Munich late Sept for 6 days w/ 14 year old son

You do understand the October fest is in late Sept and ends October 3 or somthing ? You do have reservations or are going now ? The Deutch museum should has lots to interst an old or young man !!

You do understand the October fest is in late Sept and ends October 3 or somthing ? You do have reservations or are going now ? The Deutch museum should has lots to interst an old or young man !!

Yes we know it is Oktoberfest. We have not made hotel reservations ans will most likely not make tent reservations. We can be very flexible about where we stay and Oktoberfest is not the reason for our visit. We will be content just to walk around and see what we see of it. We just want to make sure our son has kid type fun in addition to taking in the history lessons and scenery. Thanks

If you are planning on staying in Munich and you haven't made hotel reservations, you are in bad shape unless you want to pay through the nose. Hotel rates double, even triple during O'fest even if you can find a room. You probably need to look at cities/towns outside of Munich. Having said that - your son should enjoy the Olympic grounds, the Hofbräuhaus, and the Deutches Museum (the largest science/technology museum anywhere and lots of hands-on stuff).

He might enjoy watching the surfers on the Isar River: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSoYFHn1W5M Also, if you end up staying south of Munich you could visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the day,, hike through one of the gorges (Partnachklamm or Hollentalklamm) and ride a lift up Wank to watch the paragliders.

When I asked my sons what they would like to see they responded, "Castles." I asked them whether they wanted to see ruins or restored castles and they replied, "Ruins." (teen boys often talk in one sylable sentences). They really enjoyed Rheinfels castle in St. Goar on the Rhine and Ehrenburg ruins near Neuschwanstein............When we arrived I found two other areas of interest for them, medieval armor and crime and punishment museums. I guess they didn't mention those up front because they were more than one sylable..............They also seemed to enjoy anything to do with water, hiking and/or animals. Have fun. :)

Our whole family enjoyed "Lenny's Bike Tours" in Munich. The tour was fun and we saw a variety of sights throughout the city. Our british guide was great and it was a leisurely way to spend 4 hours on comfortable bikes. Our 15 and 17 year olds were disappointed to see the average age of the nude sunbathers in the English Garden though!!!!! Look for Lenny himself in the bright orange shirt at the Marienplatz! Tours depart daily at 11:30 and 4:30 in that location.

If you're heading to Salzburg, go to the fortress. It's got a pretty neat armour exhibit up there. Since you don't have reservations yet, you may need to stay outside of town and day trip in to Munich, though.

Definitely check out the Deutsches Museum - especially if he likes science & tech. Awesome exhibits - and all exhibit signs are in English as well. I second the opinions about hotels. We traveled to Munich the week right before Oktoberfest a couple years ago. We would have like to go during Oktoberfest, but the rates were easily 3 times as much. And Munich isn't that cheap to start. If you can still make a reservation, I highly recommend it. Best of luck!

Unless you are interested in going to the Oktoberfest then I would avoid Munich during late September.Transport is severely stretched and bars and restaurants are packed. There are lengthy queues for most places of interest and if you have not reserved a hotel then you will be hard pressed to find anywhere within a 25 kilometer radius of the city centre. (Anywhere that is on an Sbahn connection to the city will be difficult to find accommodation in) I don't want to put a dampener on things but would hate you to be disappointed. Munich is my favourite German city and I want you to enjoy it and not remember it for the time you spent standing in queues or waiting to be served. One place that might have availability during this period is a hotel on the banks of a lake (Deiningerweiher)surrounded by forest and is on the outskirts south of Munich near a village called Kleindingharting. It has no Sbahn link or bus service but it is in the most beautiful setting and is not expensive (by Munich standards) with good food and bedrooms with balconies overlooking the lake. Wonderful hiking or cycling country with swimming in the lake, though perhaps not in September! You would need to hire a car or taxi or organise a lift (a member or staff may do this for a small charge)to the nearest Sbahn station with direct links to Munich centre. The hotel is called Deiningerweiher Waldhaus and should have a website. The phone number is 00 49 8170 92450. Good luck, Shoni

Without a doubt .... Mike's Bike Tour of downtown Munich. Google search and read up on it. A perfect activity for a 14 yr old and parents. He'll get a kick out of the young humorous tour guides. For you, it's a way to get a very up close personal tour and see your son smiling without you having to do the entertaining. When in Austria go up to the Eagles Nest very close to Salzburg, an amazing historic site.

what brad said...and add the car museum. "man disneyland" was what our sons said about the mercedes museum. we also enjoyed riding a mtn coaster.

Thanks for all the great replies. Please keep them coming. We leave in about 3 weeks so we can still add activities to our agenda.