More Life for Your Money. We scout the world to find it.
SCOUTING REPORT · STOP 2: GARMISCH
The Alpine Line, a rail trip through the Alps · October 2026
The Eibsee, at the foot of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak.
In every town, we ask the same question: could you live your best life here part of the year, and would you own a base or just rent one?
📍 Garmisch at a glance
Getting there: about 90 minutes by train from Munich, and two hours from Munich airport.
Apartment prices: averaging about €6,450 per m² (about €600 per sq ft).
Short-term rental data: about $252 a night, at about 42% occupancy (AirROI).
Long-term rent: about €15 per m² a month (about €1.42 per sq ft), before utilities. A 70 m² (753 sq ft) apartment comes to roughly €1,070 a month.
Cost of living: about $3,150 a month for a couple, rent included.
Rental rules: strict. Tourist rentals need a holiday-rental permit.
Can Americans buy? Yes, with no special permission. Plan on 8.5% to 9% to close.
Stay length: up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa (Schengen rules).
Garmisch: The town that never sold out
We left Munich on a gray morning with our backpacks and two coffees. For the first half hour, the train passes suburbs and farmland. Past Murnau, the mountains fill the window: larches turning gold, cows in the meadows, bells clanking.
I’ve been here before. In 1987, I competed in the USAFE alpine ski championships with the Air Force Alpine Ski Team. I spent three years skiing the Alps of Italy and Germany, and these mountains are the reason I made Colorado home after the military.
Nearly 40 years later, Garmisch is still one of the most beautiful, affordable, and authentic mountain towns I know.
The village church in Grainau, next door to Garmisch, under the Waxenstein.
Best for: an alpine life where you wake up to clean mountain air and a trail out the front door, in a town quiet enough to hear the church bells. Not for big-city nightlife, or for guaranteed rental income.
Access. You won’t need a car. The station sits in the middle of town, and the cog railway to the Zugspitze leaves from right next door.
Live. Painted saints on the house fronts, church bells marking the hours, bakeries and beer gardens, and a mountain at the end of every lane. Prices stay honest, even on the mountain. At the Eckbauer, a family-run inn above town, a homemade dumpling on sauerkraut with dark bread was €11.80. Apple strudel was €6.70. Locals pay the same.
Run it from here. You’re six hours ahead of New York and nine ahead of LA. Hike, bike, or ski in the morning, then take US calls in the afternoon or early evening. When a deal needs you in person, Munich airport has daily nonstops to the US.
Play. Garmisch is a four-season town. Summer means hiking, mountain biking, and rafting. Winter means skiing in every direction. Ride the cable car to the Zugspitze summit and stand above the clouds. Walk the Partnach gorge, where the river cuts straight through the rock. Circle the turquoise Eibsee at the foot of the mountain. The Olympic ski stadium has hosted the New Year’s ski jump since the 1936 Winter Games.
A morning hike above Garmisch, past the old hay barns.
For skiers, the value is the base. One regional pass, the Top Snow Card, covers nine ski areas, 89 lifts, and 215 km (134 miles) of runs, from the Zugspitze glacier to the Tyrolean slopes across the border, and most are within an hour by train. A 7-day pass costs €423, about €61 a day, compared with €70 to €78 for a single day at the window.
Your Epic Pass, Vail Resorts’ season pass, won’t help here; the nearest Epic resorts, like Zillertal and St. Anton, are a few hours away via Innsbruck. But you won’t miss it. You get about 10 ski areas, no car, and a full week of skiing for less than two days at a big US resort’s ticket window.
Rent or buy.
Who rents: Guests come year-round. Short stays bring skiers in winter; hikers, mountain bikers, and rafters in summer; Munich couples on weekend escapes; and the New Year’s ski jump crowd. Longer stays bring season-long skiers, remote workers who want the mountains out the window, and professionals on assignment.
Can Americans buy? Yes. Just know that if you sell within 10 years, Germany taxes the gain, with exceptions for homes you live in.
Own or rent? In Garmisch, the permit is everything. Most homes can’t legally be rented to tourists, and new holiday-rental permits are restricted. A home that already has one can earn while you’re away, and it’s priced accordingly. Without one, it’s for your own use or longer leases. Before you make an offer, get the seller or listing agent to confirm in writing what’s allowed for that unit.
Our take: for one to three months a year, rent a furnished holiday apartment and keep it simple. Buy when you find the right permit, or when you’re buying for the life.
🏠 Spotted: A new townhouse that already holds a rental permit
Partenkirchen, with views of the Wank.
Partenkirchen · €1.42M · About 141 m² (1,518 sq ft) · 4 rooms · Holiday rental permit
This new country-style townhouse sits on a quiet street in Partenkirchen, with a private garden, a terrace, and an A+ energy rating. The rare part is the permit: it can host ski weeks in winter and hiking weeks in summer, which most homes in town can’t legally do. At about €935 per sq ft, it’s well above the town average of €600. That’s the premium for new construction with a permit. Now compare it with new construction in Aspen or Vail.
Asking price. Details are from the listing and not independently verified.
🧭 Explore Garmisch on your own
Search for deals: ImmoScout24, Germany’s largest property site, with the most Garmisch listings. Search “FeWo-Nutzung möglich” to find units marketed with holiday-rental use, and “provisionsfrei” for listings with no buyer’s commission. Chrome will translate the pages.
Check rental demand: AirROI, free short-term rental data for Garmisch: occupancy, nightly rates, and seasonality.
Plan a short stay: Search the widest range of holiday apartments on Booking.com, then check gapa-tourismus.de for local hosts who rent direct, often for less.
Stay a month or more: Start with Wunderflats, Germany’s largest site for furnished monthly rentals, and compare monthly discounts on Airbnb. Local hosts will often quote a monthly rate if you ask. That’s where the best deals are.
Before you buy: Rental income from a German property is taxed in Germany and reported in the US. Talk to a cross-border tax advisor first.
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View from the train on our short ride to Innsbruck, Austria.
Next stop: Innsbruck, Austria. The train out of Garmisch climbs through green valleys framed by sheer rock walls, like the Tetons. In Wyoming you get one range like that. Here, they're around every corner. Then the track drops into the Inn valley, and a city appears at the bottom of it.
Here’s to more life for your money. See you at the next stop.
Andy Thoms
Founder, STRScout.com
P.S. 📍 Follow the full scouting trip. Missed a stop? Here’s the route so far:
Stop 1: Munich: The Front Door to the Alps
Stop 2: Garmisch: The Alps, Nearly 40 Years Later (you’re here)
Stop 3: Innsbruck, Austria (coming next)
Stop 4: Bolzano, Italy
Stop 5: Verona, Italy
Stop 6: Milan, Italy