Hi everyone! If i have a week and i want to visit some place(s) in germany and austria what places are a must see.

1. When are you going?

2. How long will you be there? You say a week but is it truly seven days? Does it include your arrival and departure dates? Are you flying in/out of the same airport?

3. What is your budget?

4. Were you planning on renting a car or relying on public transit?

5. Budget?

6. Interests? Things you like?

7. Things you don't like? Things you want to avoid?

8. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

9. Have you read a guidebook yet?

what are your interests - how are you traveling - train, car, bike? Your question as stated is too open ended for much of a response and must sees depend on what your interests are - like are you interested in Third Reich relics - then Nurnberg has the finest remaining edifices of that era - museums - car plants tours - like BMV and Mercedes-Benz tours, etc.

what time of year are you going? Weather can make a difference.

If going by train check out these fine sites IMO to get a fix on the rail systems in those two countries and samples of rail itineraries - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Get a guidebook.

This is a reply to Pegontheroad and others like him: I for one ask for help on this forum in spite of having purchased and read a shelf-full of travel books and pouring over sites on the internet. These are good resources but oftentimes overwhelming. I joined this board to get real peoples perspectives, not to be treated as lazy or worse ... Sometimes just clarity helps. And for that I thank all of you who are so helpful .

naha - folks here are ready to give their advice based on experiences but you have to give us more guidance to what you are looking for - questions like sparkchaser asks.

'Must sees' vary as to your interests. Otherwise yes get a Michelin Green Guide to Germany and look at the three-star (***) sites that are the consensus must or major sights in each country.

But like for Austria I would highly recommend Hallstatt as being the quintessential Alpine wonderland resort - lovingly set on a lake surrounding by ice-bound high Alps - but if mountains are not your main interest I would suggest something else.

so a little guidance and we'll be happy to help - well at least most of us!

Sorry i am new to this forum so my bad for the incomplete query.
I have started another thread. I have written the details in a new thread i started so i shall paste them here too.
Me and my husband are planning our first trip to The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria in june/july. We are into sight seeing, visiting all major attractions and we like to walk around and get a feel of the city, its culture,its people, try the food that a place is famous for. Perhaps visit a museum or two because we are not really art lovers. We love to see as much as we can in little time. We love to see beautiful places and to see what is special about every country we visit. So i have around 1 week for Germany and Austria so its obvious we cant see every thing. I was thinking maybe munich in germany and can take day trips from there (to??) and in Austria i had Salzburg and Vienna in mind and now after reading ur suggestion added Hallstatt to the list too. We like to travel by trains. bus or walking is also fine, but bikes r not an option for us.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hall...=1600&bih=1075

Ah Hallstatt sitting on that gorgeous placid Alpine lake! Be sure to get a hotel with a balcony with a view of the high Alps and lake!

Absolutely breathtaking view. Can you suggest a hotel there?

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel..._in_Tirol.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html

You can get to Salzburg easy by train from Munich. I would spend the night in Garmisch also because Innsbruck is a short train ride from there and then take a bus to Tirol. Mittenwald is a beautiful village along the way that has a train stop right in the village. They all have hiking, great scenic views, transportation, no car needed and best of Bavarian food and drink. Murnau is a village between Munich and Garmisch and you can stip there, take the train from there: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html

Hotels in Hallstatt? No it's been a while since I was there and I cannot even remember the guest house - families own big houses that also act as hotels - lots of these cozy places.

thanks flpab and palenQ