My wife and I are heading to Munich in August - we are staying the whole time in Munich, but we plan on doing 3 to 5 day trips via the regional trains. In the past we've gone on trips like this to Salzburg & Mittenwald, though my wife has never been to Fuessen or Neuschwanstein.

Are there any other places you'd recommend? I have been reading up, and Garmisch sounds nice, but I'm wondering if the trip up to the Zugspitze would allow us to do any moderate hiking, as we were able to do in the Alps near Mittenwald. And I've heard that some of the smaller towns nearby, such as Landshut, Augsburg (not so small, I think), and Landsberg am Lech are fun to visit as well. Also I think Nuernberg is not too far by train.

Any info would be appreciated!

smetz, have you been to or considered a day trip to Herrenchiemsee. www.herrenchiemsee.de This is my second favorite King Ludwig castle (Linderhof is first). Beautiful grounds also. How about a day trip to the Starnbergersee. Take the electric boat out from Possenhofen to Roseinsel...very pretty. www.seenschiffahrt.de It was a romantic rendezvous spot for Empress Elizabeth u. King Ludwig II.

Thank you, Honeycake! I will check it out.

We enjoyed Herrenchiemsee also. It's on an island in the middle of a lake. A boat to the island leaves from Prien. And you could spend a day in Salzburg if you don't mind 1.5 hours each way on the train.

I have been to Landsberg many times. It is only about 50 minutes from Munich. It's a small town, but worth a visit. The Alstadt in Landshut is nice-all colored buildings. I have actually even gone to Berchtesgaden for a day. It is a little further, but I love it. You said you already have visited Mittenwald. That is one of my favorite places. I have not done Lindau on a day trip, but it is doable. Rothenburg? And I am a big fan of Neuschwanstein-not just the castle, but the views from the Marienbruecke.

Rothenburg is wonderful, but I've already been there (not my wife) and it seems a bit far from Munich - about 3 hours by train I think.

We'd definitely like to go and see Neuschwanstein. The last time I was there it was with my two sons, and we didn't go in the castle, we went up to Marienbrucke for the views, then hiked down to the stream below, which was really fun. We went over to the castle, but the wait was so long to tour it that we skipped the inside. Is the interior tour worth it?

I have been through the inside of the castle about about 8-10 times. The inside is nice. You can see that Ludwig had a thing for swans. You buy your ticket at the bottom of the hill. It will have the time of your tour on it. But it is fun to just go there for pictures and the views.

I also recommend Herrenchiemsee.

Another of Ludwig's castles is Linderhof. I took a train to Oberammergau and then bus (covered by my rail pass) to Linderhof.

If you go to Neuschwanstein, don't skip Hohenscwangau at the foot of the hill where you walk up to Neuschwanstein. It was Ludwig's boyhood home and to me, it was much more homey. As we went through the rooms, it felt as if the family members had just stepped out for a moment and would return soon.

It sounds like a great idea for a day trip would be Fuessen, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Herrenchiemsee sounds quite nice as well, and I will look into Linderhof as well.

Another easy train daytrip is Nurenberg. It is only about an hour away by train and an interesting town.

Salzburg, no question about that. It's a two hour drive. You should go to all the Sound of Music places but we did it by ourselves instead of paying for a tour. First see the castle in town, then walk over to the Abbey, and the other spots from Sound of Music. Just 20 minutes from Salzburg is the Eagles Nest, or Hitler's vacation home at the top of the alps. It is located in Birchesgarden (spelling probably wrong). You can't go wrong there. Stunning views at the top of the alps and the home that Hilter spent time at. Very Historical and Beautiful.

Also, make sure you get to Bavaria and the castles there. That's also a day trip from Munich.

I just returned from Munich on Monday and did a day trip to Neuschwanstein on Sunday. You are looking at a minimum of 5 hours train/bus travel and the place is too Disneylandish for my tastes. In hindsight, I am sorry that I didn't go to Herrenchiemsee instead. Just my opinion.

Hi; Bad Tolz would be an interesting 'old' town to visit. It's south of Munich. Dick

Thanks for the tip Weekender - the total travel time is definitely something to consider. Do you know what the travel time to Herrenchiemsee is?

Also, I think I may have read that there is a hiking trail that goes to Linderhof from Obergammerau - does anyone know if this is the case, or has anyone done this?

I took the 8:26 AM train from Munich to Salzburg which stopped at Prien a Chiemsee at 9:19 AM. Take a look at a guidebook for transportation from the train station.

FWIW, look up Meredith's January 2009 trip report to Munich, Salzburg, etc. She did a great job and I found her report invaluable. I did a "Cliff Notes" warm weather version of her trip as I left Chicago last Thursday night and was home on Monday afternoon.

Smetz:

Meredith's trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-salzburg.cfm