Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Two market towns joined for the 1936 Olympics under Germany's highest mountain, a castle hotel with three Keys in the next valley, and two-star cooking at Elmau.
- Arrival
- Munich Airport · MUC
- To the town
- About 1 h 30 from Munich Airport by car
- Private jets
- Innsbruck, about 32 km away
- Best time
- December to March · June to September
The city
Under the Zugspitze.
Garmisch and Partenkirchen were two market towns until 1 January 1935, when they were merged ahead of the Winter Olympics of 1936, the first Games to include alpine skiing. Partenkirchen keeps the older face: its main street, Ludwigstraße, follows the line of the Roman road over the Alps. Above both rises the Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres the highest summit in Germany.
The town has two seasons. In winter the Garmisch-Classic slopes, raced at the World Championships of 1978 and 2011, run from mid-December to the end of March, and the glacier on the Zugspitze holds snow into May. From June to September the lifts carry walkers instead, and the afternoons reach the low twenties, though summer storms make these the wettest months of the year.
Arriving
Munich for airlines, Innsbruck for jets.
The town sits in the far south of Bavaria, close to the Austrian border. Munich Airport is about an hour and a half away by car; Innsbruck, across the border, is closer, some thirty-two kilometres in a straight line.
- Vienna 55 min
- Nice 1 h 00
- Mykonos 2 h 25
- Delhi 8 h 00 long-range jet
- Johannesburg 11 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
December to March, and June to September.
An Alpine valley climate: cold, often snowy winters and warm summers broken by thunderstorms, which make June to August the wettest months. Skiing runs from mid-December to late March on Garmisch-Classic; from June to September the afternoons reach 19 to 23 °C and every summer lift is open.
- 3° J 77
- 6° F 66
- 10° M 90
- 15° A 87
- 18° M 143
- 22° J 180
- 23° J 173
- 23° A 192
- 19° S 115
- 15° O 91
- 8° N 81
- 3° D 78
What to see and do
Days in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
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Landmark
Zugspitze
Germany's highest mountain, 2,962 metres, with cable cars from the valley and a glacier skied into spring.
-
Landmark
Partnachklamm
A gorge about two kilometres long, cut by the Partnach between limestone walls just south of Partenkirchen.
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Landmark
Ludwigstraße
Partenkirchen's main street, laid along the line of the old Roman road.
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Snow
Garmisch-Classic ski area
Some 40 km of runs spread over the Alpspitze, Hausberg and Kreuzeck, with four valley runs and the Kandahar downhill.
Official site -
Nature
AlpspiX
Two steel and glass footbridges jut out near the top station of the Alpspitzbahn, where many summer hiking trails begin.
Official site -
Opera & music
Richard Strauss Days
Held since 1989 in the composer's home town, the June festival brings symphony and chamber concerts, a song recital and opera to the Kongresshaus.
Official site -
Culture
Linderhof Palace
King Ludwig II's palace is seen on a guided tour of about 25 minutes, and in summer the park's Venus Grotto and Moroccan House open too.
Official site
Where to stay
Castle, lodge and wooden house.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Schloss Elmau Host of the G7 summits of 2015 and 2022, with six spas, nine pools and a concert hall seating three hundred.
- Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol Alone at 1,300 metres on the Seefeld plateau, with more than 5,400 square metres of spa and a one-star chef's table.
- Maximilian A one-Key hotel in Oberammergau, the next valley to the north.
- Das Kranzbach An adults-only retreat around the country house Mary Isabel Portman built here in 1913.
- Werdenfelserei Built entirely of wood, the first such hotel in Bavaria, with a panoramic rooftop pool at the foot of the Zugspitze.
- Das Graseck Reached by its own cable car, at 900 metres above the Partnach gorge, with medical check-ups among the treatments.
Where to dine
Two stars at Elmau.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- IKIGAI Two Michelin stars Modern, Asian contemporary €€€€ Schloss Elmau
- Interalpen – Chef's Table One Michelin star Creative €€€€ Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol, Telfs-Buchen
- Das Marktrestaurant One Michelin star Country cooking €€€ Dekan-Karl-Platz, Mittenwald
- Husar MICHELIN Guide Classic €€€ Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Elsewhere in Germany
More reasons to come.
- Berlin The Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island and a capital still remaking itself.
- Munich The opera, the beer halls, and the Alps an hour to the south.
- Hamburg The port, the Elbphilharmonie and the Alster lakes.
- Frankfurt The banking capital, with one of the busiest airports in Europe.
- Baden-Baden A spa town on the edge of the Black Forest, with its casino and festival hall.
- Sylt A North Sea island of dunes and thatched houses, with an airport of its own.
Flying to Garmisch-Partenkirchen?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.