Hi everyone, wondering if anyone could help with a great itinerary for just over a 7 hour layover in Munich arriving at around 3pm in the afternoon (December). Is it realistic and "do-able" to leave the airport for an adventure and back? We arrive in Munich 14.40 and fly out 22.00. If so, we would love ideas of an itinerary for our short time - great food is a must! Happy to mooch off the beaten track but time may not be on our side. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
You don't describe the conditions of your layover. Are you passing through with luggage that is already checked through to you next destination, or will you need to recheck your luggage before leaving, which could mean you need to be at back at the airport hours earlier than if you don't have to recheck you luggage? Are you leaving MUC on a short intra-Europe flight or a trans-Atlantic one? I think luggage needs to be checked in further in advance for a longer flight. Or, do you have only carryon luggage? Where I would go would depend on how much time a had before I had to get back to the airport.
In either case, I think you have time to go into Freising, either by bus or using rail. Freising is only about 20 minutes by bus from MUC and there are multiple ways to get back to the airport.
Freising is the home to Weihenstephan, the oldest still operating brewery in the world. It's on a hill overlooking the town and has a nice Biergarten with food.
With more time, you could go into downtown Munich by S-Bahn. Go to Marienplatz. It's kind of the town center, with the famous Glockenspiel on the city hall and numerous restaurants.
There are two S-Bahn trains into town. They go different routes and get into town from opposite directions, but when going from the airport to Marienplatz, the next one leaving the airport will get you to Marienplatz soonest.
When retuning, I would recommend you take the S8 back to the airport from Marienplatz.
Unlike other S-Bahn stations in downtown, which have a central platform with trains going both directions on either side of the platform, where you can easily take either train, Marienplatz station has access to the trains in either direction on different levels.
The S-Bahn runs on a 20 minute cycle. For 19 minutes out of the 20, the S8 leaving from Gleis (platform) 1 on the second underground level will get you to the airport 13 minutes sooner. There is an interval of only one minute during which the S1, which leaves from Gleis 2, on the third underground level, will get you to the airport 7 minutes sooner.
Another advantage of taking the S8 rather than the S1 is that you don't have to be concerned about being on the right end of the train when it splits in Neufahrn, with one end going to the airport and the other end going to Freising.
Posted by
Berlin
2242 posts
These are not 7 hours available in Munich. Realistically you have 3-4 hours imo. You could visit the winter market at the airport and enjoy the mood there incl. ice skating.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
Calculate 3x45 min. for the way from the gate to the S-Bahn and for the way back and forth with the S-Bahn to Marienplatz. Add three hours to be at the airport before a transatlantic flight (yes, in most cases this is plenty, but as soon as the S-Bahn is interrupted for any reason, deviating from this rule can get disastrous). You see how your time shrinks...
A short trip to Freising as recommended by @Lee is the outmost that can be done without stress. There is not only Weihenstephan, but also a worth seeing historical center and the old cathedral. After all, F. was already an important city when Munich was still a miserable estate in the Freising district Feldmoching. ;)
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19092 posts
Add three hours to be at the airport before a transatlantic flight
The OP has yet to answer my question, is this an intra-Europe or a trans-Atlantic flight. There is a flight to Singapore at about the time the OP mentions having to leave, but the other flights look like short ones to other European cities. I don't think passengers need to be at the airport 3 hours before short flights.
I haven't flown out of MUC since 2013, so I don't know how conditions might have changed, but in the five times I've left Munich, all for the US, I've never been at the airport more than two hours before flight time.
Posted by
Augsburg, Bavaria
2333 posts
I've never been at the airport more than two hours before flight time.
Three hours is the official recommendation of Munich Airport for long distance flights. Of course, you usually don't need this time, but I have also experienced exceptions and would therefore not explicitly advise anyone to deviate from this rule.