Landsberg am Lech sits on a bend of the river with a medieval gate, a tilted market square and a history that began with salt. In the twelfth century Henry the Lion, the Duke of Bavaria, built a toll station here on the Lech to tax the salt traders who were bringing their loads from Reichenhall to Swabia, and the town grew up around it. The Bayertor, a tall, ornate gate of the fifteenth century, still stands at the end of the old town, and its roof is covered in glazed tiles that sparkle after rain. The Lech itself tumbles over a weir in the middle of town, a lively sound that follows you through the streets.
For a rider, Landsberg is a pleasant, practical stop. It has over twenty-seven thousand inhabitants, with fuel stations, supermarkets, cafes and a good selection of restaurants. The Hauptplatz, with its fountain and painted facades, is a lovely place to sit with a coffee, and the streets around it have small shops and bakeries. The town lies on the Romantic Road, the tourist route from Würzburg to Füssen, so it can be busy on summer weekends, especially around the market square.
The artist Hubert von Herkomer, who was born in a nearby village and went on to become a celebrated painter in Britain, left his mark on the town in the form of a studio and a concert hall, and the whole place has a slightly bohemian air. The river valley is also a good place for walking, with paths along the banks and a few quiet pools where the green Alpine water slows down.
South of Landsberg the roads begin to lift toward the Alpine foothills, and on a clear day you can see the far line of the mountains from the hill above town. Neuschwanstein lies about sixty kilometres south, and this is the natural base for a day trip. In the evening, when the light turns golden and the swifts wheel around the towers, the old town is hard to leave.