Berchtesgaden Travel Forum

Hi,
My husband and I are planning a trip to Berchtesgaden from the USA next summer. Why question is, what is the best time of season to travel there, where should we fly into from the USA, and can anyone recommend quaint places to stay along the way? I would like to travel the Romatic Road and the Castle Road, and spend most of our time in and around Berchtesgaden. We are into hiking, biking, ecotourism, nature, architecture, and gourmet cuisine.

We are looing for places to stay and eat that will be memorable. We don't have an unlimited budget, but cost is not a huge concern.

Thanks!

I like August-September for that area of the Alps. The mountain trails are very nice. There are a few strategically located mountain huts that allow you to really explore them. Even a couple of nice Cable cars that allow you to access some of the high ground painlessly - Jennerbahn and the car on the Austrian border which goes atop the Untersberg. the local brewery brews some fine beer and the town is well situated for tourists - look for Zimmer Frei signs or check out Berchtesgaden online. Best place to fly into is Munich - or maybe Salzburg, though that is probably a bit more expensive. From the new Munich airport - about 30 km north of town - light rail will take you directly into Munich from where you can explore that City or head directly by rail to Berchtesgaden.

By rail, from Munich - or Augsburg - a slightly cheaper, but very nice alternative - you can explore much of southern Bavaria: Garmisch-Partenkirchen and its giant mountain, the Zugspitze; Fussen and the royal castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau; other castles of Ludwig can be accessed at Linderhof near Garmisch and on the Chiemsee, a large lake en route to Berchtesgaden. Of course, nearer to Berchtesgaden is Bad Reichenall, in Germany and the grand city of Salzburg - always a favorite with visitors - walk high above the city from the casino over to the castle for a grand perspective of the town. The lake region to the east of Salzburg is quite superb as well. Architecture, hiking, biking etc are all there for you. Write me if you want more ideas. I have lots:-)

Take a hiking trip to Ramsau - a very idyllic place, with a quaint church.

Another nice and interesting place in that region is Burghausen. It has the longest castle in Europe (1 km long).
Searching the internet for destinations in Germany is very easy: every town or village has a website, and the website address is always the name of the place followed by .de.

We were there last October and we are there again the last week of October this year. The autumn (fall) colours are wonderful. Fly into Saltzburg and take a taxi - you can get a train - you take a Saltzburg to Munich train and get off at Frialasing and change to a train to Berchtesgden there. The ride is wonderful as you near the town. We actually stay at a hotel called Residenz Bavaria in Bad Reichenhall. This is a wonderful area at any time of the year but we do like October. Very little English is spoken and we speak no German but have not found a problem.

First of all, see www.berchtesgaden.de for full details. Can't say anything about the tourist routes you mention, but I can recommend flying in to either Munich or Salzburg. The train route from Munich is very nice, starting out on the plains and going into the Alps. Salzburg is much closer - you can take train or bus. Doesn't matter which. Bus is more direct. Berchtesgaden is a national park area, so wildlife is good, though expect extensive development in the valleys. Alpine Germany is a built-up area and shouldn't be considered wilderness, expect at altitude. It's very much part of the human landscape. Berchtesgaden itself is a nice town - can be very busy.

Check out the Salzbergwerk on the net. just outside of Salzberg NOT to be missed.

Yes, the Salzbergwerk is fun. Directly above on the Obersalzberg you can find the remains of Hitler's Berghof, if you're interested in history. The mountain has a lot of nice paths and the forests make for good hiking.

If you are into higher altitudes, the Watzmann is the second tallest mountain in Germany - very much the symbol of Berchtesgaden. The villages around Berchtesgaden are delightful - often with attractice churches - a particularly nice rococco exanple is at Maria Gern. Berchtesgaden itself has some doof architecture - old and modern. The railway station is in fact by Albert Speer who (IMO) was a fine architect until he messed up and became armaments minister under Hitler. Another example of why people shouldn't give up the day job.

My feeling is that Berchtesgaden is a great place to visit at any time of year - high summer will obviously be busy. I have visited many times and always found plenty to see and do.