Munich in November

Garmisch is a beautiful alpine village with the highest peak in Germany - Zugspitze - you must travel to the top!! Nurnberg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber are both old medieval cities with lots of history and fun to explore. Mittenwald is a charming village. Oberammergau which is home to the Passion Play is interesting.

Thanks Tom. Can you recommend any hotels?

See my web page at www.germantravel-info.com/munich.htm for information about what to see in Munich and hotels (bottom of page) that people here have recommended.

As we move closer to the winter soltice, keep this in mind- reduced visibility. Daylight hours get quite short, and mornings can often be foggy and overcast. My point? If your going to do things outside the cities, keep your plans less ambitious than you would in the summer. Today was a great example: I had a day off from work, so I drove to Rothenburg. Even by 11 AM, the morning mist had not completely burned off. What would have been a scenic drive to Bavaria in July was mostly a gray-green haze today.

Personally, I love Garmisch. If you want to stay there, check out "Gasthaus Fraundorfer".

If you want to see a city with Medieval charm closer to Munich than Rothenburg, try Regensburg. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its medieval buildings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburg

We liked the Hotel Weidenhof there.

Regards, Gary

Although your decision to fly into Munich and out of Cologne makes sense, given the weather conditions in November, much of what makes the Rhine and Mosel areas of Germany charming in late spring, summer, and early fall, is pretty well gone by November. Add to that the short hours of daylight and it may be smarter to spend the entire time in Bavaria, centered in Munich or the immediate environs, exploring Munich and day-tripping to other nearby sights. By staying in Bavaria you could explore not only Munich but the sights to the south: the Royal Castles, Oberammergau, Linderhof (Ludwig's hunting lodge), Garmisch (the Zugspitze), a day trip to Salzburg, a day trip to Rotheburg ob der Tauber. If you're locked in to a Cologne departure, then I would suggest Munich, side trip to the the Royal Castles, Rothenburg, Heidelberg, a drive along the Rhine (stop at any of the wine villages along the way (Ruedesheim, St. Goar, Bacharach - pick one, although most will be pretty well shuttered), and Cologne. While all of this is easily do-able using public transportation, and with apologies to Lee, my preference is to get a rental car, especially during periods when daylight is precious. It simply provides more flexibility. Driving in Germany is pretty much like driving here in the States. I can't really advise you concerning places to stay because I generally try to rent a house or apartment in a village centrally located to the things I want to see and do. Regardless of what you do, have a great time.

You may want to check-out The Comfort Inn Hotel on Landwehrstrasse. It is close to the Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz, and reasonably priced with breakfast, unsure of the wi-fi issue.

I'm really appreciating all the advice.
Thanks!

Nick,
Having spent the past week here in Bavaria I would also recommend spending a full day in Wurzburg. It is a beautiful city and is highlighted in Rick's book. As for a place to stay in Munich, people have recommended Hotel Uhland, where we are currently staying. Nice location, good breakfast, nice rooms, helpful staff and free wifi.

nick and friends, i am reading all the great info you are giving and i am heading to frankfurt, meeting family from ireland and baumholder germany...9 total, any ideas how to rent an appartment or larger b&b. all sites i find are in german. thanks for any advice. looking to stay somewhere close/outside frankfurt but as i heard, all along the rhine is pretty much shut down for the 3 nites we will spend at thanksgiving. thanks again

Patricia, try www.vrbo.com. I have rented from them in the states and it was terrific. Good luck!

I know it's a hostel, but my boyfriend and I stayed at the Wombat's when we went 4 years ago. It was at the end of Nov/beginning of Dec. We asked for a private room, but what we got was a dorm suite, all to ourselves. So we pushed together the twin beds to make a double, and I stole pillows from other bunks, so I could have my normal quota of pillows to sleep with. Whether or not this could happen to you, my theory is that maybe there were no doubles left and they gave us the suite, or they thought the suite was a better bigger deal than the double private room they had. I think I paid 30 euros a night. Not sure. But it did have a private bath with towels. It was clean, there was breakfast, and wash/dry machines handy. Not too far from the central station.

I stayed at the Hotel Uhland this past spring and really enjoyed it. It's about a 8 minute walk from the main train station.

"Must do's" in Munich? Drink beer!

A clean comfortable and very cheap (for Munich) hotel is the Hotel Imperial, 463 Landsberger Strasse, Munich, tel 089 820 7980. (cheapest and best we've found so far and have been visiting Munich annually for 15 years) It is out of the centre but well within the city limits and there is a tram stop to the centre directly by the hotel. I cannot speak of it highly enough, money saved can be well spent in the Augustiner! For a day trip go to Dachau/Tegernsee/Amersee/Andechs(great monastry selling its own beer)/Bad Tolz - in fact you can't go far wrong no matter where you choose to go. Head south!

Augustiner is a must. Also you don't have to worry about a hot non AC room because it's November. Munich is a beer city. So drink and enjoy.