Beer and Bikes in Upper Bavaria’s Chiemsee Region

The Chiemsee Region of Upper Bavaria

Sunlight twinkles on the rippling waves, the lapping of water against the shore the only sound as I dangle my legs over the jetty and snack on pastries. Chiseled mountains rise up across the lake, framing emerald fields and chalets dotting the meadows. I take one last look at all the colourful canoes and sailboats, get back on my bike, and follow the call of freshwater fish dishes and regional beer.

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Like the Alps just to the south, the Chiemsee is ideal for those who like to work up an appetite before tucking into their beer and regional cuisine. Lakeside strolls are an ever-popular pastime, but if you’re up for the ride, the best way to see the Chiemsee is by bike.

Even if you doubt your fitness level, don’t worry. E-bikes are huge in Europe, so you won’t have much problem zipping around the lake on this relatively flat 60-kilometer trail. And if two-wheeled travel still doesn’t appeal, there’s always the seasonal bus that circumnavigates the lake. You’ll still get a feel for the lakeside towns and villages, and might even have time left over for a boat ride across to one of the Chiemsee’s islands.

Around the Chiemsee by Bike

When I got to the train station in Freilassing on that crisp autumn morning, the platform was already full of early-rising hikers and cyclists who had the same idea as me. The short train ride from Freilassing to Chiemsee was filled with woods in the first blush of autumn and steel blue Alpine vistas with high peaks dusted in the season’s first snows. Half the train spilled out at Bernau-am-Chiemsee in a tangle of bikes and hiking poles. A minute later the station was as quiet as a Western set at high noon.

I wandered through Bernau in search of coffee and a few pastries for the ride, then ambled down to the bike rental shop along the lakeshore, the Alps at my back. I still didn’t have a set plan. Taking the boat to the Herreninsel and Fraueninsel islands sounded like a nice day out on the bike, but I didn’t really want to spend this fine fall day touring churches, convents, and palaces.*

*You can get the boat across to the Herreninsel to visit the opulent Schloss Herrenchiemsee, one of King Ludwig II’s palaces. Though incomplete, this palace meant to rival Versailles conveys a vivid impression of royal megalomania. Fun fact: The Altes Schloss, an erstwhile Augustinian monastery, is where Germany’s postwar constitution (Grundgesetz) was hammered out in 1948. (Source: Daniela Schetar, Oberbayern, 248).  

Once I got on the bike and felt the sunshine tempering the brisk autumn breeze, and once I started taking in the vistas across the silver-blue lake, the light glistening in dewy meadows, and the buzz of lakeside towns, it was settled: I decided to ride around the entire lake.

It’s not too far from Bernau to the harbour at Prien with its lively promenade and boats sailing hither and tither. Restaurants and stands selling the lake’s fresh catch abound, and there’s plenty of ice cream on warmer days. After a spell watching the miniature train carrying day trippers from the center of town, I got back onto the trail, by now packed with cyclists and walkers.

Around the lake and through woods and meadows the trail weaved, eventually arriving at the lakeside town of Gstadt. Lined with chalets and stands selling smoked fish, this picturesque town affords a wonderful view across to the Frauenchiemsee and the distinctive onion dome of the island’s monastery. The island is also home to the tiny Inselbräu Frauenchiemsee and its lakeside Bräustüberl.

I stopped to watch the sailboats bobbing like corks in the indigo water, then rounded the northwestern tip of the lake at the village of Seebruck with its old wooden church before continuing along to Hagenau on the edge of Grabenstätt. By now I was getting hungry.

Lunch Along the Lake: Chiemseefischer

An elegant celebration of the region’s lake and river bounties, the Chiemseefischer rises above the lake on an embankment with a fine view across to the Alps. (If you’re not using pedal power, get off the Chiemseeringlinie bus at Stop 17 or 18.) Fishing is the main motif on the beer garden terrace, while hunting trophies and a green-tiled Kachelofen inside the rustic tavern leave no doubt that this is a classic Bavarian Wirtshaus when the weather’s less warm.

Summer was making its last stand. I found a table on the terrace with a stellar view of the Alps floating like silhouettes in the hazy afternoon sunshine. The food menu covers all the Bavarian standards, but for me, the choice was simple: the Forelle nach Müllerin Art, pan-fried trout served with browned butter and potatoes. Hofbräu-Traunstein’s Dunkles Weißbier with its notes of toasted brown sugar, caramel, and spiced banana custard made for a particularly fine accompaniment to the trout.

Back to Bernau

Fortified, I got back on my bike and continued round the lake, passing through the myriad greens of the Hirschauer Bay nature preserve before coming upon the Autobahn. At this juncture you could take the bike path that hugs the southern lakeshore and you’d be back in Bernau in no time — a mere 7 kilometers, all flat. The downside here is that the Autobahn to Munich also hugs the southern lakeshore.

If you have the energy, take the long way — which I heartily recommend if you’re in decent shape or have an e-bike. Just continue up the hill beyond the small village of Übersee, its slender-spired parish church etched against the backdrop of the Kampenwand rock face and dwarfing the surrounding houses.

At some point you’ll pass a sign indicating an 18% gradient sloping downwards. What comes down must first go up. But you’ll be rewarded with beautiful views over the lake, along with an exhilarating ride through the woods and down into the peat flats past the old Torfbahnhof (peat train station). The trail meanders through the delicate ecologies of moors and marshland on the way back to Bernau at the end of the line.

The sun was low on the horizon by the time I stopped pedaling and walked back to the center of town, the sky over the meadows painted in sunset orange and rose. But the night was still young, so off I went by local train to Traunstein for evening beers at the Sailer Keller.

A Few Wirtshäuser

I’ve already mentioned the freshwater bounties at Chiemseefischer, but chances are you’ll be needing more than just a lunch and a few pastries to keep you going. Whether you’re in the Chiemsee region for cycling, hiking, or relaxing, here are a few more places worth seeking out.

Wondering what a Wirtshaus is? Check out this post.

Gasthof zum Alten Wirt, Bernau

Zum Alten Wirt is the center of village life. It resonates with the cheerful chatter of locals out for drinks, young couples out on dates, and groups of elderly folks playing card games into the wee hours. It’s a prodigiously large place, with Stuben off to each side of the vaulted breezeway where the occasional local sips on a drink. Paulaner/Hacker-Pschorr is the drink of choice, but you’ll also find a lean and crisp Pils from Auer Bräu in nearby Rosenheim.

D’Feldwies Wirtshaus, Übersee

This old inn just east of the lake is not far off the cycling path. Like the Wirtshaus in the center of Bernau, Feldwies is a village center. If the clientele doesn’t reflect the working class folks depicted in the paintings gracing the walls, it’s still not a Mercedes and Porsche crowd. It’s the kind of place where extended families congregate for a weekend meal, where hikers toast their day’s exertions, where young couples while away the evening underneath the hop garlands dangling from the heavy-beamed ceiling, comfortable in each other’s company.

You can’t go wrong with any of Hofbräuhaus-Traunstein’s beers. If you need a break from all the heavy fare of the region, opt for something like the satiating spinach Knödel with creamy sheep cheese, crunchy spinach, and tomato ragout made from sundried tomatoes.

Odds and Ends

The Chiemsee region isn’t far from Munich as the crow flies, but if you’re planning on riding a bike around the lake or doing any walking or hiking, it’s best to spend a night or two in the region. Ideally, you’ll want to bunk down in Bernau or Prien, or even Übersee, which is also serviced by local trains.

Rent your bike the night before so you can get an early start the next day. Fahrradverleih Fritz Müller (bike rental) along the waterfront is the way to go. They’re about 3 kilometers on foot from the center of Bernau and have bikes for all ages and fitness levels, including a large fleet of e-bikes. I picked up a cross bike for €24/day in 2021 (still current in 2025).

For walkers, the Chiemseeringlinie (Chiemsee Ring Line) bus circumnavigates the lake from late May to early October. The bus also carries a bicycle trailer in case you feel like you’ve had enough pedaling (or want to cover more ground in the region). The Bayern Ticket is valid; bikes cost €2.90/trip as of 2025.

Here’s a list of places I haven’t yet visited, but which seem worth a look. I’ve either read about these places or passed them on my hikes and rides. (Note that most brewery tours in the region run on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays.)

• Inselbräu Frauenchiemsee (across from Gstadt)
• Chiemseebräu, Grabenstätt
• Gasthof Hinterwirt, Übersee. Also has rooms.

Nearby

Places close by the Chiemsee include: Traunstein (three breweries), Teisendorf (Brauerei Wieninger), Bad Reichenhall (Bürgerbräu), Berchtesgaden (Hofbrauhaus Berchtesgaden), Freilassing (Weißbräu Freilassing), and Salzburg in Austria. Schönramer is also nearby, but requires some advance planning and the aligning of stars if you want to visit with public transportation. Camba Bavaria is in the neighbourhood as well.

Which brings us to our last point: If you want to try as many regional beers as possible in this corner of Upper Bavaria in the space of two or three days, you could do worse than base yourself in Freilassing. The town itself is an unassuming border town where trains once stopped to change locomotives for the trip into Austria. And it’s precisely this unassuming quality (along with reasonably priced rooms above the Weißbräu Freilassing and tasty Weißbier in the beer garden below) that makes it a perfect base. Just get yourself a Bayern Ticket and you’re all set for your trip to the Chiemsee or anywhere else nearby.

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All images by Franz D. Hofer

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