Given the choice to stay in one town, which town would you stay in to take day trip to the other? We would like to see Halstatt. Would you stay in Salzburg and visit Munich and Halstatt for day?<BR>Or, would you stay in Munich and visit Castle one day and Salzburg another?<BR><BR>Going in Winter for about 3 nts. in one or the other. <BR>Thanks.

Ron - my advice is to avoid Salzburg altogether. I know it's charming and all that crap - but three days just scratches the surface of the intersting things in and around Munich. <BR><BR>If I had to do it over again - I would have left off my night in Salzburg and would have saved that for another trip.<BR><BR>By the way - I'm a huge fan of Mozart, but got tired off all the trite mozart &quot;stuff&quot;.

Wow. Thanks. Never been to either. Very helpful. <BR>

Agree with also Ron given your period and also time. Used to live in Munich but not from there. Munich has a lot to see in 3 days and if the weather turns sour, places like Deutsche Museum and to lesser extent Alte Pinakothek art gallery are really world class museums. Salzburg while very pretty has less to see and in winter would not have comparable sights. Hallstatt is a beautiful town but for only 3 nights is not that practical. If you dislike Munich, you can always take the train to Salzburg for the day and on to Hallstatt the next day anyway.

MUNICH

We stayed 6 nights in Munich. There was plenty to do in &amp; around Munich. Took some daytrips to the castles in Germany, but also took a daytrip to Salzburg. A daytrip was not enoubh to do everything in Salzburg, but we did tour the castle &amp; Motzart's birthplace, &amp; walk around the town. I would have liked to stay a day or 2 more in Salzburg. We will do that the next time. But with all that said, For our first trip to that area, I was glad that we stayed in Munich &amp; did the daytrip to Salzburg rather than the other way around.

I have been in Munich 3 times, and feel comfortable there. It helps if you understand some German, but many of the locals speak darn good English.<BR><BR>If you want to see the castles, I suggest renting a car. The mobility will improve your travel efficiency, and about the same cost if there are two or three of you.<BR><BR>Salzburg is a fairly cheap ride away.<BR>It can be visited on a cheap &quot;Bayern Karte&quot; which is ticket on slower trains within Bavaria. Salzburg and Kufstein are considered part of the train net; the Deutsche Bahn is the railroad line to Salzburg. In fact, when you buy a ticket from Salzburg to Munich, you go to a separate DB window for the purchase; the Austrian guy doesn't sell it to you.<BR><BR>I think one good day in Salzburg will give you a chance to see the highlights: the fortress on the hill and Schloss Heilbrunn south of town. The one exception that might stretch it out is the Marionette Theater which is fabulous.<BR>It is like watching magicians at work.<BR>I found it totally captivating.<BR><BR>So my vote is for a Munich based trip.<BR>And my hotel of choice is the Astoria in Schwabing, just off lively Leopoldstrasse with its many shops.<BR>And the Bavarian State Opera is a good one with outstanding productions.<BR><BR>I will be back there this summer for another visit. A