Advice on where to visit for one day - Munich
 

Hello all!

My family and I will be visiting Munich in October. We will be staying there for one day before joining a tour. I have no ideas on where to visit. I am not familiar with which places to visit and which places are safe. We do not plan on taking mass transit due to unfamiliarity (but would be open to it if it’s really affordable and convenient).

I would like your suggestions on which place to visit and what to do.

We also plan to book a night at a hotel near Munich Airport.

We will be going to Frauenkirche, Marienplatz, Olympiazentrum, BMW Museum, and Ingolstadt Village Outlet on the tour so any other destinations/sights are encouraged.

Highly appreciate your responses, thanks all!

Generally there aren't really "unsafe areas" in Munich, it's a safe town. So no worry about that. Personally I never take mass transportation as I don't like it and normally have a car, but it's convenient and quite affordable. To give you advice it would be important to know what your interests are. I would recommend things like Residenz, Lenbachhaus, Old and New Pinakothek, Museum Brandhorst, Allianz-Arena, Deutsches Museum or the NS-Dokumentationszentrum.

hi, we generally like to see sights, are the places you mentioned above located nearby each other?

We also don’t mind chilling out for the day and seeing the sights nearby our hotel. But, we need to book a hotel room near the airport because we’ll need to arrive at the airport early next day (7am).

As of right now, I’m not sure which hotel to book.

The free day will also be on a Sunday and I’m not too familiar as to what places will be opened/closed on Sundays. I know the European working culture is very different than the US.

Any advice is recommended, thanks!

Difficutl to answer. What do you like? For a first time it is:
- Viktualienmarkt (but the shops are closed on sunday), Marienplatz with the townhall, various churches before around noon
- Afternoon, BMW Musuem and World or Deutsches Museum or alternatively you visit the Residenz (the place where the Bavarien King did life)
- Evening: Dinner at a traditonal Wirtshaus (alternatively you have dinner at Airbräu at the airport)

Public Transportation is a must, otherwise it will be very complicated to get around town. It is very easy and convient to use and people in general are willing to help if you ask them.

At the airport I would only consider the Hilton, you can´t bet the location. But there is not much near the hotel, you have to go to the city. Alternative would be a hotel near the main train station with good access to the airport.
The places I mentioned will be most likely open on a Sunday, only stores are closed. The places I mentioned are mostly located near by each other with exemption of Allianzarena. But I guess as an American you are not so much into soccer as Germans?

I didn’t much like Marienplatz, very crowded, but the Deutches Museum, Alte Pinotek and Englischer Garden are excellent. At BMW go to BMW World as well as the museum. It’s a huge showroom of cars and motor bikes. It is across the street from the museum. I don’t know if it is open on Sundays, you can check. There is no reason at all to avoid public transport in Munich, it is very good. The airport is some distance from the city and I think not many attractions there. I am staying at the Hilton next month which is right at the airport, just in transit, not planning to visit the city.

BMW Museum is already part of the tour, so doubt OP will also do it additionally on Sunday. Marienplatz is also part of the tour (as well as the famous Ingolstadt Village which says a lot about the tour if you ask me), but OP will see ist anyway as you can't really walk around it.

I very much enjoyed a bike tour of Munich (I went with Mike's Bikes but I'm sure there are others)-- it was a great chance to see the city and get a little movement. The ride is very slow and flat and covers several interesting places. We took little stops at the standing wave to watch the surfers, stopped for a beer in the English Garden, and got a mini lesson at several historic places. If your family is up for a little bike excursion and the weather is nice, it's a great way to see the city.

Since you will see many sites on your tour, I would recommend just enjoying the ambiance of Munich. Sit, relax, have a beer.
And places to do that (some noted previously):
Viktualienmarkt - stroll the outdoor shops, sit, have a brat and beer
Englischer Garden - stroll the beautiful gardens, enjoy nature in the city. Make sure you watch the surfers in the river at the start of the park. Sit, have a beer from Fräulein Grüneis.
Go to a beer garden, sit have a beer, enjoy the ambiance (notice a trend?) - Alter Botanischer Garten is a nice park with a nice beer garden
For dinner, I like the Augustiner-Keller beer garden. Just you, your family and 3000 of your closest new friends.

As noted upthread, I would pick a hotel near the train station, easy access to the airport. The Aloft and Meridian are nice.

Hi all,

thank you so much for the responses! I am looking into all options because I mostly like to join tours and don’t like planning itineraries unless I’m really familiar with the destination.

Right now I’m still on the fence with where to book the hotel because I want it to be near the airport but like some of you pointed out, there’s not much to see near the airport.

should I get an Uber to the airport in the early morning hours? I don’t even know if Germany has Uber or not. I wonder if the hotels near the airport have any free shuttle buses in the morning?

I'm not sure if the public transit runs on normal schedule on Sundays or not. And what time does service end in Munich? I’m assuming it doesn’t run 24 hours(?)

Like most German cities, Munich is quite easy to get around and can be easily explored by public transport. The sights are therefore quite easy to reach. And if in doubt, Google Maps will help you find your way. By the way, most Germans speak good English, so you can also ask them questions or directions.

Uber is indeed available in Munich. In addition to Uber, I often opt for the "FreeNow"-App which includes standard Taxis and allows me to pay by credit card.
Public transport may be available during the night on some lines, but the trains go every 20 or 30 minutes or so (S8 to the airport comes to my mind).
Saturday and Sunday have a different timetable - if in doubt, check the MVV Journey Planner or simply bahn.de.

My choice would be to stay in the city, enjoy one last drink and head to the airport with a pre-booked Taxi.

I was just in Munich last weekend. The public transportation system is very good, easy to navigate, and opens up many possibilities. It runs frequently throughout the day on Sundays.
I had a 7AM flight out as well, and caught the train at ~4AM to the airport with no issues.
I checked Uber, and prices were very high compared to public transport option.

As for activity idea, a visit to Dachau can be quite moving. Easy to reach via public transport and open on Sundays.
Not a "fun" day out, but I thought very impactful in remembering a dark time and the perils of complacency.
This will of course depend on your family members ages, etc.

https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau....opening-hours/

Did you visit Germany before? Without wanting to offend you, but it sounds like you have quite the wrong idea about Munich. You can't even begin to compare the city with American cities. Most of the sights are located in the city center, for example, where you can walk from one side to the other in a maximum of 30 minutes. And yes, the trains are definitely adapted to the flight schedule.
I know Uber is popular. But if you don't want to take public transportation, regular cabs are often cheaper. Incidentally, this is also the case in the USA, recently Uber wanted three times the price of a regular cab (which you can hardly find any more, of course).
To summarize: Munich is really no challenge and very easy to explore. Almost everyone speaks English, even Germans are often spoken to in English at tourist attractions or hotels.

Yes, you can use Uber. Sometimes it is cheaper than the regular taxi and sometimes more expansive. For example last saturday Uber wanted 120€ from the Airport to Munich Downtown wihle a regular Taxi the fix price was 101€. A traint icket from the airport is 13,60€ one way or 15,50€ day ticket.

Hey all, I’m thinking of booking a hotel near the airport and taking a shuttle bus to the airport since I need to arrive at the airport early morning. I’m looking at the hotels and the distance between the locations.

I have a question, if I were to take a cab from the airport to the hotel, the ride will be a few mins. Will the taxi drivers take such short routes? If yes, what would be the approximate cost?
And, is there any tipping needed for taxi drivers?
I’m looking into all options now because I’m afraid there won’t be shuttle bus service on both ends.

First time traveling to Germany (and Europe in fact) and I still have a lot to plan/learn lol.

I also see a 512 bus route out of the airport but don’t know if it runs 24hours or not(?)