Hotels and touring around Munich

Greg, if you are going to see Neuschwanstein, I would stay in Fussen, Germany and not Reutte, Austria unless you are there on a Tuesday when Reutte puts on a free local
folk dancing show which was very entertaining. Have a great time.

How much of your time will you be spending in Munich vs taking day trips? If it’s more than a few days it might be more convenient to stay at a hotel in Munich and rent a car for each day you want to go outside the city to a less traveled area. You can pick up and drop off a car at the train station very easily and affordably. And destinations like Salzburg are probably more easily visited by train for the normal tourist.

If renting a car for your whole trip is non-negotiable, try staying someplace south of the city on the S-Bahn line. Maybe in Starnberg or Herrsching?

Places that are more easily reached by car might be the churches of Wieskirche and Ettal, the posh little villages around the Tegernsee, and lots of hiking options not available to anyone confined to public transportation. You can also easily take a day trip down to Innsbruck and over the Brenner Pass to Südtirol.

To see Munich then stay in Munich without a rental car. When you're ready to go exploring then rent a car and leave Munich and spend the night at your destinations. You'll probably see Neuschwanstein so stay 2 or 3 nights in Schwangau-Horn just below the castles. It's a delightful town with lots of bike paths, cows and beautiful views of the castles at night. You can also easily visit Linderhof from Schwangau with your car. You'll be glad you did it that way - I've done it that way many times and I could still go back to Schwangau and spend time there. It's a wonderful place.

Greg - One of my favorites was the Neue Pinakothek Museum: http://www.pinakothek.de/en/neue-pinakothek. Works by Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Rodin. I thought this museum was worth the plane trip! It's an easy 20 minute walk from the center of town (the Marienplatz). Enjoy your trip!

We like to ramble through Southern Bavaria going toward Fuessen. Then over the border into Western Tirol, east to Innsbruck, up to Salzburg and east to Hallstadt. Then go back west into Munich area. It's a big circle of absolutely incredible scenery and nice small towns. We also like to go up on the mountains and go from village to village when the weather's right.

If you are going to the castles, I would recommend Fussen. We stayed in both Fussen and Reutte. Reutte is expensive and we thought the locals were less friendly.
If you are going to Berchtesgaden and have a car, I recommend staying in REIT Im Winkl. Very cute little town with 360 degrees of beautiful views. Nice place to relax and recharge. If you go to Salzburg, don't miss the Augustiner Brewery. The outdoor beer hall and food stands are wonderful. Enjoy!

greg,

You wouldn't have to necessarily stay outside of Munich if renting a car. Hotel Uhland is located in a quiet residential area of the city, offers free parking and they're an easy walk from the Munich Hbf (about 12-15 minutes as I recall). Their website states that an "environmental badge is obligatory in the centre of town", but I'm assuming the car rental agency would provide that. That would allow you to explore the area by car, and still have a parking place available at a nice hotel.

Uhland also provides a fantastic breakfast!

Happy travels!

Most hotels decent hotels in Munich either offer on-site parking or have an arrangement with a nearby garage. Although I don't love the idea of having a car in Munich, if you go this route, your hotel can probably accomodate you, so you wouldn't necessarily need to stay in an outer district.