Oberammergau=2 hrs / Mittenwald=2 hrs / Ga-Pa=2 hrs / Innsbruck=2 hrs?

... but they're not taking the train or bus... We like to stay in Seefeld im Tirol so we can look at the hills. It is up a steep cliff above Innsbruck. My wife and I have been seriously underwhelmed by Innsbruck, far preferring Salzburg. The "Golden Roof" we refer to as the yellow shed. Not impressed. YMMV... I agree with the other posters about going for the scenery not the towns. I do worry that after a few days above the Lauterbrunnen Valley you may have a bit of a letdown in some parts of the Tirol. We love it but it is generally more rolling and not as sharply mountainous to us. For that you might want the Hohe Taurn, but maybe not.

in the words of today's youth culture....SNAP.

Based on our first hand experiences, we've done the Hall in Tirol (a bit further than from Innsbruck) to Mittenwald drive in an hour. Mittenwald to Garmisch or vice versa... 20 minutes. Done these drives many times. Paul

Hi Pete, I don't see how previously visiting Colmar and Muerren would affect the time you spend on this part of your trip. If the choice is 1 or 2 days, I'd make it 2 days. Since 2001 we've spent 7 nights in Mittenwald and 11 nights in Hall in Tirol (Innsbruck). Would still like to visit again, and we're not doing a research paper. Plenty to see and do in and around each of these places. We also spent 4 nights in Wengen (Berner Oberland). I mention Wengen since you seem think there's a similarity to all these places. Yes, the drive from Oberammergau to Innsbruck is about 2 hours or so. Garmisch and Mittenwald are between these 2. Garmisch and Mittenwald are 20 minutes apart. Paul

Of the first three, none of them take particularly long to see. Innsbruck is a full-sized city, so if you want to thoroughly explore it... yes, it would take a little longer. Other than it's small historical district, though, most of Innsbruck is pretty modern and industrial. I think you may be missing the point of these towns. Yes, they are all attractive and worthwhile to visit. But for most visitors, the towns are of secondary importance to the surrounding Alps. People go there in the winter to ski and the summer to hike (and for Oberammergau, the once-a-decade Passion Play), not to "ohhh-ahh" the towns themselves.

"ViaMichelin says it will take two hours to drive between them." Oh, really. According to the Bahn webite, Oberammergau to Garmisch-Partenkirchen takes 40-46 min by bus. Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Mittenwald takes 30 min by train, and Mittenwald to Innsbruck takes an hour. If using the Bahn website, Mittenwald is "Post/Bahnhof Mittenwald". There are other Mittenwalds in Germany.

Two hours is actually a fair estimate.

If you're running through places Oberammergau is worth about 2 hours. Interesting--lots of shoppes and neatly painted buildings. Innsbruck is neat. Spent the night there. Nice vibe to the town center. Haven't been to the other two locations. Mike

I'd go for Garmisch-Parternkischen if I were to climb to the Zugspitze. But since you are going to Murren, I assume you plan on climbing the Junfraujoch there, right? In any case, I'd just stick to 2 out of the 4 destinations you mentioned. If you are "bothered" by a town, hop on the car and just go to the other via some back roads. There are some rather remote moutain roads near/between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck.

Andre, which two? :) We have two solid days in Murren and I don't think it would be a good use of time to go to the top of Junfraujoch. It's astronomically expensive and it's just rocky up there, right? I haven't heard "you must do that." Yeah, I was thinking if we had extra time we could wander off the main roads and see the little villages.

I don't think it would be a good use of time to go to the top of Junfraujoch. It's astronomically expensive and it's just rocky up there, right? Well, fairly expensive. If you have a Swiss Pass (Lola knows which ones, I don't) you can whack a lot off the price. Just rocky?
Nope. Well I suppose there are rocks but they are mostly covered in thick blankets of snow and ice. Of course there's rock. Its all mountains up there, isn't it? Mountains made of rock. Way above the tree line, those bits of the Jungfrau and its neighbors not covered in snow and ice are indeed rock. If you don't want to see really high rock all around, with exposed faces of rock, gowned with snow, with trees and alps climbing up from the valleys - don't go. That's don't go to the Berner Oberland.

Hi Peter, I weent on the Jungfrau trip and the Zugspitze trip. I thought the Zugspitze was the better of the 2. Not that the Jungfrau wasn't worth doing, I just liked the views/scenery better from the top of the Zugspitze. My opinion on the 4 places you mention is that Mittenwald would be my priority. After that.. maybe Innsbruck. Paul