It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Oberallgäu, Unterallgäu, Augsburg, Landsberg, Weilheim-Schongau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and by the Austrian state of Tyrol.

The kings of Bavaria soon developed a special relationship with the region and built their famous castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein there.

The term Allgäu is applied to the part of the Alps located in Swabia and their northern foothills.

The district extends from the crest of the Alps to hilly countryside in the north.

In the south there is a great number of alpine lakes, the largest of them being the Forggensee (16 km2 [6.2 sq mi]).