Tyrolean Zugspitzbahn
The Austrian cable car up the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, whose summit sits on the border.
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The Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres, is the highest mountain in Germany, and the border between Germany and Austria runs across its summit block - so it is also a high Tyrolean summit and can be reached from either side. The Tiroler Zugspitzbahn from Ehrwald opened in 1926, was rebuilt in 1991, and lifts you about seventeen hundred metres in ten minutes to the summit plateau, arriving at the Austrian side of the top. From there the German cable car, the Bavarian rack railway, the glacier and the cross on the summit rock are all reachable, and the view on a clear day runs over several hundred kilometres into four countries. It is markedly quieter on the Austrian approach than on the German one from Garmisch, which is the practical argument for using it.
What you actually see
- A summit on a border - the top block split between Austria and Germany.
- Seventeen hundred metres in ten minutes - the Ehrwald cable car to the plateau.
- A four-country view - on a clear day, over several hundred kilometres.
- The quieter approach - far less busy than the German side from Garmisch.
When to go
All year; clear settled days. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Cloud closes the view often and wind closes the cable car. It is cold at the top in any season. Queues build on the German side and spill over. Altitude affects some visitors.
Nearby
Ehrwald and the Seebensee are below; Reutte and Highline179 are north.
What to pack for Tyrolean Zugspitzbahn
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
