7 days in Germany: itinerary

Germany rewards two bases over seven days. Berlin and Munich sit at opposite ends of the country but are joined by a direct high-speed line, so you lose half a day to the transfer and nothing else. Berlin gives you 20th-century history, museums and neighbourhoods; Munich gives you beer gardens, art and the Alps within day-trip range.

The mistake is trying to add Cologne, Hamburg or the Rhine as well. Each extra base costs a hotel change, a packing morning and a train leg, and you end up seeing stations. If you want the river instead of Bavaria, the Rhine version below is a straight swap.

Fly into Berlin and out of Munich, or the reverse. One-way tickets on the same airline or alliance usually cost little more than a return, and they save you a wasted half-day back to the start.

The line runs Berlin → Munich, roughly 4 hours by ICE; confirm the direct service and timing on DB when you book (check). Everything else on this itinerary is a day trip from one of the two bases, so your bags stay put.

If you take the Rhine variation, the shape is Berlin → Cologne → Rhine Gorge → Munich, which adds two hotel changes and one long leg (Rhine to Munich, about 4 h 30 by ICE). That is the trade: more scenery, more moving.

Days 1–3 are Berlin, and you get three usable days if you land in the morning. Day 1: arrive, walk the Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, then eat in Kreuzberg or Prenzlauer Berg. Day 2: Museum Island in the morning, the Stasi Museum or Hohenschönhausen in the afternoon if you want the Cold War in depth. Day 3: pick one — Sachsenhausen memorial, Potsdam, or a slow neighbourhood day in Neukölln and Kreuzberg. If you land late on day 1, treat that evening as arrival only and move one Berlin day to the end, flying out of Berlin instead.

Day 4 is the transfer. Take a morning ICE, drop bags at the hotel and spend the afternoon on Munich's old town: Marienplatz, the Residenz, and a beer garden if the weather holds. Days 5 and 6 are day trips: one to Neuschwanstein and Füssen, one to the Alps (Zugspitze or Garmisch-Partenkirchen) or Salzburg. Day 7 is flexible around your flight: if you leave in the afternoon, fit in one museum — the Deutsches Museum, the Alte Pinakothek or the BMW Welt — and leave the rest; if you fly early, skip it and go straight to the airport.

If you would rather not move twice in a week, cut the day trips instead of the bases. Two nights in Munich with one day trip is a calmer trip than four cities in seven days.

Deutsche Bahn runs the long-distance network. Book Sparpreis tickets early: they are tied to a specific train, cost a fraction of the walk-up fare and sell out on popular departures. If you are flexible, a Länder ticket covers unlimited regional travel within one state for a day and is the cheap way to reach Füssen or the Alps.

City transport is separate. Berlin and Munich both sell day tickets that cover U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus; validate before the first ride. Taxis and ride-hailing exist but are rarely needed in the centre.

For the airport legs, both Berlin and Munich airports connect by train to the centre in well under an hour. Allow extra time on the way home; Munich's airport is a longer ride than it looks on the map.

In Berlin, stay in Mitte for the museums and transport, Kreuzberg or Neukölln for food and nightlife, or Prenzlauer Berg for a quieter base with good cafés. All three put you on the U-Bahn within a few minutes' walk.

In Munich, the old town and Hauptbahnhof area is the most practical for a short trip: walkable to Marienplatz and the main station for day trips. Schwabing is quieter and greener; the area around the Ostbahnhof works if you want nightlife and cheaper rooms.

Book Munich early for late September and early October, when Oktoberfest fills the city and prices spike. Berlin is busiest around New Year and major trade fairs.

For two people travelling mid-range — three-star hotels or good private rooms, restaurant meals, trains booked in advance — budget roughly €1,600–2,400 for the week excluding flights (2026 estimate). Solo travellers on hostels and supermarket lunches can do it for far less; the train and hotel are the two lines that move most.

The biggest savings come from booking Sparpreis train tickets weeks ahead and choosing one base per city rather than moving every night. Museum entry in Berlin and Munich is moderate; many memorials are free.

North version: Berlin 3 nights → Hamburg 3 nights, with a day on the harbour and one in Lübeck, then a night at the airport or a late flight home. Shorter trains, cooler weather, no Alps.

East version: Berlin 3 nights → Dresden 2 → Munich 2, using the Berlin–Prague line for Dresden and a direct train onward. Dresden's baroque centre and Saxon Switzerland fill two days easily.

Rhine version, only if you accept a rushed week: Berlin 2 nights → Cologne 2 → Rhine Gorge 1 → Munich 2. The parent guide treats this shape as a 10-day route; in seven days you cut a night from Berlin and Munich and spend more of the week on trains.

If seven days feels tight, ten days lets you add the Rhine or Dresden without cutting day trips. Fourteen days is where the east-and-Bavaria route becomes comfortable.