As part of a 2 week trip, we are renting a house in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as a home base for a week, and then driving to Salzburg. What recommendations do you have for scenic and interesting driving routes? We can spend most of the day getting there, so don't mind going out of the way if there is something charming or spectacular we can see on the way. For instance, is it worth going south through Lienz and then north along the Grossglockner highway, through Zell am See, and then on to Salzburg? We will have two children ages 3 & 7 along with us in case that matters, but they can handle a long drive.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
I would drive the very scenic route from Garmisch-Partenkirchen past Walchensee to Kochelsee, then to Bad Tölz and on to Bayrischzell. The road (Alpenstrasse) over the mountains from Bayrischzell to Oberaudorf is one of the most scenic parts of the Alpenstrasse. I would then follow the road from Oberaudorf down the Inn to Rosenheim and take the highway from there to Salzburg. You could also make a detour through Reit im Winkl, but it would really add to your time. Or you could stop at Herrenchiemsee.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Lee tends to know these things.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
There isn't a route between GaP and Salzburg that isn't scenic. I would give a slight advantage to the southern route through Innsbruck, mainly because you have mountains on both sides.
Posted by
NYC area
2908 posts
Hi,
I would also go via Innsbruck. Once by Innsbruck, either take the A12 or B171 along the Inn river as far as Woergl. Then take the B178 to Sankt Johann i Tirol, on to Lofer and then Scheizlreuth (B178 becomes the B21 once you cross the German border). Here take the B21 to B305 through Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, Berchtesgaden to Salzburg. We've done this drive a number of times both ways. The part from Schneilreuth to Berchtesgaden is one of our favorites. Gorgeous.
Paul
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Two notes if you plan to drive along A8 (the Autobahn that links together Munich and Salzburg), one good, one bad. First the good. This is one of the most scenic stretches of the entire Autobahn network of Germany. The route skirts along the feet of the Bavarian Alps. You can easily see plenty of the lovely chalets and onion-domed churches that define this region. Also, the road provides a good view of Chiemsee, and although you can easily see the island of Herrenchiemsee, trees obstruct the view of Ludwig II's famous Versailles replica. On a sunny summer day, expect to see a fleet of sailboats lulling about the lake.
Now the bad. You can really get a good look at the scenery noted above because you'll often move at a snail's pace or not at all. A8 is also one of the most Stau-prone routes in the network. Despite this being a heavily traveled corridor, the road is mostly only four lanes with no shoulder. So, any road construction or accidents (or, combination of both) will grind traffic to a halt, and it can back up for miles upon miles. The worst stretch, by far, is the first third after the Munich ring (which you wouldn't drive anyway from GaP), but the rest is hardly immune from Staus either.