Things to do in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter ski season. Garmisch-Classic runs Dec to early April and the glacier Nov to May.
Quiet spring melt. Low prices and green valley, but high trails and Höllentalklamm stay closed until mid to late May.
Summer hiking season with all lifts, gorges and huts open. Late July and August are peak crowds and prices.
Late September to late October is arguably best for hiking: golden larches and the year's best visibility.
November is the worst month: grey, in between seasons and much is closed.
Best ski window is late January to March, with longer days and sun terraces.
Mid June to early July is a best hiking window before the late summer peak.
What's on
- Neujahrsspringen 1 January
New Year's ski jumping at the Große Olympiaschanze, second leg of the Four Hills Tournament.
- FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Kandahar typically late January
World Cup races on the Kandahar hill you can ski.
- Fasching Feb/early March
Partenkirchen's historic Maschkera masked carnival traditions.
- BMW Motorrad Days typically early July
Huge BMW motorcycle gathering in GaPa: brilliant if you ride, noisy and booked out if you do not.
- Partenkirchner Festwoche early August
Traditional festival week with Tracht parades, beer tent and brass bands.
- Viehscheid / Almabtrieb September
Cattle homecoming processions in valley villages, dates vary by village.
- Christkindlmarkt December
Christmas market around Marienplatz and Richard-Strauss-Platz.
Best things to do in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Zugspitze
Germany's highest summit with a four country panorama, glacier and the cogwheel and cable car loop.
Partnachklamm
A short gorge walk through tunnels and past waterfalls with the river roaring below the path.
Ludwigstraße
Partenkirchen's frescoed old street of gabled houses, woodcarvers, bakeries and traditional inns.
Eibsee
A turquoise glacial lake under the Zugspitze with a flat loop trail and new views at every turn.
AlpspiX
A steel X platform cantilevered over a huge drop, reached by cable car for a vertigo valley view.
Große Olympiaschanze
The 1936 Olympic ski jump and working World Cup venue, with tours to the top of the in-run.
Garmisch-Classic
Germany's best known ski area, from Hausberg nursery slopes to the steep World Cup Kandahar run.
Wank
The locals' sunny panorama mountain, quieter and cheaper than Zugspitze and open when it is cloudy.
Where to stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Partenkirchen
best overall base
Older, prettier and quieter with the best independent restaurants and gorge and Wank trailheads.
Garmisch centre
no car and ski logistics
Main station, cogwheel, ski buses and more hotels at every price around Marienplatz and Bahnhof.
Grainau
mountain first and quiet
Village on the cogwheel line under the Zugspitze, superb for Zugspitze, Höllental and Eibsee days.
Riessersee and Graseck
wellness escapes
Lake and forest calm with spa focus, trading town access for quiet above Partenkirchen.
Think twice about
- B2/B23 main road corridor and station front strip
Tired, road noise blighted hotels and fast food frontage. Sleep fine two streets back instead.
- Outlying valley villages without a car
Farchant, Burgrain and far Grainau can be bus thin at night and taxi costs eat the saving.
Best restaurants in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Gasthof Fraundorfer
The essential Bavarian night: roast pork and dumplings with live music and dancing on Ludwigstraße.
Zum Wildschütz
The foodies' traditional pick for roast pork in beer sauce and pre-ordered crispy pork knuckle.
Joseph Naus Stub'n
GaPa's fine dining address for refined nouvelle German cooking and a serious wine list.
Restaurant Husar
Elegant fine dining alternative in Partenkirchen, praised by reviewers for its steak.
Weingart's
International fine dining listed in the same top bracket as the town's best splurge rooms.
Wirtshaus Wolpertinger
Huge schnitzels, Spätzle and steins in an unpretentious tavern built for post-ski refuelling.
Gasthaus zur Schranne
A historic corn store turned lively Gasthaus serving Alpine classics with live music nights.
Wildkaffee Rösterei & Café
Third wave roastery for flat whites and pour overs, the antidote to hotel filter coffee.
Outdoor things to do in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Höllentalklamm
The wilder hiker's gorge of tunnels and bridges, continuing to a hut in a glacial cirque.
Eibsee
As an active day: the flat lake loop plus swimming, SUP or a rowing boat in summer.
Alpspitze
Summit and panorama routes from Kreuzeck, including a protected ferrata for experienced hikers.
Wank
Wank summit trails, Eckbauer descent, valley e-biking and tandem paragliding in stable morning air.
Zugspitze
Germany's highest skiing on the glacier plateau, wide cruisers at altitude from November to May.
Golfclub Garmisch-Partenkirchen
A flat, walkable 18 hole parkland course in an Alpine meadow valley with Wetterstein views.
Schloss Neuschwanstein
Ludwig II's fairytale castle as a managed day trip with the Marienbrücke viewpoint.
Schloss Hohenschwangau
The castle below Neuschwanstein, rated by many repeat visitors as the better interior tour.
Best hotels in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Schloss Elmau
The region's world class castle hotel and spa in its own valley, a destination in itself.
Das Graseck
Small luxury hideaway reached by funicular over the Partnach gorge, with medical wellness focus.
Hotel Eibsee
Private lakeshore hotel at the foot of the Zugspitze, with the cable car next door.
Hotel Obermühle
Long running family luxury in Garmisch with a large spa and strong half board.
Werdenfelserei
Adults leaning all wood boutique luxury with a rooftop spa pool facing the Wetterstein.
Hotel Zugspitze
Central traditional four star with spa and mountain view balconies, the safe all rounder.
Riessersee Hotel
Lakeside four star with spa and its own terrace, a resort feel minutes from the centre.
ATLAS Posthotel
Historic grand hotel bones in the centre, renovated rooms at mid prices.
Is Garmisch-Partenkirchen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €75 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €150 a person |
| Splurge | €350 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Zugspitze: a few days ahead
- Golfclub Garmisch-Partenkirchen: a few days ahead
- Schloss Neuschwanstein: weeks ahead
- Schloss Hohenschwangau: weeks ahead
- Gasthof Fraundorfer: a few days ahead
- Zum Wildschütz: a few days ahead
- Joseph Naus Stub'n: a few days ahead
- Restaurant Husar: a few days ahead
- Buy Zugspitze tickets online the night before a clear day and start early. Neuschwanstein needs timed tickets weeks ahead in summer.
- Peak hotels book 3 to 6 months ahead. Fraundorfer, Wildschütz and Joseph Naus dinners need 2 to 7 days in season.
Is Garmisch-Partenkirchen safe?
- Town is very safe. Mountain weather is the real risk: boots, layers, water and a turnaround time above the tree line.
- Zugspitze at 2,962 m can cause headache if you rush up. Hydrate and take the first hour gently.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Going up the Zugspitze in cloud, the most expensive mistake in GaPa. Check the webcam and pivot to Wank or the gorge.
- Summit and generic piste food, and photo menu tourist restaurants around Marienplatz. Eat at huts or in Partenkirchen.
Getting around Garmisch-Partenkirchen: public transport and more
- Trains from Munich take about 1 hour 20 to 30 minutes. Town buses are free with the guest card your hotel gives you.
- GaPa is walkable end to end. A car helps only for Linderhof, Ettal, Walchensee and early gorge starts.
Who Garmisch-Partenkirchen suits
| Solo travellers | Great |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Garmisch-Partenkirchen your trip
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