German Sights
Find the best accommodation in Bad Tölz
Check availability at hotels, guesthouses and apartments rated 'superb' or 'exceptional' by visitors like you. No reservation fees.

Bad Tölz, Germany

Where is Bad Tölz?

Bad Tölz is an attractive small town to the south of Munich which acts as something of a gateway to the Alps.

From here the roads and rail lines head south through to the mountain resort of Lenggries with its walking areas and ski runs and towards the popular lake towns of the Tegernsee.

The historic centre of Bad Tolz Germany seen from the other bank of the Isar
The historic centre of Bad Tölz Germany seen from across the Isar

The route from the town of Kochel am See through to the towns above is also part of the popular German Alpine Road tourist route.

How to get to Bad Tölz

Nearest airport to Bad Tölz

Munich Airport is by far the most convenient flight destination for Bad Tölz.

Distance to Munich Airport: 91km
Distance to Innsbruck Airport: 97km
Distance to Salzburg Airport: 129km
Distance to Memmingen Airport: 148km

Despite the similar relatively close distances of the other airports, the public and private transport facilities and the range of flights and destinations on offer make it the most popular choice for visitors.

Train station in Bad Tölz

Bad Tölz is served by a regular schedule from Munich run by the BOB regional train service (the Bayerische Oberlandbahn). There are also connections from Bad Tölz south to Lenggries and to the Tegernsee.

The train station is situated on the eastern edge of the town.

Where to stay in Bad Tölz

The town of Bad Tölz is split into two distinct sections: on the eastern side of the Isar is the historic town centre and on the western side the newer spa and leisure infrastructure.

Much of the accommodation is situated over the bridge and a short walk away on the quieter and more open spa side, but there are a couple of options for those who want to stay directly in the central part of the town.

Bad Tölz accommodation map

If you know when you are planning to go but haven't decided on accommodation, then use the map below to get an idea of which properties are available and to compare prices during the period you wish to travel.

Enter your proposed dates and use the '+' to zoom in on a location and reveal more properties. Click on the price above a property to see more information.

(Please note that this selection will also include some guesthouses, pensions and self-catering apartments for those who are interested in that form of accommodation!)

Check Bad Tölz accommodation availability

If you know when you are planning to go but haven't decided on accommodation, then use the searchbox below to get an idea of which properties are available and to compare prices during the period you wish to travel.

Booking.com

History of Bad Tölz

The origins of Bad Tölz are closely connected to the river Isar. The river served as a traffic artery in the Middle Ages with the rafting trade bringing goods north to Munich.

This important north-south commercial route crossed the old salt road running east to west from the mines at Bad Reichenhall through to other parts of Bavaria.

Bad Tölz was ideally placed to prosper from all of this activity and became an important market town for the traders and travellers.

The market street in Bad Tolz
The market street in Bad Tölz

It received its official market rights in the early 14th century. Despite the prosperity that this brought, Bad Tölz - like most of the local settlements - also suffered badly from recurring bouts of the plague and the after-effects of the religious wars in central Europe.

However, Bad Tölz wasn't only restricted to the passing trade traffic. It later became an important centre for artistic cabinet-making and for the brewing industry. By the time of the 18th century it could count 22 breweries within the town.

In the mid-19th century iodine springs were discovered in the area and Bad Tölz was once again able to reinvent itself, this time as a spa resort (the "Bad" being an official title meaning spa which was received at the very end of the 19th century.

At the same time as the picture of the town was being changed with the construction of distinctive spa buildings and villas, the river rafting trade was slowly dying. The final nail in the coffin was the building of the Walchensee power station in the 1920s, which meant that the flow of water in the Isar was insufficient for the river traffic.

Bad Tölz Tourist Office

The tourist office offers pamphlets in both English and German which detail walks on both the 'historic' and the 'spa' side of the river and up to the Leonardi chapel visible on the hill on the edge of town. All of them together will probably take three hours but the tour around the historic centre is probably sufficient for most day visitors.

The main town tourist office is located on the 'spa side' of the river but there is a second office in the town museum in the main historic centre:
Website: www.bad-toelz.de