Four Days in Bavaria Summer 2026

Hello

Having only 3 days on your way to Mühlhausen/Mulhouse France the last four places are bit out of the way
You can easily do Freising after arrival and Schleissheim and Dachau
then Füssen /Neuschwanstein and Lake Constance Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen are more on the way to France and Mulhouse

So I would do Freising on day of arrival by public transport from the airport and stay there for the night
Wont drive after a long flight
See Schleissheim Palace and Dachau the second day on the way to Füssen or Lake Constance
Stay for the night in Füssen or Lindau/Lake Constance
See the Castles in Füssen or Lake Constance and Rhine Falls the third day on the way to Mulhouse (long drive)
Stay the night in near Mulhouse
See Mulhouse on the fourth day

I would return the car in Weil am Rhein in Germany (makes it cheaper)
and go 25min by tram to Basel SBB train station from there and to Mulhouse from there (23min by train)

Trash your ideas, and head to Lake Constance. You'll be happy you did.

Everything you want to see is in the wrong direction, and you're going to spend, at least, one whole days time driving point to point. Bodensee has castles, pretty little towns, Minau, Zeppelins and scenery, and it's on the way.

I love the area of Bavaria you're looking at (I lived there 4 years), but Constance is a much better option with the time, and plans, you have.

I think that uwe04 has some good ideas in there, and I don't think there's any need to "trash" your itinerary. The first four are doable, although I don't think you will have time to do day trips to Regensburg, Nuremberg, and Rothenburg. Maybe one of those, possibly 2, depending on how you like to travel, and that would depend on what you're interested in.

If you're interested in history, then visit Nuremberg. If you're interested in a quaint-looking German village that is very iconic, visit Rothenburg (keeping in mind it will be crowded). If you just want to spend some time in a beautiful city with interesting sights and lots of nice restaurants and cafes, then visit Regensburg.

Thank you for your responses. Our travel dates are firm. The places I had listed were our original plan until the trip to Mulhouse came up. My wife has relatives there who we wish to visit. This time frame is the only one available prior to us getting to Stuttgart to celebrate our son-in-law’s birthday (he is stationed there).

If we go per your suggestions, is there a reason to alter and go through Lichtenstein? Anything unique there?

Thank you again.

I don’t remember anything special about Liechtenstein but it does tick off another country and most people don’t go there

Lichtenstein is very easy to reach from Bodensee. It's approximately a half hour drive from the south end of the lake. Actually the drive is better than the country itself, because there's not much reason to go there. If you do go, check to see if the castle is open to the public; it often is not.

If you have family between Mulhouse and Stuttgart I'd concentrate on seeing that part of Europe instead of Bavaria.

Based on your list (and having lived briefly outside of Freising), I would absolutely recommend uwe's plan. Freising is right by the airport, easily reached by public transport, and the Weihenstephan / town of Freising are absolutely a great, mellow, jet-lagged option. You can spend the night there (likely much cheaper than in Munich) and save yourself a day of car rental. Go to bed early. Then you can be refreshed before moving on to Oberschleißheim. It's actually only 5 or 6 stops on the S1 I believe--so not far if you prefer to take the S-Bahn. However, if you rent a car, you can get to Dachau much faster as it is only a 15 minute drive to KZ Dachau, while public transport would take awhile.

From Dachau, it's roughly a 2 hour (or less) drive to Füssen and the castles there or a bit over 2 to Lindau. I would pick the latter, but then I have been to Neuschwanstein MANY times (every time someone came to visit!), so my opinion may be a bit off. Both options are fabulous, and I love the Rhein Falls.

From Lindau via Schaffhausen to Mulhouse is a 3 hour drive. From Füssen to Mulhouse. From Füssen it's 4,5 hours. Another reason to pick Lindau and Schaffhausen.

And the one thing on which I would disagree with uwe (because of your added information, not the original post) is that since you are returning to Germany after Mulhouse, you can return your car in Stuttgart.

Again – many thanks for the suggestions. This trip has been very fluid since we first decided to do it. We were trying to see parts of Germany we did not see while there last year while still including a stop to see our daughter and son-in-law in Stuttgart. I have not mentioned previously that after Stuttgart we are venturing to Salzburg, across Switzerland, and on to Annecy, France. The Mulhouse, France option popped up late. And to add further, those relatives are leaving for their own trip right after we would be visiting them. So, again, a time constraint.

So, taking all of your comments and recommendations into consideration, we need to rethink everything. With the real possibility of adding a few days to the front end of our trip. I think adding two days on the front end would allow us to visit a number of the places I listed initially and still have plenty of time to get to Mulhouse.

I will post with updates soon.

Again, thank you for all the comments. They have been very helpful and I appreciate that you would take the time and interest to offer them.

Have you considered reversing the Alpine section of your trip? So visit Mulhouse, then Stuttgart, but from there going to Annecy, then back through Switzerland and to Salzburg? It depends a bit on if you are flying back out of Munich, which is what I am assuming.

Have you spent an evening with Google Maps? I suggest you start evaluating different options to see what is most optimal and ticks the most boxes for you. Even though I almost never rent a car, I find that planning my days and stops as if driving gives me a great overview of my plans and helps me make the best use of my travel time.

Howlin Mad - thanks for the alternative itinerary. It's one we were considering.

jkh - Yeah, I've spent more than one evening with Google Maps. Using that immediately ruled out a visit to Cologne (one of the cities I originally wanted to see this trip).

This trip has had mission creep that needs to be pared back. I need to just walk away for a day from trying to plan this trip and then start fresh.

Thanks all. I’ll come back to this once I re-think it all.

HowlinMad - I forgot: Yes our return flight is out of Munich.