My husband and I will be spending 2 nights in Munich in September of 2016. We have air miles that we plan to use for a hotel. What is available is hit or miss, and of course none of the ones in Rick's guide book. Can someone suggest what neighborhood I should look in? We want to be close to the major sites, but also want to have some charm to the area we stay, being near restaurants.
Thank you!
Cynthia
Anything within the inner ring should fit your needs. This is where you'll find the majority of sites that tourists visit Munich to see. The old city is rather compact, so unless you have mobility problems, you can get around on foot rather easily. The only area I would give a lower priority is the neighborhood immediately around the Hauptbahnhof. Despite hosting the city's best beer garden, this area is rather charmless and a bit seedy.
Within a few square blocks of Marienhof and Odeonsplatz is where you'll find lots of splendor and good restaurants, but expect to pay dearly for the privilege. Hotel Bayerischer Hof might be one of the finest hotels where I've stayed anywhere... but... not cheap at all. I've also stayed at Hotel an der Opera, which was nice enough, but a little costly for a hotel of it's quality. You pay more for the location than anything else.
Munich is a big city. There are a wide variety of major sights spread across the metropolitan area. When we go to Munich, we always get a multi-day pass on the transportation system. Once you have the pass, any area of the city is open to you; just pick a hotel near an Ubahn or Sbahn station.
We generally stay near Sendlinger Tor which is walking distance to Marienplatz (main square) and has good transportation options. There are many restaurants within walking distance. We like the area but I am not sure that everyone would describe it as charming.
I always steer people towards Haidhausen. It has great cafes and restaurants, good connections with public transport (U-bahn, S-Bahn and Ostbahnhof) and lots of charm (flowered squares, quiet streets, etc). There are also plenty of chain hotels that hopefully you can book with miles (Hilton, Holiday Inn, Novotel, Residence Inn by Marriott, Motel One, MK Hotel).
DJ
We too like the area near Sendlingtor and have stayed at the nearby Motel One. What the clean, efficient hotel lacks in charm is made up for by the nearby amenities such as the Viktualienmarkt and new covered Schrannenhalle.
I second Haidhausen. If you have some points to use the Marriott has a combo Residence Inn/Courtyard near the Ostbahnhof that is nearly new and a good value if using points. This is not the historic center but no more than a mile away.
There are many nice neighborhoods. Sendlinger Tor is great (Motel 1) as well as the Isartor (Hotel Torbrau). We've always stayed very near to Marienplatz (Platzl Hotel) or the Viktualienmarkt (Hotel am Viktualienmarkt).
I would also suggest staying within the "walls" of the Altstadt, or between there and the station (Hauptbahnhof). Last year I stayed at the Münchnerkindl. Except for small bathrooms and no elevator, it was nice and only about 2 blocks from the pedestrian street between Karlstor and Marienplatz. It's between Karlstor and Sendlingertor.
