What to do in Bavaria late March

[Christine]

I've suddenly ended up spending a couple of weeks in Bayern/Bavaria in Germany - on my own - one week from now.

Anyone got any good ideas about what to do and what to see?

 

[Meadbh]

I've only been to Bavaria once, but there is a lot to see!

Regensburg is a very well preserved medieval town. Take a walking tour.

From Keilheim, take a boat up the narrow Danube Gorge to Weltenburg Abbey. It has a magnificent Baroque church and the oldest brewery in existence. The beer is good, too!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weltenburg_Abbey

In the vicinity, there are two very interesting monuments:
Valhalla temple. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla_memorial
And the Hall of Liberation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befreiungshalle

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/19/travel/two-temples-to-the-greats-of-germany.html

Passau is worth a visit. It was badly flooded some years ago.

Nuremberg is interesting for its association with the Nazis. Much of it was bombed in WWII, but it has been restored.

 

[audreyh1]

So much great stuff around Munich. Don't miss the beer gardens - several worth touring through even if you don't stop to eat/drink. We loved Nymphenberg on the outskirts, and the downtown palace (Residenz) and treasury. Several great foodie places to visit too - markets, amazing shops.

Bavarian roast duck - awesome! We enjoyed this at the Augustiner-Keller not far from the Munich central train station.

Some good overall guides:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/germany/munich
FREE Munich Walking Tour Map - Old Town Guide
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel_Guide-g187309-Munich_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html

I uploaded a great "foodie" self-guided walking tour that we did and it was great. I can't seem to find it on tripAdvisor any more.

 

[Bamaman]

You could jump a train and visit Salzburg. Or take the train down to Innsbruck in the Alps in about 2 hours.

The Deutches Museum in Munich is fabulous.

And the work camp, Dachau, is just is 10 miles out of town--very worthwhile to see.

If you're a car guy, BMW can be toured.

I only drink on vacation, and we LOVE the big beer halls in Munich.

 

[braumeister]

Just a few random thoughts.

If you've never been to Neuschwanstein Castle, it's certainly worth a day trip.

Munich has so much to offer you can easily spend a week just taking in the sights, even if you've been there before.

Bamberg is one of my favorite cities in Bavaria, well worth a couple of days.

 

[Marita40]

Visit Salzburg and the salt mine area around it. Take the Sound of Music tour. It brings you to a lot of gorgeous sites and you get to sing like an idiot on the bus.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We've been to Bavaria a lot and I love it but honestly I must have "placelexia" as I can't tell one gorgeous red-roofed friendly town with a river running through it from another. So see one of those mentioned above. Then maybe go west a couple of hours to Lake Chiemsee/Constance. Or go north a few hours to Dresden and Leipzig?

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

There's so much to see. Maybe Dachau (former) concentration camp? Deutsches Museum? Garmish-Partenkirchen?

 

[explanade]

I went to Munich a couple of years ago in early April. Lucked out with a lot of sun.

Took day trips to Salzburg, Neuschwanstein and Zugspitze. Sun for all except Salzburg was hazy and that trip included a trip to St. Wolfgang, which was beautiful but not very sunny.

Zugspitze was sunny but people were skiing and from the top you could look down on the lake with a lot of green around it. So you saw from snow-capped peaks to the early signs of spring at the bottom.

 

[Callitaday2022]

I lived in Nurnberg for a year and great city. Back in the day I bought books on day trips ____
Fill in the country and just went. Rent a car for a week and just go

 

[gerntz]

See Bayern Munich play Mar 17 or 26.

 

[Red Badger]

Bavaria

I went to Munich a couple of years ago in early April. Lucked out with a lot of sun.

Took day trips to Salzburg, Neuschwanstein and Zugspitze. Sun for all except Salzburg was hazy and that trip included a trip to St. Wolfgang, which was beautiful but not very sunny.

Zugspitze was sunny but people were skiing and from the top you could look down on the lake with a lot of green around it. So you saw from snow-capped peaks to the early signs of spring at the bottom.

Agree with Zugspitze (and little brother Alspitze); a grand view in all directions. Also, if the weather in Germany is gloomy (frequent condition), it wont be on top the Zugspitze. In any case, a hearty "prost" to your Deutschland sojourn!

 

[explanade]

Actually it's not a cheap ticket to go up to the top of Zugspitze.

So I would check the webcams before going (to make sure visibility is good that day), especially if setting out from Munich. I think it's about an hour by bus.

 

[audreyh1]

Just a few random thoughts.

If you've never been to Neuschwanstein Castle, it's certainly worth a day trip.

Munich has so much to offer you can easily spend a week just taking in the sights, even if you've been there before.

Bamberg is one of my favorite cities in Bavaria, well worth a couple of days.

It's even better if you spend the night nearby.

We took the two hour train to Fussen, spent two nights, and took an all day minivan tour with European Castle Tours that covered Neuschwanstein, the Weiskirche (White Church), Oberammergau, and Linderhof (Linden Palace). It was fantastic and well worth the price - didn't have to worry about tickets, scheduling, or driving.

And we had time to explore Fussen the afternoon before and morning after the tour. We enjoyed it as well. Even though it's a major tourist destination, it wasn't so busy in the evenings and early morning.

I drank a lot of white wine spritzers in Bavaria and Austria, and I'm not really a white wine person. But however they make it, it's really refreshing! Oh I drank some beer too - dunkel.

 

[audreyh1]

It's not far from Munich to Salzburg, but if you go spend several days there. So much to see and do, and such a gorgeous location!

 

[pullmyfinger]

We are actually flying to Germany tomorrow and will be spending most of our two week trip in Bavaria. It really depends on what you want to see. This will be our third trip there in the past 3 years, and I have done many trips solo. So far my favorite places are Munich, Nuremberg (stay in the Altstadt), Bamberg, and Wuerzburg. Last year I stopped in Landshut on the way from Munich to Nuremberg and also really liked it. You can travel easily by train and can get train passes specifically for Bavaria (Bayern) which are a good deal. Are you flying into and out of Munich? I could easily spend 4 or 5 nights in Munich, 2 in Nuremberg, 2 in Bamberg, and 2 in Wuerzburg and then potentially go to Rothenburg for 1 to 2 nights. Then loop back to Munich.

All of the cities mentioned are great for walking. Munich has great art museums and the Deutsches Museum is a great museum of science and technology. It is fun to walk around the area around the art museums, the Englischer Garten, along the Isar river (by the Deutsches Museum), around the Marienplatz, over by the Residenz, and the Viktualien Markt which is a neat market. Make sure you stop by a Rischart bakery for fabulous pastries and sandwiches. Munich is one of my all time favorite cities.

Nuremberg Altstadt is compact, yet big enough for 2 fun days of walking. There is a neat castle up on the hill and lots of great buildings.

Bamberg is just unbelievably beautiful. I think the whole city is a Unesco site.

Wuerzburg has the Residenz which is one of the most beautiful palaces in Germany.

Rothenburg is well preserved, very cute, but 2 nights can be kind of a stretch. It is fun to be there in the evening after the tour buses leave, but some of the restaurants are closed for dinner, because the tour buses have left.

I'm not sure that I would go to the mountains that time of year unless you want to pack a bunch of cold weather gear. I prefer Garmisch Partenkirchen, Oberammergau, etc., in the summer

Other Bavarian cities I haven't visited yet but hope to soon are Regensberg and Passau.

Have a great time!

 

[Christine]

Thak you for all the great ideas!

I will make a list (yes I am a list person) and look at the map.

I got a tip from a friend of mine that Audi has a museum in Ingolstadt - worth a visit he thinks - him being an Audi owner for years.

I might rent a car - a german one and drive a little on the Romantische Straße. I like to rent car made locally. Rented a Mercury in California years back. And a Seat in Spain.

 

[audreyh1]

The Romantic Road is something I'm interested in going back and exploring.

 

[pullmyfinger]

Ingolstadt is located between Munich and Nuremberg and would be an easy stop between the two cities if you are driving. If you take the train make sure you get one that stops in Ingolstadt rather than Landshut (which is incredibly cute),

 

[Christine]

My first stay is in a small hotell in Schlusselfelt. And I've hired a tiny VW Lupo from wednesday to sunday. Will let both the weather and my impulse decide in which direction I go!

Today I need to rest after the journey here - and I'll try the hotel restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow I'll walk in the old city - it's just next door.

 

[RISP]

My first stay is in a small hotell in Schlusselfelt. And I've hired a tiny VW Lupo from wednesday to sunday. Will let both the weather and my impulse decide in which direction I go!

Today I need to rest after the journey here - and I'll try the hotel restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow I'll walk in the old city - it's just next door.

Schlüsselfeld, near Bamberg? Start from there, it's an amazing town, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Everything that's been mentioned is fine, so I'll throw in Augsburg. It's one of the oldest cities in Germany, far older than Munich for example, and has maybe the most beautiful Renaissance architecture north of the Alps.

What I found quite amusing is people suggesting Dresden or Salzburg when asked about a trip to Bavaria. American sense of distances, I guess.

 

[braumeister]

Not far from Nuremberg, fascinating history.
Also near Bamberg, my absolute favorite.

 

[Christine]

Yes it's close to Bamberg. And I'm definately visiting. Will look at the weather too and try to pick a nice time.

 

[chris2008]

If you are close to Bamberg you might also visit Coburg and / or Bayreuth with castle and the garden 'hermitage"
http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/garden/index.htm.
And the monastery of Banz is worth your time, too.
However, at this time of the year I would not want to miss the southern area like Tegernsee, Bad Tölz or Murnau or the alpine area of Garmisch Partenkirchen.
Oh, one week is so short...

 

[audreyh1]

Schlüsselfeld, near Bamberg? Start from there, it's an amazing town, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Everything that's been mentioned is fine, so I'll throw in Augsburg. It's one of the oldest cities in Germany, far older than Munich for example, and has maybe the most beautiful Renaissance architecture north of the Alps.

What I found quite amusing is people suggesting Dresden or Salzburg when asked about a trip to Bavaria. American sense of distances, I guess.

That's simply because a direct train from Munich to Salzburg is only 1.5 hours, so it's definitely doable, especially if you spend a couple of nights.