Munich Itinerary 5 nights

Day one looks good. Marienplatz and the Viktualienmarkt are close to each other. You could also plan on seeing Frauenkirche and Hofbräuhaus from there.

Day 2. For a dau trip, I wouldn't recommend trying to do things outside of Salzburg. What ice caves are you talking about? The caves in Obertraun, by Hallstatt, are too fare for a day trip from Munich. There are also ice caves in Werfen, but I don't know how long it takes to get to them. Werfen is close to an hours trip from Salzburg Hbf, plus there is no public transportation in Werfen; you'll have to walk about ½ hr (1 miles) from the train station to the castle kiosk. For all you want to do in Salzburg, I would recommend overnight.

Which would make day 3 a little difficult as a day trip from Salzburg.

Going out to Dachau on your own with public transportation is fairly easy. It takes about 45 minutes by S-Bahn and bus. The English tours are in early afternoon, so Dachau will take about half a day.

You could probably come back from Salzburg, see Dachau, and get to the airport by 1800 in a single day.

Day 5, consider going to Nymphenburg. Make sure to walk the grounds and visit the "mini" palaces.

http://www.schloss-nymphenburg.de/englisch/palace/

Also, I think the Residenz is worth seeing, and if the weather's nice, consider going to the Englischer Garten (if you don't do that on your bike tour).

If you want to experience Europe's best indoor waterpark/spa, consider a few hours at Therme Erding. It's about a 15 minute taxi ride from the airport.

For Day 1 consider doing a self paced walking tour of the city center as well (Rick has a good one https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/germany/munich).

If the weather is nice I'd also recommend spending a day having a nice beer, lunch and walk in the foothills south of Munich. A lot of people like Andechs but for me its a little too crowded with tour buses so I prefer Klosterreutberg or Tergernsee Brauhaus. That could be your day 5.

DJ

My favorite day trip from Munich is to take the S8 southwestbound to the end of the line at Herrsching. Walk a couple hundred meters to the lakefront and board one of the stately paddlewheel ships which cross the Ammersee to my favorite untouristed Bavarian village, Dießen am Ammersee. Dießen is a popular destination for German weekenders, but it's not on the international tourist grid at all. Walk through Dießen up to the baroque-rococo Marienmünster Abbey (1730). Return to Herrsching by ship and take a taxi or bus, or walk three miles up a forested trail, to Kloster Andechs, where Benedictine monks have been brewing great beer since the 15th Century.

Or take S1 about 20 minutes from Hauptbahnhof to Oberschleißheim, and visit the magnificent, colorful Schleißheim Palaces, summer home of the Bavarian royal family. Aviation history buffs will enjoy Flugwerft Schleißheim (aviation branch of the Deutsches Museum), a short walk from the Schleißheim Palaces.

In Munich itself, the self-guided walking tour in Rick's Germany guidebook is excellent. It can take anywhere from two hours to two days, depending on your level of interest and curiosity.

For insight into Munich's dramatic role in the rise and fall of the Third Reich, visit the new NS Doku-Zentrum, which just opened last May. It's on Briennerstraße, on the site of the Third-Reich-era Nazi headquarters building. Führerbau (Hitler's office building, where the 1938 Munich Accord was signed) is next door, repurposed as a High School for Music and Theater. Historic Königsplatz is across the street. The City's website offers free downloadable maps and audioguides for self-guided walks tracing the history of National Socialism in Munich.

And Tom is correct -- Therme Erding is delightful. It's about 45 minutes from Marienplatz on the S2 to Altenerding, then about a 15 minute walk.

Hi Jeff,

Pigging backing on OP, I have my third visit to Munich coming up. What are the pros/cons of Schleissheim vs Nymphenberg? I like the idea of being able to also see the flight museum near the former so am tempted to opt for that as a day excursion. I have already seen the Residenz

Thanks!
Todd

Thanks for all your replies!

My adjusted itinerary:

•Day 1: Old Town Walk with full Residenz tour during the day. Dinner possibly at the Hofbräuhaus. (Old Town Walk - Start: Karlsplatz Stachus Square & Metro Stop. End: Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall & Restaurant)
•Day 2: Day trip from Munich to Salzburg (90 minute train). Possible overnight stay.
•Day 3: Neuschwanstein Castle day trip (2 hour train). Evening at Augustiner Beer Garden.
•Day 4: Dachau Concentration Camp & the English Garden
•Day 5: Visit Nymphenburg Palace and your choice of Other Munich Sights. Revisit anything to missed from the walking tours.

What are the pros/cons of Schleissheim vs Nymphenberg?

I haven't (yet) visited Nymphenberg, so I have to leave the comparison to someone else. Suffice to say that the Schleißheim palace complex is colorful and very impressive.

But if you have an interest in aviation history, Flugwerft Schleißheim is well worthwhile. Its fine collection of aircraft is augmented by most of the aircraft exhibits normally kept in the main Deutsches Museum campus, but moved to Flugwerft during the current renovation at the main campus. It is located on Germany's oldest operating airfield, and some of the museum buildings date back to WW1.

I haven't been to Schleißheim, so I can't compare, but what I loved about Nymphenburg:

The looooong facade (almost a kilometer).

The main upstairs hall--to me it was the prettiest room I've seen in any palace, anywhere. I sat there for about 20 minutes, just gazing at it.

The "mini" palaces. Nymphenburg has large, beautiful grounds to explore, and as you do, you come across four smallish palaces, each in different styles and themes. You know, for those days when you're out strolling in your extensive back yard and you happen to have a palace emergency. ;)

For you trips to Salzburg and Füssen I suggest you purchase a Bayern Ticket (can get them from the ticket vending machines), which for 2 people cost 28 euros and allows unlimited travel on all Regional trains and buses in Bavaria, including to Salzburg Hbf, from 9 AM - 3 AM the next day. On Saturday and Sunday they are valid from Midnight - 3 AM the next day. It does not include travel on the German ICE, IC, EC trains or the Austrian Railjet (RJ) trains.

If you are planning to visit Neuschwanstein the day after you visit Salzburg, then I would not stay overnight in Salzburg as it is almost 5 hours from Salzburg to Füssen by train, and requires a connection in Munich. Returning to Munich that same night would mean you would spend nearly 7 hours on trains, taking up a lot of your day. Since Salzburg to Füssen requires you to switch trains in MunichI, I think it would be simpler and more efficient to just return to Munich that night and keep your lodging in the same place.

A few comments:

If you are staying in the central area you can pick up the sights there a couple every day (so do not have to carve out special time to do it). Unless you tour either the Residenz or the Nazi Documentation Centre (recommended by me and also above) you can see central Munich in a couple hours anyway.

Dachau: this was an important place in the history of Nazism but a lot of people think it had a central role in the Jewish Holocaust and that is not true, so don't go there thinking that in doing so you are honoring the Jewish memory.

All of Hitler's various residences over 20 years are scattered around central Munich and are still standing, it was amazing to me that so little of the Nazi history in Munich was destroyed in the war. http://www.thirdreichruins.com/munich.htm