We will be stopping in Munich for 4 days in June and would like some help planning our itinerary. We have come up with the following plan.

Thursday- arrive early by night train, drop bags at hotel relax have lunch and a possible walking tour. Spend the evening at a beer hall

Friday - rent a car and head to neuwanstein and rothenberg for the day.

Saturday - head to the eagles nest and Salzburg for the day

Sunday - take train to dachau in morning spend afternoon relaxing and shopping in munich
Catch night train to Venice

We are really wanting to see some smaller places and my fiancé is really wanting to see the alps. We are also quite interested in the beer culture so anything that might add to that would be great. We plan to rent a car for two days but are also considering bus tours as well. It is both of ours first time traveling independently to Europe so we're kind of hesitant to drive.

Are there any places worth stopping on the way to rothenberg?

Or anywhere with more of the alps feel we could visit instead of Salzburg?

Any input or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein are barely possible in a single day. You need time to climb up to the castle and wait for your time window for the visit. And the places are quite distant do drive.

Eagle's Nest and Salzburg may be somewhat possible but very hurried. Here the problem is that you are not allowed to drive to Eagle's Nest but you must take a bus and you are bound to the bus timetable. When you will see the road you will understand why you are not allowed to drive.

You also need to understand that to take a TOUR of the buildings, etc., at the Eagle's Nest you need to take the authorized tour.

I agree with other posters that your trip, while technically feasible, is way too rushed. Makes me want to go lie down just thinking about it. You will spend all your time in a car, stressing about directions and trying to read road signs with basically no time to see anything. And your interest in beer culture + spending so much time driving is incompatible.

Why are you only spending half a day in Munich? It is easily one of the most interesting cities in the world. The "vibe" there is not large, noisy, in-your-face city; rather it's like a small town with lots to do and see. After 25+ visits there I have compiled a detailed list of transport tips, things to do/see, including an entire section on beer gardens/halls. If you would like a copy send me a private message and include your email address.

We rented an apartment for the entire month of May 2011 in Munich and never ran out of interesting things to do. With 3 - 4 days you barely scratch the surface.

If this was my vacation I would spend three of the days exploring around Munich. For the Alps viewing, you can take a day trip (via train) to Garmisch-Partinkirchen which is in the pre-alps. From there you can go to the top of the Zugspitze, the highest peak in the German Alps.

I agree with Kim 100%. Far too much in too little time.

Let me add that you have to forget about shopping on Sunday. Stores stay closed on Sundays with the sole exception of a handful of souvenir shops and the shops inside the railway station.

Another possibility if you want to see Alps is going by train to Mittenwald and from there ride the Karwendel cable car. Adviced only on good weather.

Regarding the alps, you could take a train to Garmisch and then take the cablecar/train to the Zugspitze, cool views from there:
http://www.molon.de/galleries/German...ria/Zugspitze/

There are also several pretty lakes south of Munich (Tegernsee, Chiemsee with the Herrenchiemsee castle, Kochelsee etc.), see here:
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Germany/Bavaria/
Very nice scenery IMHO.

Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein are impossible on the same day. May I suggest to allocate two days to Munich and do one or two daytrips to some place south of Munich.

So it definately sounds like Rothenburg is out. Too much time wasted driving.

I should probably clarify, we are looking for places in Munich that we could experience the beer culture and then walk or train it back to our hotel. As I am not a big drinker I would be the main driver so my fiance could have a few.

Would it be possible to do Neuschwanstein Castle and Zugspitze in one day?

Maybe a good half day trip would be to Kloster Andechs, a brewery/beer garden that can be reached by public transit. Very scenic setting.

http://www.munichbeergardens.com/Klo...chs_Biergarten

IMHO Neuschwanstein and Zugspitze could be possible in a single day (the cable car from Ehrwald on the Austrian side would be probably quicker than the railway from Garmisch). But still I do not advice as you should best be early at Neuschwanstein to beat the crowds and often in the afternoon there are more clouds on the mountains - Zugspitze, in any case, should be out unless the weather is very good. So I suspect that both Neuschwanstein and Zugspitze are activities best enjoyed in the morning and without rushing. - But after the visit at Neuschwanstein you could drop by the Wieskirche (a short stop) and visit Oberammergau (a very nice alpine town - say, stop for a couple of hours) and the Ettal abbey (another short stop) on the way back to Munich. This I would recommend.

You will miss a lot if you don't plan on a full day in Munich. It's a great town.

There are many beer gardens in Munich, spread everywhere around the city. Here are a few with photos:
http://www.molon.de/galleries/German...ch/Beergarden/
and here there are more:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_M...ierg%C3%A4rten
The Andechs one is very good, but it's out of town.

Neuschwanstein and Zugspitze are doable on a very long day (days in June are long anyway). The challenge are the opening hours however, as the visiting times end at 6pm.

You could do Zugspitze early in the morning then continue to Neuschwanstein after lunch. Keep in mind that from Neuschwanstein to Munich it's almost a two hours drive.

I might add that it's a bit a pity to rush through the Bavarian alps, because on a nice day in June the scenery will be gorgeous and it's nice to sit down somewhere and soak it up.

We have come up with a new itinerary. All days trips from Munich which we would be taking thru tour companies. (b/c of the travel times) Is this going to be way too much? I feel like we would have all of our evenings open and would not be rushing thru the sites we really want to see.

Thursday - 1.15 Dachau with small group. 5 hours. Evening free for wandering around and beer gardens

Friday - 8.30 Eagles Nest tour. 10 hours. Return to Munich around 6.30 evening at leisure

Saturday - 8.30 Neuschwanstein tour 10.5 hours. Return to Munich around 7pm. Evening at leisure

Sunday - 8.30 Rothenberg tour. 10.5 hours. Return to Munich around 7pm and relax for a few hours before catching 11.40 night train to Venice.

Where does this Munich stop sit in respect of your whole trip?

Having to be up at 7 a.m. each morning means you won't be enjoying those Munich Biergartens too much :-0

Arriving by night train and leaving by another one 4 days later with 4 days of planned excursions, 3 of which exceed 10 hours return time on a bus, sounds very adventurous. It is good that Dachau, the least time dependent, is happening the day you arrive.

To be honest, I don't think you will have even one seasoned traveler say they would consider this non-stop day-tripping, even in their younger days (ouch)

In case you decide you need one down day in Munich, I would drop one the "mad" days; Eagles Nest (Mad Dictator), or Neuschwanstein (Mad King).

Personally I would suggest to skip Dachau on the first day and use the time to visit Munich.

Regarding the Eagles Nest I'm not sure how interesting this place is. We have been living in Munich since 2001 and have never felt the need to visit the Eagles Nest. We've been in Berchtesgaden however. It's better IMHO to visit the Zugspitze.

Ok Verstrepens, here's the deal.

You can't drive from Munich to Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein and return to Munich in 1 day unless you just drive through and don't stop (except for gas) at either place. And having been to Eagles Nest twice in my lifetime, I believe you will find it doesn't meet your expectations. And I suspect those "tours" are pretty pricey. So here is a suggested alternative that will allow you to see almost everything you want at your own pace and at a reasonable cost.

Thursday AM- Pick up car at Munich Bahnhof- Drive to Garmisch to do the Zugspitz if the weather is nice, else do Garmisch for a few hours then drive to Fussen to spend the night.
Friday AM- Do Neuschwanstein Friday morning then drive to Rothenburg (about a 3 hour drive) late Friday afternoon. Stay in Rothenburg Friday night (take the nightwatchman's tour at 8 PM).
Saturday AM- Return to Munich. (Avoid the A8 between Ulm and Augsburg if at all possible). Stop at Dachau on the way to Munich. Return car to Bahnhof. Check most luggage in at Bahnhof. Use public transportation. Spend night in Munich. (Andechs close to Marienplatz or Marienplatz to eat followed by Hofbrau House?)
Sunday- Using public transportation, walk Munich- visit Englisher garden which has several beergardens. Sunday night train to Venice...

This is still fairly busy but I assume you are young and energetic. We actually did Copenhagen to Munich via train in one day, visited Hofbrau house that evening, and backtracked to Amsterdam via train the next morning when we were (very) much younger...

Have a wonderful trip!

You may find Eagles nest a disappointment. IMHO you would enjoy closeby Salzburg a lot more. You can do it in a day and have a great overview.

@KimSanJose: After 25+ visits to Munich, I have compiled a detailed list of transport tips, things to do/see, including an entire section on beer gardens/halls. If you would like a copy send me a private message and include your email address.


I am a first timer so please be indulgent! ;-) Your knowledge of Munich and Germany are of high interest. I am 50, travelling for 2 weeks, with my 21 years old daughter who will be studying at LMU in Munich, starting in April 2014.

If you would send me a copy of that list of things/tips, it would be really appréciated - [email protected]

Hi Verstrepens,

I don't think running out every day early in the am. and spending 10+hours on a tour is going to be the best way to spend your limited time. Just my opinion. I'd say the first day (arival day) spend in Munich. Next am., get the car and drive to Fuessen and stay for 2 nights. Fuessen's old town is charming and only a few min. drive from Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castle's. It's also just 40 min. drive from Ehrwald, Austria (Zugspitze cable car). Depending on the weather, you could visit Neuschwanstein or the Zugspitze (from nearby Ehrwald, Austria) on Fri. afternoon or Sat. morning. Also include Ludwig's Linderhof and the Wieskirche. Plus, try to Sommerrodelbahn (luge ride) at Tegelberg, a mile or so from Neuschwanstein. Tegelberg also has a worthwhile ccable car trip.

If Salzburg is more interesting, on Fri. get the car and head to the Berchtesgaden area for 2 nights. Salzburg is 30 min. away from Berch., plus on the drive between Munich and Berchtesgaden/Salzburg you could visit Ludwig's Herrenchiemsee Palace. The interior is more interesting than Neuschwanstein's in my opinion. Nearby Berchtesgaden is the Jennerbahn cable car and Konigssee with a boat trip. There's also a sommerrodelbahn (luge ride) nearby, plus Salt Mine.

Just some idea's.

Paul