15 Best Weekend Trips from Munich for an Unforgettable Getaway
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Wondering what the best weekend trips from Munich are? You’ve found the right post!
No matter where you live, everyone loves a minibreak every once in a while. Even if you live or are short-term based in the cultural and historical powerhouse, the Bavarian icon that is Munich, Germany!
While visiting Munich during my time studying abroad in Ireland, I was able to make use of Germany’s great train transportation to explore more of the area.
Fortunately, Munich is a fairly significant transit hub in southern Germany, making it easy for anyone to take weekend trips from Munich as often as they like. We’ve got a guide here to some of the most popular short trips you can take from the city.
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Best Weekend Trips from Munich
Berchtesgaden National Park
⏰ Travel Time: Expect a minimum travel time of 3-4 hours by train/bus or two hours by car.
Go south in Germany, just about as far south as you can possibly get in the southeast of the country, and you’ll find Berchtesgaden National Park.
Founded in 1978 to protect the landscapes of the Berchtesgaden Alps, the park stands today as a nature reserve, conservation center, and home to the only Biosphere Reserve in Germany.
It’s a beautiful expanse of carefully cared-for Alpine nature, and it makes for a refreshing weekend break from Munich.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
⏰ Travel Time: The most direct routes, by both car and train, take about three hours.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a beautiful city with a well-preserved medieval center and some of the only remaining fully intact city walls in the entire country.
There’s plenty to do here, from exploring the lovely surrounding nature, roaming the city market plaza, or touring some of the several museums covering topics from medieval crime to Christmas.
Since it’s also on the Romantic Road, you could use Rothenburg as a sort of home base during your weekend away from Munich and visit other nearby Romantic Road cities like Schillingsfürst and Creglingen.
Neuschwanstein Castle/Fussen
⏰ Travel Time: Expect a travel time of about 2-3 hours via train and bus or two hours by car. To reach the castle, you’ll need to prepare for an additional half-hour uphill hike.
A weekend in Füssen is a weekend spent being thoroughly charmed by her Bavarian Old Town, her fresh mountain air, her history of lute and violin making, and the ultimate sight: the castle on a cloud that is Neuschwanstein Schloß.
Visiting Füssen would be a truly fairytale trip from Munich that enchants you at every turn. Take the time to also explore Hohenschwangau Castle while you’re there, too!
I was lucky enough to take this trip myself and absolutely loved visiting here – this is one location that you won’t want to miss out on, but be sure to make any castle tour reservations in advance.
Read More: How to Take a Day Trip to Neuschwanstein Castle from Munich 🚂
London
⏰ Travel Time: The best travel option is plane–about two hours non-stop, or three hours plus for an itinerary with a connection.
Few destinations are more iconic than London. From vintage shops and street markets to legendary palaces and monolithic modern towers, London defies categorization on every level.
No matter what you want to do during a short trip from Munich, London has something for everyone at every time; it is a true city that never sleeps.
Salzburg
⏰ Travel Time: From one and a half to two hours, either by train or by car.
Salzburg is a paradise for classical music lovers, nature enthusiasts, those who enjoy exploring medieval structures, and more. Mozart’s birthplace boasts beautifully preserved Baroque structures, stunning Alpine views, and a number of excellent museums.
And, of course, the absolutely breathtaking Nonnberg Abbey, one of the oldest still-active nunneries in the world, is a central point in the city.
Visitors can tour the abbey, and once renovations are complete, they will be able to resume hearing the resident nuns singing Gregorian choral songs in the mornings.
Regensburg
⏰ Distance: From one and a half to two hours, either by train or by car.
Where the Danube, the Naab, and the Regen River converge, that’s where you’ll find Regensburg. This is the largest medieval city that lies north of the Alps, with sections that date back even further than that.
During your weekend trip here from Munich, you’ll cross the 12th-century Stone Bridge, visit the sky-scraping St. Peter’s Church, and walk the same streets that emperors and kings did centuries ago.
Hallstatt
⏰ Distance: From two and a half to three hours, either by train or by car.
Postcard-perfect Hallstatt is not only a pretty lakeside village; it’s home to some of the more unusual natural attractions in Austria and Germany.
Here, you’ll find the Glacier Garden, where the last Ice Age left a beautiful park full of millennia-old rock formations and waterfalls, making for a beautiful hiking experience. Or the Salzwelten Salt Mine, the world’s oldest salt mine, which is still in operation.
A funicular takes you up to the mine and the Skywalk, where gorgeous views unfold at your feet and take your breath away.
Berlin
⏰ Distance: About four hours by train, or six hours and more via car.
Germany’s edgy, urban capital city stands in stark contrast to Munich’s cozy, historic vibes, making Berlin an ideal weekend break from Bavaria’s capital.
With a constantly evolving nightlife, a vibrant cultural scene, and multiple places to visit and become educated on Germany’s grittier historical aspects, the reunited city promises to be a complete and ultra-modern weekend experience.
The Romantic Road
⏰ Distance: Würzburg, the starting point, is two hours by train and about three hours by car from Munich. If you’d rather start in Füssen and work northward, this is about two hours from Munich by either train or car.
The Romantic Road, so-called because of the dreamy wells of enchantment it taps in visitors, is a 286-mile (460-kilometer) stretch of roads in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg that links a chain of pretty German towns and statuesque castles.
You’ll want a long bank weekend in order to make the most of your drive from one end of the road to the other, as each town has its own unique charm, and you won’t want to leave a single stone unturned.
Art, culture, history, and excellent cuisine await you on the Romantic Road.
Paris
⏰ Distance: About 6 hours via train, or at least 8 hours via car.
The City of Love needs no introduction, and hardly anyone needs their arm twisted to take a weekend break from Munich (or anywhere) in favor of Paris! Iconic gastronomy, museums, and monuments will fill your days here with color, light, and fun.
You can take in a show at the legendary Moulin Rouge, walk the steps of Montmartre (pack comfortable shoes, but do make sure they’re stylish–this is Paris!)… each arrondissement is like a little city of its own, with its own style and culture.
You might actually need more than one weekend to really explore it all.
Augsburg
⏰ Distance: About thirty minutes by train, or an hour by car.
A beautiful city with many lives, Augsburg has a rich history dating back to Roman times. It’s been a trading port, one of the birthplaces of early capitalism, an artistic Mecca, and countless other things in the centuries of its existence.
The lovely Old Town, with stunning fountains and truly beautiful ancient structures, has survived countless wars over her lifetime. It’s such a short distance from Munich; this picturesque and quintessentially Bavarian city is a perfect option for a weekend trip.
Vienna
⏰ Distance: It can be about four hours by train, or five via car.
Sachertorte. Waltzes. Classical music. Psychiatry. Vienna has been a true legendary powerhouse in the artistic, cultural, and intellectual spheres throughout her history.
A visit here feeds the heart, mind, and soul, from beautiful structures to iconic cultural institutions. With apologies to Billy Joel, Vienna is waiting for you… to select her for your next weekend excursion.
Nuremberg
⏰ Distance: Typically one hour by train, two by car.
A capital of culture in Bavaria, Nuremberg is home to fifty-four different museums.
Artists such as Albrecht Dürer and his family hail from here, as does Johann Pachelbel–which means that technically, the backbone of most modern music is the product of Nuremberg.
Arts, culture, history, and traditional culinary excellence all converge here in Nuremberg to create a vibrant, varied tapestry of a city, perfect for a weekend of exploration.
Stuttgart
⏰ Distance: Around two hours by train, and three by car.
She’s modern, she’s historic, she’s an indefinable icon. Stuttgart believes in more being more and then some, so a visit to this bright and shiny city that redefines luxury is not only the cherry on top of the cake, it’s the entire dessert.
Visit the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums, indulge in luxury shopping, and stay at one of the top-of-the-line hotels in the city center. A weekend in Stuttgart is a weekend for treating yourself–go all out and enjoy it!
Innsbruck
⏰ Distance: Around two hours either by train or car.
A city with historic charm and modern flair, the beautiful Alpine city of Innsbruck is also the premier winter sports destination, having hosted the Winter Olympics and other important winter sport championships multiple times.
Escape from Munich deep into the Tyrolean Alps, and enjoy everything Innsbruck has on offer; not just the variety of winter sports, but also her deep cultural history, her delicious Tyrolean cuisine, and beautifully fresh mountain air.
Final Thoughts: Munich Weekend Breaks
It’s not that the perfect weekend break from Munich doesn’t exist; it’s just that almost too many of them do! There’s something for every taste out there, something to fulfill every need.
No matter what you’re looking to get out of a weekend trip from Munich, there’s a place for you to go and have the time of your life.
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