sio

I started looking at air fares and hotels for a possible Christmas trip for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (6 and 8 years old). At this point, I am looking at arriving on 21 December and leaving on 2 January, a total of 12 nights.

My questions are:
1. Will it be too much to do 6 nights in Garmisch, followed by 6 nights in Munich? Are there enough things to do in each place to keep us occupied for that number of days?
2. Between Garmisch and Munich, where will be the place to spend Christmas in terms of things to do and Christmas atmosphere?

I will appreciate if you can give me some ideas before I book our tickets.

swandav2000

Hi sio,

I live in Garmisch, and I'm happy to be one to help you figure this out. But I think we'll need a little more information from you.

What kinds of things do you normally like to do, or like to do around Christmas time? Do you see yourselves doing some winter hiking, or shopping, or sight-seeing in other towns? Do you like to visit old churches or museums?

Garmisch is a lovely area for Christmas -- just walking through town or the little side streets is very entertaining to see the lights and decorations. From Garmisch, you can easily visit Oberammergau, Lindenhof, Ettal Monestary, Mittenwald, Violin museum in Mittenwald, Innsbruck, Füssen, Neuschwanstein. You can take some winter walks, or ascend the peaks at the Zugspitze, Alpspitz, and Kreuzeck. Garmisch has a tiny Christmas market, and Mittenwald also has a small one. Innsbruck has a normal market. However, you should know that the Christmas markets close down on 24 December, so you won't have much time to see them.

Münich of course has more shops and shop decorations, more lights, and more markets -- I think there are 6 different Christmas markets, including my favorite, the Medieval market. You can easily see NÜrnberg and Würzberg and their Christmas markets. And of course, there are many museums in Münich that can fill a few days.

Have fun as you plan!

s

swandav2000

Not sure if this is clear. I meant:

I'm happy to be one OF THOSE WHO help you figure this out

not

I'm happy to be The One to help you figure this out

s

WorldTravlr

Consider your dates. The area you are visiting has charming Christmas markets and interesting things until Christmas but they close down tight about 2pm 12/24. After that the area will be Very Quiet. If there is a way to shift your plans to the period before Christmas you will find more stuff to see and do.

sio

Thanks for your replies.

We spent a Christmas in Salzburg a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. We would like to have another one, with Christmas markets, a bit of shopping, a bit of sightseeing in different towns that are within easy reach (say not more than an hour each way), a bit of snow for the kids...

Dates are not yet fixed but because of school holidays, we cannot have much flexibility.

sio

I keep checking air fares and with direct flights to Munich, I have a choice of staying 8 nights or 12 nights (somedays are full). Thinking of travelling to no more than 2 destinations (thinking of weather, kids, luggage, etc), should I opt for 8 nights or 12 nights?

What I am worried is: I saw that most people staying for 5 or 6 nights in Munich will take day trips but those day trips will be Garmisch and/or places that are better going from Garmisch. In that case, will we have enough to do in Munich itself for 6 nights?

swandav2000

Hi again,

Well there are many shopping opportunities, of course. Maybe a return day-trip to Salzburg. You could visit Chiemsee and Berchtesgaden. And tons and tons of museums, not to mention the 6 Christmas markets.

s

sio

Working on my plan. Thanks!

eventide

Hello,
Did you decide to go to Garmisch over Christmas? We have children the same ages and are going to be there for the two weeks of Christmas & New Year's. Wondering if we could share ideas on things to do.

Dukey1

I like both places you are thinking of visiting and now I have some questions:

your kids are 6 and 8; what kind of museums do they like? Do they like ANY? How long is their attention span?

Do they like things like visiting palaces and castles? Would they like Neuschwanstein (the OUTSIDE)?

Christmas markets...do they ever get bored with them?

Do they like outdoor activities such as cable car rides? Train and boat rides?

What did they LIKE in Salzburg?

You keep asking will there be enough to do but other than shopping you have said little about any other interests unless I missed that part.

traveller1959

Who can give better advice than Swandav?

The only remaining question is how to entertain the kids. In and around Garmisch, there will be snow activities which keep them occupied for hours. Usually, kids also like castles and romantic Christmas atmosphere.

However, it gets dark early in the afternoon. I strongly advise to book hotels with pools, so the kids can swim before dinner time. And a sauna might also be helpful to warm the adults up after strolling through the winter world.

I would probably start in Garmisch because Christmas Eve might be more atmospheric in a romantic hotel in Garmisch than in a business hotel in München. Also, after December 25, it will be high season in Garmisch and difficult to find accomodation.

Business hotels in München will be on the cheap side during the whole time. Use search engines like www.hrs.de.

traveller1959

I just checked www.hrs.de and found that many hotels are already fully booked in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and others have just one or two rooms available. Some hotels would accept bookings from Saturday to Saturday only.

You may have to cut your time in Garmisch just because of hotel availability.

use also this site for hotel search:
http://www.fremdenverkehrsverein-gar...kirchen.de/en/

And contact hotels directly because some do not want to pay commission to the search engines.

In any case, hurry up.