Last Updated on May 15, 2023

To some, a visit to Munich might mean steins of beer, bratwurst and oom-pa-pa music, typical for the city’s largest and most famous party – Oktoberfest. Ask the locals, however and they will describe any number of aspects they love about Munich – from the sprawling parks and world-class shopping to up-and-coming trendy artist neighborhoods. There is one exciting part of Munich life that almost everyone can agree on – getting out of it. And the good news is: Day trips from Munich are easy and plentiful.

The city’s proximity to the idyllic Alpine landscape means that the verdant foothills can be reached in less than an hour; the most extreme peaks of the Alps within two. We’re no mountain climbers and we certainly don’t ski, but, like us, everyone can enjoy the classic Bavarian villages, cheese factories, beer gardens, hiking and biking, and there is one mountain everyone is more than welcome to climb. So let’s start right at the top.

Four day trips from Munich worth taking

The Top of Germany: Zugspitze

Just south of the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we drove our tiny Smart car along a road which snakes through a valley dotted by half-timbered houses and ends abruptly on the shore of an ice-blue lake, called the Eibsee. As we stared out over the sea and looked up, we spotted thousands of feet of reinforced steel cable which transport cable cars stuffed with people  2,962m or 9,718 ft up to the mountain in under ten minutes.

The Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany, actually sits on the Austrian/German border, and although the restaurant, beer garden and all the skiing is located on the Bavarian side, the viewing platform is split between the Bavarian side in Germany and Tyrol, Austria.

In fact, in addition to the Eibsee Cable Car, the top of the mountain can also be reached from Austrian side by the Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car. There is a third option to reach the top as well: The Bavarian Zugspitze Railway. The 45-minute train ride begins by chugging up and through the fresh pine forest before slicing its through the inside of the mountain. While I found it nerve-wracking to speed through three climate zones while zipping up the side of a glacier in a cable car, it was far better than the train ride back down through the dark 3-miles long tunnel, which is just a much slower, more claustrophobic method.

No matter how you choose to reach the summit, make sure to dress warm, as the Zugspitze is also the meeting point of three glaciers. Whether you are skiing or just out enjoying the view of the Alps, even summer days at the top can be chilly. Of course, if you get cold, there are two restaurants, a beer garden and a Zugspitze Museum to keep you warm indoors.  While you are up at the top, make sure to get your picture taken with the Zugspitze Photostop Camera, and once you get home, you can download the picture from the website for free.

Out to Sea: Lake Starnberg

This lake, Germany’s fourth largest, sits just 27km (16 miles) outside of Munich, but its expansive blue waters dotted with sailboats, jet skis, and canoes make it feel worlds away from the bustle of the Bavarian capital. The lake is no hidden gem, but rather a popular escape for everyone from Munich socialites sipping wine in elegant lakeside restaurants (we’re pretty sure we spotted at least one German celebrity) to families hiking and biking their way around the lake’s well-paved perimeter path. We stopped off at several points along the lake by car, but the main town of Starnberg can also be reached by commuter train from Munich. Starnberg itself is an upmarket yet traditional Bavarian town with shops, restaurants and quaint homes lining narrow village roads.

The Disneyland Castle: Schloss Neuschwanstein

That’s right…the famous Sleeping Beauty castle located in California’s Disneyland Park was based on this famous 19^th century castle.  Neuschwanstein, which literally means ‘new swan stone’ in German, is a magnificent structure, perched neatly on hill overlooking the sprawling valley and village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria.

Commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as his personal refuge, the reclusive king spent less than six months here in his still unfinished castle before he was captured and fell from power. The barely-lived in symbol of 19^th century Romanticism was an extravagantly designed homage to classical composer Richard Wagner and also contains thousands of depictions of swans sewn into pillows, drawn into wallpaper and carved into wooden door handles and frames.

Since opening to the public immediately upon the King’s death in 1886, over 60 million people have visited the castle, making this one of Germany’s most popular tourist attractions. Ironically, the town below, where 1.3 million people per year line up for tickets, felt to us very similar to Disneyland, with traditionally-themed restaurants and hotels (with their costumed staff) lining village streets crowded with horse and carriages waiting to take visitors up to the castle, street performers and, by 10am, crowds of people heading up to visit the castle, which sees over 6,000 visitors pass through its gates each day in the summer.

We would most certainly recommend taking part in the 35-minute guided tour of Neuschwanstein, which is the only way to see the inside of the castle, and a combo ticket will get you entry to Ludwig’s second castle, Schloss Hohenschwangau, located on the hill right next door. However, make sure to hike up and around Neuschwanstein, stopping for a picture along the Marienbrücke bridge, which affords spectacular views of the structure itself.

On your way back down, opt for the path alongside the river (which flows under the bridge above). At times the path lays lazily along the wide river bank, while other times you are suspended over river rapids on steel steps bolted into the side of boulders. The path is perfectly safe, family-friendly and gets some hunger-inducing adrenaline flowing right before you arrive back in the town for lunch! If you have time, you can even hike to Austria from here. There are both long and short distance walking trails, and paths leading all the way round the Alpsee lake at the bottom of the hill.

Into The Mountains: The Allgau Alps

This mountainous region about 80km (50 miles) south west of Munich includes several traditionally Bavarian stop-offs plus fabulous hiking and biking opportunities for outdoor lovers,  but unless you’re up for a major round trip cycle, we’d suggest picking up a rental car in Munich for the day. We rented our tiny Smart car from Enterprise for just €16 ($22) per day.

Our first stop was Schloss Linderhof, the third and smallest of King Ludwig’s palaces and the only one he lived to see completed. The palace was inspired by the French palace of Versailles, and its gardens, which combine Baroque and Italian Renaissance styles, are considered one of the most beautiful creations in Europe. Close to the palace you find the village of Ettal, and its ornate 14^th century Benedictine Ettal Abbey is also worth a visit.

The fresh air, sunny skies and great weather have made this part of Bavaria a popular health resort location, with Ettal located near the picturesque villages of Oberammergau and Unterammergau and countless spa towns found in this area of Southern Bavaria such as Bad Kohlgrub and Bad Tölz (don’t be fooled by their names ‘Bad’ means ‘spa’ or ‘bath’ in German).

The best ways to take day trips from Munich

There are a number of ways to take day trips from Munich, and depending on your budget and your comfort of driving a car, i.e. navigating Germany’s notorious autobahn, I want to focus on the three easiest ones: car rentals, train travel, and organized group tours.

Renting a car in Munich

Depending on your itinerary, you may want to rent a car right up on arrival at the airport – that’s the easiest way and means you’ll have the flexibility of being able to go anywhere at any time. I usually have Autoslash send me a quote for a car rental for my dates and then double check with Carrentals.com to see if they have a cheaper offer. If not, I rent through Autoslash.

If you arrive in Munich without a car, there’s no need to head to the airport to rent a car – all the major car rental companies also have inner city pick-up locations, usually easy to get to by S-Bahn (light rail) or U-bahn (underground rail) or a ride share.

There are also a number of app-based car rental companies operating in Munich, which gives you more flexibility when it comes to renting a car – you are not limited to regular office opening times and you have more cars available throughout the city. Check out Share-Now or Flinkster.

Driving in Germany is pretty easy, however, a basic understanding of the language is helpful to make sense of signs along the autobahn (highway) or country roads. Have a dictionary app ready, and a passenger who can help you navigate.

If you are not comfortable driving stick, make sure to rent an automatic car (they’re not common in Germany, you will have to ask for one, and you’ll pay a surcharge for it.)

Taking trains from Munich

Train travel in Germany is reliable, fast and easy. I personally love taking trains in Europe. It can, however, be expensive – unless you book your tickets in advance. I use the Omio app or website to book all my train tickets at a discount price. It’ll limit your flexibility because you’ll have to commit to a date rather than being able to just hop on a train spontaneously, but it’ll save you a lot of money (up to 50% per ticket).

You can easily reach Füssen by train (2 hours from Munich), Starnberg (for Lake Starnberg). A day trip from Munich to Zugspitze would be quite a long day if you take the train (the trip via Garmisch-Partenkirchen takes about 3 hours) but it’s doable.

Organized Tours from Munich

There are a number of organized day trips from Munich you can book via GetYourGuide. The advantage of taking an organized day trip? You don’t have to worry about driving, getting lost, dealing with language barriers. It’s not as flexible as going on your own, but it’ll allow you to just relax and have someone else deal with all the planning.

The best ones include:

• Day Trip to Neuschwanstein & Linderhof Castles (from US$68)
• Neuschwanstein Castle (from US$65)
• Herrenchiemsee Palace and Boat Trip Day-Tour (from US$53)
• Linderhof Palace full-day tour (from US$86)
• Zugspitze (from US$81)
• Eagle’s Nest – Hitler’s Mountain Retreat – (from US$89)
• Day Tour to Berchtesgaden Foothills & Obersalzberg (incl Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest) – from US$65
• Dachau Concentration Camp with English-speaking Guide (from US$35)
• Nuremberg Day Trip (from US$65)
• Salzburg day trip by train (from US$65)
• Romantic Road and Rothenburg from Munich (from US$65)
• The stunning Partnachklamm Gorge (from US$83)
• The majestic Königssee Lake Full-Day Tour (from US$95)