Visiting Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) was one of our top things to do with teens and tweens in Berchtesgaden. Getting there was half the fun!
The Eagle’s Nest perches dramatically on top of the Obersalzburg Mountain, just outside Berchtesgaden. The Nazi Party built it in the 1930s to mark Hitler’s 50th birthday. During the second world war, senior members of the Nazi Party would host visit diplomats in this mountain retreat. Ironically, Hitler himself had a fear of heights and only visited 14 times.
Nowadays, the building hosts a mountain restaurant with breath-taking views. Whilst there are photographs and information boards detailing its history, this is not a museum. A visit is about the ascent (to over 1800 metres), the incredible views, and some tasty Bavarian food!
Leading up from the beer garden terrace, a path leads up to a higher point with even better views. On the way up, there are several panorama panels which let you know what you are looking at. This is a walk not a climb. However, it wouldn’t be suitable for anyone who is less steady on their feet as. You do have to climb over rocks and through narrower sections. My 10 year old skipped ahead!
How to get to the Eagle’s Nest, Berchtesgaden with teens and tweens
Unless you are up for a long hike, the only way up is via a special bus from Obersalzburg. The road up is steep and narrow and no private vehicles are allowed. The bus trip takes around 15 minutes and has spectacular views. I would recommend sitting on the right on the way up. However, there is a switchback near the top so don’t despair if you are on the left, you will get a turn for those views!.
The road is impassable due to snow and ice for much of the year. It usually opens in mid May, depending on weather conditions, and closes by the end of October.
You can buy bus tickets online (click here) but there is a ticket office at the bus stop. Return tickets currently (June 2024) cost 31.90 Euros for adults and 16.50 Euros for children. You can buy a family ticket for 65.20 Euros (2 adults, 2 children). Whilst this is expensive for a short bus journey, you need to think of it as covering your visit to the Eagle’s Nest as well.
If you buy your bus tickets from the ticket office, they will ask you to book the time for your return bus. If you have booked online, you will only have specified the time for your bus going up. You still need to visit the ticket office to book the time for your return journey. 2 – 2.5 hours at the top should be enough time for a meal, a walk up to the higher viewpoint and to go a bit photo crazy! If you are not planning to eat, you will need less time.
When you get off the bus, you walk through an impressive 124 metre tunnel carved into the mountain. You then take a plush brass-coated elevator (set deep in the mountain) up to the terrace.
Getting to Obersalzburg – car, bus or cable car!
There is a large carpark near the bus stop at Obersalzburg. Equally, you can reach Obersalzburg by bus 838 from Berchtesgaden. However, for something a bit more exciting, you can take a cable car from Berchtesgaden and then hike across.
We had planned to take the bus from Berchtesgaden to Obersalzburg. However, just before we got to the bus-stop in Berchtesgaden, my boys spotted a cable car – the Obersalzbergbahn. As neither had been on a cable car before, they were desperate for a ride. We didn’t actually realise we could reach our destination via the cable car but thought we would ask where it went. The guy working there was incredibly helpful and explained to us (and marked on a map), how we could take the cable car up and then walk a marked trail for around 40 minutes to the bus stop at Obersalzburg,
The cable car was great fun. You change half way up but the whole thing only takes around 10 minutes. My boys both loved it, although it made my 11 year old jump each time it went over one of the support towers. As promised, the various trails at the top were clearly marked. We easily found and followed the trail marked “Kehlsteinhaus Bushaltestelle” (Eagle’s Nest bus-stop). It was a hot day but the walk was mainly through trees so was nice and cool. It was an undemanding walk with great views. We rewarded ourselves with a cold drink and a chocolate bar (from the gift shop next to the ticket office) while we waited for our bus to leave for the Eagle’s Nest.
Dokumentationszentrum Obersalzburg / the Documentation Centre
As well as the Eagle’s Nest itself, Obersalzburg was also home to a huge compound of buildings, fenced off from the public, and connected by a underground bunker system.
Built on top of one of the bunkers, the Documentation Centre explains the history of the site and gives a general overview of Nazi history. I would recommend getting the audio guide, which offers a 40 or 80 minute tour. For our tweens, the shorter one was plenty long enough!
Whilst the museum is well laid out and uses photographs and videos to bring things to life, it is not really interactive. The highlight for our boys (and probably us as well) was the visit to the underground bunker. It is definitely worth a quick stop if you are visiting the Eagle’s Nest, Berchtesgaden with teens or tweens.
The museum says that it is 3 Euros for adults and free for under 18s. However, we showed both our bus tickets to the Eagle’s Nest and our Berchtesgaden Guest Card and some combo of that got us waved in for free, with audio guides.
You can see the stunning Konigssee (Kings Lake) from the terrace at the Eagle’s Nest. Click here for a review of our boat trip and hike at Konigsee.
