Offbeat Munich and Bavaria: 7 Days
A full week means Munich itself only needs the first day; the other six belong to Bavaria and one crossing into Austria. This is the full spine; see the 6 day cut if the last day trip below runs outside its season.
| Day | Focus | Distance/time from Munich |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Base camp settle-in near the Hauptbahnhof, a fast taste of the Altstadt | in Munich |
| 2 | Neuschwanstein Castle, Füssen and Schwangau | about 3 hrs door-to-door |
| 3 | Dachau Memorial | about 50-60 min door-to-door |
| 4 | Zugspitze via Garmisch-Partenkirchen | about 1h15-1.5 hrs by train |
| 5 | Salzburg, Austria (or Nuremberg) | about 1.5-2 hrs by train |
| 6 | Regensburg | about 1h22-1h23 direct by ICE |
| 7 | Berchtesgaden and the Eagle’s Nest | about 2h15-3.5 hrs plus a mountain bus |
Book these before you go
- Compare Munich hotel rates near the Hauptbahnhof , the base for six separate train mornings
- Reserve Neuschwanstein’s timed entry up to 8 weeks out, or book a guided day tour instead
- Check Zugspitze cable car tickets before committing a day to the summit
- Compare guided Salzburg day tours from Munich if the train timetable math is not worth doing yourself
Day 1: Land, base camp, and one taste of the Altstadt
Ride the S1 or S8 in from the airport, 40 to 45 minutes, €13.60 single, or €16.10 for an Airport-City-Day-Ticket. Base yourself near the Hauptbahnhof, not Marienplatz: six of the next seven mornings start with a train from there. Walk the Old Town loop once, Marienplatz for the Glockenspiel and Viktualienmarkt for lunch, and leave the rest for the full Munich guide on a return visit. Dinner at Augustiner-Keller beats the Hofbräuhaus on both beer and atmosphere.
Day 2: Neuschwanstein, the whole day
Give this the entire day. Neuschwanstein sits near Füssen and Schwangau, about 3 hours door-to-door, and entry is a fixed-time, roughly 35-minute guided tour only, no walk-up option. Adult admission is €21 (€20 reduced) plus a €2.50 online booking fee; the Kings-Ticket combo with Hohenschwangau Castle runs €43.50 (€38.50 reduced). Book through the official Hohenschwangau ticket center up to 8 weeks ahead, tickets collected in person at the center in the village, and lock a summer slot before flying since 10am to 2pm sells out first.
Day 3: Dachau Memorial, and a slower afternoon
Take the S2 to Dachau (20 to 25 minutes) then bus 726, or walk roughly 30 minutes. The memorial is free, open daily 9am to 5pm (last entry 4:30pm), closed only December 24. Check the official memorial site for current tour times and give the morning the pace a memorial deserves.
Day 4: Zugspitze, Germany’s roof
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is about 1h15 to 1.5 hours by train, and the Zugspitzbahn reaches Germany’s highest peak from there. A full round-trip ticket runs €78 for an adult (2026 rate, valid from May 23), one-way €46. The summit view is entirely weather-dependent, so check the official webcams first, and expect valley queues by 9am on clear summer weekends.
Day 5: Salzburg or Nuremberg
Salzburg is roughly 1h28 to 1h43 by the fastest Railjet, averaging closer to 2 hours on regular services, crossing into Austria, so carry ID. The Altstadt below the Hohensalzburg Fortress justifies the trip on its own; see the Salzburg guide for what to do there. Nuremberg, 1h11 to 1h16 by ICE with no border to cross, is the faster pick if the week already feels full.
Day 6: Regensburg, the day trip everyone skips by mistake
Regensburg is a direct ICE ride, 1h22 to 1h23, no change needed, easier to reach than either Rothenburg or Berchtesgaden. It is a UNESCO-listed, exceptionally intact medieval old town that gets left off most day-trips-from-Munich lists in favor of bigger names. Check the official Regensburg tourism site for the current sight list before going.
Day 7: Berchtesgaden and the Eagle’s Nest, if the season allows it
Berchtesgaden is 2h15 to 3.5 hours away with one change, plus a roughly 20-minute special Kehlstein bus up the mountain to the Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus). The site runs seasonally, roughly early May through mid-November, closed the rest of the year for snow, so check the official Berchtesgaden site before locking this in as the closing day. Like Dachau, the site’s Nazi-era history calls for a respectful visit rather than a cool-viewpoint one. Catch the first bus, around 8:30am, to get real time on the mountain instead of in the queue for it, and if the season is closed when this trip happens, swap in a second run at the Munich beer gardens instead; the full Munich guide has the pick of which one.