Parking Strategies in Munich

Where are you coming to Munich from and where are you going to from Munich? Rail connections in Bavaria are very good. Your best strategy might be to turn in the car and train to Munich, then rent it at the next destination after Munich, and save about 5 days rental plus parking charges in Munich.

The nearest car park to the Sendlingertorplatz is Parkgarage Sonnenhof (18E / day). Parking somewhere in the outskirts at a free P&R car park and paying for S-Bahn tickets will be time consuming and not much cheaper.

Parking and driving in Germany is pretty straightforward (barring Stau), except Munich.

Parking and driving in Munich is diabolical, and I don't exaggerate. Expect the unexpected in driving in Munich. I drive to or through Germany most years and use a GPS system as part of the usual routine and I've been lost and turned around every time I've driven in Munich. And watch your speed.

Get the car into a carpark (not cheap, perhaps some of the most expensive in Germany) and don't take it out again until you are ready to leave.

Getting around the Munich area is really easy by train, tram, and on foot.

Like others said the best strategy is, if you have a rental, turn it in before you get to Munich and pick up another when you leave. If that is not possible here is a link to the MVV P+R locations (the cost is anywhere from free to 1.50€/day): http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/de/netz-bahnhoefe/park-ride/index.html

If you need something more convenient then a 18-15€/day garage is your next best option. There is several to choose from near Sendlingertor listed here: http://app.muenchen.de/umgebungssuche/?what=Parkh%C3%A4user&where=48.1341,11.565804&whereLabel=Sendlinger-Tor-Platz

DJ

We've been to Munich numerous times, usually by train. On the 3-4 occasions we've driven into Munich to stay at a hotel we've asked our train station or Sendlinger Tor area hotel for their parking recommendation. On a recent visit we even checked Google street view to better spot the nondescript little entrance the hotel was telling us to use. We made it on the second time around the block.

EDIT: Be aware that most parking garages are pull in, narrow stalls. They are sometimes very tight fits for some of the bigger cars people drive now. And in DJs list above, tief means deep although almost all garages in the city center will be underground rather than high rise.

Very good point by Mona. Vehicle curves and ramps in garages are also very economically sized. Rent the smallest car you can possibly use, and don't let the company upgrade you (even to get the rare Automatic Transmission.) You'll be glad you got a tiny car if you are going to a)Medieval Cities b)Public parking garages c)Hotels with private parking yards.

The OP posted this same question in the Switzerland forums for travel in the Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren area. Just like I responded to that query - the same answer applies here. Get rid of the car and use the wonderful trains.

Americans (me included) are reluctant to use the trains because we have no experience in the USA of using trains. We can't imagine that they actually work well and get us to where we want to to go easily and quickly and efficiently. Americans are tied to their rental cars because that's usually our only experience at travel in the USA.

Take the plunge of train travel and see what Europeans have been enjoying for years and years.

Tim while I agree with you about the wonderful efficiency of trains in Europe and they are my preferred mode of transportation, families in Europe really do a mixture of both. Since we spend a month or more in Europe every summer exchanging houses and cars, we get some good insight about when the family likes to use their car for excursions or longer trips and when they find it a better situation to take a train. We always ask and they state their preferences.

families in Europe really do a mixture of both

Most of us are not families in Europe. There is a huge difference between owning a car in Europe and having the fixed costs like depreciation, taxes, insurance and maintenance already paid, so that the cost of using the car per mile is just the variable costs (mostly fuel and tolls) vs. renting a car and paying the rental company's fixed cost for them.

According to AAA, the average cost of owning a car in the US, not including fuel, is $7016.50/yr, or $134.50/wk.

I've been looking at P&R lots around Munich, some say you can park there only during the times of operation of the publich transportation¹ (i.e., no overnight parking) and others say for a maximum of 24 hrs². A few, mostly far away from the city, allowed more than 24 hrs³.

1. Parkdauer: Parken nur während der Betriebszeiten der öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel gestattet.
2. Parkdauer: Höchstparkdauer 24h
3. Parkdauer: mehrtägiges Parken möglich

Mona - if tourists are seeing Munich and then heading to car-free alpine villages of Murren/Wengen then chances are very good that they do not need/want a rental car. But how would they know that if they've never been...that's why we discuss such things here. But admittedly - I'm looking at it from a tourist point of view.

Thanks for the feedback! Here's the itinerary (nights) for me and my 19 year old son: Pick up car in Zurich - Hohenschwangau (1) - Munich (3) - Salzburg (1) - Ljubljana (1) - Rovinj (2) - Piran (1) - Venice (1) - Kandersteg (3) - Montreux (2) - Wengen (4) - drop car in Zurich (1). The car is $500 for 3 weeks and probably much more efficient than trains and buses. I figure $1100 when I add in gas, tolls, and parking. Other suggestions please?

If you take a car into Munich, you are not going to save money. Period. You will pay very dearly for the priviledge. And that's even if you can find parking. It is not uncommon at all for every slot within the inner ring to fill up by mid-morning. In which case, parking becomes a one-in-one-out affair.

Prepare for a major headache and a significant expense.

Kevink,

Pick up car in Zurich - Hohenschwangau (1) - Munich (3) - Salzburg (1) - Ljubljana (1) - Rovinj (2) - Piran (1) - Venice (1) - Kandersteg (3) - Montreux (2) - Wengen (4) - drop car in Zurich (1).

Please, one nights stands are not a good idea. You have 3 weeks here (20 nights), but I think you need to cut out something.
The best place for driving routes and times is https://www.viamichelin.com/ but the times assume no stops, so you have to add 25% to be practical.
This gives Zürich airport to Hohenschwangau as 239 km, 03h01. I don't know when you plane lands, but that gives no time to look round Hohenschwangau.
You will have to park the car (cost) and use public transport in Munich.
Salzburg to Ljubljana - 276 km, 03h14 (+25%). And so on. Venice to Kandersteg 501 km, 06h22 (+25%). This trip is all driving.
Venice has no roads (park and pay). Wengen is not accessible by road (park in the valley at Lauterbrunnen and pay).

I am not saying this is a bad route, and 3 weeks is a good amount of time, but you are squeezing in too many places. You need time (2 nights+) in all these places to appreciate them, so you need to prune - SORRY.

The car is $500 for 3 weeks and probably much more efficient than
trains and buses.

How did you come to that conclusion?

Right now I see Saver Fares from DB for 3 months from now for several connections from Zürich HB to Füssen for 38€ for 2 adults. Bayern-Tickets from Füssen to Munich and from Munich to Salzburg are 31€ for each leg for 2 people. So, 100€ from Zürich to Salzburg.

ViaMichelin estimates the cost of a car from Zürich to Salzburg via Füssen and Munich at 110€ just for fuel and tolls. That doesn't include 5 days of the car rental plus parking in Munich. I don't think you have included CDW with the car, but using the trains has no liability.

BTW, I notice you are flying into Zürich but not spending even your first night there; instead you are going straight to Füssen. Why not fly to Munich and save the extra, unnecessary travel?

A few, mostly far away from the city, allowed more than 24 hrs³.

P&R lots which allow free parking tend to be always full. Personally, I've given up to drive to the nearest such P&R to my home, Geltendorf at the S4 (40 km to the center of Munich). The table of occupancy ("Belegungsprognose") of the Geltendorf P&R lot shown here

http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/de/netz-bahnhoefe/bahnhofsinformation/bahnhof/geltendorf/index.html#c10178

is representative for all maior P&R lots: mal chance between 8am an 5pm. Yo will find a space when arriving late, but the cost for at least one extra day ticket (23.90E for two) and the loss of time (45 min one way plus walking time) make the whole thing rather unattractive. So, if you desperately need a car in Munich, put it in a parking garage outside the inner circle (Altstadtring) and pay the approx. 18E / day.

Thanks for the continued helpful advice! We're flying non-stop from O'Hare to Zurich roundtrip because of the price compared with other locations (including open jaw) when I bought the tickets. We're also meeting people in Switzerland during the last half of the trip. I like the flexibility of the car because we can stay as long as we like/go when we're ready and it's always fun to stop along the route at interesting places. Also, I've tried to limit the driving to a couple of hours each driving day (except the first and between Venice/Kandersteg).

Have you checked with your rental car company to see if Croatia and Slovenia are countries you can take the car into?

Thanks Mona - I did. Hertz allows driving into all the countries on our itinerary.