2 Weeks Bavaria and Tirol

The first place I would recommend is the Illertal (valley of the Iller river) in the Oberallgäu, near the town of Oberstdorf at the western end of the Bavarian Alps.

The Illertal is very scenic and the valley down to Immenstadt is lined with small town and ski lifts. You can take buses from the main train line up to towns (like Bolsterlang) from which gondolas will take you up into the mountains (ex. Hörnerbahn) from which you can hike.

From Oberstdorf, the large ski resort at the top of the valley, you can take buses up into the beautiful Kleinwalsertal, an Alpine valley that is part of the Austrian Vorarlberg.

But you don't have to stay in the Illertal. With a Bayern-Ticket you can go down to the Lake Konstanz island town of Lindau or take a bus over to Füssen and the King's castles and spend the day there.

Another place I would suggest is Berchtesgaden. There are a lot of scenic thing to do there, the Eagles Nest, Königssee. Take a day trip to Salzburg.

In between, go to Oberammergau. Easy access to Füssen and the King's castles, Linderhof, Garmish, and Mittenwald

Do you think Berchtesgaden will be nice to stay there may be for 4 days in December?

Sorry, I missed your dates. The lifts in the Oberallgäu might not be running. Ski season hasn't started and the hikers have left. Still, the mountains surrounding the valley are beautiful in the snow, and you can still go to Lindau. Lot's of shops and restaurants in Oberstdorf. There is one bus per day from the valley to Füssen and back with a long enough stay to visit one castle.

Berchtesgaden in December? The Eagles Nest will not be an option. The boats on Königssee run on a reduced schedule and might not run if the weather is bad. The Dokumentation Center operates on reduced schedule, but long enough to see it. On the other hand, the scenery is spectacular. The spa and salt mine will be open. You can always take the bus into Salzburg for the day.

Hi Rueben,

We stayed in early Dec. 2010 and early Dec. 2013 in Berchtesgaden.

We actually stayed at the Guesthouse Friedwiese in Schonau am Konigsee, 5 minutes from Berchtesgaden.
http://www.friedwiese.de/enska/isl.htm

Berchtesgaden is a charming old town, easily walkable, beautiful alpine scenery and the Christmas Markets are open Thursday - Sunday, which add a very festive atmosphere to the old town. The Konigsee is very scenic with a boat trip, which runs all year unless the lake is frozen over (rare). Not sure what the operating dates are, but the Jennerbahn cable car is right next to the Konigsee. Both the Jennerbahn and Konigsee are maybe 10 min. by bus from Berchtesgaden. Salzburg is an easy day trip from here as well. Here the Christmas Markets are wonderful and simply add to an already beautiful old town experience. Even Zell am See, 1:30 away, can be a day trip. We have done it. Hallein, Austria, with it's Salt Mine and old town (and Christmas Market Fri.-Sun.), is another nice place to visit. Not sure how to do this by bus (someone could surely help you), but St. Gilgen, on the Wolfgangsee, is about an hour by car from Berchtesgaden. We spent an entire day out cruising the Wolfgangsee by lake ship and visiting St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang. The ships operate on the days the Christmas Markets are open, again, Thursday - Sunday. We didn't take them, but there are mountain trips (cable car/cog train) from St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang.

http://www.berchtesgadener-advent.com/index.html
http://www.hallein.com/en/
http://advent.wolfgangsee.at/en/

We can also recommend staying nearby Berchtesgaden at the Pension Mayringerlehen in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, where we stayed in 10/06, 10/07 and 9/09.
http://www.mayringerlehen.de/englisch/index.php

The Mayringerlehen was closed the days we visited in 2010 and 2013, so we stayed at, and loved, the Guesthouse Friedwiese. If they are open, the Mayringerlehen is a 3 min. walk from the bus stop in Ramsau village and a 10 min. bus ride from Berchtesgaden. It's also just a few min. walk into the small, picturesque village of Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden. To pick which place to stay we liked better, that would be tough.

We have photo's of our trips at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjbassplyr/sets

Paul

As much as I love Oberstdorf, if you're not there for skiing or hiking, you wouldn't have much to do in the winter. It's a beautiful town in a fantastic setting... but it's a base for mountain activities. There's probably only so many sporting goods stores you can visit... And other than the castles near Füssen, it's a little far away from most of the more popular tourist destinations in southern Bavaria.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen would be a better choice without a car, due to it's central location and because it acts as a mini rail and bus hub for the region.

Paul had some great ideas for the Salzburg/Berchtesgaden area. The Christmas markets in Berchtesgaden, Salzburg, St. Gilgen and Strobl are just magical. Having a base in Rothenburg and visiting those markets in that area would also be wonderful. Another option would be to base yourself in and around Oberammergau and visiting their very small, only on the weekend market. If you haven't been to Garmisch, Neuschwanstein, or Fuessen, those are also options. I have been to several of these Christmas markets. If you would like to see/read my blogs for the markets, send me a personal message.