Located 188 kilometers or 117 miles east of Seattle, Leavenworth is a charming village in the Cascade Mountains at the center of Washington State. With its Bavarian-themed architecture, it feels like you’ve been transported to Germany. Add to that the breathtaking scenery as the backdrop, consisting of majestic mountains, glacial lakes and rivers, and dozens of wineries. It is hard to not fall in love with this idyllic setting. Leavenworth is a popular weekend getaway for Seattlites and is arguably one of the most beautiful places in Washington State. If you are not convinced yet, here are 5 good reasons why you should consider visiting Leavenworth!

downtown leavenworth

Check out our video about Leavenworth to see what it’s like there

1. Leavenworth is THE Bavarian village in Washington

Leavenworth has an unforgettable European-style atmosphere that is accentuated by German celebrations and festivals such as Maifest, the Autumn Leaf Festival, and of course Oktoberfest. The Alpine-style architecture, restaurants serving German beer, ‘Bratwurst’ and ‘Pretzels’, provide Leavenworth’s guests with a uniquely German experience. Our favorite places to explore the German cuisine in town include the “Rhein Haus” for its pretzels and German Beer, and the “München Haus” for its bratwurst. They’re located across the street from each other on Front Street in the town center.

However, this town wasn’t always called “the German town in Washington”. About a century ago, this little town was a thriving logging community connected by the railroad. When the railroad was forced to re-route its track due to avalanches and other natural disasters, the village quickly started to lose steam. To battle economic deprivation, visionaries who lived in the town came up with a brilliant idea: adopt the Bavarian style to draw tourism to the area. And guess what? …It worked! Soon after the architecture, building signs and street names began to imitate the German-style, the community started to revive and more visitors started flooding in. Today, the town is largely dependent on tourism while continually growing and expanding its possibilities! Because of the style of the buildings you have to walk downtown. Leavenworth is fairly small, but it’s so picturesque that you can easily spend a few hours roaming around. Most of the action takes place in Front Street, which is lined with souvenir shops, bars, wine testing rooms, and restaurants. You can also find two museums here: the Nutcracker museum and the Greater Leavenworth Museum. Here, you can learn about the community’s unique history in more detail.

Leavenworth main street

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