When's the best time to visit southern Germany?
 

We are tied to the school calendar, so we could go 1) Thankgiving week, 2) around Christmas, 3) mid-March, 4) June, July or mid-August. Of those choices, what do you think would be the best time to visit?

No. 4 with emphasis on June

Summer. I've been there in mid-March (drizzly/gray/cool), June, August and September. No time is bad.

Best wishes,

Rex

I'd opt for as early in June as possible. The school year in Germany is over at the end of June, so the German vacation season doesn't get into full swing until around the first of July.

I'd agree with the June suggestions, but, just to correct Betsy, the school year in southern Germany is not over at the end of June. Southern German school summer holidays are very late. Schoolkids and their teachers in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg are still very much at work, as their vacations do not start till 1 August (Bavaria) or 28 July (Baden-W). In 2006, the vacation starts on 3 August in B-W and 31 July in Bavaria.
Nicky Gardner
www.hiddeneurope.info

Thanks so much. Working within the school calendar is an ever growing challenge, especially factoring in kid activites which have started to move into the summer as well. Early June 2006 is already spoken for (church choir trip to NYC), as is early June 2007 (daughter's school trip to Washington DC). So we either need to look at early or late July, or think about 2008!

We work around the school calander also and we have had good luck with spring vacations in the alps but like any mountainous area spring weather can go both ways. It can be georgeous, drippy, or stormy.

That being said.... the "georgeous" is just that and worth taking a chance on. I'd go in Spring again and again.

We were there in mid-February this past year (2005). VERY cold, lots of snow and rain and very windy. Still enjoyable, but I enjoyed my previous visits (June and August) much more.