Altötting combines scheduled annual events with cultural attractions and outdoor trails. The Hofdult provides a point of reference for planning your trip; the circular trail in Altötting’s Gries offers a specific focus on nature. First consider whether you want a particular event to shape your stay, or whether you would rather focus on culture and outdoor activities.
Events and culture in Altötting
The Hofdult takes place every year on the weekend after Pentecost; the exact dates vary from year to year. The monastery market also returns around Kapellplatz over the course of the year, with dates that change. If you want to plan your trip around either event, check the dates for the relevant year.
One special cultural attraction is the Altötting Panorama: it is the only surviving historic panorama in Germany. This offers a distinct historical focus alongside the events held throughout the year. Planning your visit around an event or a cultural attraction leads to different priorities for your stay.
Cycling and nature in Altötting’s Gries
Eight themed cycling tours can be started from Altötting. As route options may change, check the latest tour information before setting off. The themed tours offer a different approach from the circular trail in Altötting’s Gries, which is approximately 1.4 kilometres long.
A nature trail with ten different interactive stations runs alongside the stream in Gries. The trail’s length and stations describe different aspects of the route: its approximate distance and the topics you will encounter along the way. This makes Gries a distinct nature experience to include in your travel plans, while the eight cycling tours offer a wider choice of themes.
The wider Altötting destination
The wider Altötting destination provides a broader regional context. The district of Altötting lies along the Inn and Salzach rivers. Its landscape is shaped by a plain about ten kilometres wide, through which the Inn flows, bordered to the north and south by lush green hills. Together with the district of Mühldorf, the district of Altötting belongs to the Inn-Salzach tourism region. Visitor information for the region includes cycling and pilgrimage routes, museums and swimming lakes.
The cultural information also relates to the wider Altötting destination. St. Anna Basilica is the largest church in Altötting and can accommodate more than 8,000 people. The octagonal structure of the Chapel of Grace probably dates back to around the year 700 and is considered to be Germany’s oldest centrally planned building. The Golden Steed in the Altötting Treasury was made in 1404 in the Parisian court workshops. At the Brother Konrad Museum, visitors can see the Old Gate and Brother Konrad’s death cell.
The regional nature attractions include the internationally significant wetland and nature reserve “Lower Inn between Haiming and Neuhaus”. It provides a habitat for migrating, wintering and breeding marsh and water birds; more than 25 different bird species associated with aquatic and wetland habitats breed there. Peracher swimming lake is one of the swimming lakes listed by the district of Altötting. Check the facilities and conditions before your visit.
For cycling holidays, a popular variant of the Inn Cycle Path covers a longer regional route: it runs from Neuötting through Altötting and the extensive Öttinger Forest to the ducal town of Burghausen, passes the confluence of the Inn and Salzach rivers, and continues to Marktl. The section in the Inn-Salzach region is just over 75 kilometres long; current diversions may occur. So check the route information before setting out. Another regional cultural attraction is Burghausen Castle, which is 1,051 metres long and has six courtyards.
Discover more destinations: Unterneukirchen, Reischach, Winhöring, Neuötting, Haiming, Garching An Der Alz, Burgkirchen An Der Alz, Burghausen.
Back to the wider travel overview: Altötting.
