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5-7 days in Germany - Best approach?

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We keep revising our plans for our summer trip to Europe. We are contemplating 5-7 days in Germany. Areas that we would like to explore are the Black Forrest, Fussen and Munich. But now that we have allowed ourselves more time in Germany I feel like we can accomplish more. We plan to rent a car to give us better flexibilty and because we love road trips! I would love suggestions on the following:

  • should we pick a central location and airbnb there or find a place to stay as we go?
  • what else should we include on this trip? Are there any other must see stops? I was focusing on Fussen and the castles and zugspitz (sp?). But now I feel like we might be able to do more north a bit like the romantic road etc?
  • if we pick a central location to put down roots and do day trips from there, where should we focus our efforts?

Any other suggestions welcome. We look at this and get excited and overwhelmed with the possibilties. We love outdoors stuff, specifically national parks and hikes. We also enjoy the cities and museums, etc. I would like to balance the 2. We will be entering the country from Colmar and grabbing a rental car near the border. We will depart from Munich on a flight to Rome.

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
6621 posts

"Any other suggestions welcome."

So then... Fussen and the castles and zugspitz (sp?)... the romantic road etc... Black Forrest... Munich.

Don't try to cover so many destinations and so much territory with so little time, especially at the height of tourist season. In Füssen you would be visiting palaces (not castles - but Neuschwanstein does have a fake castle exterior.) You don't actually need two separate Alpine destinations with so little time - I would axe this one first.

You might have time to stop in a Romantic Road town or two as you proceed toward Munich - maybe Landsberg would work. But I wouldn't try driving the whole Romantic Road - it should get your second swipe of the axe. You've got more than enough on your plate and more than enough time in the car already. Germany is more about boots on the ground than driving around.

The Zugspitze is only one of several natural wonders in the Garmisch-Mittenwald area. It will be busy here too but I'd suggest you really need 2-3 days for this area if you really are into nature, hiking, etc.

This is a helpful guide for a day in/around Mittenwald:

http://hastingshouse.typepad.com/hastings_house_us/travel_in_europe/

Garmisch tourism:
https://www.gapa.de/en/Ort-Umgebung_en/Attractions

The Black Forest Open-Air museum in scenic Gutach is a very good stopover. Kids should enjoy the summer bobsled run.

Between the Black Forest and the German Alps: you might make a point of stopping in Meersburg (genuine castle) on Lake Constance, the island town of Lindau, and/or the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen - they are all close together.

If you have 7 days and you want to split your time between the city and nature, then 4 days with driving might cover what I've penciled in, leaving 3 days for Munich. But of course this might already be too much if you have less than 7 days.

"if we pick a central location to put down roots and do day trips from there..."

That is how I tend to travel. But this sounds unrealistic to me with the distances you have to cover and the short period of time you have.

Posted by
2392 posts

You might want to stay at a farm apartment for a few days near Fussen. www.bensbauernhof.com has several links to such places.

Since you are a family of 4 travelling in the summer, I would make reservations rather than winging it. If you are going this summer, I would make them soon.

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