Munich with a car (and NO option to ditch the car) PLEASE HELP!

Munich has very intense street traffic, also the Autobahnen around. Even BMW offers all kinds of alternative transport options to their employees.

Drive into Munich, find a parking space and reactivate the car when leaving Munich is my recommendation.

Parkopedia can help you to identify parking opportunities including prices close to your hotel.

Good luck.

It has been over 25 years since I drove in Munich. Traffic was bad during the weekdays with people commuting to or from work, but otherwise not nearly as bad as other places in Europe. Still, it would be better to not have a car there. However, you are stuck with your booked plans.

I would not want to stay on the perimeter of the city. Enjoy the city and find a hotel where you can walk to sites or take short U-bahn trips.

You just need to do the research on your options. Either find a hotel or B&B that has free parking that is not hard to deal with or park at the airport or outside of city center and take public transport back to your hotel.

I lived in Augsburg, 50 miles west of Munich for four years and usually took the train into the city when I went to the Oktoberfest or did touring. It was only a 40 minute train ride.

Not sure that you can get to Dachau without driving. When I lived there, the old Dachau bypass was still there and the ring road didn't go there yet.

Dachau by public transit was no problem when we did it a few years ago. Check on getting group day tickets which would also include your transit within Munich for that day.
FYI, my husband who lived 8 years in Munich, says driving there is "piece.of.cake" -- unlike Paris or Lyon.

My advice would be to use your hotel's car park. Yes, it would be expensive but I'd rather it be somewhere where I could see it everyday and not have to park it on the outskirts. Another option would be stay in a nearby town or village and leave the car out there and ride the train into Munich every day.

To answer your questions directly:

So, do you have any advice?

Driving in Munich is not really that bad. Yes traffic can be horrible but its not worse than most other major cities. Parking can also be a pain but only if you are looking to save 5-10€ with on street parking, otherwise just use one of the many parking garages or better still choose a hotel that offers parking. My recommendation would be to stay in one of the three Motel One in the city center (Sendlinger Tor, Deutsches Museum, or Munich East). This is a nice, inexpensive German hotel chain and all three locations I list offer parking (first come first served) anywhere from 12-16€/day.

My husband and I read that dropping off a car in a garage/parking lot outside of the city "ring" and taking a tram to a hotel within the city is an option. How would that even work???

Yes this would work but you would be wasting valuable holiday time on a tram just because you are trying to accommodate you car. Just book a hotel in a good location for your needs that also offers parking.

DJ

I am officially terrified to drive through Munich.

Relax, that's a RS forum myth. There is no reason to be terrified by Munich traffic except for those Americans who insist on driving in the innermost (mostly pedestrian) zone, where everbody else walks.

For accomodation, you have in principle two options: take a hotel in the center and leave your car in one of the numerous parking garages along the Altstadtring (€ 20+ / day; centrally located hotels that have a parking facility are exceedingly rare). An inexpensive and convenient hotel would Motel One as already mentioned. Or take a hotel outside the center, which has parking and and accept +/- 15 minutes tram or subway rides, e.g. the Hotel Laimer Hof in Nymphenburg, near the Nymphenburg Palace and the Great Hirschgarten beer garden .

I don't think Munich is hard to drive thru. I grew up driving in L.A. and lived in Europe for over three years. Compared to Paris Munich is pretty good. Compared to places like Cairo, Kuwait City, or Seoul, Munich is a breeze. Drive to your hotel and use their car park. Don't stress out about it. It's not the big cities you need to worry about, it's the small towns and back roads where the signs may not be there, the roads are very narrow, and (especially in old towns) somebody is going to park and make it impossible for traffic to go around.

Dachau is easy to visit using public transport. The UBahn stops just outside the gate.

If you're really freaking out about a hotel the Marriott or Loft (both about a block from the main train station) both are nice (I use them when on business) and have valet and car parks. If you want to stay a little further out (but still in walking distance to the city center) the Westin is good.

The Pullman Hotel is PERFECT ! Having visited Munich many times ( and back there this coming October ) I always stay there . The rooms are delightful , the breakfast is one of the best , the parking could not be better , and you won't have to drive anywhere near the center . To top it off , the U6 metro ( Nordfriedhof stop ) is right outside the door , and gets you to Marienplatz in ten minutes .

It's understandable that you're stressed out about the car and Munich. Why would the suggestion put forth by your husband not work?

This type of stress on a trip I don't even deal with as I totally rely on public transport, most definitely in Germany, and on those super rare times when I decide the situation warrants spending for a taxi.

Take the tram into the city.

I would research hotels with car parks. Big city driving is stressful but as someone who drives in Chicago regularly, I haven’t found many of the other big European cities to be too decidedly different in terms of crowded/stress. Plan your route beforehand in a way that helps you avoid very pedestrian areas as much as possible. This shouldn’t be too hard with a careful hotel selection. Perhaps just don’t choose one right in the old town.

If you’re having trouble managing the parking itself, you could always ask the concierge for assistance. We were in France last year at a hotel with the world’s narrowest parking spaces and my dad just couldn’t manage our large BMW rental into the tiny parking spaces. I couldn’t either. So he asked for help with the parking, and we got in there just fine with the help of hotel staff.

And most of all... don’t stress. I often feel that the ‘terrors’ of using rental cars get a little overblown on this forum. No, I wouldn’t want to drive in Paris to get around to various sites. I wouldnt want to in Rome. Or London. Or in Munich. But to drive into a city and just park it for 2-3 days? Easily doable.

If you were locked into having to drive in to inner Paris, OP, I'd understand your fear, but Munich is not that crazy (and Paris isn't even by some international standards, but it would be by mine). I can be an anxious driver but driving in Munich wouldn't make me sweat. It would be pretty difficult to end up on pedestrian-only streets by accident like I did in Strasbourg and ended up driving right behind the Cathedral!

Pick a well-located central hotel not in the actual pedestrian zone with an underground parking garage or a dedicated lot and you'll be fine. We stayed at a hotel a few blocks from the Augustiner Brewery in the south side of the train tracks, a totally non-pedestrianized done that would be easy to drive in, same for the northern side of the train tracks.

You'll be fine, seriously! Munich is not that bad at all. It may be slow going at different times but it's well-marked and sensible. Drive to your hotel, park the car, and use public transit for a few days.

I think part of the bad rap Munich traffic was getting was there was a period of time a few years back where there were several major road construction projects going on at the same time (A9 between the city and airport, Mittlerer Ring projects like Luise-Kiesselbach-Tunnel and Richard-Strauss-Tunnel and others). Most of the construction now is on the outer "ring" road (only goes 3/4 the way around) .

Here is a site for traffic and construction info when planning road trips around Munich:
http://www.bayerninfo.de/en/planner

Hope this helps!

DJ

We had a rental while in Germany a couple of years ago, including during our few days in Munich. It was just fine. As long as you have a good gps/google maps access, it’s no more difficult than driving anywhere else.

We stayed at the Maximilian in a studio with a kitchenette. There is a parking garage near by (one with the double-decker parking stalls, which freaked me out more than driving itself). The hotel is near the hofbrau haus, Marienplatz, other dining and sightseeing options.

We liked the freedom the car gave us to get around.
I will say, though, that getting the train to Salzburg using the Bayern tickets and leaving the car parked, is probably something to consider.

I think part of the bad rap Munich traffic was getting was there was a
period of time a few years back

Nope.

• 2018 traffic scorecard: http://inrix.com/scorecard-city/?city=Munchen&index=41
• Some details on Inrix scorecard (German)
• ADAC traffic jam report 2018 (German) - Bavaria has the second largest traffic jams in Germany.
  
• Summer traffic jam report 2018 (German): Bavaria ranked #3, A8 around Munich is famous.

MarkK, I don't think the OP is worried about a stau. Or construction.

Driving in most places in America, outside of compact urban centers like Boston, Manhattan, San Francisco, etc, is very easy and doesn't require an aggressive form of driving. Compare this to driving in Paris, Rome, or Naples. It is simply a different form of driving than most Americans are used to. I recall my mother screaming at me while I forced my way across 7 lanes of traffic to make a turn in Prague, for example: it required a bit of aggression, bluster, and sheer luck that is not the ordinary, orderly driving experience for most Americans. (Also mom totally failed in navigating me to my reserved spot in a garage, so I pulled over literally onto a sidewalk - it was fine, there were other cars parked on the sidewalk - so I could look at the GPS myself. Mom also didn't like that. There was a lot of shouting.)

That said, some sensible people here are trying to reassure the OP that having a car in Munich is totally feasible and not a huge mistake, because as far as European cities go, Munich is not a difficult one to drive in. Sure, it's not Berlin, which is extremely car-friendly, but it's manageable. I don't think the primary concern is being stuck in traffic but rather the bleat of, "Don't drive in any European city, it's too crazy!" It's true there's no objective reason to drive in Munich due to the public transit, but there's no reason to be scared of driving in Munich, either.

Sarah, thanks for your detailed opinion. I guess OP can speak for herself.

My first answer at the top was addressed to OP, mentioning that the traffic in Munich can be very intense - in terms of driving and parking experience. Also made my recommendation. Did you read this?

In my second post I was just answering to the one quoted statement. And of course some people create stress when standing in traffic jams - and very empathic people recognise this even if sitting in a different car. Therefore these kind of people avoid driving in traffic jams or visiting events like Oktoberfest.

And also in Germany we have countryside people afraid of driving in cities. My parents had friends which I needed to guide through Berlin's 5-lanes Victory Column circle traffic in terms of driving in front of them to get to the hotel. Often guests from Denmark and Sweden show anxious behaviour driving here.

By the way: I do not believe that whatever kind of "aggression" is a state of mind that someone shall be driving with. Section 1 of German road traffic regulation makes a very clear statement: "Use of the road requires constant care and mutual respect.". If people would just follow this you can erase the rest of the rules.

We are picking up a car at the Munich airport but we will actually take the train into the city first and then come back and pick up the car to drive to Dachau. (I understand the parking at Dachau is paid parking.) Our niece who lives near Salzburg says that the traffic can be very congested in Munich and suggests we don't drive there for that reason. I personally am not fond of driving in congested cities where I don't know the traffic flow even if I happen to understand the customs and language. Watching the other drivers who know exactly what they are doing (because they drive it every day) while I try to get into a correct lane and I just missed my turn is frustrating. I generally park outside of those places and take public transportation into the city.

I don't have any personal experience with the area but my first hunch would be to find a lovely place on the outskirts of Munich that has easy access to public transportation. Or ditch the car in safe parking outside of the city and stay in the city center. If it looks drivable you can always go get the car. Or find a place with good parking inside of the city and use a turn by turn navigation app. There are no wrong choices, just what you like the best and what might be the most enjoyable.

@Geovagriffith @Laura B @Heather @DJ @Sla019 @KGC @Steven @Sarah @Zeeba @amerylliss @Kaeleku @Laura, thank you so much for taking the time to give such great advice!! Everyone's comments were so helpful and really did ease my anxiety with the whole situation. I now am much more confident about the thought of driving through Munich. From the advice that each of you have given, it is apparent that no matter what we ultimately decide, it will work out just fine! sigh of relief ;)
Thanks again, and I'll be sure to post an update after the trip!
-Cassie

Just wanted to say that driving in Germany was not difficult at all but I understand your worry. We didn't drive in Munich but the hotel we always stay at, Hotel Europaischer Hof, is directly across the street from the Hauptbahnhof and they have an underground parking lot or a courtyard. The staff have always been very kind and helpful and I'm sure would be happy to answer any questions about their parking situation and getting to the hotel the easiest way. The last time we had a car in Germany we rented a house in the small town of Tandern, just outside of Dachau and Munich. We drove to the town train station, parked and went into Munich or where ever for the day. Getting to Dachau itself is very easy on public transport, once you get off the Sbahn there is a bus that takes you directly there outside of the station. Unless you have a desire for the drive, take the train to Salzburg for the day as well, very easy to do. Just relax and have fun!

Another vote for a car in Munich. I've stayed at a couple different hotels in Munich. One had parking and one did not, but had a parking garage within a couple blocks. Munich is no different than any city in the US. Just familiarize yourselves with the street signs and you'll be fine! Enjoy your trip! Btw, I'm renting a 9 passenger van in August for our next excursion, which will include Frankfurt, Munich and Salzburg.