Munich - free 1/2 day - things to do

Dachau is right outside Munich and you could get an intense and moving overview in an afternoon. Guides are provided at the site. We did it on our own, but it was my husband's third visit -- his father had been an involuntary "guest" there.

As Laura B mentioned, Dachau is certainly doable in an afternoon. Other things you might consider are the Nymphenburg Palace right outside of town (just a few stops on the tram, which you can catch right outside of the main train station). The Residenz in the center of the old town is also doable in an afternoon. If your family members aren't as interested in being inside beautiful palaces while in Munich, they could wander around the lovely public gardens on the east side of town. There's so much to see and do in Munich that the afternoon could be easily spent just wandering around the old town and taking the subway to your hotel when you're tired!!

No need to leave the city center, in my opinion. There is much to see and do there.

The self-guided Munich city walk in Rick's Germany guidebook is an excellent introduction to the city. It can be done in a couple of hours to a full day, depending on your level of interest and curiosity.

I would recommend that you extend the city walk by continuing west on Briennerstraße from Odeonsplatz to Königsplatz. That will take you past the brand new NS Doku-Zentrum, which should be open by the time of your visit. Right around the corner you will see the Führerbau, where the 1938 Munich accord was signed by Hitler, Mussolini and Chamberlain. Read up on the history of Munich in the first half of the 20th Century (e.g., Where Ghosts Walked - Munich's Road to The Third Reich by David Clay Large; or the Munich pages of the Third Reich in Ruins website) and you will find something of interest on almost every block.

If you want to take a short trip out of the city center and avoid crowds of tourists, take S1 to Oberschleißheim and walk ten minutes to the spectacular Schleißheim palaces, summer home of the Bavarian royal family. On the grounds there are touching memorials to locals -- military and civilian -- lost in 20th Century wars. There's a biergarten on the grounds as well. And if any member of your party is interested in airplanes or aviation history, the wonderful Flugwerft Schleißheim (aviation branch of Deutsches Museum) is just a five-minute walk beyond the palaces.

Munich enchants, entertains ... and teaches.

Louise ,

you maybe able to do Dachau in 1/2 a day, but imo you maybe pushing it. i did the train/bus combo to get there so that took some time. Im not sure how long it will take if you had a car or taxi so that may help.

I took a guided tour (booked @ Dachau) and found it worth the time. You can spend extra time on your own there before or after your tour as this is what i did, but i would do the tour if you have the time.

Happy trails.

I did Dachau in half a day. Spent the morning in town, went out before noon, took the tour, then went back to the Hbf to retrieve my luggage and continued on to Freising for the night. No problem if you know where you are going.

There is an English tour at 1 PM (1300). If you leave the Hbf on the S2 at 11:50, the connecting bus will get you to the Memorial at 12:28, plenty of time to book the tour and grab a quick sandwich at the food kiosk. The tour lasts 2½ hrs. After the tour you might be able to catch the short documentary film (I did), but it might be difficult to work in with the 1 PM tour. If 11:50 is too early for you to leave the Hbf, you'll miss the guided tour, but you can rent audio guides for 3,50 €, a half euro more than the tour (3,- €).

The S2/bus route takes 38 minutes (each way) - pretty predictable. According to ViaMichelin, by car it takes 44-46 minutes and that assumes you know where you are going and there are no traffic delays. There is a fee to park a car at the Memorial.

Thanks for the responses everyone - really appreciate it!