Garmisch Partenkirken or Fussen?

This is the last question I have about narrowing down my Honeymoon. We have a night to fill and are deciding whether to stay in G.P. or Fussen...the both look great and we are definitely interested in seeing Ludwig's castles. We also would like to see Becthesgaden (spelling?), but we will be in Salzburg for three nights, so we may be able to drive from there. Anyway, which would you guys suggest if faced with the choice of these two places to stay?

These forums have been great for helping me plan for the rest of my trip, so please answer. Thanks.

Füssen is completely overrun with daytrippers from Munich, you won't have a moment of peace there. Neuschwanstein is one of the most visited tourist attraction in all of Europe and almost every tourist is determined to spent his 30 min potty break shopping for souveniers.

And while G.-P. is popular too it is mostly with Germans who are staying 2-3 weeks in one of the pensions. The main attraction at this place is the scenery, the Alps are very close and you get the impression that all you have to do is reach out to touch the mountains. It is pretty impressive when you are driving and all you have been seeing for hours is green meadows and then you suddenly have these massive blue-grey snow-covered peaks towering over you. But that is is in attractions, people come to G.P. for hiking, mountain-biking and skiing.

So for atmosphere and seeing the real Bavaria I would stay in G.-P., but if it is a choice between seeing Neuschwanstein castle or Garmisch-Partenkirchen I would opt for Füssen.

Quoting t_maia

Füssen is completely overrun with daytrippers from Munich, you won't have a moment of peace there. Neuschwanstein is one of the most visited tourist attraction in all of Europe and almost every tourist is determined to spent his 30 min potty break shopping for souveniers.

And while G.-P. is popular too it is mostly with Germans who are staying 2-3 weeks in one of the pensions. The main attraction at this place is the scenery, the Alps are very close and you get the impression that all you have to do is reach out to touch the mountains. It is pretty impressive when you are driving and all you have been seeing for hours is green meadows and then you suddenly have these massive blue-grey snow-covered peaks towering over you. But that is is in attractions, people come to G.P. for hiking, mountain-biking and skiing.

So for atmosphere and seeing the real Bavaria I would stay in G.-P., but if it is a choice between seeing Neuschwanstein castle or Garmisch-Partenkirchen I would opt for Füssen.

Great information again, t_maia! Did you say that you lived in Germany?

I think we will probably stay in Fussen, as my wife does want to see the castles. Is Berchtesgaden a reasonable drive out of Salzburg?
We were a bit worried about Fussen being horded with tourists, but we will also be spending some time in Regensburg, Bamberg and Dinkelsbuhl, so we are hoping to see some of the authentic Bavaria in places that are tourist friendly, but not complete traps. Keep the suggestions coming.

Is Berchtesgaden a reasonable drive out of Salzburg?

Yes, it is only about 30 min. But the main attraction in Berchtesgaden (apart from the Obersalzberg Museum) is once again the nature, people go to the national park south of the city to hike.

http://www.obersalzberg.de/

IMO it is not worth going to the Nationalpark Berchtesgaden if you do not plan on hiking there, plus at the end of October the weather up in the mountains can be too cold for hiking. You cannot enter the national park by car, you can drive to the border but then you need to take public transport or walk. There is a bus that goes from Hintersee to Weißenbach bei Lofer in Austria, this is the only option to see the Nationalpark without hiking.

See http://www.rvo-bus.de/site/rvo__bus/zubehoer__assets/de/dateianhaenge/bgd/liniennetzplan__bgd.pdf for the network of public transport around Berchtesgaden.

For a day trip out of Salzburg I would instead head to the Wolfgangsee in Austria, which is about 40 min by car in the other direction. Name of the village you should drive to is St. Gilgen. Take a boat, cruise the lake and take a ton of pictures!

http://www.wolfgangsee.at/en
http://www.salzkammergut.at/en/4-01-7-31931/list/salzkammergut.html
http://www.salzkammergut.at/en/4-01-7-32180/detail/salzkammergut.html

And for things to do in the evening in Salzburg:

http://www.marionetten.at/

[ Edit: Edited on Jan 15, 2009, at 1:56 PM by t_maia ]

Quoting t_maia

Is Berchtesgaden a reasonable drive out of Salzburg?

Yes, it is only about 30 min. But the main attraction in Berchtesgaden (apart from the Obersalzberg Museum) is once again the nature, people go to the national park south of the city to hike.

http://www.obersalzberg.de/

IMO it is not worth going to the Nationalpark Berchtesgaden if you do not plan on hiking there, plus at the end of October the weather up in the mountains can be too cold for hiking. You cannot enter the national park by car, you can drive to the border but then you need to take public transport or walk. There is a bus that goes from Hintersee to Weißenbach bei Lofer in Austria, this is the only option to see the Nationalpark without hiking.

See http://www.rvo-bus.de/site/rvo__bus/zubehoer__assets/de/dateianhaenge/bgd/liniennetzplan__bgd.pdf for the network of public transport around Berchtesgaden.

For a day trip out of Salzburg I would instead head to the Wolfgangsee in Austria, which is about 40 min by car in the other direction. Name of the village you should drive to is St. Gilgen. Take a boat, cruise the lake and take a ton of pictures!

http://www.wolfgangsee.at/en
http://www.salzkammergut.at/en/4-01-7-31931/list/salzkammergut.html
http://www.salzkammergut.at/en/4-01-7-32180/detail/salzkammergut.html

And for things to do in the evening in Salzburg:

http://www.marionetten.at/

More good recommendations! We are looking to definitely take some day-trips out of Salzburg to see the region before we move on to Franconia. How far of a drive is it from Salzburg to Halstatt?

Approx. 1 hour.

But you can find out yourself by using http://maps.google.com or http://www.viamichelin.com/. Viamichelin has the advantage of calculating costs for fuel relatively accurately.

Note that for driving in Austria you need to buy a little sticker called Vignette. It costs about 8 EUR and is valid for 10 days. You best buy this in advance before you enter Austria, if you get caught without one you usually pay over 140 EUR. You can ask your rental car company get the vignette for you. A long time a go people used to buy the sticker at the border, but since the borders are open now many people pass into Austria without noticing - and bang, they are fined. Tank stops in Germany along the autobahn to Salzburg carry the vignette, don't forget to buy one.

[ Edit: Edited on Jan 15, 2009, at 3:18 PM by t_maia ]

How about some recommendations for a hotel in Fussen as well as a hotel in Regensburg?

Please ask the tourist information service in Regensburg and Füssen. I do not stay in hotels. The tourist information people are paid to answer questions, let them work!

http://www.regensburg.de/tourismus/international/english/index.shtml
http://www.tourismus-fuessen.de/244.0.html