Bavaria 6 day itinerary

With the understanding that high elevation beats low elevation, that you intend to visit very popular places at their busiest time of the year, and that "fairytale villages" (with cobblestones, half-timbered buildings, etc.) are in short supply in the Alps, I will nominate two small-ish, very attractive, higher-elevation places which could serve as separate base towns...

Mittenwald (el. 3,000 ft +) (think mountain lifts with hiking options, river gorges, feels sorta Swiss)
Oberammergau (el. 2,800)

Each place provides a number of outings within a smallish radius which you'll want to explore. That includes plenty of lakes in addition to palaces, churches, monasteries, and other nice towns.

Resource for area lakes: https://www.komoot.com/guide/210612/lakes-around-landkreis-garmisch-partenkirchen

Thanks Russ, so Mittenwald is not a fairytale village in your opinion? Can you explain why? Am I exaggerating the weather differences between Northern and Southern Bavaria?

Garmish-Partenkirchen seems to be about 5-10 degrees cooler than Nuremberg this coming week according to Weather.com... But things can change so you will have to keep an eye on it.

And, yes it will be packed everywhere, although Bavarian School Holidays don't begin until til August 3 (and last until September 14).

Neither town is "fairytale" in the more traditional sense of the word - as I understand it anyway. The term brings to MY mind things like towers and turrets and fanciful ornate woodwork on the exteriors of much older buildings, things which are sometimes found north of Munich but largely in OTHER parts of Germany.... Some examples...

Michelstadt: https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/19/de/44/10/caption.jpg
Rinteln: https://cdn.open-pr.de/pressemitteilung/f/f/7/ff791ea3.1200x900.jpg
Gengenbach: https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/2d/da/c0/2e/caption.jpg?w=1200
Braubach: https://fotos.schloemp.eu/wp-content/gallery/braubach/020bBraubach-Marktplatz.JPG
Bernkastel: https://www.reisroutes.be/userfiles/fotos/bernkastel-spitzhauschen_11675_xl.jpg

The alpine towns have more modern buildings with their own style about them, but that does not mean that they aren't attractive and enjoyable, and your chances for good temps are IMPROVED in the Alps of course. If the lowlands are nasty hot, then the Alps might be "uncomfortably warm/hot..." I think you would have to perch yourselves in the Swiss Alps at higher elevation to ensure comfortable temperatures during a wave of extreme heat.

We loved Garmisch Partenkirchen but I feel like it may be too big for you and too international with the Olympia sport Halle. What type of food are you interested in? You say “Foodie” . I hope the regional Bavarian cuisine is what you mean. The time period you are going is also peak for Germans to vacation. So you need to expect it will be quite popular no matter which village you decide to stay in.

Reit im Winkl, Oberaudorf, Traunstein (can be lots of traffic), Murnau am Staffelsee, Oberstdorf and the surrounding area. You can always go into Austria too: Ehrwald, Seefeld in Tirol, Hall in Tirol etc. If it's too hot get on a lift to higher elevations. I drive my own car, but I do take a fan with me in warmer months. Most places have no AC and provide no fans (Lüfter). I also like to use the plug-in repellant against mosquitoes if necessary.

back to the weather, the north and the alps can be under exactly the same weather system and still be different. On clear sunny days in summer it will get hot, but temperatures drop due to altitude in virtually any weather (not getting into inversions or föhn....) . Big cities get hotter because the heat builds up in the roads and buildings and stays into the night thus getting a start onthe next days highs , whereas in the mountains it will cool down partially during the night and then start agin next day. BUT - health alert - just because it's cooler and more comfortable with some altitude there is a MUCH greater risk from UV exposure and burning, so take good sunscreen.

Weather fronts moving from the southwest may dump their rain on the german side of the alps and then continue as just dull and miserable as they progress to the north - or just linger in the north when the alps have cleared.

Fairytale villages in europe are very much like english inns, they exist mostly in the minds of people from other continents or the blurb written by tourist publicity offices! Since when do fairytales have supermarkets, gas stations and billboards? But I would say Garmisch has not been near the fairy tale rating since about 1934 but Mittenwald still has a very pretty centre. As does Murnau, which also has a good lake.