Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Martin from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

I have been visiting Garmisch (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) now for about twelve years and first went there whilst posted to Germany with the airforce. It really is a great place to visit, and very accessible from either Munich or Innsbruck. The town is larger than most ski resorts with a lot of facilities such as ice hockey and ski jumping stadiums and large swimming pool. Many people have family homes there and commute to Munich for work so it also has a different, more settled, atmosphere than typical ski resorts. The skiing is good and has a range of areas from tree lined slopes to the village on the Hausberg to snow sure skiing on the Zugspitze, many of the old lifts have also been replaced now by high speed chair lifts and gondolas. It's great to catch the cog train from the Hausberg or Grinau up to the Zugspitze, it’s a magical experience as you go up the mountain side looking at the scenery and Eibsee lake below. There is also some good cross country and ski touring to be had at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From Garmisch you can catch the local train round to Mittenwald and get access to the large cross county ski areas there and over the border to Seefeld. Catch the train the other way and you can go round to Lermoos, a powder snow tip from the locals. Another tip is to catch the old cable car from the Olympic stadium to the Partnachkalm restaurant, and then walk back down the Partnachklamm gorge itself, or the other way round. There are spectacular frozen waterfalls and icicles above the white water river below. The cable car is from the 1920’s, I think, and only holds about 4 people. Weekends are very busy at Garmisch-Partenkirchen with skiers driving down from Munich, also during the holiday periods in late January or February when it gets really crowded. My advice would be to try and go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen during early January or late February to March. Check out the snow conditions and book late. Sometimes I have gone to large resorts in France with friends which have larger ski areas but they have no atmosphere or character, and other than skiing there isn’t a lot else to do. If you want a nice all round Alpine holiday with the chance to do some sight seeing as well, and somewhere good for kids, Garmisch (Garmisch-Partenkirchen) is a great choice.

2009-03-25

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