Bavaria, Germany's southernmost federal state, harbours a bonanza of delights in one very visitor-friendly package. If you're here for the olde-worlde stereotypes of lederhosen, beer halls and oompah bands, you'll find them in abundance. But if you look beyond the cliché, you'll soon discover the land's amazing complexity and rich history.

You'll be kept busy admiring the intricate artistry of a baroque church, enjoying blue vistas while ambling along mountain trails, wandering in the footsteps of medieval minstrels and pompous rulers, digging into huge platters of schweinshaxe and, of course, hoisting foamy mugs of superb brews. One thing's for sure: Bavaria is a pleasurable assault on the senses that will bring new wonders with every sunrise.

Capital : Munich
Area : 70 550 sq km
Population : 12.5 million
Language : german
President (of Bavaria) : Edmund Stoiber