Salzburg or Munich?

For one day Salzburg, though I would prefer two days. I think that you need more time to get a good feel for a city as diverse and as large as Munich. If I had a week...

Jana, The right choice will depend to some extent on what you want to see. Will you only be able to visit either city for one day? Munich is a larger city and therefore has a lot more to see and do. You could easily spend the better part of a day just in the Deutsches Museum. There are also excellent walking tours covering different parts of the history (ie: Third Reich), the famous Hofbrauhaus, incredible Churches, etc. It's a very "walkable" city but also has excellent transit so very easy to get around. Salzburg is also very walkable, and has some great sights. It's easy to spend several hours in the Hohensalzburg Fortress up the hill. Many visitors to Salzburg are interested in either Mozart sites or Sound of Music tours. I'm not too familiar with the SOM history, others here more information on which parts of the movie were actually filmed there. Both cities have good day tours avaiable, but it sounds like you won't have time for that. Good luck with your decision!

I have been to both and I would choose Salzburg. Not that there's anything wrong with Munich...

Definitely Salzburg! I've been to both (well - really Munich once, and Salzburg 3 times) I guess that says it all:) There are certainly worthwhile things to see in Munich, but Salzburg is a better cultural experience in my book. Munich has more of a large city feel, and Salzburg has more of a romantic / town feel to it.

vote #3 for Salzburg! More walkable, love the 'downtown' area and the riverfront and the castle...Munich...for me...meh...

Another vote for Salzburg.

Another Vote for Salzburg. It is easily tacked in one day and also walkable. And I think you would not feel so overwhelmed as it is very compact. Hope this helps,
Brad

Another Vote for Salzburg. It is easily tacked in one day and also walkable. And I think you would not feel so overwhelmed as it is very compact. Hope this helps,
Brad

Mozart and I vote for Salzburg!

I'll buck the trend and vote for Munich. Lifetime, I've spent all or part of 25 days (17 nights) in Munich in 7 trips. Obviously my favorite city. Salzburg is nice, but it's not Munich.

The people voting for Salzburg over Munich are crazy. I'm a little flabbergasted. Salzburg is fantastic, and scenic, don't get me wrong, but Munich is the capital of Bayern (Bavaria) and the second most important city in Germany after Berlin. And yet despite this it doesn't feel like a "big city". Salzburg is really small and half of the reason to go is to see the sights nearby (Berchtesgaden, etc). Munich is the heart of Germany in a lot of ways. I can't imagine skipping it. And honestly Munich and Salzburg are so close together...why are you even choosing? Rearrange your trip so you can do both. And spend at least 2 days in Munich and at least 1 in Salzburg.

We enjoy Munich and have been back a number of times. The central area near the Marienplatz/Viktuellen market (sp) is a great, pedestrian only areas. Great feeling. I do that every visit

I don't think that Munich can be comprehensively seen in a single day whereas a good chunk of Salzburg can be. I've spent an entire day just in the Deutches Museum. Spent nearly 2 hours just in the antique (?!) computer area. There's just too much in Munich for such a short time. So my vote is Salzburg. Coffee, pastry, Mozart, river boat ride, stroll around, another coffee, outside music and walk on the hill. There - a busy fun day.

Do both. Munich is much larger has more great beer gardens and is a fun place. Salzburg of course is much more confined and offers a different traveling experience. Has one good beer garden that I know of and is fun to bike around. Speaking of Munich are you interested in a day trip to Andechs? It's a cool place.

Spend the whole day in Salzburg.

Hi, If given only one day for either Salzburg or Munich, I would skip Munich and spend that whole day in Salzburg. I need at least two days in Munich itself, if not three. The Deutsches Museum itself needs at least half a day. I will say that as far as beer goes, Munich is the place to go over Salzburg without question.

I'd agree that 2-3 days to see Munich is ideal, but you can really enjoy yourself there in a day as well. My first time in Munich was a day trip and I really liked it. I mean, it partially depends what your interests are, but skipping Munich to see Salzburg seems strange in my book (also since you will be going through Munich to get to Salzburg most likely). I get James' point that if you're doing a ranking for the sights in Munich, they maybe aren't mindblowing, but Salzburg's weren't either to me aside from just how lovely the setting is. What's attractive about Munich is the whole picture, experiencing a unique culture and place. The culture of Munich and Bavaria are what most Americans think about when they think of "Germany". It also has fantastic museums, great food, and so on. But given the way you seem to be structuring your trip, Jana, I'd really really recommend finding time to do both. Both Salzburg and Munich are more interesting than the Black Forest, for example, to the vast majority of travelers.