Munich, Germany — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Flughafen München Franz Joseph Strauss - Munich Airport International (MUC)
Tel: (089) 97500 or 9752 1313 (24-hour flight information).
Website: www.munich-airport.de
Munich International Airport is located 28km (17 miles) northeast of the city center and is Germany's most important international gateway after Frankfurt.
Approximate flight times to Munich: From London is 1 hour 45 minutes; from New York is 7 hours 45 minutes; from Los Angeles is 14 hours 50 minutes; and from Toronto (via Frankfurt) is 9 hours 20 minutes.
Airport facilities: Facilities include banks, bureau de change, tourist information, an automated hotel reservation service, a 24-hour medical emergency center, pharmacy, post office, duty-free and other shops, bars, restaurants and executive lounges. There is even a kindergarten and mini golf to keep the kids amused. Car hire is available from Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National/Alamo and Sixt. Business facilities are also available.
Transport to the city: Autobus Oberbayern (tel: (089) 323 040; www.autobusoberbayern.de) operates a bus service to Munich Hauptbahnhof (central station, journey time - 45 minutes). During large exhibitions, another service runs to the Messe München and is free with a valid exhibition entry ticket. MVV (tel: (089) 210 330; www.mvv-muenchen.de) commuter trains S1 and S8 run daily to various stops, including Munich Hauptbahnhof (journey time - 45 minutes). Taxi transfers to the city center costs around €60 one way.
Getting There By Road
Germany has an excellent network of roads and motorways. Generally, there are no speed limits on much of the motorway network, but individually marked speed limits appear on a large percentage of motorway miles. A maximum of 130kph (81mph) is recommended. On normal roads, speed limits are 100kph (62mph) outside built-up areas, and 50kph (31mph) or 30kph (19mph) in built-up areas. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum age for driving is 18 years. Foreign drivers require their national driving license and proof of insurance – third-party insurance is mandatory, but a Green Card is strongly recommended. A country identification sticker must be displayed on the vehicle. In Munich, Mitfahrzentralen (agencies that link motorists with travelers heading for the same destination) include Citynetz Mitfahrzentrale, Adalbertstrasse 6 (tel: (089) 19444; www.citynetz-mitfahrzentrale.de) and Mitfahrzentrale Hauptbahnhof, Lämmerstrasse 4-6 (tel: (089) 19440). General information on traveling by car in Germany can be obtained from the Allgemeine Deutsche Automobil-Club (ADAC) (tel: 0180 510 1112; www.adac.de).
Emergency breakdown services
ADAC (tel: 0180 222 2222).
Routes to the city
The A9 runs south to Munich from Berlin via Würzburg and Nuremberg, the A92 from Passau enters the city from the northeast, while the A96 from Lindau is to the west, connecting with the A1 to Zurich. From the Alps, the main route is the A95. From Salzburg, the A8 heads northwest via Munich towards Ulm, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, where it connects with the A5 to Frankfurt. Motorways from all directions converge on the Mittlerer Ring (middle ring road).
Driving times to the city
From Salzburg - 2 hours; Zurich - 3 hours 30 minutes; Frankfurt - 4 hours 10 minutes.
Coach services
Deutsche Touring GmbH (tel: (089) 8898 9513; www.touring.de) operates international Eurolines services between Munich and numerous European destinations. Coaches depart from Munich Hauptbahnhof, Bahnhofsplatz 2. Tickets are available for purchase at the station or on the bus.
Getting There By Rail
Germany's rail network is modern, extensive and highly efficient.
Rail Services
Munich Hauptbahnhof (central station) is situated at Bahnhofsplatz 2, in the center of the city. Information on pan-European rail travel is available in English from the EurAide office (tel: (089) 593 889; www.euraide.com), behind the Deutsche Bahn Reisezentrum. There is a daily ICE service to Munich: from Dortmund via Düsseldorf, Cologne and Mannheim, from Hamburg via Hanover and Kassel, as well as from Berlin via Frankfurt and Stuttgart or via Nuremberg. A sleeper service, the InterCityNight (ICN), runs between Munich and Berlin or Hamburg. InterRegio trains run from Dresden to Munich. International services arrive from Vienna, Zurich and Venice via Innsbruck.
Rail Operators
Deutsche Bahn (DB) (tel: 0180 599 6633; www.bahn.de) is the national service provider. National and international services include high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, which run between major cities in Germany and further afield, InterCity (IC) and EuroCity (EC) trains, which serve cities in Germany and Europe respectively, and InterRegio trains, which link different regions of the country. DB offers a number of rail passes, including the Bayern Ticket, valid for one day's travel on local trains throughout Bavaria and on the MVV public transport system.
Connections
From Stuttgart – 3 hour 30 minutes; Vienna – 4 hours 15 minutes; Zurich – 5 hours; Paris – 6 hours; Venice – 8 hours.
Getting Around in Munich, Germany
Public Transport
The comprehensive public transport network in Munich is run by the Münchener Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund GmbH (MVV) (tel: (089) 210 330; www.mvv-muenchen.de). This consists of an integrated system of 10 Strassenbahn (tram) lines, around 70 bus lines, eight U-Bahn (underground) lines and 10 S-Bahn (suburban train) lines. Tickets are available for purchase from blue ticket machines marked with the MVV logo and from other ticket outlets. Tickets must be validated in blue Entwerter machines, marked with the letter 'E', upon boarding - except on new trams, for which pre-validated tickets are available. Both one-day and three-day passes are available, and up to five adults traveling together can save money by buying a one-day group ticket (Partner-Tageskarte).
Taxis
Taxis in Munich are usually cream-colored Mercedes and can be safely hailed on the street. Taxi-München (tel: (01733) 825 038) is the central dispatching service. A tip of 5-10% is common practice.
Driving in the City
Traffic can be heavy, particularly during rush hour, and parking is often problematic. Drivers should note that trams always have priority in Munich, although driving on their tracks is permissible and usually unavoidable. Buses have priority when leaving stops. The most useful car parks in Munich include Carpark am Stachus (Adolf-Kolping-Strasse 10), Carpark Vor der Oper (Max-Joseph-Platz 4), Carpark Marienplatz (Rindermarkt 16) and Carpark Färbergraben (Färbergraben 5), just south of the pedestrianized Kaufingerstrasse.
Car Hire
Drivers need to be at least 21 years old to hire a category-one car. Nevertheless, small cars, such as a Smart car, can be hired at 18 years. Insurance in Germany is mandatory and drivers must hold a valid national driving license. There are numerous car-hire firms, both at the airport and in central Munich. Central locations of representative major providers, with late hours, include Avis (tel: (089) 550 2251; www.avis.de) and Hertz (tel: (089) 550 2256; www.hertz.de). Autoverleih Sander (tel: (089) 348 046; www.sander-autoverleih.de) is a local alternative.
Bicycle Hire
Call A Bike (tel: 0700 0522 5522; www.callabike-interaktiv.de), operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB), has bikes spread over Munich. By calling the number, a credit card account is set up, which enables customers to release the electronically locked bike by inputting a pin code. The appropriate fee is deducted from the credit card after the bike is returned to a bike rack. Once an account and pin code are set up, any available bike can be used at any time. Bikes can be hired in the ordinary way from Radius Touristik, in Munich's Hauptbahnhof opposite platform 32 (tel: (089) 5502 9374; www.radiusmunich.com) from mid-March to October, or Spurwechsel, Ohlmüllerstrasse 5 (tel: (089) 692 4699; www.spurwechsel-muenchen.de) all year round.
