Garmisch late May early June with car

I would hope that the cable car up to the top of the Zugspitze is already on your list? I was there around that time of year (albeit 20 years ago), but was lucky enough to get stopped on the road due to a cow parade. Had a wonderful dinner and evening of traditional Bavarian music at Hotel and Gastof Fraundorfer. A little touristy, but had a wonderful time meeting people and enjoying the evening.

YES the cable car is on our list:) Any museum's, zoo's, shopping or mom and pop restaurants that stuck out you would recommend?

Visit the Partenkirchen section , more traditional. We moved our hotel to one there,checking out of the one in Garmisch

It's been 20 years, so the things that stick out in my head for that area (other than what you've listed) are the sites for the winter Olympics, like the ski jumping park. You mentioned the Ludwig castle; did you mean Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, or are you also including Schloss Linderhof? I think it gets overlooked, because it's lesser known, but for me it was the most beautiful of the three. It also has beautiful grounds in the back, and a grotto constructed for Wagner to entertain the king and his party. There is also a beautiful Rococco style church about halfway to Fussen, called the Wieskirche. It's as close to a museum as you can get if you are into architecture.

To be perfectly honest, Neuschwanstein was my least favorite activity when I stayed at Garmisch-Partenkirchen for a week. I suppose that I had built it up in my mind as a "must see" and had an idea of what it would be like. I was disappointed and part of that may have been that I was expecting too much. The actual time spent in the Castle is quite small compared to the time invested to go see it. You know the tour has been a dud when you are excited to enter the gift shop at the end of it.

There are some great opportunities for biking on the valley bike paths, so consider renting bikes or just enjoying walking on the paths. There is a summer luge near the ski stadium. I may have set the record for the slowest run ever attempted! Partnach Gorge is a great walk (make sure you have raingear on). There are hikes available for all abilities and the lifts make a non hiking trip to the top of the mountains a possibility as well.

We took the cogwheel train up the Zugspitze and the cable car down. Then we explored the lake at the base of the tram, the Eibsee. You can either take a guided boat ride, rent a rowboat, or enjoy a gentle hike around the lakeshore. Then it was a train back to Garmisch.

People will often take a day trip to include the Wieskirche and Oberammergau.

I loved my week at this location and I know you will have a great time.

Kind of a broad question. Must-sees depend on what you find interesting and on how much time you have... stuff that only you know. Suggest you do some further reading to see what tugs at your sleeve.

Personally, I can't imagine being in Garmisch without spending at least a day in nearby Mittenwald. Can't say whether it's what you're looking for. You'll find details on Mittenwald at this page.

You'll find more to read about the area here as well.

"Plan on going to ludwig castle"

King Ludwig II was the driving force behind these 3 Bavarian palaces.

• Herrenchiemsee (between Munich and Salzburg)
• Linderhof In the woods a healthy distance from Füssen and Garmisch)
• Neuschwanstein (which fakes most people out with its castle-look exterior but is a late-19th century palace like the others. It's this one you plan to visit, I'd guess, and it's in Füssen.)

There are people who make a point of seeing all of these places.

When we were there a few years ago we drove to Mittenwald for the afternoon and I highly recommend it. Oberammagau is an interesting town to visit as well. Enjoy. It's beautiful there.

Clarification: We will have a rental car and plan on traveling to the surrounding towns/ cities. What surrounding towns/ cities/ landmarks are must see in the Bavarian area? Our home base will be in Garmisch.

I'll invite you again to visit this page. It mentions places in Bavaria and in Tirolean Austria (next door) that you can drive to easily enough with your rental car - from your base in Garmisch base - including Murnau, Mittenwald, Grainau, the Glentleiten open-air museum, Oberammergau, Innsbruck and other places, some of which have also been suggested by other forum members in this thread, as well as other options like the Wieskirche, Linderhof, and another destination or two. So I think on the whole, you've received the sort of responses you requested. It's not a concise, tidy little list, but it's to be expected that different individuals have different must-sees. (As an example, Neuschwanstein wouldn't make my top 10 list.)

In this post I've linked the open-air museum to it's Tripadvisor page. Tripadvisor is a very good place to get detailed feedback on places you don't know about yet from a variety of people who have been there and are happy to tell you about it. If you don't feel you've gotten what you need on this RS Germany forum, look up these places on Tripadvisor.

Published lists that rank day trips from Garmisch - if you see those as more helpful - can be found if you google "The Best Day Trips From Garmisch-Partenkirchen" or something similar. Here's one:

The Best Day Trips From Garmisch-Partenkirchen

You mention zoos. That’s my thing. The nearby zoos that I am aware of that are accredited by the EAZA are Teirgarten Hellbrunn in Munich, Zoo Salzburg in Salzburg and Alpenzoo in Innsbruck. I’ve have not been to any of them yet but all are on my itinerary for my upcoming trip. Being accredited means they meet the very highest standard of animal care, conservation, and education.

Visit the Ettal Abbey with distillery. Also, I recall a dairy/cheese/yogurt operation in the area, that was worth visiting, but I just cant remember the name.

I don't mean to derail the thread but my plans are tangential. Curious what folks have to say.

We'll be leaving Fussen mid morning and driving to the Cograil station for a ride up the Zugspitze, lunch at the top and a gondola ride down. It's odd that they want you to make reservations but you can't make them more than 72hrs in advance. Am I correct on this? Will mid June be so uncrowded that it doesn't matter?

Afterwards, same day... driving to Berchtesgaden area.