Day Trips from Munich?

It has been many years, but when I was in Munich for a business trip, a Bavarian colleague of mine whose mother had been a tour guide took me to the town of Regensburg and the nearby Walhalla monument, both on the Danube. The medieval town was pretty with a nice cathedral. Completed in 1842, the monument is an unexpected sight in the countryside, overlooking the river.

I am not personally familiar with rural Bavaria, but I recall earlier threads where highly knowledgeable folks made specific suggestions of less-touristy (and perhaps more logistically convenient) options than Rothenburg in particular. There are some nice lakes, too; I believe the Tegernsee has been mentioned. If you don't get a lot of responses to this thread (visitation to this website is probably down quite a bit at the moment), you might scroll backwards through the Germany forum and open threads with likely-sounding topics.

Berchtesgaden Town and Mountains and the Eagle's Nest – Sounds interesting, but are the views worth a whole day?

It's too far from Munich IMHO.

So is Rothenburg - not to mention the fact it's the supreme tourist town of tourist towns, with all that entails. acraven put it well - look into some "...less-touristy (and perhaps more logistically convenient) options than Rothenburg." Despite its "backdoor" philosophy, Rick's book recommendations tend to ignore the backdoor places and instead send readers to places where tourists outnumber locals by a very wide margin.

So for very nice places near Munich, some suggestions for you:

LANDSHUT (roughly pronounced "lontz-hoot") is about 45 minutes from Munich by direct train. REGENSBURG ("ray-guns-bwuck" is an authentic medieval town on the UNESCO World Heritage list and just a half hour or so beyond Landshut. So you could perhaps visit both places in a single day - stop in Landshut for a few hours, do the same in Regensburg, find dinner there, return to Munich in the evening. This outing is 100% covered by using the regional trains on the Bayern Ticket Day Pass, €34/2:

http://munich-touristinfo.de/Bavaria-Ticket.htm

In 2015, we took the train from Munich to Nuremberg and very much enjoyed Tour Guide Kevin's WW2 Combo Tour. He met us at the hotel across from the station, and took us on a fascinating tour, which ended at the Palace of Justice/Courtroom 600, where the post-war Nuremberg trials took place. He dropped us off in front of an excellent restaurant and we explored the town on our own for a few hours. With hindsight, I wish we had scheduled another one of his other tours for the afternoon. Nuremberg is a lovely place to visit.

https://tourguide-kevin.com/nuremberg-ww2-combo-tour/

When we were in Munich, we did day trips to Dachau as well as Neuschwanstein. For Neuschwanstein we used Mike's Bike Tour's. Loved it! We met at their office in Munich and then walked to the coach bus and took that over. We first did a bike ride (easy) to Swan Lake and could see the castle in the distance. Then we had lunch at a restaurant, and did not have to sit with others on the bus, and could order whatever from the menu, not a group menu type of thing. Anyway, then we headed to the castle. We had plenty of time to go to Mary's Bridge before our group tour inside the castle. The bus ride was very enjoyable, and they sold beer etc for like 1 euro. Se have recommended it to several people, and everyone has loved it, FWIW.

sg,

A few thoughts on those day trips.....

• While Neuschwanstein isn't a "real castle" in the usual sense, I still found it very interesting and very impressive. Be sure to visit Marion's Bridge to get the "classic" photo of the castle. I chose to take a guided tour from Munich with Radius Tours and thought that was a good way to see the castle. The guide not only obtained the timed entry tickets, but the trip down provided an opportunity for him to provide some history of the castle.
• Berchetesgaden is probably easier seen from Salzburg (if you're planning to visit there). As I recall, the DB Bus makes the trip in about an hour. If visiting the Eagle's Nest, I would highly recommend Eagle's Nest Historical Tours as you'll learn far more about the history. I believe they also cover the Dokumentation Centre and Bunkers in their tour. There's also a Salt Mine that you can tour there, so I'd plan on making Berchtesgaden a full day.
• Rothenburg is (IMO) too far from Munich for a "day trip" although it could be done. I'm not sure it would be worth the effort or the long travel times each way. If travelling by train there will be at least two (and perhaps three) changes each way so it will be a bit of a grueling journey.
• Nuremburg is possible as a day trip as travel by train is about 1H:20M each way. To determine whether that might be worthwhile for you and to focus on sights of interest, I would highly recommend packing along a copy of the RS Germany guidebook.
• Dachau could also be done with a guided tour or on your own. I did that with Radius also and thought they provided an interesting look at the history. It was nice to have a guide to answer any questions. While there are local guides at Dachau, the short train trip allowed the Radius guide to provide some history before we arrived at the site.
• Last but not least, be sure to leave enough time for the many sights in Munich. In addition to some interesting walking tours, there's the extensive Deutsches Museum which has not only the main site but also the aviation site and transportation site a short distance from the city.

When I was in Munich, a few years ago, I visited several places in one afternoon (with rented car)-Ettal, Schloss Linderhof (Ludwig's favourite castle, much more than Neuschwanstein) and Oberammergau. All 3 places in one afternoon, and all are very close to one another, a little more than hour drive from Munich. Next day we visited Garmish Partenkirchen just a little bit further in the same direction. If you start in the morning you can visit all 4 in one day without a rush-perfect day trip. See details about each place in the description of the video below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlmiXy04Rfc

All four can be done on a day trip from Munich, but a long day trip.

Garmisch/Fussen is worthy of three days on its own. If you stay in the area, you may be able to do both Neuschwanstein and Linderhof in one day, but I wouldn't do that. Garmisch worth spending some time and enjoying its many restaurants. Going up the Zugspitze (highest mountain in Germany) is a must and you can do it from the cable car or cog train. Neuschwanstein is likened as the castle that Disney copied for Disneyland. The castle is only about 200 years old and not that historical, but it is worth a visit. Linderhof is more historic and worth a visit. Oberamergau is north of Garmisch and where the Passion Play is held and worth a short visit.

Berchtesdagen and the Eagles Nest is great and could be done in a day, but nearby Salzburg, Austria is a must and you need a couple of days to visit Salzburg.

Rothenberg is special and can be done on a day trip, but better to do the Romantic Road from Wurzburg to Garmisch and visit several of the medieval towns and ancient cities like Augsburg. Dinkelsbuhl is an similar medieval city and usually has few tourists.
https://www.romanticroadgermany.com

Nuremberg deserves a couple of days, but you can do it in a day. Take the train from Munich (go early). The city walls are still there, but most of the city was bombed or burned out in WWII and the buildings are rebuilt. Still, it is worth a trip. Also, visit the site of the trials and were the rallies were held.

You need about three full days to see Munich, then another week to do the other sites you mentioned properly.

Another thing: An unexpected highlight of our trip to Munich was a visit to BMW World and the Museum. The museum reminded me of the Tate Modern, but with cars and motorcycles.

Neuschwanstein and Dachau are both well worth visiting. Haven't been to your other listed choices.

It was said up thread that Neuschwanstein is about 200 years old. Not quite. It was completed and able to be used by King Ludwig in 1884. By my reckoning that's 136 years. Two years later he was dead - under mysterious circumstances - and the "castle" was open to the public very soon afterwards.

Scenic and interesting, but never used as a castle, a stage-set in the truest sense, and a tourist attraction for all but two years of its history.

I'd recommend all the places you mentioned but only Nuremberg is a comfortable day trip from Munich and it will fill your day. Regensburg is mentioned a couple of times above, it's been on my radar but always slightly out of range. For two nice small towns with an Alpine feel close by, check out Murnau ( https://www.murnau.de/de/willkommen.html ) and Bad Tolz ( https://www.bad-toelz.de/ ). Both have a nice central core and there is hiking to be had close by.

We took the suggestion someone had on this site last year we took the S8 to Herrsching then a paddle boat across lake Ammersee to Dießen. Both Herrsching and Dießen are small towns where you can see the alps in the distance. Marienmünster Church in Dießen is very nice to see. And like other transport in Germany the boats are always on time.

This outing to the Ammersee is a nice one. Dießen, the town with the funny letter, has an "s" sound between the two e's - it's pronounced roughly like "dee-sun."

I would like to add another location for perfect day trip from Munich. Dachau. Many tourists visit only notorious concentration camp not even knowing that there is a typical Bavarian small town just 20 minutes train (S bahn) ride from Munich. There is a small but pretty Old Town (Altstadt), with 900 years old Dachau Palace (Schloss Dachau), summer residence of Bavaria rulers Wittelsbachs, with beautiful garden. What is different from similar small Bavarian towns is that Dachau is almost tourist free, there are no noisy crowds with cameras. From a hill (Schlossberg) where palace is situated you can see Munich in the distance and on a clear day even the Alps.

https://youtu.be/e6PBdSm9r38

Augsburg is 50miles west of Munich and there are trains going there about every half hour.
The city is over 2000 years old and filled with interesting places to visit. The City Hall is amazing. Also, the Fugeri is a settlement for the poor built in the 1600s by the richest man in the world. People still live there and pay a nominal rental fees.

People still live there and pay a nominal rental fees.

To be exact, it's 0.88€ per year, the equivalent of one Rhenish guilder. In addition, the residents have to pray one Paternoster, one Credo and one Ave Maria daily for the salvation of the founder (1521), Jakob Fugger.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof Palace, Berchtesgaden, and the Eagle's Nest are lousy day trips from Munich, but they are right next to Mittenwald where you plan to spend a night. But you can't do them all in a single day. If the weather's good the Eagles Nest is also; the views can be spectacular. Linderhof is one of the best Schloss' type castles, period. It's magnificent. Neuschwanstein is very touristy; right up there with Rothenberg odT (RodT)or Octoberfest as a symbol of having been to Germany. If you can book a tour with Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Hohenschwangau, and Oberamergau (they do exist) that will be a very full day.

Nuremberg is an easy train ride to and from Munich. You can walk right out of the train station and across the square and into the old town. I lived between there and RodT and even wrote up a basic inside the walls itinerary for a days walking tour. But it's such a fantastic place you do yourself a dis-service trying to do it all in one day. Here's a short list of stuff to do there:

The Train Museum
The Toy Museum
The Kunst Quarter
The Stadtpark
Westfriedhof - Cemetary
Johannis Friedhof – Tomb of Albrect Durer
The Cupernicus Planetarium
Trodelmarkt
Tucherschloss
The Tiergarten
Kristall Palm Beach (not really in your focus, but a lot of fun...)
The Water Gate
Imperial Castle & Gardens
National Germanic Museum
City Walls
Lorenzkirche
Hauptmarkt
Beautiful Fountain (Schonnebrunnen)
Gansemannchen Fountain
St. Giles Church Frauenkirche
Albert Durer House
City Museum (Fembo House)
Tiergarten Tor - Medieval Square Frauntorturn District - half timbered houses
Weibergasse Street
Weinstadel House
Zum Guldenen Stern
Nassauer House
Tugenbrunnen Fountain
Museum Bridge
St Sebaldus Kirche

You might also want to check the calendar for the Messecentrum and see if they have a show going on while you are planning on being there. First, because that affects hotel availability and pricing, and second in case it's something you're interested in.

I won't bother with a list for RodT, because that gets written up by every tour book author. The thing is you could easy spend a week within 50km of there and not see everything. (Castles, meteor craters, dinosaur beds, etc.)

But here's the thing, you cannot possibly see Munich in 3-4 days. Not even just the "old" part of town.

Dachau is a day. Yes, the tour doesn't take more than 3-4 hours, but I've taken several groups of friends thru there and afterwards nobody wants to do much except maybe sit and drink. It's a graphic display of just how terrible people can be and emotionally draining.

If you tried to do three museums a day it would take more than a week to do those within the city limits. Churches would be about the same. Shopping, beerhalls, architecture, historical sights; there's just so much. And then there's music, street performers, the State Opera, and special events that take time too.

I've written pages of notes on these places for friends going over. Nobody ever has enough time, myself included. Last time I flew into Munich I spent three weeks just driving around Bavaria, Tyrol, and the Czech Republic (all of which I know well) and I have a list of stuff I missed and need to go back for.

Dachau is a day. Yes, the tour doesn't take more than 3-4 hours, but
I've taken several groups of friends thru there and afterwards nobody
wants to do much except maybe sit and drink.

My experience there was years ago but quite similar. It's an emotional experience with time-consuming after-effects, not the sort of thing you mix into a day with fun stuff. KGB's other comments about time are worth considering as well.

Looking back, the Dachau KZ visit really was not in my best interests. I picked up no new insights into the Holocaust phenomenon, and all the ugly details I revisited there differed little from what I'd already learned in school or in films. I'd have been better off exploring some other aspect of German/European history that was less thoroughly covered in US public schools and less familiar to me. Personally, I would send only Holocaust deniers there. People I mix with already know very well the horrible cruelties faced by Germany's "undesirables" during the Nazizeit.

There are many interesting day trip from Munich. Using the Bavarian train pass in a packed day, I recently visited Garmisch, Ettal and Mittewald. Each has something interesting to offer. You should visit some of the small outlying cities. Each is gorgeous and enchanting, Each is wrapped with the Bavarian Alps. Or, visit Ettal (monestary) then on to Oberammergau...take the lift to the crest of Mt Labor and hike down thru the pastures. Idyllic

JL Brown mentioned Ammersee and Herrshing. If you go out there , you might also want to visit Kloster Andechs nearby. It's a
Monastary with a nice chapel and grounds. If I remember right , the composer Carl Orff is entombed there. Also , there is a beer hall and garden with some of the best beer in the world and the food is very reasonable with large portions. It's been many years since I visited there , but I enjoyed it .

Munich in itself is wonderful and worthy of three or four days of your time. If you must leave for a day trip, I'd take an early train to Salzburg, Austria and then a late train back to good 'ole Munchen. Prep yourself to be your own tour guide, walk the town, explore the castle, and make sure to drink their amazing local beer, Augustiner (it has a yellow label).

Dacau is a bummer, but really should be experienced. I am not aware of a direct train there, but you should be able to find your way.

I'm also a huge fan of the Fussen area, where you can see the castles as well as enjoy the gorgeous area. I'd spend the night if possible.

I love Rothenburg ob der Tauber, but it is too far away to make sense. Save it for another trip. You will enjoy this amazingly picturesque old town, ideally when you have a car to tour the Romatic Road on your own terms.

We one to Dachau first thing in the morning, then had lunch and sort of regrouped and then did the BMW museum later that day. For us, that worked well and we did not find it to be a problem.

Neuschwanstein is quite busy, but on our bus tour the guide gave a lot of background information which was really nice. We were glad to went, and knowing it would be busy did help so our expectations were in line.

I loved Rothenberg odT. We spent 3 nights there and that was the right amount of time for us. It would be too far for a day trip from Munich for our tastes, FWIW. Everything I read said it would be super busy/packed with people etc. That was not our experience at all. We were there in mid September 2017 and during the days it was not busy at all. The only time it was busy was when we did the Night Watchman Tour (which was very good). Otherwise it was very pleasant. This was a must for me as back in 1970 my grandparents did a trip around the world for 2 years and this is one of the places they went. When they passed away, one of the things that I received was a print they bought there. I had been wanting to go there ever since I saw that print. When we were there, we stumbled upon a store with old prints and as I talked to the shop owner, it turned out she knew the artist and when the artist died, she ended up with the rest of their prints. So she closed up shop for a couple hours, and went and got everything from that artist, and we met later and I picked another print from that artist to go with the one that I inherited. So Rothenberg will always be special to me, from my grandparents to my own experience.

The English Gardens in Munich is lovely on a sunny day

With only 4 nights in Munich that means you have 3 days which is HARDLY enough to be planning so many daytrips away. Enjoy the sights where you already are.

We visited Dachau and spent about 4 hours there. Don't mss the film after touring--I think it was adjacent to the gift shop in a theater. Sadly enough as the place is it is a beautiful area. We did not have a car-train and then bus from Munich. I don't think you need a tour. We loved Munich.

Day trips can take up a lot of time. Make sure to build in enough time to enjoy Munich. You might be able to do 3 things in Munich with the time you'd save not riding trains or buses for a long day trip.

Of your 4 options, Nuremberg probably gives you the best ratio of travel time vs. exploring time.

Several tour companies run day trips to Neuschwanstein. If you're already heading to South Bavaria and Austria, you'll have to decide if you want one of your Munich days to be a day trip in that general direction.

Dachau is easy to get to. Short train ride then transfer to a bus. Or, grab a taxi or Uber to get there. My friends did that. They were ok paying a bit more to save time. Dachau can be self-guided or join a half-day tour group. I enjoyed my group tour, but I thought it was a bit rushed.

Eagle's Nest is memorable and I'm very glad I went, but it's easier done with a few days in Salzburg.

I've been fortunate enough to spend a bit of time in this area on 2 different trips. Dachau is excellent, but prepare yourself. It is sobering.

As already suggested, Neuschwanstein is excellent as is Ludwig's boyhood castle, Hohenschwangau. These are "do not miss" sights in my opinion. Get tickets in advance as everyone has suggested, and I would choose to go early or late. If you're going by car (my preferred method), I would stop at Andech's Monastery (https://andechs.de/en/) on the way down for something to eat (lunch or dinner). The beer is EXCELLENT and the food is also delicious. If you go early to the castles, you can do the Zugspitz same day (tallest mountain in Germany) same day and make it back to Munich in the evening.

Rothenberg is totally worth it but NOT a day trip. Stay in the town for a night if you're going this. My wife and I did Dachau and then "cheered ourselves up" in this Christmas village, which was needed after Dachau. Staying overnight in this walled town is amazing, and you must go on the Nightwatchman Tour in the eve...a Rick Steves cannot miss.

We stayed in Nuremberg last year on the way from Prague to Munich for Oktoberfest. It is a great town and the fastest train gets you there in 1 hour from Munich. Easy day trip, and a lot of history here. If I had to pick, I would do the castles and the Zugspitz, but if given the choice of doing an overnight down near the castles or head back to Munich, I would spend a night in Oberammergau and hit the castles and Linderhof. It is absolutely gorgeous down in this area, and you may want to take time down in this area for a night before heading to Austria. We did Munich last year (Oktoberfest), did the castles and stayed in Oberammergau, and then head to Lake Hallstatt before heading to Vienna (skipped Salzburg this trip).

Munich is absolutely worth 3 nights, but taking 1 night down near the castles is great. Fussen also beautiful (another option other than Oberammergau), and the Airbnb's or hotels near Fussen worth it as well.

Lastly, don't forget your toll vignette if you're renting a car and driving from Germany into Austria. You can get these at gas stations as you enter Austria.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof Palace, Berchtesgaden, and the Eagle's Nest are lousy day trips
from Munich, but they are right next to Mittenwald where you plan to spend a night.

Mittenwald is not right next to any of those places.

Berchtesgaden and the Eagles' Nest: Even by car, I think Berchtesgaden is closer to Munich than to Mittenwald, but if you are using public transportation, the quickest route from Mittenwald is via Munich, so from Mittenwald is definitely farther by a couple of hours.

Berchtesgaden would be a long day's trip from Munich and there is too much to see there for only one day. I'd make it at least on night, probably two. With three nights you could take a bus trip to Salzburg, but I don't think Salzburg is a high priority.

Neuschwanstein: Again, by car it probably a little shorter from Munich, but using public transportation, from Mittenwald takes much longer.

Linderhof: Linderhof is closer to Mittenwald by public transportation.

Oberammergau would definitely be a better place to base for trips to Linderhof and/or Neuschwanstein. I've stayed in both Mittenwald and Oberammergau. Both are nice; of the two I would prefer Oberammergau. Ober'gau is only about 15-20 minutes from Linderhof by RVO bus and about an hour from the Hohenschwangau village bus stop near the Neuschwanstein ticket center.