Handpicked experience · Munich
Munich, Germany
The mountain ticket is probably not included and there is no free cancellation — plus a railway that climbs inside the rock and a town merged by decree in 1935.
The baroque abbey at Ettal, with time in the church and its surroundings
The ascent of Germany's highest peak, with views in every direction
Scenic coach travel through the Bavarian foothills with photo stops
Unstructured time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen or at the summit
Eight hours from Munich to the Bavarian Alps, taking in the baroque abbey at Ettal and the highest summit in Germany. Two things about the booking matter more than anything in the scenery, so they come first.
This booking covers the road journey, the guiding and the stops. Going up the mountain runs on the railway company's own ticketing, which is bought separately, and we recommend settling it before you travel rather than at a valley window with a coach waiting. Ascents run to timed departures and sell out on clear days in summer, so an advance ticket also fixes your slot.
Unusually for a day trip, this booking carries none. Weather in these mountains routinely closes the summit, and you would be committed regardless, so pick a date you are confident about.
The rack railway from the valley does something few railways anywhere do: after the open lower section it enters a tunnel bored through solid rock and spends the rest of the ascent in the dark, emerging near the top. It was completed in 1930, the tunnel runs for several kilometres, and the gradient is steep enough that the carriages are visibly tilted. Going up one way and down the other is worth doing if your ticket allows it.
The border between Germany and Austria runs directly across the top. There are separate cable-car systems on each side, and until the mid-1990s there was a customs post up there, with officers stationed on a mountain in weather that regularly reached hurricane force. You can now walk between the two countries without noticing, which is a fair summary of how European borders changed.
Nearly three thousand metres of altitude buys you a genuinely different climate: snow is possible in any month, the summit sits in cloud a great deal of the time, and one of the strongest gusts ever recorded in Germany was measured on this peak. There is a permanent research station just below the top for exactly that reason. Check the summit webcam before you set out, and take a warm layer regardless of the forecast in Munich.
Ettal monastery was founded in 1330, burned down in the eighteenth century and was rebuilt in high baroque with an enormous frescoed dome. The Benedictine community there still runs a school, brews beer, and since 1907 has distilled a herbal liqueur from a recipe it has never published. You can buy it at the gate; taste it before deciding whether you like it, since it is bitter and medicinal in a way that divides people sharply.
Garmisch and Partenkirchen were two separate towns until 1935, when they were compelled to merge so that a single municipality could host the following winter's Olympic Games. Neither side wanted it. Ninety years on, residents still identify as one or the other, and the hyphen in the name is the visible scar of a shotgun wedding.
Meals are your own, as are any admissions at the abbey. Take sunglasses: the glare off snow at that altitude is severe even in cloud.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
No — that runs on the railway company's own ticketing and is bought separately. Buy it before you travel: ascents go to timed departures and sell out on clear summer days.
No. Free cancellation does not apply, which is unusual for a day trip and matters here because mountain weather regularly closes the summit while your booking stands.
After the open lower section it enters a tunnel cut through solid rock and completes the climb in darkness, emerging near the top. It was finished in 1930 and the gradient leaves the carriages visibly tilted.
Yes, the German-Austrian border crosses it. Each side has its own cable-car system, and there was a customs post up there until the mid-1990s, staffed in weather that regularly reached hurricane force.
Entirely different. Snow is possible in any month, cloud covers the summit much of the time, and one of Germany's strongest recorded gusts was measured here. A permanent research station sits just below the peak.
Beer and a herbal liqueur distilled since 1907 to a recipe never made public, alongside running a school. It is sold at the abbey and it is bitter enough that opinions divide sharply.
Because two separate towns were forced to merge in 1935 so a single municipality could host the following winter's Olympics. Neither wanted it, and residents still identify with one half or the other.