Christmas season in Germany

2 weeks with all 1- and 2-night stays would wear me out. In cities you won't want a car and in winter the likelihood of bad weather (icy or snowy roads) driving between cities could be very slow and pretty miserable. Without a car, you will have to pick up and drop off your luggage before/after sightseeing. Count nights, not days. 2 nights gives you one full day. Moving to a new location will use up about 1/2 day.

The Christmas markets will be in full swing then, so while you'll be able to enjoy them, it can slow down your sightseeing. The limited daylight hours may do that too. Depends on what you're interested in.

On a dreary gray day the castles near Fussen may not be very attractive, and if it snows, will they be accessible?

That''s a whole lot of changing locations.

A car would help you streamline everything, but it will be an expensive nuisance in Munich and Salzburg. Except in the Alps and some other mountain regions, snow rarely presents much of a problem driving in the country. It rarely accumulates more than several centimeters, and the crews usually have the roads clear right away. It can fall pretty heavily in the Alps, but even here, in a region that lives off it's ski economy, roads usually stay open.

The Romantic Road and Nürnberg are your outliers here. The former gets more tourist attention than it deserves. It's just one of about 100 themed tourist routes that criss-cross Germany. The route itself is just a rural secondary road, the scenery is no different from any other in that region of the country. It merely serves to link together some attractive towns, but finding attractive towns in Germany is like shooting fish in a barrel. If you're dead-set on visiting some of the towns along the route, than go for it. If not, spend more time at your other locations. In Decemeber, the scenery is often more overcast and gray, so giving yourself more time at each location increases your chances that you'll actually see those vistas you paid so much to visit. There's several attractive towns in the region between Munich and Salzburg that are worth visiting, such as Landshut, Burghausen, Passau, Rosenheim and Berchtesgaden. Nürnberg is a worthy destination, but an outlier for your trip.

BTW- the castles almost never close, even after heavy snowstorms.

BTW

We've done two Christmas trips in Germany and are about to go for a third. I think you are trying to put a bit too much into two weeks but I could make a few suggestions to help out. Give Munich three full days and on one of those days try booking a Tours by Locals guide with a car who can take you to the castles in Fussen. We used Simone and saw Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau in the same day as well as Ettal Monastry and the Weisskirche on the way there and back. It's a fair price but it packs everything in without exhausting you or costing nights in hotels. I'd then suggest going by train to Nürnberg (or Regensburg then Nürnberg) and perhaps a night in Rothenburg Ob der Tauber. This gives you a taste of the Romantic Road without the driving. Check out the DB Landers tickets for these short trips too. From Nürnberg you can get a high speed train to Salzburg but you need to change in Munich. If I had to hire a car I'd do it from then on. That would let you explore the Tirol and move into Italy then back to Munich to fly out.
Personally, I would skip Italy if you only have a day and I'd be looking at a good tour of the Bavarian region on the excellent trains. Then you could enjoy places like Bamberg (for beer, bishops residences and 1000 yr old cathedrals) or Würzburg (for wine, bishops palaces and fortresses)

In December you can count on troublesome weather - rain, fog, snow, it's always something. While it's possible to arrange a tightly-scheduled itinerary with a new place to stay every night or every other night, it's a gamble... will the weather be right for that alpine view on the day I scheduled it? You'll likely have better luck if you base yourselves in no more than 2 or 3 different places - and then make decisions about where you go and when from those bases. That way you can check the weather and head into the Alps on a clear day... or instead of braving a nasty-cold day at some Christmas market because that's the only day you can do it, you can maybe take in a museum or two and do that market another day. Both Salzburg and Füssen are feasible as day trips from Munich if you wish to do them that way. The same is true for Nuremberg, actually. You can also day trip from Munich easily to Augsburg (Romantic Road) or other nearby RR towns like Donauwörth or Landsberg am Lech. Regensburg (a UNESCO World Heritage town) makes an easy day trip too.

Using the train out of Munich is easiest - no traffic, no parking, no road troubles; you'll have a change of train to reach Landsberg and Harburg, but for all the other destinations mentioned, direct trains are possible, as well as for Landshut, which Tom suggested.

For ease of travel (no traffic jams, parking issues, etc.) trains make good sense from a Munich base. The Bayern Ticket day pass is usually the most economical option.

andrew.debbie suggests Nuremberg, an excellent destination with a world-renowned Christmas market and base town as well IMO, and day trips to Bamberg (another UNESCO WH town) and Würzburg (northern Romantic Road town) are easy to do, especially by train. I would in fact be more excited about these outings and about a stay of several days in Nuremberg's old town than I would in Munich. But the secret is out, so make reservations now if you'll be there pre-Christmas.

Hi,

Arriving in Munich on 12/5 and departing 12/20, you have 15 nights. You have 13 accounted for in your proposed itinerary, even with the 2 "just in case" days.

I would not move around so much. Pick maybe 4 base places and visit other places nearby.

For example, we did 2 late Nov./early Dec. trips in 2010 and 2013. We based in Schonau am Konigsee for 4 nights and visited: Berchtesgaden, Bad Reichenhall, Salzburg, Hallein, St. Gilgen and then took a cruise on the Wolfgangsee, from St. Gilgen to St. Wolfgang.

We also based in Hall in Tirol for 4 nights and visited: Hall in Tirol, Rattenberg, Innsbruck, Igls, Seefeld, Mittenwald, Sterzing/Vipiteno (Italy) and Brixen/Bressanone (Italy). We were going to include Bolzano but ran out of time. It's a 1:30 to 2 hour drive from Hall in Tirol.

Even though we had snow on both trips, the driving was fine and we had no problems. Roads are cleared very quickly.

Paul

Many good suggestions here. We based ourselves in Munich for a trip at that same time of year. From there we did day trips to Nuremburg, Fussen/castles, Dachau. Munich itself is great then, the Christmas market and lunch in the restaurant at the top of the Olympic tower, symphony and opera. Perfect time of year for lots of INDOOR activites if the weather is bad. We have also done day trips from Munich to Salzburg, Bamberg, Regensburg, Wurzburg, Berchtesgaden(Eagle's Nest tour, Garmisch-P, etc. With your timeline/time of year I would base in maybe two location and make day trips by train. You can get a pass or do point-to-point tickets (lots of good deals in Bavaria). The trains will run even if the weather is bad, and you enjoy your travel a lot more when you aren't the one driving. We like the Torbrau Hotel in Munich because it is across the street from a subway stop, and easy walking distance (even in snow) from the main plaza. We have also done the Dolomites with Bavaria, but not in December. If I were to have two weeks in December I would probably combine a base in Munich for several nights with a base in somewhere like Prague/Vienna/Budapest for 6 nights. Nice to see the Christmas season in a couple of different countries, and easy train trips.

Wow, the suggestions whet my interest. I, too, would pick 4 spots to stay in: Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, (or Hall) and Bolzano. I would use train travel all the way because I enjoy it and taking photos of the Alps along the way. You have many suggestions of day trips from Munich. Nürnberger bratwurst are the best, IMO, but I would base in MU and day trip there. From Salz, I would love to visit Wolfgangsee. And, yes, I like Christmas markets. It is interesting to see what is different and local to each. Owls are big in Bolzano. Speck in Innsbruck. By allotting a few days in each location, you can permit some structured days and some more lazy days. You can have museums one day and chokolat at the markts another - or Stroh rum! You could take an S-bahn out into the far southern burbs of MU and have lunch. You could indulge a hankering for shopping for Loden coats. You could even train as far as Venice and notice the locals wearing Loden coats there! Enjoy yourselves.

Thanks so much too all of you who took the time to provide tips and insight. The Rick Steves travelers are indeed a big family

I say cut way back on the places and EXPERIENCE being in Europe. You are going to spend SO much time traveling, that you aren't going to see and feel all the markets offer. I can't speak for all the towns you mention - we've only done a few, but we loved the Markets in Vienna, Salzburg, Passau, Regensburg, and Nurnburg. Nurnbug's market is very large and the OLD TOWN where the market is has amazing cathedrals to explore and a great little shopping area of local vendors/pewter/etc a short walk from the Markets (kind of across from the Train Station - across a bridge heading to the markets - you'll walk thru the vendor area). We easily spent 3days in Nurnburg and LOVED their Sausage Sandwiches, Potato Pancakes, and the famous Gingerbread. We took a River Cruise on the Danube to see all of this and extended our stay upfront in Vienna and at the end in Nurnberg. The markets are truly magical. We have already booked a River Cruise on the Rhine for 2016 Christmas.