Arriving in Munich
Munich
International Airport (MUC) is Germany's second-largest airport in terms of
traffic, with more than 100 airlines carrying an estimated 34 million passengers
between Munich and 244 cities on four continents. It's less hectic than
Frankfurt (Germany's other major international gateway), and the
Munich Airport Center
shopping mall has a full range of services, including a ticket office of the
German Federal Railways.
From
the airport, S-Bahn lines 1 and 8 (see below) run to the city center,
with stops that will put you within easy walking distance of most hotels. Travel
time is about 40 minutes.
Another option is the
Lufthansa Airport Bus,
which runs every 15 minutes and stops at Munich Nord/Schwabing on its
way to the Hauptbahnhof (Munich's main railway station). Allow 25 minutes to
Munich Nord/Schwabing or 45 minutes to the city center.
Deutsche
Bahn, a.k.a. German Federal Railways, has two major stations in Munich: the
Hauptbahnhof on the western edge of the city center, and the smaller
Ostbahnhof to the east of downtown. The two stations are connected by
S-Bahn, which runs directly through the city center with stops near the major
tourist attractions, department stores, and hotels.
Local transportation
Munich
and its suburbs have two rapid-transit systems: the
S-Bahn, which runs to
the airport and suburbs, and the U-Bahn, which is comparable to the
London Underground or the Paris Métro. You can use
the same tickets on both systems within the central fare zone; if you go outside
the center (for example, to Dachau), you'll
need to pay a higher fare.
Munich
also has trams and buses. For the most part, though, you should be
able to get around on foot, with an occasional S-Bahn or U-Bahn trip to outlying
attractions like the Allianz Arena,
the BMW Museum, or the Olympic Park.
For English-language information on
the city's transit system, visit the
MVV Web site, which has
timetables, maps, and ticket prices.
Also
see our article, How to Ride the U-Bahn
and S-Bahn in Munich.
