Fussen, Oberammergau, Garmisch-Partenkirchen or other?
 

Hi,

I'd like to go up Zugsitze and also see the Neuschwanstein Castle. Which town would be the best to use as a base to do both?

Thanks!

Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

G-P is probably the most convenient but does not have the charm of either of the other two if this is important to you.

we stayed 6 days in GAP last Christmas and it was quite charming. See my report entitled Winter Wonderland. Also made a nice base from which to tour the area. Made a day trip to Oberammergau which is much smaller and wouldn't have as many dining options for instance.

Neuschwanstein and Hohensschwanstein are beautiful structures, theatrically situated and, I think, best seen from afar. I liked to stay in Hohenschwangau village or another of the surrounding villages so that I could spend much time walking the area with its parks and lakes, and finding different views of the castles. There was also wildlife - Rehbucks, Swans and a Chamois - to enhance that pleasure.

Don't miss Linderhof!

I too thought that Garmisch lacked in charm. Although it was nice enough, I would recommend Fussen or Oberammergau. Both are very nice and charming. If you are visiting Neuschwanstein and the Zugspitze only, I would recommed Fussen or nearby Hohenschwangau.

Tracy

jlaughs,

Just spent 7 days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Sept. Nice town to use as a base. I've heard good recommendations to use Mittenwald. Its about 12 miles southeast of Garmisch. Zugspitze was awesome. Consider Linderhof, Ettal, and Oberammergau while you are in the area. Oberammergau is only 14 miles from Garmisch.

Ken

My husband and I are planning a trip to that area next summer - spending 4 nights in that area. We are also interested in seeing the Zugspitze and Neuschwanstein along with Hohenschwangau, some small towns, and doing a little hiking.

We originally thought of basing ourselves in G-P, but are considering other towns. How accessible are these places by train?

RE: Trains to Hohenschwangau.

The German Train System has a website that you can query:

http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

You can catch a train to Fuessen and a bus to nearby Hohenschwangau. From the Munich Train Station (Muenchen HBF)it looks like it would take about 2-1/2 hours to Hohenschwangau. If you click on "Details for Selection" it will tell you which bus to take, when and how long.

Hiking around the area was my favorite get away when I was last stationed in Germany.

Gary

I don't know if I'm getting more clear on our itinerary or becoming more confused. :-(

As I originally stated, I'd like to plan to see the Neuschwanstein Castle and go up the Zugsitze. I'm thinking that I'd also like to add the Linderhof Castle.

For my questions:

1. Is going to the top of the Zugsitze any big deal? I would think so, but I don't really read about too many people doing it or their comments.

2. I definitely want to see Neuschwanstein, but don't really know if I should add Linderhof or Hohenschwangau. I think visiting 3 castles so close together might be too much for my BF, but I think 2 would be okay. Which one should I add between the two?

3. Is it possible to do 2 of these (Neuschwanstein, 2nd castle, Zugspitze) in one day? Which two? How about all three?

4. Everyone recommends arriving early, but if we arrive in the area in the afternoon, can we do one of the three then? Which would you recommend?

5. It seems like Garmish-Partenkirchen is out, but I'm still confused about where to stay in the area to go to Neuschwanstein, Linderhof (or Hohenschwangau) and the Zugspitze. Convenience is obviously somewhat important as I don't want to spend a LOT of time driving back and forth, but I'd also like to stay somewhere that has some interest on its own (natural or otherwise).

Thanks everyone!

I have been going to this area since 1970. Garmisch is probably your best bet for a base.

Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are next to each other...one high on the hill, one low. You can do both of these together in one visit to the area. They are very different and both Ludwig homes. One is a real place with furniture (H), one is fantasy (N). Both fun to see. Splurge and take the horse drawn cab to the top to see N.

Linderhof is very close to Garmisch and beautiful to see in the summer.

Going up the Zugspitz is fun. Great views and beer on the top. Be sure the mountain is clear before you head up. It can be foggy. The tickets are not cheap anymore. Our first trip in 1970 was about $2.00. Now it is much, much more...but worth the ride. The hotel at the bottom on Eibsee Lake is now private. In 1970 it was for US Military personnel. A great double room lakeside was $7.00 per night.

Oberammergau is also worth a visit and a short drive from Garmisch. This is where all the wood carving is displayed in all the shops.

One good day trip from Garmisch is to go south through Austria and Reutte and end up at Neuschwanstein. Do both castles (or only one), then head north to Wies Church (beautiful and short visit) and back down through Oberammergau, Ettal Abbey and home to Garmisch. One large circle that makes for a full and fun day if planned well.

Great area to visit! All of the things you are asking about are just not that far apart. Have fun!

Last December I stayed in G-P and then traveled to Linderhof, Oberammergau, Ettal, the Wieskirche (sp?), and Neuschwanstein for a day trip. We probably could have fit in Hohenschwangau as well, but we were over-barouqued and all castled-out. I wouldn't recommend trying to squeeze in the Zugspitze in the same day, but on a separate day. Oberammergau seemed a bit touristy to me, I'm glad we chose G-P as our base.

jlaughs,

Auto route map for the loop:
http://www.thirdmansystems.com/vacat...20Garmisch.htm
Ettal,Linderhof,Plansee,Fussen (castles), Wieskirche,and Oberammergau. You can see its about 2hr and 37 minute drive. If you are pressed for time, skip the interior of Schloss Neuschwanstein but do Linderhof inside. I don't do Hohenschwangau but I do the hike to the Marienbruch(sp). I've done this loop 4 times due to taking family friends each time and everyone wants to see the castles. Eat lunch at Linderhof, its excellent. Don't miss the Grotto. Also stop at Lech Falls on the way to Fussen. Beautiful. If you want I can post pics of all these places. Also G-P and Zugspitze. Zugspitze is about $45 a person (cable car), but you have to go there twice because you can't believe the views you saw the first time. You can eat and shop at the top. You can stand in Germany and Austria at the same time at the top.
Answers to ?s
1. Very big deal. IMHO
2. Linderhof
3. Yes, Zug to Neu is about a 1 hr drive.
4. Schloss Neuschwanstein. Maybe can do another.
5. G-P is the most central I think. Its a nice town. You can get Cuban cigars at the train station! Maybe stay in Oberammergau.
I don't think it really matters all that much which town you stay in as they are all within 1-2 hours of all you want to see. It really is a loop.
Sorry I'm so long winded. I hope some of this helps.

Thank you everyone. norrisken, I'd love to see your pictures.

Okay, some more questions (sorry if it seems like I'm beating a dead horse).

1. Is it possible to do the Zugspitze and Linderhof (and maybe a stop in Oberammergau) in one day? What about the Zugspitze and Neuschwanstein? I realize that the distance may not be that far between everything I want to see, but I don't know how much time I should anticipate for each site.

2. norrisken, when you say to have lunch at Linderhof, do you mean at the castle?

To give you more information, we'll be leaving Salzburg in the morning with a stop at Berchtesgaden. We will have stopped there previously on our way to Salzburg and, depending on the weather that day, we'll either go to the Salt Mine or Obersalzburg, Eagle's Nest and boat ride on the Konigsee. On our stop on the way back, we'll try to do whatever we didn't do on our first stop. After that is when we'll be heading to the castle and Zugsitze area. I'm hoping that there might be time to do one of the three (Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Zugspitze) that afternoon and do the other two the next day. Does this seem possible? Of course, if the weather isn't good at Berchtesgaden, we'll have more time in the castle area because we will have skipped our plans at Berchtesgaden.

I hope I'm making sense. It's 2:30 am and I'm barely keeping my eyes open, but I really want to post my question to be able to get answers right away.

Thanks! (and g'nite)

With staying in Oberammergau I have done Ettal (well worth a stop) the Zugspitze and then Linderhof all in the one day. Don't forget to factor in the time of the year you are travelling. If it is the middle of winter with its shorter daylight hours you wouldn't fit all three in. In summer it would be easy.

The Zugspitze is very good but as mentioned previously quite expensive. The first time, we went up by train and returned by the cable car. We both felt that the train part wasn't really worth it. You actually travel through tunnels quite a bit of the time whilst going up the mountain so there is nothing to see and obviously it is much slower than going by cable car. (This was the day we also fitted in Ettal and Linderhof so you would have even more time to play with than we did if you take the cable car both ways.)

When we were there last Christmas we took the cable car both ways which we thought was much better. The time of the year you will be there also makes a difference to the views. It was autumn the first time we went and we were blown away by the views, a bit of snow at the top, green valleys and mountains and the lake was an incredible blue. When we went last Christmas I was a little bit disappointed because everything was really just a white/grey colour. Everything was covered in snow, the lake was frozen over and there wasn't that clarity of colours and depth we saw the first time. Everything sort of blended into each other. This doesn't mean that I don't think you should go up if it is winter, we still enjoyed it, it might not just match up to some of the photos you may have seen.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a tour of Neuschwantstein, but simply walk around it and up to Marienbrucke. However, I can say that having done a tour the first time I went and found that it was a bit boring. If it is your first time I can understand anybody saying that they want to do the full bit, tour and all. The tour at Linderhof is definitely worth doing.

We loved the small village atmosphere of Oberammergau in which to stay. G-P was too big for our liking.

Garmish-P is the place to stay for the simple reason that it gives you the greatest opportunity to "pick" a good day to go up the Zugspitz. There is not much point in going to the top if the top is cloud covered. Even staying in G-P, there is no guarantee; you will just have to hope for the best. The cog-rail station is about a 20-30 minute drive from the center of G-P, and the trip to the top is another hour or so. The trip back down by cable car is much faster, but you will want to spend a couple of hours at the top -- and you are at the mercy of train and cable car schedules. So, expect to use most of a day for this experience. The drive from G-P to Neuschwanstein is probably 2 hours, but the castle can be enjoyed fairly well even in poor weather. Except for the external appearance, I prefer Linderhof to Neuschwanstein -- King Ludwig actually live at Linderhof some -- so you might want to include it in your trip. If my must-do's were Neuschwanstein and up the Zugspitz, I would watch the weather reports carefully. Then, based on those reports, I would try to get to Fussen - Neuschwanstein early. Tour the castle. Hit the road for G-P. Take the route that goes past Linderhof. Take the tour there if still open. Spend 2 nights in G-P and hope for the best in weather. From G-P there are lots of good, interesting alternatives if the weather is bad for the Zugspitz.

This sounds like a good trip. We like staying in little villages so we would prefer Oberammergau, Fussen, Schwangau or perhaps Gasthaus von Schluxen in Unter Pinswang, just on the Austrian side of the border from Fussen. You can hike tot he castles from there.

Some of my pictures from our Sept 2005 trip. I took over 600 digitals and I have no idea how many my wife took on film. Mostly from the areas being discussed in this thread
www.thirdmansystems.com/vacation/PHOTOS

Ken

Awesome pictures, takes ones breathe away. Now when we go we don't even need to take pictures, you did it for us!

norrisken, I agree. Your pictures are beautiful and I can't wait to see the sights for myself!! Couple of questions --

1. Where are Lech Falls? You mentioned that they are on the way to Fussen, but from which direction? Coming from Austria?

2. You recommended having lunch at Linderhof. I just want to confirm, do you mean eat at the castle? Is there a restaurant there?

Thanks,
Judy

Thanks for your very nice comments.
1. Lech Falls are on the way from Austria to Fussen on the B17. Its not a "must see" but its next to the road and very pretty. There are bathrooms by the bridge across the falls.
2. The restaurant is located to the left of the entrance to the Linderhof area, after the parking lot. You'll see a number of shops and snack places also. The food was excellent and the prices very good. I've eaten there twice.

Ken

Ken, where is Plansee? I'm a lake/mountain person and I might have to add it to my 'to-do' list. J.

Hi jlaugh...this is another vote to stay in GAP. My daughter and I did this trip in March 2004. We stayed at Gausthaus Fraundorfer (where every night they have Tyrolean slap dancing and yodeling) - the other small towns didn't have enough of a "nightlife" for my 24 yr. old daughter). In addition to being very close to the cog to Zugspitze (agree, you have to go day by day to assure a good view), GAP has a casino, lots of restaurants, and is easy driving distance to all of the sights mentioned in previous posts. We basically decided to "theme" our trip by following the life of zany Ludwig by visiting his castles. We also went to B-gaden and did the Saltmine Tour (great fun). On the way there (we reversed the trip you are doing), we also went to Ludwig's Herrechimsee, a beautiful venue. Don't miss Linderhof - the Venus Grotto is amazing. Wieskirche is also worth the trip. We did Oberammergau, Linderhof, and Wieskirche in one day. Both castles in Fussen and almost Zugspitze (cloudy) in another - Early in to the castles at Fussen. Check the schedule of the Z to assure you can make it. Have a wonderful time.

jmw44,

The Plansee is in Austria. Its about 16 kilometers southwest of Linderhof on the L255 on the way to Ruette. Stop at a market in Garmisch in the morning and pickup some rolls and meat and cheese and drink. Head to Ettal and Linderhof and then take your picnic lunch by the Plansee. In summer be sure to take swimsuits. Oh and don't be surprised by people changing clothes and going topless.

Ken

Have fun jlaughs! I did the Bavaria thing last Winter/Spring, and it was beautiful.

I know from experience how hard it is to make decisions when you get so much good information (especially here on Fodors). I agonized over my trip planning, and in spite of the pain, was thrilled with how it worked out. But honestly you don't have to go overboard. There is no ideal itinerary, and it seems like you have thought things through thourougly enough to make a variety of plans work to your advantage.

As for your original question, I personally found Oberammergau quite quaint and pleasant. I agree that GP is probably a more practical base, but Oberammergau is cuter and you might actually find more reasonably priced lodging there. Just my $.02

1. Yeah, it is a big deal. It's really expensive nowadays, but the view from the top is amazing. You should budget yourself adaquate time to get up to the top, spend some time contemplating life, and coming back down. I tried to squeeze it in as I drove by, and it took a lot longer.

2. Linderhof is amazing, but there isn't need to see ALL 3 if you have a tight itinerary. You could do Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein on one trip, or Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. Linderhof is probably more impressive, but Hohenschwangau would be very convienient and is nothing to scoff at. It is interesting to get the contrast between Hohenschwangau (where royal families actually vacationed) and Neuschwanstein (which was a fantasy castle that was never actually inhabited).

One great tip for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau is to reserve tickets in advance online. You'll get fixed entrance times. This helped me shape my itinerary, and let my fellow travellers know that we had to get out the door early to get our tickets. There was no uncertainty about waiting in line or being late...

3. I think all three are perhaps too much. We did Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. We entered Hohenschwangau at 10 and Neuschwanstein at 12.30, meaning that we didn't get out of there until around 2.30. Keep in mind that the sun sets really early during the winter, so you don't have a lot of afternoon light to work with. Perhaps an early trip to Zugspitze would work well with an afternoon at one of the castles.

4. In the winter, lines at Neuschwanstein are less of an issue than in the summer. If you had to do it, I'd recommend the castle in the afternoon if you can get yourself a ticket in advance.

5. I wouldn't rule out GP entirely. THere are a lot of fans here. Oberammergau offers a lot as a quaint Bavarian village with woodcarvings etc. If I remember correctly, it was a very scenic 1 hr drive to Neuschwanstein. You could work the drives to your advantage down there. If you get a German atlas, they mark certain scenic routes, and I am pretty sure there is one between Oberammergau and Fussen.

Fuessen would be a good compromise as it is very convenient to the castles and offers some more quaintness than GP.

Again, all of this is my opinion. Please take it with a grain of salt and evaluate the sum of the advice.

Most of all, trust yourself. Refrain from overanalyzing. No one has had a perfectly planned trip yet. Be creative, and let us know what you did and how it went when you get back.

Gute Reise!

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. I can't tell you how many times I have typed G-P, then changed it to Fussen, then changed it back to G-P, only to change it once again back to Fussen. Everytime I read something about one area, I think "Aha! *That's* where I want to stay!". Then, I'll read something about the other area and . . . well, you get the idea. I had pretty much decided on G-P, then by BF said that he thought he might like to stay in Fussen more because it's a smaller town. But, he'd like more of a nightlife, so back to G-P. Ahhhhh!!!

I have a feeling that I won't go wrong in either place, so I may just start looking at lodging and go with the cheaper. :-)

Thanks again everyone! Your feedback has been extremely helpful!

jlaughs - I do the same thing - decide where we want to stay and then read something else and change my mind. I have come to the same conclusion as you have. I don't think we will go wrong with whatever we choose :)

Planning is half the fun.