jlaughs

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!

adeben

Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

shandy

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.

JulieVikmanis

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.

Gary_Mc

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.

Underhill

Don't miss Linderhof!

tcreath

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

norrisken

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

J_Correa

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?

Gary_Mc

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

jlaughs

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!

Bob1

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!

Bird

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.

norrisken

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.

jlaughs

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)

shandy

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.

bo_jack

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.

AisleSeat

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.

norrisken

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

KarenM

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