First time visit to Munich Germany. Where to stay near sights

Hotel Schlicker is our favorite, followed by Hotel Platzl. Both a one minute walk from Marienplatz - the main area of the old town.

I don't think you should be in Munich without a day trip to Dachau Concentration Camp - it is an easy train ride. We like to do a tour as we find it easier navigating the train and bus needed to get there, plus we learn so much more with a guide. We also like a history walking tour of Munich like a Third Reich tour.

Don't miss the many cathedrals - esp St.Peter's and Theatinerkirche
The outdoor beer hall near Marienplatz - a great walk around area with good food - Viktualienmarkt

The Residenz is an artistically well decorated and restored palace but the staff doesn't allow you to go backwards if you skip ahead to the bathroom; I started doing the audio guide but after one-third of the palace, I skipped ahead to the men's room and then the staff wouldn't let me go backwards and when I skipped ahead to the entrance the staff refused to let me re-enter and I wasn't going to be a fool and buy another ticket.

In August 2024, The Bayerisches Nationalmuseum had a display of drinking vessels shaped like highly detailed models of ships. It is still a good place if this exhibition is over when you arrive.

I hiked up to the "Chinese Tower" in the "English garden" and then took a bus; there is a cafe with outdoor seating but I didn't attempt to spend more than a minute in the area because there was too much cigarette smoke.

Schloss Nymphemburg had a nice display of decorated porcelain (bowls, plates, cups, many with tiny paintings on them)

The Lebnachhaus museum had an exhibit made by the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. Mainly the place is abstract modern art. I wasn't impressed. Maybe you will appreciate it more.

In Dachau concentration camp: victims were supposed to be worked and starved to death, if they didn't die or get killed sooner; it wasn't one of the six nazi gassing centers but notice the building that was a bathhouse and then near the end of the war the nazis remodeled it so it could be used as a gas chamber but the camp was liberated just in time so gassings didn't start.

The Alte Pinakothek art museum was worth it. The Egypt museum occupied me for about no more than 3 hours.

I stayed at PM Rooms, Elsenheimerstraße 15, 80687 München. I had a private room with access to a shared kitchen. This was a solo trip. The bathroom was outside the room. The showers were in a different room than the toilets. The place was clean, quite quiet with only faint music heard from somewhere outside in the evening but it stopped sometime before midnight, well maintained but I know some travelers would consider a place like this too low class.

In advance I reserved a guided walking tour that started at Radius tours office, Dachauer Straße 4, München.

Check the guidebooks and google maps, make yourself a list of what looks appealing.

As with most German cities, Munich train and bus service is excellent. I rarely visit there with a car.
I also never stay in Munich. I always stay in one of the nearby towns where there is less congestion and more affordable accommodations. During our recent visits, we stayed in Feldkirchen. Since we tend to spend 3 to 4 weeks on a trip, saving some money on hotels where it makes sense helps us to keep our travel costs down. We prefer to splurge on dining but we also prefer to enjoy more "local" accommodations and restaurants, the sort that you do not often find in city centers.
For example, when we visit Salzburg, we stay in Grodig, in Nuremburg we like to stay in Furth.
Point being, with such great public transportation options available, you do not need to be staying within spitting distance of Marienplatz.

We have enjoyed Hotel Lux as well as Hotel am Viktualienmarkt. The Lux was our favorite, mostly because of the character and the mangager. The other hotel we have stayed at 3x and it is good, just a bit more sterile, but the staff have been wonderful. Both are centrally located.

Shana, I would suggest planning outdoor activities, but also considering museums. There might be some beautiful days, but it could also rain. Before I write everything down, here are a few links that might help:

Munich Events in May
Munich sights at a glance

Have fun

I am assuming that this is your first time or one of your first times visiting Munich. With that said, I would recommend not taking a day trip anywhere. There is so much to see in Munich, that you could not possibly see it in an entire week, much less two days. plan to go back. And plan to take many day trips on future visits to Munich. There may be no better city in Germany from which to take day trips. But if this is your first time, I would consider spending all of it in Munich proper.
I have twice stayed at Hotel am Markt. It is one of the best located hotels in Munich. And it is not extravagantly expensive. I have also stayed at Hotel am Viktualienmarkt for over a week. We really liked it. Great staff. A beer vending machine in the lobby tickled both my sons in law. Plus, it’s a great location to explore the heart of the Altstadt or the Gärtnerplatz/Glockenbachviertel.
I recommend that you take a walking tour of the old town. The one recommended in Rick Steves’ books or on his website is very good. I would also recommend obtaining either the day trips in Germany or day trips in Bavaria book by Earl Steinbicker. These have great recommended walks for Munich as well. Plus, they include many fantastic day trips and walks in other towns near Munich.You might also consider getting a guidebook for Munich beer halls, and beer Gardens, such as the Beer Drinker’s Guide to Munich. Try for the 7th edition. Beer culture is essential to an authentic Munich experience. Even if you don’t drink beer, go for the food, atmosphere, and get an alcohol free beer. The month of May may be a perfect time to enjoy a beer garden. You cannot go wrong with visiting any of the Augustiner beer gardens, the Hirschgarten, or any of the beer gardens in the Englischer Garten.
All of the “big” churches in the Altstadt are worth visiting. But not a lot of Americans make it to the crypt at the Michaelskirche or make it at all to the Ludwigskirche. The latter is a wonderful 19th century gem with many arts and crafts features. Plus it has a dynamite roof.
If the weather is poor, head to the Residenz or any museum. The Munich city Museum is unfortunately closed for renovations right now. So is the Neuepinakothek. This past December, my wife and I really enjoyed the Lenbachhaus museum. It is located in an artist’s Italian style villa. Some of the villa’s interior is preserved for your enjoyment. Plus the museum has one of the greatest collections of Blaue Reiter movement art in Europe. And a yummy cafe!
I think you would also enjoy a visit to the Neues Rathaus- a Munich landmark right in the center of the old town. You can visit some of the interior, as well as the courtyard. But the highlight is to take a ride up the elevator to the top of the tower for wonderful views, including the Alps. You should book your elevator ride online ahead of time. This will save you time and avoid a long line.
Some of the best traditional fare and Bavarian beer is at Andechser am Dom. Make a reservation to have dinner there. You won’t be disappointed.
Lastly, download the MVV-App. You can use this free app to get anywhere in Munich via public transportation. You can also buy your tickets or day passes on the app to avoid the confusing ticket machines. You can type in your location and enter your destination. And the app will give you several options to get there via public transportation. I use it all the time.
Have a ball!

My wife and I have stayed at Hotel am Markt several times. Very ideal location. And right across the alley is a WurstHaus, serving many kinds of delicous wurst. As was mentioned, visit at least one beer hall/beer garden, there are so many. Eating outside next to the Frauenkirche is very nice if the weather is good.

Dan mentioned museums, there are so many. I'd add the Hunting & Fishing Museum just a short walk west of the Marienplatz, near the Frauenkirche. If you are into hunting & fishing. Not a very big museum, maybe an hour or more to see it. Look for the big bronze boar statue in front.

And if you are technically minded, and have a long afternoon free, the Deutsches Museum is not far. It could easily take all day.

we learn so much more with a guide

It absolutely astounds me that people think that the Bavarian Memorial Foundation is so inept or unknowledgeable that they cannot design a tour to tell you in 2½ hours everything you need to know about Dachau, and that it is necessary to spend over 10 times as much for maybe a little more information.

In 2009, I traveled out to Dachau on my own. It's very easy to do. From any station in downtown Munich (Hbf to Ostbahnhof), get on an S-Bahn going in the direction of Pasing. Take an S2. It will says it's headed to either Petershausen or Altomünster.

Get off at Dachau Bahnhof (the overhead sign in the station will just say Dachau). Dachau Bahnhof is the next station after Karlsfeld. Go through (around) the station to the bus plaza in the front and locate the slip for bus 726. Take that bus to the Memorial (KZ-Gedenkstätte). I'm sure the bus driver announce the stop.

A ticket (for zones M + 1) will cover both the S-Bahn and the bus. Because I was already using a Tageskarte for the central zone (M), it was only a euro or so (€1,40 today) more to include Dachau.

I did have a guide; I took the guided tour designed and given by the Foundation for 4€ (today). It was very information intensive. She talked to us for the whole 2½ hours. She gave us so much information that I probably can't remember half of what she told us.

I would strongly recommend taking the Foundation's own tour.

my wife and I really enjoyed the Lenbachhaus museum.

This is my favorite museum in Munich. I also really like the cafe. Especially in summer, you can have a wonderful breakfast outside with a view of Königsplatz.
It used to be even better, because you could sit in the villa's garden and drink coffee. It was like a short escape from everyday life... just a few minutes from Munich to Tuscany.

Thank you all for the information. We have done bike tours of cities and have enjoyed them--Dublin and Madrid. This is our first time to Munich. Does anyone have a bike tour to recommend?

Thanks

We used Mike's Bike Tours twice. Once to go to Neuschwanstein and that included a bike ride. The other time we just rented bikes from them in town and rode through the English Garden for an entire day. I know they have tours as well, but we did not do those.

Cheap altstadt activity: Climb 300+ steps of Alter Peter. Five euros.

If you're into cars, BMW Welt is cool and across the street from Olympiapark.

My 16 year old granddaughter and I visited Munich last June. Stayed at the Schwabinger Warheit by Geisel, which was located close to a metro stop and had several coffee/sandwich shops nearby. We had planned on spending 3 nights in Munich but dates that we were there were exorbitant so we left late on the third afternoon. On the day we arrived e followed the Rick Steves audio tour visiting the Glockenspiel, St. Peter’s church, ViktualienmRkt, Adam Church, Frauenkirk. Purchased a Bavarian card for 14 days which provided free entrance to multiple sites during our trip. In Munich visited the Residence, including the Treasury and Theatre. Went to the top of city hall for the views. Walked to the English Garden, ogled the surfers, and had dinner at the Chinese Garden beer garden. The next day, took a tour of the BMW car factory which I had reserved in advance,and spent time in the BMW Welt. Afterwards went to Nyphemburg Palace and toured the palace and grounds. On out last day we did a Third Reich Tour and spent the afternoon at the Deutches Museum. We loved Munich!

Thank you all for the information