Meredith

Hi, all,

My husband and I are considering a trip to Munich, Salzburg, and/or Prague, roughly between Christmas and New Year's. We haven't decided on an exact initerary yet, but we would likely fly into Munich, and then we'd either take a side trip to Salzburg and fly back out of Munich, or take the train to Prague and fly out of there.

Our big question is about the weather. Obviously it will be cold - very cold - and possibly rainy and snowy. I'd love to hear from anyone who has visited these areas in late December about the weather affected your trip. We love to stroll through cities - but would it be too cold to really enjoy a stroll? We can tolerate cold weather, but we don't want to be miserable.

Also, are most sites closed on national holidays (Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Day)? I'm trying to figure out if we'd be able to find enough to do on those days.

Thanks for your help!
Meredith

DAX

I've done a couple of wonderful christmas trips by landing in Munich, christmas in Salzburg and New Year in Vienna by car and switched to train when the weather got ugly without any problem. I suppose you can do the same with Prague. It's better to do one way and fly out of the other city.

KathyWood

We did a version of this trip in 2003 for Christmas/New Years. Our trip involved flying into Munich, driving immediately to Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps for three nights, driving to Salzburg for four nights (including Christmas), taking the train to Vienna for three nights, taking the train to Prague for three nights (including New Years), and taking the train back to Munich for three nights. You do not need a car in Munich or Prague. And you really don't need one in Salzburg, though we did a day trip out to the Salzkammergut and Hallstatt.

As I recall, the train from Prague to Munich took something like seven hours-- which was really a lost day. Looking back, we felt we had one stop too many. You could minimize that by getting an "open jaw" ticket as sugggested, perhaps flying into Munich and out of Prague.

It will be cold, but we didn't find it unpleasant. (Be sure to take warm coat, hat, scarf and gloves.) We had a big snowfall while we were in Oberammergau, which created a real Christmas fairyland. The roads were cleared quickly.

Salzburg is a fabulous place to spend Christmas. We've actually been there for two Christmases, and I would go again in a heartbeat. We've gone to a concert on Christmas Day night both years. You can find restaurants open on Christmas. We found Christmas Day was a nice day for a long walk-- it wasn't too cold for us. The funicular was running up to Hohensalzburg castle, and although we didn't go in that time, I believe the castle was open. Christmas Eve is quieter, and you will need to make special plans for dinner.

There are Christmas markets in Munich and Salzburg, which add a real holiday air.

Prague was fairly crowded over the holidays, but it also had a festive air with several outdoor markets. We found New Years Eve dinner a little difficult, as all the restaurants seemed to have special (expensive) dinners. We were traveling with our 10 year old, staying with points at the Marriott. We ended up ordering room service (not expensive) and watching British television.

You might enjoy photos here: http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3787 Look at how we're dressed and this will give you a sense of the weather.

If you do a search on "Christmas Salzburg," you'll find other posts on various versions of your proposed itinerary.

Kathy

Meredith

Thank you both - this is great information! I was going to post a follow-up question about whether or not it would be wise to rent a car, given the probable icy/snowy conditions. But Kathy, it sounds like you didn't have any problems with the roads.

Hmmm, we have lots of exciting itinerary possibilities to think about. Thanks again!

Oh, and Kathy - great pictures!

Meredith

JulieVikmanis

We spent a New Years holiday in Salzburg and loved it. Arrived a day after Christmas but the markets were still up. Had pretty, fluffy snow. New Year's Eve was fantastic. I read somewhere that it's the second best NYEve place in the world after Sydney and I can believe it. Here's my trip report. Hope I got the link business right. Enjoy

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34731978

JJ127

Meredith, I hope you have a great trip and I'm sure you will. I haven't been to Prague, but I love Munich and Salzburg.

Kathy - great pictures! I so enjoyed looking at them. Makes me want to go at Christmas. Both times I've been were in June.

MarthaT

I was in Munich and Salzburg in late Dec. 2007. There was snow on the ground traveling between the two and it was beautiful.
The temperature was never above 32 degrees F. And walking around Salzburg early one morning it was about 23 degrees. Bring hat, gloves, scarf and a coat and you should do just fine.
There was not but a dusting of snow in the city centers just alot in the country side.

DAX

Meredith, I would recommend taking the train, traffic btw Munich & Salzburg in the snow can be really frustrating slow. It can be a real parking lot. It's an even longer drive from Salzburg to Vienna/Prague, just not worth it. Taking the train is also cheaper. I've only been to Prague in the summer and springtime, but I imagine it would look really nice if covered with snow. That said, Vienna also looked incredible when the baroque architecture were snowcapped. There is a certain excitement around the Viennese New Year's Ball & concert where people came from all over the world to attend.

Meredith

Thanks again to everyone for the helpful comments. Julie, I only had a chance to skim your trip report, but it looks like a really good one. I will definitely go back to read it more thoroughly later.

And Dax, we're also considering Vienna instead of Prague, but we're finding that flights out of Prague are more affordable than Vienna right now.

As for train travel, Julie mentioned in her trip report that Salzburg to Vienna is about 2.5 hours. How long is the train ride from Salzburg to Prague?

And one final question - is there train service from Salzburg to Hallstatt? (I'd love to do a day trip there.)

Thank you!!

DAX

Meredith:
Munich to Salzburg by ICE train is around 90 minutes or 2 hours by the cheaper local train.

I have taken the train from Salzburg to Hallstatt where the train stop across the lake and a small ferry boat carried us into Hallstatt. It was a very scenic way of arriving in Hallstatt as we got to see it from the lake.

Train from Salzburg to Prague is a pain around 7-8 hours unless you take the 3:30 pm train via Linz which will get you into Prague in 6 hours and 20 minutes, arriving at 9:50 pm. The train to Vienna is less than 3 hours from Salzburg. You may consider splurging a bit to fly out of Vienna for convenience. The Czech train is not as good as the austrian train to Vienna. I find food to be a lot better in Vienna than Prague if that matters to you..

Meredith

Hmm, I hadn't realized the train ride to Prague was that long... I'll definitely take another look at flights out of Vienna. Thank you, DAX!

nytraveler

It depends on how cold bothers you. All 3 cities will be chilly - but not any more so than NYC or Boston - and that doesn;t stop us from doing everything we want.

It's winter weather - but not Siberia. And as long as you're dressed in proper winter clothing there's no reason not to do outdoor things for reasonable periods of time ( a couple of hours).

Cicerone

Some good advice so far, I’d add the following:

Remember that daylight is short in December, the sun won’t be up until about 8 and will set early, so plan your outdoor activities accordingly. See sunrisesunset.com.

I lived in Switzerland and found highways to be very well tended generally in Europe in winter, but agree that you should take trains if possible just to avoid hassles like parking, etc. However, at Christmas to the extent you can, book seats ahead (first class may be necessary to do this) or take reserved trains with seats. Lots and lots of people travel at this time and trains can be very crowded.

You will find most restaurants (other than in hotels) closed on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and many will be closed for the whole week between Christmas and New Years. One way around this is to rent an apartment wherever you will be for that week, or get a hotel room with a kitchen. That way you can cook your own Christmas feasts (and can get to try local specialties too, which the shops are loaded with). Try vrbo.com and there are other sites as well for short-term rentals.

If you go to Salzburg, try to get up into the Alp areas outside the city, which will really be beautiful at that time.

I think Europe at Christmas is wonderful and magical, they really decorate streets, stores, etc. You will find Christmas concerts in churches, Christmas markets all over. It’s a great time to go. Just bring lots of warm clothing, gloves, hats and boots. Long underwear does not take up any room in the luggage.

One change I might make to your itin rather than Munich is to go down the Romantic Road and see the little villages there, which I prefer to Munich. This can be done by car or train, the car will give you a little more flexibility. And if you do it before Christmas you can go to all the Christmas markets (most end Christmas Eve, although in some towns they continue for a day or two after).

If your choice is Prague versus Munich, I would take Prague in a heartbeat. Vienna is also really a great choice for Christmas too. Would be hard to decide between Prague or Vie

Cowboy1968

Weather is hard to predict, but it is far from obvious that it will be "very cold" between Christmas and NYE. Usually that (still) is a rather cool and rainy season, with White Christmas being the exemption from the rule.

Both Munich and Salzburg are not mountain communities and are at only 500 meters (1,500ft) elevation.
Chances are "good" that you will have to go to higher elevations if you want to see some snow.

Nevertheless, temperatures may be below zero (Celsius), i.e. below freezing, in the cities, so black ice can occur any time, also during the day.
So I would always recommend some rain-proof jacket instead of a polar suit, and winter tyres if you want to rent a car. I would not recommend to rent a car, though, but to use trains for day trips from Munich, and between Munich and Salzburg -- much less hassle, and trains run at least once per hour.

Christmas markets in Germany run until early afternoon or noon of Dec 24. After that they are gone. The one in Salzburg should stay open longer.

Sites and sights (museums, castles, parks, etc.) are usually closed on Dec 24 (at least pm hours), Dec 25, Dec 31 (sometimes only pm hours), and Jan 1 -- while Dec 26 most sights are usually open (and also attract quite some crowds).

Stores will be closed from Dec 24 early afternoon until and including Dec 26, and again from Dec 31 early afternoon until and including Jan 1.
Jan 6 is also a public holiday, with stores being closed.

quokka

>Stores will be closed from Dec 24 early afternoon until and including Dec 26, and again from Dec 31 early afternoon until and including Jan 1.
Jan 6 is also a public holiday, with stores being closed.

Correct. Let me add that stores will also be closed on Dec 28 and Jan 4 (Sundays). This leaves Dec 27 and 29-30 to spend the Christmas money and change unwanted gifts - shopping will be no pleasure on those days due to crowds and stressed staff.

Meredith

Thanks to everyone for the replies! After researching airfare a bit more, I think we've narrowed our trip down to two possible itineraries. I'd love to hear some feedback on which of these would be better for late December.

Option 1:
Fly roundtrip to Munich. We would likely split our time between Munich and Salzburg, possibly with sidetrips to Hallstatt and Fussen (or perhaps instead of Fussen, we'd day trip to some Romantic Road town north of Munich, like Rothenburg).

Option 2:
Fly roundtrip to Budapest. We would spend a few days in Budapest, take a train to Vienna for a few days, and then get back to Budapest for our flight home. (We looked into flying out of Vienna - but it is several hundred dollars more.)

Thoughts? We love good food and drink, museums, history, and pretty scenery. Normally we love to do some outdoor activities like hiking, but we're not expecting to do too much like that on this trip because of the cold weather.

Thanks!

DAX

In my opinion, Munich & Salzburg have better options for christmas holiday travel. Munich has several great museums including the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, Residenz, Nymphenburg Palace, Lenbachhaus, Glyptothek. The christmas markets in both cities are also very festive. Rothenburg is probably better enjoyed as an overnight (or two) trip rather than a daytrip. Nurnberg, which has a major christmas market and medieval city wall, is 2 hours away from Munich thus can still be done as a daytrip. You can also do a daytrip to Mittenwald by taking the local train south from Munich. Mittenwald is like a picture perfect german christmas village to spend a day in.

orangetravel

Option 1! Budapest is an amazing city, but there is nothing more beautiful and romantic than the Christmas markets in Germany. If you get cold, there is no shortage of gluvien to warm you up. =) If you're into expressionism, definitely check out the Blue Riders in Munich.