Munich - what area to stay in?

Lisa,

I normally prefer to stay close to the main rail station in Munich, as it's central and lots of transportation options close by. The street where my hotel is located is a bit "colourful" in terms of "adult establishments", but I don't mind that as the hotel is very nice and they serve a great breakfast. It's an easy walk from the hotel to Marienplatz and there are lots of restaurants in the vicinity.

I have stayed at another hotel that's also wonderful and serves a great breakfast. It's located in a quiet residential area near Theresienwiese, which is the large park where Oktoberfest is held. That hotel is about a 15 minute easy walk from the main station.

If you wanted to stay closer to Marienplatz or Viktualienmarkt, check the RS Germany guidebook for hotel listings in that area.

I suggest to have the public transpot map as orientation:
https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/maps-stations/maps/index.html

Already in the header of the web page you can see a main train & subway line axis. At stations along that axis you have a good chance to be well connected for sightseeing. From there pick name of stations and have a photo look by Google Earth or via Google Maps. Little careful when doing that because data quality of Google Maps is miserable. But if you find 4-5 pictures showing that place in the same way you have a chance that it is the place :-)

And of course you can do a lot of nice things in Munich in spring - some places mentioned with flower arrangements: https://www.muenchen.de/int/en/sights/10-things-you-should-do-in-munich-in-spring.html

I agree with Ken. I would either stay close to the train station or in the area by the Octoberfest grounds. We stayed at Hotel Uhland and were very pleased with the nice, big room and bathroom and a wonderful, included breakfast. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the Marienplatz.

jules m,

I didn't mention the name of the hotels as the OP wasn't concerned about specific hotels at this point, however Hotel Uhland was the one I was referring to near Theresienwiese. I'll provide the name of the other one near the station if requested.
Ken

I've only been to Munich once and stayed within a few blocks of the Hbf in a less "colorful" area that was free of "adult establishments." It worked great for me. If you're looking for something more residential, I'll defer to others.

For those who, like me, wondered if Tia was using Lisa's account, TIA = Thanks in Advance. I had to google it. :)

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, my TIA was to mean Thanks in Advance (and thanks again!).

I realized I used an abbreviation others may not know, too. Hbf = Hauptbahnhof = main train station.

Another vote for Hotel Uhland. It was a good location, the rooms were nice, the breakfast very good, and the staff extremely helpful and friendly.

Personally I enjoyed staying near Marienplatz both times i was in Munich. Easy 5 min train to the hbf if you're doing day trips out of Munich and right by the most tourist sights. There are several nice hotels right there for any budget - I'm on the lower end of the budget spectrum and had wonderful stays in that area.

I like to stay north of Oskar Von Muller Ring on the west side of the English Gardens. Up towards the University. I can usually find a pension that's cheap and I like staying around students. If I'm only staying a night I'll keep to the area around the train station. The U-Bahn is cheap and easy to use, and if you stay within a block of a entrance you can get anywhere in the city in minutes.

If you want to stay in an area more in the interior of the city having more of a local flavor, then I would recommend the Schwabing district.

When I am in Munich, I stay in a small hotel/Pension in the train station area because of its convenience, ie only a 2 minute walk and easy to find.

I usually try to avoid areas near the main train stations. Those areas are usually the least pleasant areas of the city. I agree with Fred, Schwabing is an interesting area.

You might be interested in this relatively new attraction: The Alte Utting, a decommissioned boat perched on a bridge in Munich It's about a mile from the city center.

Alte Utting, a decommissioned, land-bound boat that has been transformed into a bar-slash-event-space-slash-food-market, is the flashiest of their cool-kid projects, and has attracted crowds and lots of attention since opening in July. Built in 1949, Alte Utting was a pleasure boat that sailed for six decades around the Ammersee, a lake about an hour’s drive from Munich. Today, its twinkling lights are easy to spot from afar, since the 120-ft. boat sits atop a bridge that hovers over a quiet stretch of road in southwest Munich.