Some of the Best Daytrips from Munich, Germany

The lively city of Munich has plenty to keep family travelers busy, but families wanting to see a little more of Germany will find some of the country’s highlights within an easy daytrip. Every kid will want to see the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein and will recognize its pointed towers as the inspiration for castles in Disney theme parks.

The same “Mad” King Lidwig built the nearby palace of Linderhof, a smaller castle surrounded by formal gardens with fountains and a manmade grotto kids will love. A highlight is the Hall of Mirrors, and you should be sure to visit the Moorish Pavilion, also inspired by King Ludwig’s fertile imagination. You can easily visit both palaces in one day on a tour, or you can get to Neuschwanstein by train.

Closer to Munich, take a boat to the palace of Herrenchiemsee, set on an island in the middle of a lake. King Ludwig planned this sprawling palace as a copy of the French palace of Versailles, complete with a full-sized version of the famous Hall of Mirrors. That and the grand staircase were completed before his death, but the rest remained unfinished.

If traditional timber-framed villages straight out of fairy tales are more to your family’s tastes, travel north to the beautiful towns of Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber and Dinkelsbühl, both on the Romantic Road. This scenic route connects several well-preserved medieval towns, the best known of which is Rothenburg. You can walk along the walls that encircle the old town, and visit the town’s most famous shop, Käthe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas Village, always a hit with kids.