlinger Ries
“The most beautiful corners are round” – this is the slogan with which the town of Nördlingen, located on the “Romantic Road”, advertises itself and its impressive town wall, which can be walked around and is unique in Germany.
Nördlingen is a district town in the Swabian district of Donau-Ries and is located in the Nördlinger Ries, the impact crater of a meteorite that struck here 15 million years ago. Nördlingen became known worldwide through scientific research into the Ries event. On the 4.8 km long historical tour, which is very well signposted, we were able to explore the town more closely and get to know the most important buildings and sights.
You can find our detailed travel report about Nördlingen with many more photos here.
The town of Dillingen an der Donau
Dillingen an der Donau is located in the Bavarian administrative district of Swabia and has a population of around 19,000. The small town is located in the Danube valley in the Bavarian Swabia vacation region, roughly halfway between the major cities of Augsburg and Ulm, which gives it a strategically favorable location in the heart of southern Germany. The most famous sights in Dillingen include the imposing Dillingen Castle, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Golden Hall in the former Jesuit College. We spent the night in Dillingen and explored the town in one day.
You can find our detailed travel report about Dillingen an der Donau with many more photos here.
The town of Lauingen an der Donau
The town of Lauingen an der Donau has around 11,000 inhabitants and stretches along the north bank of the Danube, around 40 kilometers northwest of Augsburg and 90 kilometers northeast of Ulm. Lauingen’s most famous sights include the walk-in mold tower, the parish church of St. Martin with its striking tower and the Albertus Magnus monument, which commemorates the famous scholar. Another highlight is Lauingen Castle, which was built in the Renaissance style and is now home to the Elisabethenstiftung foundation.
You can find our detailed travel report about Lauingen with many more photos here.
The town of Günzburg
Günzburg is located in the Swabian part of Bavaria and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Danube and Günz. This location in Bavarian Swabia makes the town an important hub between larger cities such as Ulm and Augsburg. The Danube city offers its 22,000 inhabitants and visitors from all over the world a wide range of sights and leisure activities. Particularly noteworthy is the medieval town center with its well-preserved historic buildings and narrow streets, as well as the striking Günzburg Castle, which was built in the Baroque style. There are also two amusement parks, LEGOLAND Deutschland and PEPPA PIG Park, which guarantee plenty of fun and action. Nature lovers will get their money’s worth in the surrounding forests and on the banks of the Danube, where numerous hiking and cycling trails invite you to explore.
You can find our detailed travel report about Günzburg with many more photos here.
LEGOLAND Deutschland Resort
LEGOLAND Deutschland Resort is a leisure and theme park resort in Günzburg, Bavaria. The theme park in the Bavarian Swabian vacation region is aimed at families with children aged 2 to 12 years and offers a variety of experiences in different areas, for which over 57 million Lego bricks have been used. With around 1.7 million visitors a year, LEGOLAND Günzburg is one of the best-known and most popular theme parks in Germany. Opened in 2002, the theme park offers exciting and fun experiences for adults and children with 68 attractions and rollercoasters.
Since June 2008, LEGOLAND Deutschland Resort has also included the world’s first LEGOLAND vacation village with various accommodation options. Whether you spend the night in the new Forest Adventure Lodge, in the NINJAGO quarters, on a pirate island, in a knights’ and princesses’ castle or in a camping barrel – all the accommodation is exceptional and designed with great attention to detail.
You can find our detailed travel report on LEGOLAND Deutschland with many more photos here.
PEPPA PIG Park Germany
PEPPA PIG Park Germany is located in the Bavarian Swabia vacation region near Günzburg, directly opposite the LEGOLAND theme park. Since 19 May 2024, you can immerse yourself in the colorful world of Peppa Wutz and her friends and experience lots of fun. After the PEPPA PIG theme park in Florida, which we visited last year, it is the second independent park in the world where everything revolves around the pink pig family. It is even the first of its kind in Europe. PEPPA PIG Park Germany has five rides suitable for small children, countless themed playgrounds, a cinema, family-friendly dining options and a stage with great shows as well as meet & greets with the Wutz family.
You can find our detailed travel report on PEPPA PIG Park Germany with many more photos here.
An alpaca hike with ‘Alpacas in the Donaumoos’
A special experience for us and our children in Bavarian Swabia was to go hiking with alpacas at ‘Alpakas im Donaumoos’. A total of 47 alpacas live here on the farm and we were allowed to go for a walk with two of them: At our side were the two boys Bonito and Callado. From the farm, we walked through the picturesque surroundings of the Donaumoos. The owner, Jochen, told us lots of interesting facts about alpacas, e.g. how to lead them, how to look after them and how they live. Bonito and Callado were super sweet, so that even our older daughter was allowed to lead an alpaca with our help without any problems. She was so proud and couldn’t get the grin off her face 😉
You can find our detailed travel report on our alpaca hike with lots more photos here.
