Berchtesgaden or Ramsau
 

It's been several years since I visited these two towns (and we had a car) but if relying on public transport, I'd choose Berchtesgaden. It's a bit larger and bound to have better connections.

Hopefully someone with more recent experience will see your thread. Whatever you choose, it's a lovely area.

I've not been to Ramsau, but have spent time in Berchtesgaden on two occasions, both in winter, once with a car and once using public transport.

We really like Berchtesgaden; it's an easy place to get around on by foot, with one caveat. Most hotels are uphill from the train station, and in our case, we needed a taxi to get to/from the hotel from the station.

On our first visit, we stayed at Hotel Bavaria, which was a short walk from the station, but the town has grown a lot since that visit and the hotel is now surrounded by roads, making it too noisy for our tastes.

There's a lot to see from a Berchtesgaden base - you can visit the Königssee and take the Jennerbahn for spectacular views and hiking opportunities.

https://www.jennerbahn.de/

On our first trip we also visited the Berchtesgaden salt mine:

https://www.salzbergwerk.de/en

And then there's the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest) erected atop the summit of the Kehlstein, which I've yet to visit as it's closed in winter, but it's on my list for another time.

You can also reach Salzburg and Kitzbuehl in about an hour. And of course Ramsau is a short hop away as well.

You'll find details of our second visit to Berchtesgaden on this trip report. Just scroll down to December 18.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...1161958/page5/

If you have any interest in history, may I highly recommend the Documentation Center Obersalzberg. This is a frank look at the rise of National Socialism in Germany. I have visited 3 times and urge you to spend time viewing the information as well as taking the underground self guided tour.

Huggy