FFU Editorial Note: Train times verified against Deutsche Bahn (DB) May 2026 timetable. Hotel pricing in shoulder season (May/Sept). Distances confirmed against Google Maps. Last verified: 9 May 2026.
Germany in 10 days needs editing. Trying to hit Berlin + Hamburg + Munich + the Romantic Road + the Black Forest + Cologne is how trips get ruined. Below: the route we actually recommend — Berlin, a Saxon detour, Munich and Bavaria — with the option to swap in Christmas markets or wine country depending on season.
Part of the FFU Germany cluster: Germany overview · 30 things to do · Best time to visit · Where to stay
The route at a glance
Days 1–4: Berlin · Day 5: ICE train Berlin → Dresden, afternoon Dresden · Day 6: Dresden + Saxon Switzerland · Days 7–10: Munich + Bavaria (Neuschwanstein day trip + beer halls) → fly home from Munich.
Total ground covered: ~750 km, all by Deutsche Bahn ICE. No rental car needed unless you do the Romantic Road variation.
Days 1–4: Berlin
Day 1 — Arrive, settle, walk Mitte
Land Berlin Brandenburg (BER), take the FEX express train to Hauptbahnhof (~30 min, €4.40) or the S-Bahn S9 to your hotel area. Check into Mitte (the central historic district) or Kreuzberg (cooler, edgier).
Afternoon: Brandenburg Gate → Reichstag exterior → Pariser Platz → Unter den Linden walk → Bebelplatz (the book-burning memorial) → Gendarmenmarkt. ~2 hours, ~3 km.
Dinner: Borchardt (classic Berlin Schnitzel restaurant, near Gendarmenmarkt, book ahead) or the Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt for traditional. Berliners eat at 7:30–9 p.m.
Day 2 — Reichstag dome morning, Museum Island afternoon
Morning (book the Reichstag dome 4+ weeks ahead): the Norman Foster glass dome on top of the German parliament. Free, 90-minute timed entry, audio guide included. The rooftop walkway is one of Berlin’s best free panoramas.
Lunch: Curry 36 at Mehringdamm for the classic currywurst (€4) or Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg if it’s a Thursday (Street Food Thursday).
Afternoon: Museum Island — €19 day pass for all five museums. Pick two: the Pergamon Museum (Ishtar Gate is the highlight; some sections closed for renovation) and the Neues Museum (Nefertiti’s bust). 3 hours.
Evening: rooftop sundowner at Klunkerkranich (Neukölln, on top of a parking garage, casual, beer-and-burger setup). Dinner at Hartmann’s (modern Berlin) or any of Kreuzberg’s Turkish-German restaurants.
Day 3 — Cold War Berlin: East Side Gallery + Topography of Terror + Checkpoint Charlie
Morning: East Side Gallery — 1.3 km of preserved Berlin Wall painted by 100+ artists. Free, walk it from Ostbahnhof to Warschauer Straße (45 min walking).
Lunch: Burgermeister (Schlesisches Tor, in a converted public toilet, Berlin classic) or Markthalle Neun.
Afternoon: Topography of Terror (free, on the former SS headquarters site) — Berlin’s most sobering history museum, indoor + outdoor. 90 min. Then Checkpoint Charlie (touristy but historically significant; skip the museum, walk past). Continue to the Holocaust Memorial (Stelenfeld) — 2,711 stelae forming an underground field.
Evening: club night if it’s the right night. Berghain (Friday or Saturday only — read the door-policy guide first), Watergate (Wednesday-Saturday), or Sisyphos (summer-only outdoor) for serious nightlife. Or Tresor (the techno classic). Berliners arrive at clubs at midnight or later.
Day 4 — Tempelhofer Feld + Charlottenburg + Tiergarten
Morning: Tempelhofer Feld — the former airport-turned-park. Walk or rent a bike (€10 day rental). 90 min minimum.
Lunch: Café Einstein Stammhaus (the Vienna-style coffeehouse classic in the western Berlin grandee tradition) or Manufactum’s restaurant in Charlottenburg.
Afternoon: Charlottenburg Palace (Berlin’s largest royal palace, €17 — combine with the Bröhan-Museum next door for art nouveau). Or Berlin Zoo + Tiergarten walk if you’d rather be outside.
Evening: The Komische Oper Berlin or Berliner Philharmoniker if there’s a performance — Berlin’s classical music scene is world-class. Otherwise dinner at Lokal (Mitte, Berlin-cuisine modern), Cookies Cream (vegetarian, hidden behind a service entrance), or any of Prenzlauer Berg’s wine bars.
Days 5–6: Dresden
Day 5 — ICE Berlin → Dresden, afternoon old town
11:00 a.m. ICE Berlin Hauptbahnhof → Dresden Hauptbahnhof (1 h 50 min, €40–€60 with 1+ week lead-time). Book at bahn.de.
Check into a hotel near the Altstadt (the old town).
Afternoon: walk the Altstadt — Frauenkirche (the church rebuilt with original stones from 1945 rubble, completed 2005, free interior visit), Zwinger Palace courtyard, Brühl’s Terrace (the riverside walk), Semperoper Square. Climb the Frauenkirche dome for the city panorama (€10).
Dinner: Sophienkeller im Taschenbergpalais (traditional Saxon, atmospheric vaulted cellar) or Pulverturm (in a 16th-century tower).
Day 6 — Saxon Switzerland day trip + Green Vault evening
Morning: take the S-Bahn S1 to Kurort Rathen (45 min, €8 round trip) for the Bastei Bridge — the photogenic sandstone-pillar bridge in Saxon Switzerland National Park. 30-min hike up from Rathen ferry. €0 for the bridge itself, €5 for the panoramic platform. Plan 4 hours including the train and the walk.
Lunch: at the Bastei restaurant (panoramic terrace) or back in Pirna at Plan B.
Afternoon: return to Dresden by 4 p.m. Visit the Green Vault (Grünes Gewölbe) — the Saxon royal treasury, the largest collection of European treasures from the 16th–18th centuries. Two parts: Historic Green Vault (timed entry, book online 4+ weeks ahead, €15) and the New Green Vault (€14). Plan 2 hours.
Evening: Semperoper performance (book ahead, €25–€120) or dinner at Caroussel (1 Michelin star, splurge tier).
Days 7–10: Munich + Bavaria
Day 7 — ICE Dresden → Munich (via change), afternoon Marienplatz
Direct ICE trains run a few times daily Dresden → Munich (~6 hours, €60–€100). Faster: ICE Dresden → Nuremberg → Munich (~5 hours, with one change). Or fly DRS → MUC (1 h, €80–€130) — saves a day if your time is tight.
Check into a hotel near Marienplatz (most central) or Glockenbachviertel (Munich’s hipster-trendy quarter, walking distance to Marienplatz).
Afternoon: Marienplatz — catch the 5 p.m. Glockenspiel (May–October only) — Viktualienmarkt for a beer at the maypole stand and a brez’n with weisswurst.
Evening: classic Munich beer hall night. Hofbräuhaus (touristy, fun, the Mass-of-beer-and-brass-band experience) or Augustiner-Keller (locals’ choice, beautiful biergarten under chestnut trees in summer).
Day 8 — Neuschwanstein day trip
Take the 7:51 a.m. train Munich → Füssen (2 h, €30 round trip with the Bayern-Ticket day pass). Then bus 73 or 78 from Füssen station to Hohenschwangau (10 min). Walk up to Neuschwanstein Castle (40 min uphill, or €4 horse-and-carriage).
The 35-minute timed-entry castle tour (€17) sells out months ahead — book online 6+ weeks in advance.
Combine with Hohenschwangau Castle (Ludwig II’s childhood home, less famous but more authentic, €17) — combo ticket €27. Lunch at the Müller restaurant in Hohenschwangau village (terrace view of both castles).
Return to Munich by 8 p.m. for dinner at any beer hall.
Day 9 — Munich museums + English Garden
Morning: Pinakothek der Moderne and the Alte Pinakothek (€7 each, combo ticket €12 for the day) — Munich’s main art museums. The Alte holds Old Masters; the Moderne has 20th-century design + architecture (the BMW collection in particular).
Lunch: at the Schmalznudel café (Viktualienmarkt) for traditional pastry + coffee, or Tantris if you’re celebrating (Michelin-starred, splurge tier).
Afternoon: walk the English Garden (Englischer Garten) — Munich’s massive central park, larger than NYC’s Central Park. Watch the surfers on the Eisbach standing wave (yes, surfers in landlocked Munich; legendary). End at the Chinesischer Turm beer garden for one of Munich’s largest outdoor drinking spaces — 7,000 seats under chestnut trees.
Evening: dinner at Kreuzkamm (Bavarian classic) or at Tegernsee Tal (Bavaria-modern in Glockenbachviertel).
Day 10 — Nymphenburg morning, fly home
Morning: Nymphenburg Palace — Wittelsbach summer residence, baroque palace + extensive gardens. €15 palace + grounds. Tram 17 from Marienplatz (15 min). 2 hours.
Lunch: at Café im Palmenhaus inside the Nymphenburg gardens or back in town.
Afternoon: 45-min S-Bahn or taxi to Munich Airport (MUC). Direct flights to most major cities; long-haul connections via Frankfurt or Lufthansa hub.
Major variations
Christmas markets variation (December)
Replace the standard route with: Berlin (3 nights, multiple markets) → Dresden (2 nights, Striezelmarkt) → Nuremberg (2 nights, Christkindlesmarkt) → Munich (3 nights, Marienplatz markets). All by ICE train. Allow extra hotel-booking lead time — Christmas market cities triple in price for weekends in December.
Romantic Road variation
Replace days 5–10 with: rent a car in Frankfurt → Würzburg (1 night) → Rothenburg ob der Tauber (2 nights) → Dinkelsbühl + Nördlingen (1 night) → Augsburg (1 night) → Füssen + Neuschwanstein (1 night) → Munich (2 nights, drop the rental car). 4–6 hours of driving spread across 7 days. Best in late April through May or in October.
Wine country variation
Replace days 5–10 with: Berlin → Frankfurt (ICE, 4 hours) → rental car → 2 nights Rüdesheim/Bingen on the Rhine → 2 nights in Cochem on the Moselle (Burg Eltz day-trip) → 2 nights in Trier (Roman ruins, oldest German city) → fly home from Frankfurt. Best in September during vendimia.
Trains, tickets, money
Deutsche Bahn (DB) ICE: Germany’s high-speed rail network. Berlin–Munich in 4 hours, Berlin–Dresden in 2 hours, all at €40–€90 with 1+ week lead-time. Book on the DB Navigator app or at bahn.de. The German Rail Pass (€185–€330 for 3–7 days of travel) is worth the math for serious multi-city trips.
Local transit: Berlin’s BVG day-ticket (€10.60) covers all U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams, and buses. Munich’s MVV equivalent (€9.20). Both excellent. Most German cities have efficient transit.
Daily budget per person: Mid-range — €140–€220 in May/September, €180–€280 during festivals/markets. Budget — €80–€120 (hostel, currywurst meals, public transit). Comfortable — €280+ for 4-star hotels and dinners at established restaurants.
Tipping: Germans round up 5–10% (a €23 bill becomes €25). Service charge typically not added; hand the cash directly with the rounded total.
FAQ
Should I rent a car?
For Berlin and Munich: never. Excellent public transit, parking is a nightmare. For the Romantic Road or wine country: yes, essential. Pick the variation if you want this. Note: many central German cities have low-emission zones (Umweltzone) requiring a green sticker on rental cars — typically pre-applied by major rental agencies, but verify.
Is 10 days enough for Germany?
For 2 cities + a regional detour, yes. For “all of Germany,” no — that’s 3 weeks minimum. Pick: Berlin + Munich slice (this route), Christmas markets tour, Romantic Road, or wine country. Don’t try to combine them.
Should I learn German?
English is widely spoken in Berlin, Munich, and tourist-zone Bavaria. In smaller cities and especially in eastern Germany, basic German makes the trip much warmer. Learn 8 phrases — guten tag, danke schön, bitte schön, ein bier bitte, die rechnung bitte, entschuldigung, wo ist…?, prost!
Which is better, Berlin or Munich?
Different trips. Berlin is gritty, alternative, history-soaked, world-class techno + art scenes. Munich is polished, traditional Bavarian, easier on first-timers, the gateway to the Alps and castles. Most travellers land somewhere in the middle. If you have 7+ days, do both. If 4–5 days, pick: Berlin for nightlife and culture, Munich for traditional Germany and castles.
Best time of year for this exact route?
Mid-May or mid-September. Berlin and Munich at peak walking weather, beer gardens open, no Oktoberfest crush, Saxon Switzerland greenest. Avoid August in Berlin only (locals semi-leave, less local energy). Avoid Munich during Oktoberfest unless you’re going for it.
What about Hamburg and Cologne?
Both excellent — but cramming them into a 10-day Berlin-Munich route stretches it thin. Better as their own trips: Hamburg + Lübeck + the North Sea coast as a 5-day extension; Cologne + Düsseldorf + the Rhine as a wine-country variation. Save them for return trips.
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