You have just landed at Munich Airport, about 28 kilometres northeast of Marienplatz — close enough that the S-Bahn slides you into the old town in about 40 minutes. This guide covers the airport trains and the express bus at 2026 fares, the MVV day tickets and the Deutschlandticket maths, where to sleep from a grand hotel on Promenadeplatz to the station hostel, a first pretzel and a first Maß, the castle and memorial day trips that sell out first, and the good news on tax: Munich adds no city tourist tax at all.
You just landed in Munich. The move is the S-Bahn: S1 and S8 trains run from the airport about every 10 minutes, reach Marienplatz in about 40 minutes and cost €15.10 — load an eSIM before you land so the MVV app works from the platform. There is no city tourist tax to budget for, the gardens pour by the litre, and the days that sell out first — Neuschwanstein above all — are worth booking ahead through GetYourGuide.
Find your arrival stop, hotel, and first meal. Stays, sights, and landmarks in Munich — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
Map not loading? Open the map directly ↗
Land at MUC and treat the train ride as stage one. Both airport lines run through the centre — Hauptbahnhof, Karlsplatz, Marienplatz — so step off where your bed is.
Set up your data before you leave the terminal: an Airalo eSIM loads a Germany data plan in minutes, so MVV tickets, maps and platform displays work from the train. Comparing plans for a longer Europe trip, check Saily and Yesim as the alternatives.
Run the arrival checklist in this order:
Check the tax line when the hotel quotes — and relax: Munich adds no city tourist tax, so the total should match the booking.
If a delayed or cancelled flight wrecked the arrival, AirHelp checks whether the airline owes you compensation — worth five minutes before you write the day off.
Journey times are approximate and refer to the listed stop — not necessarily your hotel. Allow extra time for waiting, walking, and connections.
Trains about every 10 minutes combined from the airport station; the €17.50 Airport-City-Day-Ticket covers the ride in plus a full day of city travel
Every 20 minutes to the main station (Hauptbahnhof); open to all passengers, no Lufthansa ticket needed; return €20.30 booked online
Fixed tariff from the airport ranks to the Hauptbahnhof area; metered rides to other districts vary with traffic
About 28 km via the A92 and A9; the centre means paid parking and a low-emission badge on the car — most first visits do not need one
Munich runs on the MVV: S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains, trams and buses on one ticket. The centre is compact — Marienplatz to the English Garden is a walk, not a ride — and a Zone M day ticket at €10.10 covers the city until 06:00 next morning. Buy in the MVV app. The airport rides are these:
Choose the train when you land tired — it cannot get stuck in traffic. Choose the bus for a seat and luggage racks.
Compare a pre-booked transfer when the hour or group maths demands it — a Kiwitaxi transfer or Welcome Pickups puts a driver in arrivals at a fixed price. Driving yourself, price the airport pickup on AutoEurope first.
Staying a week or more, run the Deutschlandticket maths: €63 a month in 2026 covers every local and regional train in Germany, airport S-Bahn included — but it sells as a subscription, so cancel it the week you buy it.
Start where the airport trains stop: Marienplatz. Surface into the square, look up at the New Town Hall, and time it for the Glockenspiel — the figures joust and dance at 11:00 and 12:00 daily, plus 17:00 from March to October. Climb St Peter's tower for the rooftop view, then graze the Viktualienmarkt stalls two minutes away.
Walk north to the Residenz palace and east into the English Garden, where surfers ride the standing Eisbach wave year-round. The Chinesischer Turm beer garden there seats thousands under chestnut trees — the easiest first Maß in the city.
Book the headline days before you arrive — castle tours sell out first. Browse the Munich listings on GetYourGuide for the big days, and compare Klook when stacking activities into one pass.
Do this on day one:
Skip that:
Stay at Promenadeplatz 2-6, the grand hotel five minutes from Marienplatz. Expect 337 rooms, the Blue Spa with its rooftop pool, five restaurants and a Michelin-starred table — book it for the landmark trip.
Sleep at Sparkassenstraße 10, family-run since 1856 and two minutes from Marienplatz. Expect Bavarian timber and stone, a strong breakfast and the Ayinger am Platzl restaurant downstairs — book it for old-town mornings.
Bed down at Senefelderstraße 5, about 100 metres from Hauptbahnhof and its airport trains. Expect dorms and private rooms, a lively hostel bar and free luggage storage — book early for Oktoberfest weekends.
Stay inside the old town ring for a first visit — the Altstadt puts Marienplatz and the Residenz inside a ten-minute walk. Choose the Hauptbahnhof streets for cheaper beds and easy airport trains.
Book any of the three early for late September. The quoted total is final — Munich adds no tourist tax.
Eat close on day one — market stalls, the famous hall and a locals' beer garden cover the essentials. Three first stops:
Graze the stalls for a first plate: pretzels, Obazda cheese, roast pork from the stand counters, eaten standing with everyone else. Come before noon for the calm version.
Walk into the Schwemme hall once — brass band, litre glasses, roast pork and three centuries of beer history in one room. Go early or late to keep it fun.
Drink Augustiner Edelstoff poured from wooden barrels under the chestnut trees, five minutes from Hauptbahnhof. The garden runs April to October, weather allowing, and the restaurant serves year-round.
Save room for a Radler — half beer, half lemonade, Munich's session drink. For food tours and evening experiences, browse the Munich listings on GetYourGuide and book a slot for your first free evening.
Three escapes run from the Hauptbahnhof: the fairytale castle, the memorial at Dachau, and Mozart's Salzburg over the Austrian border.
Ride out to Ludwig II's cliff-top castle, the one that inspired the Disney logo, then his smaller palace at Linderhof. Entry runs on reserved time slots that sell out in season — a tour secures ticket and drive in one booking. Check availability →
Visit the first Nazi concentration camp, opened in 1933, preserved as a memorial with the barracks, roll-call square and museum. Go with a memorial-authorized guide, keep voices low, and give it the unhurried five hours it deserves. Check availability →
Cross into Austria for the fortress, the Getreidegasse arcades and Mozart's birthplace. The guided day runs about nine and a half hours by rail. Check availability →
Come in May and June for the full deck: gardens open, days at their longest, festival season warming up. July and August add heat and crowds — book beds and castle slots weeks ahead.
Come in late September for Oktoberfest. It runs into the first October weekend, beds price at their peak and the best rooms go months ahead. The week after it ends is the locals' favourite — autumn light, calm gardens, normal prices.
Come in winter with your eyes open. December brings the Christmas markets around Marienplatz; January and February are cold, grey and quiet, with museum Sundays — many state museums charge €1 entry — as the warm plan B.
Budget by the day ticket, not the headline: Zone M €10.10 a day, group day €19.70 for up to five, a single hop €4.20, the airport day ticket €17.50. A Maß in the gardens runs about €11 to €13.
Stack the Deutschlandticket maths on longer stays: at €63 a month it beats day tickets from the second week and covers regional trains toward Salzburg — just remember to cancel.
Tap items to check them off — your list is saved on this device.
Pack for four seasons in a day — Alpine weather reaches the city fast, and a June evening in a beer garden can turn cold. This is the full list:
Add real layers on top: a warm mid-layer for castle mornings and garden evenings, broken-in shoes for cobbles, and a small umbrella. In festival season, leave suitcase room — a dirndl bought in Munich fits better than one bought online.
✓ Visa-free entry for eligible passport holders
German runs everything in Munich, and English follows close behind in the centre. Signs, ticket machines and announcements work in both, and younger Munich speaks English fluently — a few German phrases still earn smiles.
Four phrases do most of the work:
Sort your entry paperwork before you book anything non-refundable. The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational since April 2026: at your first Schengen entry your fingerprints and a facial photo are registered digitally, and passport stamps are gone — the 90-days-in-180 rule is now counted by the system, not by ink.
Know what ETIAS is not. ETIAS, the EU travel authorization, is not in operation and has no start date you can act on — nobody can sell you one today. When it does launch it will cost €20, with under-18s and over-70s free, through the official EU site only. Any site charging you for ETIAS now is a scam.
Visa-free visitors get 90 days in any 180 across Schengen; other passports need a Schengen visa arranged well ahead. The border officer at MUC still makes the final call.
Violent crime is rare; the everyday risk is petty theft at Hauptbahnhof and in festival crowds. Keep phone and wallet zipped away.
Munich cyclists move fast and have right of way on the red-paved lanes that run beside the pavements. Look both ways stepping off a kerb, and never stand in the lane for a photo.
Oktoberfest beer runs about 6 percent. Eat before the second glass and alternate with water or a Radler.
The river wave by the English Garden is for experts with years on it, and the Isar's current is cold and fast even in summer. Swim only at the marked bathing spots, and take Alpine-fed water seriously.
If you liked Munich, try these next:
The things travellers ask in the first 48 hours: the two airport trains, the day ticket, the tax Munich does not charge and the authorization nobody can sell you yet.
Fares checked against MVV's 2026 tariff and the Lufthansa Express Bus operator October 2026; entry rules against the EU's official EES and ETIAS pages.
Ride the S-Bahn. The S1 and S8 leave the airport about every 10 minutes combined; the S8 reaches Hauptbahnhof in about 40 minutes and both stop at Marienplatz. A single Zone M-5 ticket costs €15.10, and the Lufthansa Express Bus runs every 20 minutes at €12.50 booked online.
A Zone M day ticket costs €10.10 and covers all S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram and bus travel in the city until 06:00 the next morning. A group day ticket at €19.70 covers up to five people, and a single ride costs €4.20.
No. Bavarian law blocks municipal overnight taxes, so Munich hotels add no city tax to the bill. Room rates already include 7% VAT on accommodation — the total you book is the total you pay.
For a week or more, often yes. It costs €63 a month in 2026 and covers every local and regional train, bus and tram in Germany, the airport S-Bahn included. It sells as a subscription, so cancel it as soon as you buy it if the trip is short.
The festival runs from mid-to-late September into the first weekend of October. Book beds months ahead — the city fills, prices peak and the best-located rooms go first. The week after the festival is calmer and cheaper.
No. ETIAS is not in operation, has no confirmed start date and cannot be bought anywhere legitimate yet. What is live is the EES entry system: since April 2026 your fingerprints and photo are registered digitally at the border instead of a passport stamp.
Fares change — MVV and the operators' own pages always win.
Landing soon? Get the printable PDF — the essentials from this guide, formatted for your phone:
One email with your Munich PDF (guide version: Oct 2026). Fare changes and new guides after that. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Airport fares against MVV's 2026 tariff (Zone M-5 single €15.10, day ticket €17.50) and the Lufthansa Express Bus operator (€12.50 online, every 20 minutes). Taxi fare against Munich's official tariff; Deutschlandticket against the federal 2026 rate. The absence of a tourist tax against Bavarian law and the Constitutional Court ruling of November 2025 upholding the ban. EES and ETIAS status against the EU's official travel pages; Glockenspiel times against the city of Munich; tours against the GetYourGuide product pages opened for this guide; Hotel Bayerischer Hof against its Expedia listing. Photo credits: Marienplatz, airport, pretzel, castle, memorial, Salzburg, festival, passport and tower photographs via Pexels. Hotel Bayerischer Hof photograph by Strubbl via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Platzl Hotel and Euro Youth Hotel photographs from the properties' own sites. Last verified October 2026.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.
