After 3 days in Münich for Oktoberfest 2019, and 2 days in Füssen, my husband and I spent one day/night in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This itinerary is based on that experience. Want more visual inspiration? Check out the video of the trip! Also, check out the rest of our week-long trip in Innsbruck.
Transportation and Accommodation: From Münich, it is a one hours drive or 1.5 hours by train. From Füssen, the bus is 2.5 hours, or a one hours drive. We chose to drive from Füssen, and it was also nice to have the car for a few hours when we got to town. Otherwise, the town is walkable and there is a small amount of public transportation. We stayed at the Hotel Alpengruss; nice hotel with a lovely breakfast.
Checking out of our hotel in Füssen, we took a quick bus ride to the Hertz Autovermietung Schwangau. Our main motivation to drive was to save time, and to be able to stop by Lake Plansee. As a bonus, there are lots of winding roads so I probably would have gotten carsick if I were on a bus. We then headed straight to the Olympic Ski Jump; used in the 1936 Winter Games.
There is a large parking lot where we left the car, and there is also a train stop nearby. From here, it’s a 25 minute walk to Partnachklamm; a beautiful gorge, 6€. Make sure to wear sturdy shoes as it can be slippery. I would recommend giving yourself two hours to be able to walk there and back, and be able to enjoy it fully. However, you could also continue hiking for hours if you wanted to.
We then headed to our hotel to check in, and then returned our rental car. We walked back into town, exploring the beautiful buildings and shops, and window shopping the coo coo clocks! Highlights in the town are Michael-Ende Park and Parish Church of St. Martin. We then had a late lunch at Fischer's Mohrenplatz; they had lots of seating in the main square. After a little more wandering around town, we headed back to our hotel for some rest. We then decided to go for an evening stroll to catch the sunset over the mountains. We walked south until we hit a path near the train tracks, and walked along the huge strip of farm land. When the sun was down, we walked back into town, admiring the beautiful homes that are very reminiscent of coo coo clocks. We then picked up snacks at the grocery store and sat and ate on our hotel's balcony/rooftop.
The next morning, after a great breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and hopped the train for 1.5 hours to our final destination, Innsbruck.
Bavarian Foods to Try: Weisswurst, schnitzel, spätzle, breze (large soft pretzels), knödel, knieküchle, steckerlfisch, sauerkraut, apfelstrudel and kaiserschmarrn.
Something to Note: Germany is known for dealing with cash almost exclusively. A lot of restaurants and grocery stores will have a card machine but make sure you have cash on hand.
If you have more time:
General Travel Tips:
Figure out an idea of sites you want to see; this will determine a centralized area for where you should stay.
Utilize Google reviews when looking for something to eat. General rule, stay away from streets with lots of neon signs.
Mark everything on your google maps. Google is also (in my opinion) the best pedestrian and bike navigation app.
Other: Planning for a trip, especially overseas, can be stressful and overwhelming. Hopefully this gave you an idea of things to do in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a day. If you are planning on being in the area, check out my blogs on Münich, Füssen, Innsbruck and Berlin. I try to do as many quick links as possible, to send you directly to the website so you can get the most accurate and up-to-date information possible (fees and timetables).
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Safe and Happy Wandering.
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