Summer brings overtourism fears to German resort

A picture-perfect Alpine mountain lake in Germany draws so many visitors every summer that the first thing they see is crowded buses, traffic jams and a packed-out carpark.

- 

Grainau -

The crystalline waters and mountain vistas of Bavaria's Eibsee lake have become a hit on social media, fuelling fears it will be loved to death by overtourism.

Municipal official Christian Andrae says he is glad people appreciate the lake - but also that the crowds now sometimes remind him of "mass events" like Bavaria's famed Oktoberfest.

The lake at the foot of Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, has joined other destinations like Venice in re-evaluating the pros and cons of drawing throngs of visitors, albeit not yet on the same scale.

In the nearby town of Grainau this week, crowds were waiting for shuttle buses up to the lake, only to find them so packed they had to wait for the next one.