Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in a nutshell

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is nestled in a broad valley at the confluence of the Loisach, a tributary river with its source in Tyrol, and the Partnach, a mountain stream springing from the Wetterstein Mountain Range. Surrounded by the Ammer Mountain Range to the northwest, the Ester Mountains to the east and the Wetterstein Mountain Range to the south which includes Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze.

Summer Outdoor Activities

Hiking trails (300 km, 100 km thereof are usable even in the winter; guided tours are available as well), Nordic walking (guided tours available as well), rock climbing (21 routes with various degrees of difficulty from 3 to 8, bicycling / mountain biking (453 km of cycling routes), kayaking / canoeing, rafting, archery, hang gliding / paragliding, lakes for swimming and boating (row boats and paddle boats): Lake Riessersee, and Lake Pflegersee), golf (Golf Club Garmisch-Partenkirchen e. V., Golf Club Werdenfels e.V.)

Winter Outdoor Activities

alpine skiing/snowboarding, cross-country skiing (110 km ski runs, classic and skating-style, night skiing), biathlon event for guests, tobogganing/night tobogganing (Hausberg sledding track 3.9 km), snowshoeing, winter hiking, winter Nordic walking (guided tours available as well)

Indoor Activities

swimming/sauna (Alpsitz-Wellenbad Swimming Pool), health and spa centres available in selected hotels, badminton/tennis (Indoor Hausberg), ice skating/”Eisstockschießen“ (similar to curling)/curling (Olympia-Eissport-Zentrum, the Olympia ice sports centre), air gun shooting (in the Garmisch Kurhaus).

Health and Wellness

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a premium class health resort with healing climate (“Heilklimatischer Kurort”); exercise therapy in a therapeutic climate; 140 km of high-altitude hiking paths, Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a “WellVital-Ort”, i.e. a place offering a wide range of spa facilities and spa hotels that are called “WellVital” hotels; the spa’s municipal park offers a concert series from May to September; bare foot path; an information path on the respiratory tract; numerous health service providers.

Sightseeing, attractions, and activities

First things first: the scenery and landscape

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a top ski resort town situated in a valley in the Bavarian Alps. The choice of outdoor activities (in summer and winter) is huge and the landscape & scenery is one of the best in the world.

Points of Interest, sights, attractions

• Historic towns centers of Garmisch and Partenkirchen
• Partnachklamm (canyon)
• the Olympic sports facilities with the ski jumping facility
• the Werdenfels Castle ruin
• the Königshaus am Schachen (the King’s House on the Schachen)
• Museums: Richard-Strauss Institute or Werdenfels Museum to learn about the history of the area
• the Zugspitze which is Germany’s highest mountain: 2962 m / 9718 ft

Casino Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Since the larger cities in the area like Munich are not allowed to have a casino within a certain distance the Garmisch-Partenkirchen casino is a popular place to visit for people from all over the area. The casino offers roulette, poker, black jack, slot machines, and hosts special events.

Nearby Places of Interest

• Mittenwald
• Oberammergau
• Murnau am Staffelsee
• Kochel am See
• Neuschwanstein castle
• Linderhof Palace
• Glentleiten open-air museum
• München (see our Munich travel guide)
• Innsbruck

Major Events

New Year’s Ski Jumping Event
Web: https://www.neujahrsskispringen.de/eng
January 1st each year

Championship of wooden sleigh racing (“Hornschlittenrennen”)
Early January

Alpine Ski Championship
Web: https://www.skiweltcup-garmisch.com/en/start
February

Richard Strauss Festival
Web: http://www.richard-strauss-festival.de/
in July

Christmas Market
during December

Four Hills Tournament (Vierschanzen Tournee)
Web: https://www.vierschanzentournee.com/
End of December. Takes place in: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Oberstdorf, Bischofshofen, Innsbruck (Austria)

Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Visitor Info & Getting Around

Total Area

ca. almost 50,000 acres

Population

Total: ca. 27 k
of which 26k are registered as principal residences and ca. 1k are registered as secondary residences

Altitude

City Hall: 708 m (2.322 ft) above sea level

Highest Mountain of the area

Zugspitze: 2,962 m (9.718 ft) above sea level. It’s also the highest mountain in Germany.

Distance from major cities

Munich: 90 km (54 U.S. miles) to the North
Innsbruck: 55 km (33 U.S. miles) to the South

Sister Cities

Aspen/Colorado, USA; Chamonix, France; Lahti, Finland

Convention Center

10 fully equipped, modern facilities (rooms of 29 to 800 square metres) as well as 1,000 square metres of exhibition floor. Partner alliance with “Gipfeltreffen,” the Bavarian seal of quality for 40 different convention centres in the state of Bavaria.

Skiing Resorts

Zugspitze skiing resort: Germany’s only glacier skiing resort; ski lifts open from November to May; 22 km of ski slopes

Classic ski resort: Lifts open from December to April; 40 km of ski slopes

Nearby in the area: 169 km ski slopes (Seefeld, Reith, Mittenwald, Ehrwald, Lermoos, Biberwier, Bichlbach, Berwag, Heiterwang)

Ski Lift Companies

Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG (with Zugspitze, Alpspitze, Kreuzeck, Hausberg and Wank);
Partenkirchener Bergbahnen GmbH (with Eckbauer and Graseck cable cars);

Airport

Munich International Airport is the closest major airport to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Getting around

Public Transportation

The city operates public busses within the city. It’s called “Gemeindewerke Garmisch-Partenkirchen / Department Verkehrsbetriebe”.

Tourism Office (in German: ‘Fremdenverkehrsamt’)

Tourist Office: Richard-Strauss-Platz 2, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Map