Munich, Germany Travel Guide and Online Munich Hotels

Getting here and away

Munich is located in the south of Germany, not far from the Alps and the border with Austria. Munich is Germany's third largest city.

Getting to and from Munich is simple by either plane, train or road.

By Plane

Munich has its own international airport, the second largest in Germany after Frankfurt. The airport is modern having been opened in 1992. The airport is located approximately 28km north east of the city centre.

If you are arriving with checked luggage, you will first have to pass through passport control before collecting your luggage from the "Baggage reclaim" area. Once your baggage has been collected and you have passed through customs you have a number of options available to you to make your way to the city centre:

Take the train (S-Bahn) directly from the airport to Munich city centre. The journey time is 40 minutes and trains depart from the airport every 10 minutes. There are two different trains that you can take. If you are staying in the western part of Munich, then take the S1. If you are staying the in the eastern part of the city, take the S8. The journey will cost you €8 for a single ticket and €0.90 for children (6-14 years). Tip: there are a number of offers on the trains that will save you money including family tickets and buying strips of tickets at discounted prices - make sure you investigate which is the best option for you!

The Lufthansa Airport bus (luxury bus with free soft drinks!) runs every 20 minutes from the airport to the central railway station (in the centre of Munich). The service starts at 05.10 from Munich to the airport with the last service to the airport at 19.50. The service starts at 06.20 from the airport to the centre of Munich with the last service at 21.40. Travel time is 45 minutes. Follow the many "bus" signs in the airport to find the bus. Ticket prices as follows:

Adult single - €9
Adult return - €14.50
Child single - €4.50

Hire a car from one of the many car hire agencies located at the airport. Rates will vary, so please check with the car hire operators. The drive from the airport to central Munich is short and depending upon the traffic should take between 30 and 45 minutes. The route is well sign posted, but you may want to buy a city map if you're not sure where your hotel is. It only really makes sense to rent a car if you plan to explore Bavaria in general and not just Munich. If you're just staying in Munich, we'd recommend you don't bother hirng a car.

Take a taxi from the airport to Munich. Follow the signs to the Taxi rank. This is an expensive option.

Tip: think about buying the 3 day Welcome Card from the Munich Tourist office. The tickets includes travel to and from the airport by train and gives you many discounts (up to 50% off in some cases) for entry to the major tourist sites in Munich.

By Train

Germany has an excellent, very punctual rail infrastructure. Munich is very well served by trains from all over Germany and this part of Europe. The german railway web site provides detailed information on all the connections to Munich - www.db.de.

By Road

Munich is well served by the German autobahn (motorway/highway) infrastructure. The closest autobahns to Munich are the A8, A96, A92 and A9. If you plan to stay in the centre of town, then parking will potentially be problematic most on street parking is either metered or with parking permit only. Your best bet is probably to park the car in one of the underground car parks or in your hotel car park for the duration of your stay. You won't need your car to get around Munich (see the getting around section).

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Money

The currency is Germany is the Euro (€).

Notes and coins: 100 cents make up 1 Euro. Notes come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500. Money can be changed at all the banks (and on Sunday at the train station). If you are the holder of an EC card or major credit card then you will be able to withdraw money from the many ATM machines dotted around Munich. [Back to top]

Language

Learning a bit of German before you arrive will almost certainly make your stay more enjoyable. At the very least learn to say hello, please, thank you and goodbye - it will be appreciated by the local people.

Having said that, the majority of the population in Munich will speak some English, so you will be able to make yourself understood without having to speak German. If you would like to learn some useful phrases, find out how you can learn German or view our phrase of the day, have a look at the language section of e-Munich.com.

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Getting around

Munich is well served by a clean and efficient public transport system of trains, buses and trams.

The Munich Underground (Subway) serves predominantly the centre of Munich with services running every 5 minutes at peak times and every 10 minutes at other times. The service runs from early morning until 0100 during the week and until 0230 on Fridays and Saturdays.

The S-Bahn has 8 different services, with the S1 and S8 conneecting Munich to the airport.

Buses and trams run frequently (every 10 minutes or so) across many routes.

So basically it is very easy and cost effective to get around Munich without hiring a car. Tickets can be bought from machines in the stations. There are a wide variety of different types of tickets including group tickets, weekly tickets, etc - do investigate the different options as you can save yourself quite a lot of money. The pricing is linked to rings and zones and can get a little complicated. When boarding trains, etc make sure that you stamp your ticket in one of the machines. There is nothing to stop you getting onto a train, bus or tram without a ticket, but be aware there are many undercover inspectors looking for people just like you and if they find you it could become expensive for you!!

A great way to see Munich and go slightly off the tourist trail is a to hire a bike and get around on two wheels. Bike hire is possible - costs are reasonable - an American in Munich runs very entertaining bike tours that you might want to consider. See www.mikesbiketours.com for details.

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General stuff

Here are some general statistics about Munich that people are always asking us!

Population 1.3 million (more women than men)

Munich is the third largest city in Munich

Around 15,000 of the Munich residents are native English speakers.

Munich is the capital of Bavaria, Germany's largest state.

More than 6 million visitors come to Munich for the annual Oktoberfest!!!! We have no idea how much beer they drink!!!

There are 39,995 hotel beds for you to choose from.

There were about 56 million visitors to Munich last year, of which about 8 million stayed over night.

BMW the luxury car maker has its head office and factories in Munich.

e-Munich.com was founded in January 2004

Is there a burning question about Munich you want answered? Let us know!

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Orientation

With a population of around 1.3 million people, Munich is a large city. To help you with your orientation we have listed out below the main areas, their locations and a brief description:

City Center: this is where you will spend most of your time. In the city centre you'll find Marienplatz (the famous square), the world famous Hofbrahaus (huge beer hall), the town hall and the twin towered catherdral.

English Gardens: the largest city park in Europe, strecthing from the very north of the city all the way into the centre - great for a walk in the sun!

Schwabing: the north of the city. This is where the action is if you're looking to get groovy.

Neuhausen: to the west of the centre. Primarily a residential area.

Isarvorstadt: to the south west of the centre. Also well known for its nightlife (including gay).

Haidhausen: to the east of the centre. A mix of residential and groovy nightlife.

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Internet Access

You won't have a problem finding one of the numerous internet cafes dotted about Munich.

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Costs

How much is your stay in Munich going to cost? That's a pretty difficult question for anyone to answer. You can find accommodation for as little as € 50 or as much as € 1000. Eating out and visiting the odd Kneipe (German bar) can again vary quite a lot in price - although a beer should never cost you more than € 5 and you should be able to get a great tasting main course for € 15 or lower! A lot of the sightseeing that you will do, doesn't cost anything. If we were to compare the costs of visiting a similar place in, say, England, we think you will find Munich reasonable.

Send us an email and tell us what you think about the prices and how much your visit cost - and we'll publish your opinion here!

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Weather/when to go

The best time of year to visit is in the summer between May and September, when the least rain falls and daily temperatures and hours of sunshine are at their highest. Having said that, Munich is a town that can be visited all year round as the weather never really gets too extreme, although there can be plenty of snow in the winter. The christmas period is a particularly popular time to visit Munich and its famous Christmas market. You'll find Munich less crowded and hotel rates more accommodating outside of the peak periods. Munich is a great weekend break anytime of year. [Back to top]

Tourist offices

There are two main tourist offices in Munich as follows:

At the main train station, open Monday to Sunday from 0900 to 2030, except Sunday open from 1000 to 1800.

At the City Hall in the main square, open Monday to Sunday from 1000 to 2000, except Sunday open until 1600.

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Time

German time is GMT + 1 hour.

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Recommended reading

There are lots of English language tourist guides to Germany that include a few pages on Munich. If you're spending the weekend here, you'll probably find this source of information quite limiting. We're currently researching other books, but haven't found anything worth recommending yet - when we do, you'll find the recommendation here.

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The post

The postal service in Germany is generally very efficient. Post boxes are yellow and are scattered around Munich. Stamps can be bought from the many post offices spread across Munich.

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Shopping & banking

10:00 'til 20:00 (Monday to Friday) and 10:00 'til 16:00 (Saturday with some variation). All shops are closed on Sunday in Munich. You will notice slight variations in opening hours from shop to shop.

Munich is a wealthy city and there is plenty of shopping to be had catering to all budgets. The main shopping areas are found in the centre of the city. We advise you to wander around and see what you find!

Banks are open Monday to Friday from 0830 'til 1600 (some minor variations). Some banks close for lunch. Banks are closed at the weekend.

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Health & safety

Munich is a safe place with low levels of crime for a city of its size. Like any European city, as long as you show a bit of common sense you will be fine.

Munich has an excellent medical infrastructure.

In case of emergency, you should dial 19222 for an ambulance and for an emergency doctor you should dial 19292.

For the police, dial 110

For the fire service, dial 112

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Laundry

There are many launderettes scattered around the city and your hotel will also offer a laundry service.

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