The Zugspitze ascent and the Eibsee — Garmisch’s summit day

The Zugspitze day (2,962 m) is the German Alps’ classic: ascend by the historic cog railway through the tunnel, or the Eibsee cable car that flies over the lake in ten minutes; the summit panorama runs from the Zugspitzplatt glacier to the Wetterstein walls and, on clear days, 200 kilometres of Alps. The real prize is the Eibsee below — a turquoise island-dotted lake that deserves its own circuit walk (7 km, flat) either before or after the summit. Book the cable car ahead in summer; the descent by the other route makes the perfect loop.