Here's a complete chapter from my guidebook, Daytrips Germany, currently in its sixth edition and now being revised for the 2007 travel season. I've updated most of the facts as of summer 2006, added more photos, and used new maps. Save it, print it out, and use it on your next trip to Munich or Salzburg.
Click on underlined entries for web links.
Berchtesgaden is one of the most popular resorts in Germany, and with good reason. Few places in the country offer such spectacular mountain scenery, and none have anything that equals the sublime beauty of its lake, the Königssee. Then there is the town itself, whose old castle and fascinating salt mines are certainly worth more than a detour. But, ironically, to many people the area is known only for its association with Adolf Hitler and his gang, who held court there during the short span of the Third Reich. That dreadful era is long since over, and Berchtesgaden has survived with all of its natural splendors intact.
The only problem with a daytrip to Berchtesgaden is that it requires some hard choices — you can't possibly see everything in the time available. The best solution, of course, is to stay overnight or longer, remembering that the town makes an excellent base for excursions to Bad Reichenhall, the Chiemsee, or even Salzburg in Austria.
GETTING THERE:
Trains depart Munich's main station almost hourly for the nearly 3-hour trip to Berchtesgaden. A change at Freilassing is probably necessary, except that in some cases you change at Salzburg to a bus. Click here for online schedules, remembering to click on English, and to enter Muenchen for Munich.
Buses depart Salzburg's main station for the 45-minute ride to Berchtesgaden. It is also possible, but slower, to go by train, changing at Freilassing.
By Car, Berchtesgaden is 155 km (96 miles) southeast of Munich via the A-8 Autobahn to the Bad Reichenhall exit, then the B-20 road. From Salzburg, it's only 23 km (14 miles), heading southwest on routes 150, 160, and the B-305 in Germany.
PRACTICALITIES:
The period between mid-May and mid-October is the best time to visit Berchtesgaden. Good weather will make the trip much more enjoyable, but you should still bring along a sweater or jacket if you visit the salt mines or the Eagle's Nest.
The local Tourist Information Office, T: (08652) 967-150, is just across the bridge from the train station. Berchtesgaden has a permanent population of about 8,200.
FOOD AND DRINK:
IN TOWN:
Restaurant im Kurhaus (Maximilianstr. 9, by the Kurgarten) Good-value meals, especially the daily specials. T: (08652) 948-755. €€
Post (Maximilianstr. 2, near the Kurgarten) A small hotel with a beer garden and a good restaurant. T: (08652) 50-67. €€
Goldener Bär (Weihnachtsschützenstr. 4, just west of the Kurgarten) Simple, traditional Bavarian dishes. T: (08652) 25-90. €
THE KÖNIGSSEE area has several tourist restaurants between the bus stop, the lake, and the Malerwinkel.
ON THE OBERSALZBERG:
Kehlsteinhaus (in the Eagle's Nest) Food and drink in a mountain aerie overlooking the world. T: (08652) 29-69. €€
SUGGESTED TOUR:
Numbers in parentheses correspond to numbers on the two maps.
CLICK ON THE MAP FOR A LARGER VIEW.
The three do-it-yourself tours described here all begin at the centrally-located Train Station (Bahnhof) (1). You will only have time to do two of these in one single day.
THE TOWN:
Leave the Train Station (1) and follow the map uphill to the Kurgarten (2), a delightful little park with lovely views. Continue on through a colorful pedestrians-only area, passing the old market place, and walk under a passageway into the Schlossplatz (3). This picturesque square is lined on its western side with 16th-century arcades.
The Stiftskirche (Abbey Church), on the eastern side, dates from 1122 and is well worth a visit for its fine works of art. 
Directly adjacent to it is the Schloss (Castle), originally built as an Augustinian monastery. In 1803 this was secularized and afterwards used as a summer residence for Bavaria's ruling family, the Wittelsbachs. One of their descendants, Crown Prince Rupprecht, who had a tenuous (very tenuous) claim to the British throne through his maternal Stuart ancestors, lived here until his death in 1955. Its marvelous interiors are open to the public, and its sumptuous collection of art and furnishings are shown on guided tours lasting about an hour. T: (08652) 947-980. Open mid-May to mid-Oct., Sun.-Fri. 10-1 and 2-5; mid-Oct. to mid May, Mon.-Fri. 11-2. Closed holidays in the off-season. €€.
A highlight of any trip to Berchtesgaden is a tour through the salt mines, which can be reached on foot via Bräuhausstrasse and Bergwerkstrasse:
*SALZBERGWERK (Salt Mines) (4), T: (08652) 649-71. Open May to mid-Oct., daily 9-5; rest of year daily except Sun. and holidays, 12:30-3:30. Tours: €€€.
In operation since 1517, the mines were the original source of wealth for the priory, and are still in active use today. Visitors are loaned traditional miners' clothes for protection against the cold and damp environment; then loaded aboard a motorized cart for the dark, eerie, half-mile-long journey into the bowels of the earth. Different parts of the subterranean excavations are reached via exciting downhill slides and a boat ride across an underground lake. About 60 minutes later you will return to the outer world on another little tram. From here it is a little over a mile back to the station.
*KÖNIGSSEE:
Buses to the Königssee leave frequently from the front of the Train Station (1). Those with cars will, of course, ride the two-and-a-half-mile distance, while the more ambitious can walk along a footpath following the stream.
Many people consider the *Königssee (5) to be the most enchanting lake in Germany, if not in all of Europe. It can be explored on one of the silent electric boat tours or by walking out to the Malerwinkel. Ideally, you should do both. From the bus stop or parking lot it is only a short stroll to the village, which is rather touristy but well hidden from the main part of the lake.
A path from here leads to the left and follows the lake's contours to the *Malerwinkel (Painters' Corner) (6), a tranquil spot of astonishing beauty. About one half-mile from the village, it is the end of the trail — beyond which the mountains plunge vertically inti the dark and mysterious waters.
Boats leave frequently from the village for the two-hour round-trip ride to St. Bartholomä and beyond. Those making the longer trip should get off at the end and take a ten-minute walk to the Obersee, once a part of the Königssee that was cut off by an avalanche eight centuries ago. The Chapel of St. Bartholomä (7) (photo, above), at the foot of the Watzmann, Germany's second-highest peak, is a scene right out of a fairy tale. Bayerische Seen Schifffahrt, T: (08652) 963-618. Operates year-round except when the lake is frozen. Roundtrips €€€. When you've had your fill of natural spendor, return to the village and take the bus back to the Berchtesgaden station.
EAGLE'S NEST:
A visit to Hitler's alpine aerie begins by taking a bus to Obersalzberg-Hintereck, or by driving there — a distance of two and a half steep miles. Buses (marked Kehlstein) leave at about half-hour intervals until late afternoon from the front of the post office next to the train station (1), or you might consider a guided tour in English departing from the tourist office — ask them about current schedules. There is also a cable car from the Bergwerkstrasse in Berchtesgaden, but this involves a walk of about a mile and a half from its upper station to Obersalzberg-Hintereck.
Adolf Hitler lived on the Obersalzberg Plateau (8) on and off from 1923 until 1933, when he began construction there on his permanent home, the Berghof. Other Nazi leaders followed suit, and by World War II the area was a highly developed complex of party and military buildings linked by underground tunnels. For obvious reasons, much of this was demolished after the war. While there, and before going to the Eagle's Nest, you might consider gaining a better understanding of what went on here by visiting the:
OBERSALZBERG DOCUMENTATION CENTER (8), T: (08652) 947-966. Open April-Oct, Tues.-Sun. 9-5; Nov.-March, Tues.-Sun. 10-4. Closed Mon. and major holidays. €.
The dramatic history of Hitler and his Nazis in the Berchtesgaden area is documented with artifacts, photos, and explanatory displays in this new (and some would say brave) exhibition operated by the Bavarian State Government. It even lets you see some of the underground tunnels that linked elements of the regime.
One famous structure of that era that does remain is Hitler's hideaway, the Kehlsteinhaus, often called the Eagle's Nest (9). Located on a rocky crag high above the compound, it can only be reached by a special bus that departs frequently from the Obersalzberg-Hintereck parking lot. Other vehicles are not allowed on the steep and dangerous road. Upon arrival you should make return reservations, then enter a tunnel and take the small brass elevator up through the rocks to the Eagle's Nest.
Seldom used by the Führer, this retreat was allowed to survive and is now a restaurant and café. Stroll out to the crest beyond for a fabulous view of the Alps. The Eagle's Nest can be visited daily between mid-May and mid-Oct., but is closed the rest of the year because of weather. Fares: €€€, buses run from 8-4.
Copyright © 2002 Earl Steinbicker
IF YOU'RE ALSO VISITING AUSTRIA, check out my new e-guides for Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. They stay perpetually up-to-date with Internet connectivity and FREE UPDATES, have loads of photos and maps, and cost only $2.99 each (for now). That's less than a cup of coffee! Click on their titles for more information.
Waltzing Through Vienna, covering both the city and much of Eastern Austria.
Innsbruck & the Alps, covering Innsbruck, the Tyrol, and parts of southern Bavaria.
Interested in photography? Check out my "Assisting Avedon" blog.
So, what am I up to now in 2013? Click here to find out.
RETURN to Daytrips Chapters Index.
A more updated version of this trip is included in two of my recent (2007 and 2009) guidebooks. Click to read all about them at Amazon.com. by clicking on their titles in the boxes below, or on the Buy button to purchase:
Stiftskirche is truly wonderful and definitely worth an extended trip to see.
Posted by: Self Publishing | September 01, 2010 at 09:48 PM
I visited a lot of parts of Germany, as a final taste, , Berchtesgaden represents a superb last course, combining a major element of twentieth century history with an area of intense and lasting natural wonder.
Posted by: Berchtesgaden Hotels | April 16, 2011 at 01:11 PM