Advice for a one day car trip around Munich

I'm assuming you must have thoroughly toured the sights of Munich itself on previous visits since you haven't allocated any time for that on this trip.

Rothenberg OdT does seem overly optimistic. Google maps gives a very optimistic time of 2 1/2 hrs each way, but you will have rush hour to contend with in both directions. And you'll want to be in the airport, having gassed up and dropped off the car by 6:00. You'll spend 6 or more of your less than 10 hours paying attention to traffic and the road.

I don't really have any suggestions for a car trip out of the city on a departure day. If you stored your bags at the Munich Hbh, you could take the train (1 1/2hrs each way) to Salzburg, with time to see the Old Town.

Hi Benjamin- The BMW Welt and the Olympic stadium are in Munich and would not require renting a car. With a car, try Kloster Andechs (Easy on the suds when driving) or Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Public transport to all 3 of these (check bags at Munich Hbf as suggested above or leave bags at your Munich hotel?) would negate the requirement for a car...

Have a great trip!!!

PS- If you haven't already purchased non-refundable tickets from Munich to Berlin, there are direct trains between Munich and Berlin every hour in the evening that take about 4 hours and costs less than 60 Euros for 2 people- This saves the time to get to the Munich airport, get through security, get on board the plane, get off the plane in Berlin, and get into Berlin proper.

Thanks for the advice! Should have clarified, we need to have to car back at 7:30 for a 9:30 flight. Main reason for renting car, is I’d like to be on the Autobahn for a bit. Have always wanted to and have an E Class convertible reserved ;) I’ll look into other suggestions and Thanks! Bottom line looking for a little Autobahn time as well as a nice drive to enjoy the convertible with some neat villages and scenery.

Try Ingolstadt, about 80 km north on A9. Ingolstadt is a pleasant, not overly-touristed town just about halfway between Munich and Nuremberg.

The Audi factory is on the north side of Ingolstadt. Audi Forum is not as elaborate as BMW Welt and museum, but still worthwhile, and factory tours are available.

In the old city is the German Museum of Medical History. Dating back to the 1700s the building was the Anatomy Building of the University of Ingolstadt. The gardens in the courtyard are comprised of medicinal herbs and plants. The building was the setting for Mary Shelley's original novel Frankenstein.

More information here. Self-guided walking tour map here.

Awesome! Thanks all! Any more options would be great! Have 11 hours in the air tomorrow to research;)

Consider going to Augsburg. It is 50 miles west of Munich and the Town Hall is impressive. Also, go see the Fuggeri. It is a 17th Century settlement for the poor. The houses are small and still rent for a nominal rent. Joseph Fuggeri, in the 17th Century was the richest man in the World and he built the Fuggeri.

True, the annual rent for a flat in the Fuggerei (founded 1521) is 88 cents, the equivalent of one Rhenish Guilder. But then you have to pray three times a day for the soul of Jakob Fugger: a Credo, a Paternoster and an Ave Maria ...

Other options:

• Landshut - wonderful town, close to airport so you can stay there a while
• Wasserburg am Inn - picturesque town built on a sharp bend on the Inn river. about 1 hour from Airport.
• Take a drive through the mountains if the weather is nice (could be a whole day). Many options here, one could be drive down to Mittelwald, follow the Isar to Sylvensteinsee and then continue on the 307 to Tegernsee. Lots of places to stop along the way.
• Drive out to the Markus Wasmeier Freilichtmuseum (folk museum): Brunnbichl 5, 83727 Schliersee, Germany. See some historic farm houses and get a feel for traditional upper Bavarian culture. Food is good too!

DJ

Have you got that flight paid for? I agree that the train is as fast and much easier than flying to Berlin.

It will depend on where you are getting the car in the morning and how quick the process is as to how much of the morning rush hour you will get caught up in. My thought for beauty would be to head south towards Garmisch Partenkirchen or Prien. The A8 can get more than its fair share of traffic, and quite a lot of traffic tends to be at both ends of the A95.

Not on the autobahn but a beautiful drive in a car with no lid are the roads through the woods and switchbacks near the Austrian border. Remember if you go over the border you need an IDP, and if you stray onto Austrian autobahns you also need to have stuck a Vignette on the windscreen

I assume by autobahn time you mean going as fast as the car can go - with no lid on the car. Much of the autobahn in the vicinity of Munich has tightly enforced limited speed so be aware. For the shortish bits of National Speed Limit I hope that that E-Type has good brakes - you'll need them.

Does the rental company allow you to exceed 130 kph? Do they have a gps tracker on the car (most high end rentals do)?

A good thread currently running on the Germany Forum is this one https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/driving-in-germany-60f26755-71c4-4f06-862b-976eb945c0dc about driving in Germany.

I would use that day to explore Munich. The Viktualeinmarkt, Marienplatz, English Garden. Lots to see. We just returned from Germany & Austria and traffic was BAD around Munich midday, with a lot of construction and semi trucks back to back to back. Probably not the autobahn experience you’re hoping for! It would stress me out to be stuck in traffic on my departure day.

If you really must go elsewhere, I would drive to Mittenwald, about an hr away. Very cute town in spectacular setting.