NCRBILL: Thanks for compliments!! Glad I can help you.

I found two useful websites:

For day trips from Munich and all kinds of events, here is the local tourist office:
http://www.muenchen-tourist.de/englisch/index_e.htm

Same for Innsbruck:
http://www.innsbruck-tourism.at/

Sorry, my reply was for NCRBILL. I am easily confused

No worries mate!

There is an Intercity Hotel next to and over the Munich train station, run by the german train system. Pretty much a standard business hotel except expensive and unairconditioned. Is this the hotel you were thinking of when you say the trains are directly below hotel, rather than the City Hilton? (Maybe so, I don't know; just asking. Things change over the years, maybe there's been a change of ownership, so I'm just asking for clarification.)
FWIW, I'd agree with your advice. I stayed at both a Best Western and at the Intercity back in 1992, and I'd stay at a Hilton if I went back.

I tried to click on these links and they don't come up. Are they not working now or is there a new one now that we are getting closer to the date?

Mrs. NFC and I were just in Munich and we had a wonderful time. It's a great city. Your kids are so lucky. If they haven't traveled overseas before, this will be an amazing first international trip.

The suggestions made throughout the thread are right on. Here are a couple of links that we used to prepare for our trip:

Lonely Planet - Munich
Munich's Official Site

Also, here are a couple of kids oriented links:
Frommers - Munich for Kids
Travel for Kids

Enjoy!

If you type www.muenchen-tourist.de into your browser window (as opposed to clicking on the full URL) you get diverted to:

http://www.muenchen.de/Tourismus/14/index.html

Still working on the Innsbruck one - have checked the Whois for the domain name and it still exists, but as you say it doesn't appear to be active.

I'll be in MUC 21-30 December, my 6th time there -- all of which have been in December. Yes, it's a little cold, but it's a beautiful city, the epitome of Christmas IMO. I simply love MUC around Christmas. So bundle up and explore!

In 2004 I most definitely recall the Christkindlmarkt was open until around or 2 on Christmas Eve, and pretty much everything closes by then. The temporary skating rink right next to McDonald's (at Karlsplatz, I believe) was still going strong until about 4 p.m. The tram that circles around the Altstadt (#17 or #19, can't remember) has one car all decked out with Christmas decorations and Kris Kringle on board. I remember taking a lap or three around the city that way and really enjoying myself.

Be sure to hit the Viktualienmarkt near Marienplantz for w�rst. Nothing like grilled sausage consumed outdoors. Grab a bier, gl�hwein or kinderp�nch to wash it down.

I would think beer gardens would be out of the question (are there any outdoor ones even open?), but Counsellor and I will be meeting up at our beloved Augustiner on Neuhauser Stra�e 27, between Frauenkirche and Karlsplatz. This cavernous beerhall is the first stop for me after check-in at the hotel. The mushroom soup and fresh Bretzel can't be beat. Kids are welcome.

Another fave that longtime FTer Rudi and the late-great nathan detroit turned me onto is N�rnberger Bratwurstgl�ckl at Frauenplatz 9 (U-bahn: Marienplatz). Also kid-friendly.

Personally, I think the Munich Hilton Park is much nicer than the City Hilton. It's a short, very enjoyable #17 tram ride to Marienplatz. Depending on how easy going your kids are, they'll think it's pretty fun. But if you're insistent about having the S-bahn right at your disposal then go with the City Hilton.

By the way, there are some great hotel deals at the Renaissance in Schwabing (�85/night including full beffet breakfast, rate code PKS), the Marriott Munich, also in Schwabig (�89/night including breakfast, rate code XMS), and the ArabellaSheraton Bogenhausen (starting at �80/night).

Berlin is definitely not a day trip, however I've been to both N�rnberg and Ausburg for very doable and fun day trips. I'll likely go back to N�rnberg this time and pick up where I left off my exploration last time of the fairgrounds, which is where the most famous Nazi rallies took place. You can actually go stand on the very spot where Hilter entranced hundreds of thousands of people for hours. (If you PM me, I have a moderately long and very detailed Word document of Hitler/WWII sites and things to see in M�nchen and N�rnberg. I'm a hardcore military history junkie.) The altstadt is really, really beautiful, and completely nearly restored to its pre-WWII architecture. You'd never know it was over 90% destroyed just 60 years ago.

Consider purchasing a 1-day or 3-day Munich Welcome Card. The Partner Card is a bargain since it allows for unlimited travel up to 5 people travelling together on the entire MVV network (S-bahn, U-bahn and trams) as well as excellent discounts on museums, tours, etc. etc.

Also, I posted a notice in FT Community for anyone who's around from Boxing Day on. Would love to meet up for a bier or bite to eat with fellow FTers.

Have you been all the way upstairs to the D�rer Room? I love that - cozy & not so crazy!

Yes, I have! In fact on my second trip to MUC rudi and Counsellor issued a joint challenge to me to try the Pilzsuppe in both the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms, and report back which had the better soup. They were so different! And both soooo good. I never did report back.

Yummmm... Pilzsuppe (& Gulaschsuppe, too - is there anything better on a cold day?) Well, here I thought I was the expert & had no idea the food was different up there - time to get on a plane to MUC & check it out! Danke!

Nope, nothing better on a cold day.

The upstairs pilzsuppe was very smooth and silky while the downstairs version was chunkier and thicker. The nuremberg sausages were identical tho.

BTW, a whole bunch of us will be in MUC just after Xmas. And the IBIS hotel chain has �1 (yes! you read that correctly) rooms from 24.12.05 on, but I think the reservations have to be made by tonight. Check the Mileage Run forum for details.