JANUARY 2020
While being on a skiing holiday in Lermoos I decided to bring a visit to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the natural highlight Partnachklamm, which are just over the German border. The Partnachklamm is a gorge, located just outside of Partenkirchen and we visited both in one day. Whenever I visit a city I always try to scout what else you can do in the region, as I love seeing multiple highlights in one visit. As my family visits Lermoos yearly, they had already been to Garmisch-Partenkirchen before, but lucky for me they liked to visit it again.
Partnachklamm
The Partnachklamm is a gorge, created by the Partnach river which you can easily visit from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. You can park your car at the Olympic Ski Jump (parking fee € 2,50 per day) and from there it is a half hour walk to the entrance of the Partnachklamm. You can also walk to the entrance from the city center of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is a walk of about an hour. The Partnachklamm can be visited year-round, but you have to check the official website to know for sure it is open, as it sometimes closes because of weather circumstances. The entrance fee is € 6 for adults and it is well worth the entrance fee.
Of course I did some research before I decided to visit the gorge, but I could not have imagined that it would be as beautiful as it was. As we visited in winter, parts of little waterfalls were completely frozen, creating beautiful ice sculptures, crystals and stalagtites. The river was still flowing and this created an enormous noise because of the echoing in the gorge. When you walk through the gorge, you sometimes have to walk through grottos and rock galleries, which definitely added to the mystery of the Partnachklamm.
When we visited it was busy, but it didn’t feel overly crowded. People were also really respectful of each other and everybody waited for each others pictures, without it getting too annoying. I can imagine that the gorge is really popular in summer, but in summer they also open more walking paths near the gorge, so people can spread out more easily. My family was really happy they joined me on this visit, as everyone was super impressed by the natural beauty of the gorge.
If you do some more research you can also do a long walk from the Partnachklamm and go back with a little gondola. Near the entrance, you will also find the Klammhaus, which looks like a lovely place for lunch, you can even stay the night here.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a town in the South of Germany that consists of the towns Garmisch and Partenkirchen. The town has a train station, so it is easily reachable from most of the other towns in the area. There are also some parking lots scattered through the town, on which you can park for € 2,50 per day. Garmisch and Partenkirchen both have their own historical city center, but you can walk from one center to the other. We first visited the pedestrian area of Partenkirchen, I absolutely loved the colorful houses with paintings in these streets. Partenkirchen has more of a small town feel, which was very handy when taking pictures, as it wasn’t crowded at all. I also loved how put together this part of the town was and I found it more beautiful than Garmisch.
Garmisch, is more of a city and has a better atmosphere. Garmisch is the main shopping hub in the area, so you can definitely buy a new wardrobe here, if necessary. Garmisch also has more restaurants and is more busy and lively in general. Garmisch is hit and miss when it comes to architecture, there are definitely some beautifully painted colorful buildings, but there are also lots of ugly modern buildings. If you decide to bring a visit to Garmisch, don’t skip the church near the central square, the interiors were super flashy and beautiful. For us it was super easy to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but if you are short on time, it probably isn’t worth it to visit and I would recommend to visit Füssen instead. I can imagine Garmisch being a very nice hub for a summer holiday though, from which you can visit lots of sights in the area.
