garmisch

Time to do the Zugspitze is difficult to predict: If bad weather moves in in the late afternoon, as it has been known to do, cable cars can be delayed at the summit and this has caused travelers to be delayed and sometimes causes train travelers to miss their train back to Garmisch.Here's a pic from near the summit: near Zugspite summitanother pic: view down from summitanother pic: this gets you up to the top

Hi Sara,

1 day is enough, providing the weather is good. I'd plan for 2 days just in case. Besides Garmisch and the Zugspitze, there's enoughclose by to fill both days...

Sommerrodelbahn (luge ride) in Garmisch
Mittenwald (the quintessential Bavarian village, IMO)
Karwendelbahn (a good cable car in Mittenwald)
Ettal Monestary
Oberammergau
"Mad" King Ludwig's Linderhof Castle

We have some pic's at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel11.html

Hope this helps.

Paul

I would ask, are you visiting anything else in the area, or do you only want to see GaP and the Zugspitze? GaP is a great base for winter and summer outdoor activities (probably my favorite in all of the Alps), but other than the ride up to the Zugspitze summit and some great gemutlichkeit atmosphere, there aren't really any "highlights" to see. If you'll have a rental car, and you want to see the castles at Schwangau and Linderhof, Oberammergau, Mittenwald, Innsbruch, Hall, do some hiking, skiing, biking, swimming or boating, then Gap is an ideal base of operations. If you only want to see the town and ride to the Zugspitze, then you can probably fit everything in one day. But at least stay the night. You won't regret seeing the light of the rising sun reflect off the Zugspitze.

I promised myself I would not self-promote my blog of travel photos... but I can't resist. Here's some pics of both GaP and the Zugspitze:
http://eurotravelerpictures.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

I guess my first question would be, "what do you mean by 1 day"? Do you intented to be in Ga-P at the beginning of the first day, and stay overnight at the end of the day, so you really have a full day in Ga-P, or are you coming into Ga-P in the morning and leaving before night?

In 1988, I came with the train from Munich, had lunch at the Bahnhof, went immediately on the cograil to Eibersee and went up the cable car to the top of the Zugspitze. After "enough time" at the top (I even had time to cross over to the Austrian side), I came down the cable car, crossed over to the cog rail, and went back to town. I met my mother, who had not gone up the mountain, and walked around town briefly before returning to Munich for dinner.

So, if you plan well, and know in advance what you are doing, it can be done in a day without spending either night in Ga-P, but, if you spent the first night there, you should have more than enough time. Of course, what's adequate for one person is too much time for another and too little for a third.

thanks for your replies and insights and photos. To clarify the situation, I will give you a bit more detail. My husband and I will be staying in a town called wildsteig in a B&B recommended by a friend. I am told it is near schloss neuschwanstein though I can't find the town on my AAA map :) we were going to go to the castle, obergrammau and the ettal monastery 1 day. the next day go to garmisch and then drive to zugspitze. we have one more day after that and wasn't sure if there was enough time to see some other quaint towns or if I could i needed to see garmish and zugspitze in 2 days. thanks,
sara

If that's your plan, then one day should be enough, provided you arrive by mid-morning. Since you're not staying in town, a quick walking tour through the main shopping area on the Garmisch side and down Ludwigstrasse on the Partenkirchen side should encompass just about everything of interest.

I was there a few weeks ago and its a beautiful town! To me it seems like a great place to relax and spend a few days if it can fit in your schedule. For us we were only there 1 nite (arriving around 11am) and it wasn't really enough time. Note, also, that the weather can be variable in the mountains and more than one day increases your chances of a good day. We were talking to a German couple at the table at dinner, and it sounds like a lot of Germans come there and spend a week or more. If you like hiking there's plenty of trails, including some you take a cable car up to and then walk down. So I can't tell you how much time you'd enjoy spending there, but I wish I had stayed longer.

You should get in on a "Bavarian Evening" at the Fraundorfer Inn while in Garmisch; traditional food, good beer, great Bavarian music and traditional dancing:

www.gasthof-fraundorfer.de/englisch/Restaurant_e.html

Better not to drive home afterward though! Get one of their rooms or stay nearby in town.

Yes!!!!!! The Fraundorfer is my favorite Gasthaus in all of Germany.