Lily

I've read recent posts suggesting that Garmisch might not be the ideal choice for sight seeing. Our plans (4 couples) are to Die Bahn from Paris to Stuttgart - rent a car and drive to Garmisch. From Garmisch we hope to do day trips to the Ludwig castles, Northern Italy and Switzerland. We have 6 days for the day trips. Any better suggestions? One more note we want as much "quaint" as we can get! Actually found a farm that looks charming in Garmisch. Is this a bad idea? Thanks in advance.

Art

I think that you will love Gramish and the areas around it. It is one of the most charming areas of Germany. From Garmish it is easy to get to Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Oberammergau, the ZugSptizta(sp), the Weise Kirche(Church), Black Forest, Heidelberg etc. Northern italy might be a little bit of a stretch but doable. You will get a lot of 'quaint' in the Garmish area. The homes are charming many with scenes from the Grimms fairy tales painted on the houses, most having flower boxes on their windows etc.
Have a great trip.

Ann

Lily, I agree that you will love the Garmisch "area." But there are many differences between staying in Garmisch and in the Garmisch area. Garmisch is a very nice town, but it is a pretty good-sized town. Even though the cows still go down the street behind the Post Hotel to get to the barn to be milked, and then back out to the pastures, the town also has lots of traffic and stores... nice places to stay and good restaurants, too, but if you really want quaint, I'd think you want to get out into one of the villages or the countryside. There are some great little gasthauses and hotels in the area as well as farmhouses (complete with cows, sheep, ducks, etc.) where you will be very comfortable. Is this what you had in mind? Let me know and I can offer some suggestions...

xxx

I wholeheartedly agree with Ann!

John

Hi Lily:

Who saying NOT to stay in Garmish!! Must be a tour operator for France! Garmish is my favorite town. Great base for everything Bavarian! Like the above posters suggest, you might want to stay "just ouside" the main parts of Garmish. There are many very quaint area's (Mittenwald, Farchant, Grainau,Oberau etc. That way you can have your "Quaint" and "Garmish" too!!
JOHN

Bebe

If you are looking for quaint, why not stay in Mittenwald? It is much smaller than Garmisch and only a little farther down the road. It is your classic alpine village - small, easy to walk, and full of charm. Many good hotels and restaurants too. We stayed at the Rieger - it was very nice. We also looked at the Post Hotel and would probably recommend it primarily because of it's quieter location. After driving through Garmisch we were very happy that we chose to stay in Mittenwald.

Lily

Thank you all so Much! I am so excited about this trip and really appreciate all the advice! Normally I travel alone (for work) and when I get to make a trip with hubby just for fun - well I want it to be totally different than "big city, expensive chain hotel". Thanks again!

Janet

My husband and I stayed at Garmish during Christmas of '86. There are several day tours that you can participate in from Garmish (with English speaking tour guides) We found these to be quite enjoyable and educational0 Something to fit everyone's interest. We are returning in May with our 2 teenage daughters. Have fun!

mahoney

Note quite a difference between staying in Garmisch and staying in that area. It is a larger town. If you're looking for quaint, definitely agree with the previous recommendation of Mittenwald. What a beautiful little town. Known for violinmaking. Oberammergau might also be worth looking into.
While we enjoyed staying in Garmisch, I would not stay there again. If you are looking into staying on a farm, be aware that it might be quite a drive into town for any evening plans.

Carol

Hi:
Just returned from a two week trip to Bavaria. The whole area is just beautiful, particularly the alpine areas of Garmish/Partinkirchen and Fussen and Oberammergau. Did the castle tour and believe me you better be in good shape to tour Neuschwanstein. What a workout, the bus or horse and wagon only takes you two-thirds of the way up and you have to walk steep walkways after that and they are often slippery and icy. Just be careful if you go. Glad I saw it but enjoyed the tour of Linderhof much more. Castle is gorgeous. Have a great time. We had a German Railpass and the DB is fabuluos, runs like clockwork, but we really didn't need the railpass for bavaria, they have lots of special tickets that are much cheaper particularly if you're more than one person. Lots of partner tickets for only 20 to 30 DM. We just loved Bavaria and Salzburg and Innsbruck also. Don't miss it if you can - lots of history and fantastic snow covered mountains.

Bob

We love Garmisch and have been going back there frequently since our first visit while stationed in Stuttgart with the Army in 1970. A nice place we enjoy staying at is the Hilleprandt Hotel. It is in the town and near the ice stadium, but located in more of a neighborhood setting. The rooms on the bottom floor, #1 and #2 open to a nice back yard and have a small patio. Breakfast is included.

Outstanding, and expensive, is the Post Hotel Partenkirchen. Great Bavarian rooms. Even if you do not stay there, the restaurant is very scenic and has good food.

bo_jack

I agree with the others who say that Garmish (or the Garmish area) is an excellent choice. Actually, I like Garmish-P, proper, and do not find it "too large." But, I would willing stay in other near-by towns also. One question/comment -- your initial message says "4 couples" and "rent a car" -- I do hope you mean to be renting a couple of cars, it will make your trip much more enjoyable if this large a group has the added flexibility and room of at least two vehicles. Enjoy your trip -- its a great area to visit again and again.

Lily

I just want to say thanks again to everyone!!! I have found some nice places in Mittenwald and will try to reserve one of those!

Bo Jack had a good question, yes ther will be 4 couples and we will be renting 2 cars. The main reason that we will train to Stuttgart is that we can make a fairly direct route from Paris.

JD

Lily

I just got back from 10 days in Garmish. It is a beautiful city that is perfectly located. We used Garmisch as our home base and made day-trips everyday with ease. Garmisch is 1.5 hours from Munich to the north or Innsbruck, Austria to the south. We had a Europass Saverpass and we definitely got our money's worth. A sample itinerary was to leave Garmisch around 7:30 then goto either Munich or Innsbruck and decide where to go from there. Of course we had a general game plan but our whole goal was to travel by train to a cool city that was no more that 2.5 hours away and we succeeded. We went to Salzburg, Bregenz, Oberammagau (by car----Linderhof is a must), Heidelberg, and Milan (for New Year's Eve). It was a wonderful trip and we made it back to Garmisch every night (except New Year's)
and we were able to go to Peaches, Evergreen or Salsilito's for a couple of drinks before we passed out in our adorable guesthaus.

Zoe

Hi Lily

I travelled round Southern Germany in October 99 and we stayed in Oberammergau. Highly recommended - quiet, not touristy at all (certainly not while we were there) and the buildings are utterly charming.

We stayed at the historic and comfortable Pension Dedlerhaus. I was reminded of it recently as the owners sent me a Christmas greeting by e-mail.

You will love Neuschwanstein - and don't miss Hohenschwangau, which I actually preferred as it was a real family home!

Wherever you decide to stay, enjoy your trip! I am jealous - I loved Bavaria.