Munich's Franz
Josef Strauβ International Airport (MUC)The Flughafen München Franz Josef (airport website) is located 40 km (28 miles) northeast of Munich's center. The second largest airport in Germany, it was named for a beloved 20th-century president of the state of Bavaria. The airport grounds are part of four municipalities: Harzling, Hallbergmoos, Oberding and Freising. This airport contains a shopping mall and even its own brewpub, Airbräu!
* Trains from the Airport. The S8 and S1 trains (on the S-bahn public transport system) connect Munich airport with the Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station), Karlsplatz, Marienplatz, and Ostbahnhof (East train station). Allow 45 minutes by either route to reach the center of the city; a one-way adult ticket costs 8.8 Euros (for children under 14, a ticket is only 1.1 Euros). At the Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof, passengers can transfer to mainline and regional services:
* Buses from the Airport. If you are heading for a city beyond Munich (such as Augsburg, Brünn, Erding, Freising, Linz, Pilsen, Prague, Salzburg, Schwaig, Innsbruck, Wartenberg), you might consider taking a long-distance bus directly from the airport. In Munich, major bus stops have electronic information boards giving the next few departures by route number, destination and departure time.
* A taxi from the airport to central Munich will cost about €15.
* Rental cars can also be reserved at the Munich airport through Otels.
Public Transport in the Munich Region
The MVV is the German acronym for the "Munich Transport and Tariff Association". They handle all public transport in and around Munich. For surface as well as underground rail lines, please see the expandable map from their website:
www.mvv-muenchen.de/web4archiv/objects/download/4/vlp07stadt.pdf. For a regional map (extending as far west as Augsburg and as far east as Wasserburg), please see www.mvv-muenchen.de/web4archiv/objects/download/3/vlp07land.pdf.
Munich Train StationsThere are 3 long-distance train stations in Munich, as shown above: the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) in the center of the city, the Ostbahnhof (east train station) and the Pasing on the west side of town. Trains traveling on the route Munich-Augsburg-Ulm/Nuremberg stop at Pasing. All 3 train stations are linked to each other by public transport. For train schedules, see the website for German Rail (Deutsche Bahn, look for the orange sign "DB"): www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml. Once you reach Munich, as noted above, click www.mvv-muenchen.de for information about the public transport system serving Munich rail stations.
Surface Rail and UndergroundMunich has a wonderfully efficient web of speedy surface rail lines called the "S-Bahn" (click here) with symbol
... as well as underground lines
called the "U-Bahn" (click here) connecting
city districts and suburbs with the city
center. Public
transport in Germany is essentially an honor system. Passengers can be
spot-checked from time to time, and fare dodgers (Schwarzfaher) can be
fined as much as 40 euros, so be sure to validate your ticket at a machine before
boarding.At the red ticket machines in stations, you can buy a one-way or round-trip ticket. Budget tip: Consider the daily pass called a Tageskarte. A key word on the ticket machine buttons to remember for purchasing tickets of a short distance within the city is Kurzstrecke.
Traveling by
Car or BikeMunich is a bike-friendly city. Pedestrians should remember not to stray into the dedicated cycling lanes on the left! Cyclists should ring a bell or otherwise announce their approach from behind. Drivers should remember to yield right of way at intersections to traffic coming from the right, including cyclists coming into their path.
Sightseeing
infoMunich is Germany's third largest city. The town's name literally means "home of the monks", recalling how friars first settled here in the eighth century. It was these monks who began the brewing tradition for which Munich is now famous -- over five million people visit the Oktoberfest beer festival every fall (for 16 days starting on the 3rd-to-last Saturday in September and finishing on the first Sunday in October). Several years ago, the organizers moved this event up into September to take advantage of the warmer weather. Enjoy your visit to this historic capital of Bavaria!
GermanyHotels.com hopes you enjoy your stay in Munich!