Garmisch Partenkirchen

Garmisch Ski Resort

With access to a glacier on Germany’s highest mountain, a bustling town and rapid access from Munich, Garmisch is the country’s leading ski resort.

There are two ski areas to choose from at the Olympic resort of Garmisch – the tough, wooded slopes of Garmisch Classic and the high, gentle glacier slopes of the Zugspitze. Each can be covered in a day, making this an ideal weekend destination, especially as it is so easy to get here from Munich and there is an abundance of accommodation to choose from. This does mean that you may want to tie in other resorts if you’re coming for a full week, but with the likes of Ehrwald, Lermoos and Seefeld over the Austrian border, this is an easy proposition.

Our Garmisch Resort Ratings

• Beginner ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
• Intermediate ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
• Advanced ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
• Snow Reliability ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
• Fast Lifts ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Resort Activities ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
• Après ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
• Value ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Garmisch Skiing and Snowboarding

Garmisch Classic is located on north-facing slopes on the southern edge of the city, a short drive or train ride from the centre. The northerly aspect and improved snowmaking helps maintain the snow conditions, but in lean years the lowest runs can really suffer. In good conditions however, this is a great ski area with 40km of pistes, including the Olympic Downhill run, which drops over 1000 vertical metres – this really is a tough challenge. There is also a good beginner zone on the Hausberg (you will have to download however) and some nice cruisey terrain above Kreuzeck.

The other area, located high on the Zugspitze Mountain sits on a glacier and is thus extremely snowsure. The views are spectacular, but the terrain is fairly limited and the 20km of pistes are entirely made up of short blues and reds. That being said, it is well worth visiting and the cable car to the top is an incredible feat of engineering.

• Total Pistes: 60km
• Blue: 32%
• Red: 52%
• Black: 16%
• Additional Ski Routes: 4km
• Lifts: 27
• Altitude: 732m – 2720m

Garmisch Piste Map

The local area map can be downloaded here.

Garmisch Resort

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a city rather a ski resort, with a population of around 27,000 people. This does mean that weekend crowds descend on the slopes, but the payoff is that you get a vast range of accommodation, bars and restaurants to choose from. As this is not a ski resort town in the traditional sense, prices are much lower than average – making this a great value destination for a weekend ski trip.

Try and base yourself as near to the central station as possible. Not only is this the liveliest part of town, but the walk to Hausberg is quick and access to the Zugspitze is simple. Away from the slopes there is a lot to do, including Mount Wank, an entire mountain dedicated to winter walking, snowshoeing and tobogganing, located just to the east of the city.

Season Dates

Garmisch Classic: 19th December 2019 - 29th March 2020

Zugspitze: 15th November 2019 - 13th April 2020

How to get to Garmisch

Garmisch is incredibly easy to get to. The drive from Munich airport takes around an hour and a half, with the public transport option taking slightly longer.

• Munich airport: 1.5 hours (driving) or 2 hours (public transport)

Garmisch Contact Details

• Website: www.zugspitze.de
• Email: zugspitzbahn@zugspitze.de
• Telephone: +49 88 21 79 70
• Facebook: @zugspitze.de
• Twitter: @zugspitze2962