Munich to Starnberg and the Alpine Foothills: A Convertible Day Route
This route heads south-west from Munich through the lake district and into the alpine foothills, returning via a different road. It works best between May and September with the top down — a Ferrari Roma Spider or BMW 430i Cabrio suits the pace and the narrow lakeside stretches. We can have the car waiting at your hotel or residence by 8 a.m., briefed and fuelled, so you simply walk out and drive.
Behind the wheel
- 01
Maximilianstraße to the B2 South — Morning Departure
Leave central Munich early enough to clear the Mittlerer Ring before commuter traffic thickens. The B2 south toward Starnberg is a clean, direct road — roughly 30 km, mostly two lanes once you pass Krailling. Keep windows or roof open through the Würmtal valley; the air changes noticeably as you leave the city. No toll, no vignette needed. If your car was delivered to a Bogenhausen or Lehel address, you'll reach the B2 in under fifteen minutes.
- 02
Starnberg Lakeside — Coffee and First Views
Park near Starnberg's Seepromenade — there is paid parking close to the waterfront. The western shore of Lake Starnberg is quieter than the town side and worth a short walk before the cafés fill up. The lake is 21 km long, and from the promenade you can see the alpine ridge on a clear morning. This is a good place for an unhurried coffee before the drive south. If you are in a convertible, note that lakeside roads from here toward Tutzing are narrow and lined with old plane trees — beautiful but demand attention.
- 03
Tutzing to Murnau via the Western Shore Road
Follow the lake's western edge through Bernried toward Seeshaupt, then continue south on smaller roads through the Pfaffenwinkel toward Murnau am Staffelsee. This 50 km stretch is the core of the drive: rolling farmland, distant views of the Wetterstein range, and almost no traffic midweek. The road surface is good but undulates — in a low-slung sport car, take the crests gently. Murnau's old town sits above the Staffelsee and has a handful of good lunch spots with terrace seating facing the mountains.
- 04
Murnau to the Kochelsee Viewpoint
From Murnau, a short drive east brings you to Kochel am See. Just before the town, a rising road offers one of the best open viewpoints in Upper Bavaria — the Kochelsee below, the Herzogstand ridge behind it, and the Walchensee valley beyond. There is a gravel pull-off where you can stop without blocking the road. This is the turn-around point; from here the A95 motorway is only minutes away for the return leg. If you want to extend the day, the Walchensee toll road climbs higher, but it adds an hour.
- 05
A95 Return to Munich — Late Afternoon
Join the A95 at Murnau or Kochel and head north toward Munich. The A95 has stretches with no speed limit — if you are in a Ferrari 296 GTB or Audi RS6, this is where the car can breathe, but traffic density increases closer to the city, especially after the Starnberg junction. Stay aware that Munich's Umweltzone begins inside the Mittlerer Ring; all our fleet vehicles carry the required emissions sticker. We coordinate collection from your hotel or residence at a time that suits you — no need to find a return depot.
About Munich
The right car depends on where you're actually going. A family heading to Neuschwanstein over a full day will do better in an SUV with room for luggage and a comfortable ride on the B2 and B2 approach roads, while a Starnberg lake lunch calls for something open-top on a summer weekend. If the plan includes a stretch of de-restricted autobahn toward Nuremberg or Stuttgart, we talk through the car's characteristics and the traffic realities before keys change hands, rather than assuming speed is the only consideration.
Handover is arranged around your schedule, not a counter desk. Cars are typically delivered to a hotel in Maximilianstraße, a private residence, or the arrivals hall at Munich Airport, 40 km north-east of the centre, with a short briefing on the vehicle covering controls, fuel or charging type, and any local quirks before you drive off. For city-centre pickups we also confirm the car meets Umweltzone emissions requirements, since Munich's low-emission zone applies to entry into the Altstadt.
Parking and season affect the plan as much as the car itself. Underground parking at Marienplatz and Maximilianstraße is the practical option in the old town, since street parking there is limited; if a ski transfer to Garmisch or an Austrian resort is on the itinerary between December and March, winter tyres are required on alpine roads and we confirm this before departure rather than after. A Salzburg day trip across the Austrian border also needs an Austrian vignette, which we flag as part of route planning.
Before the booking is confirmed, we walk through the security deposit, the insurance terms attached to the specific car, and what the return inspection looks like, so there are no open questions on the day you hand the keys back. If your trip spans several days or crosses into Austria, it's worth raising that during booking rather than at collection, so the paperwork and cover match the actual route you're driving.