Ciao,
Will be in Munich from Noon on a summer Monday until early the next day, when we fly out, back to Chicago (coming from the Austrian Alps). Any suggestions as to a nice hotel (e150,00 to e200,00) very close to main train station, and must-sees during our one afternoon and evening? And maybe a beer hall for lunch and restaurant for dinner? Looks like train ride to airport is only about 40 minutes in the morning. Grazie!
Gio,
For Hotels you might have a look at Hotel Uhland, which is not far from the main Hbf (10-15 min. easy walk). The Hotel is in a beautiful location, in a nice residential neighborhood.
With such a short time, you could consider a Munich Walking tour, explore Marienplatz, check out the Hofbrauhaus (as someone else mentioned, mostly filled with tourists - check out the unique "appliance" in the men's washroom), have a brief look at the Deutsches Museum or Englisher Gardens. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a way to spend the afternoon.
If you have money left over in your budget, you might consider a fine hot meal at the Sofitel Hotel, which is right next to the Hbf. The formal restaurant in the back has awesome food and service (but of course, it's not cheap).
Finally, you might stop by the EurAide office in Munich station to pick up your S-Bahn tickets for the airport run the following day. That way you won't waste any time on the day of travel. The EurAide staff speak English and are VERY helpful.
Happy travels!
My Munich hotel was not too near the main train station, so I'll let someone else make the suggestions. However, do go to the Marienplatz and the Viktualienmarkt. They're within 2 minutes of each other. A city sightseeing bus stops at the corner of the Viktualienmarkt - it's cheap and will take you past a palace and out to the site of the Munich Olympics. However, with your time frame, you'd probably have more fun just walking around and enjoying the sights and the many restaurants and beer halls. There is a subway stop from the airport right on Marienplatz near the fountain. This entire area is ringed by restaurants, shops, historic buildings and churches, the old city hall with the famous Glockenspiel and thronged with locals and tourists.
You can spend your entire time in the Marienplatz area. It is a wonderful place. There are many hotels near the train station --- check Rick's book --- which is about 4-5 blocks from Marienplatz.
Stay closer to Marienplatz or the Viktulienmarkt. The train station sits close by, but the neighborhood is a bit sketchy (described in some travel guides as a "Red Light District", this is rather misleading, but still not the greatest area).
The most famous beer hall is the Hobrauhaus. Expect a raucous crowd, more than half of whom will be tourists. You can find a more sedate atmosphere and better food at the cavernous Augustiner Grossgaststatte, which sits very close to Marienplatz.
If the weather is nice, you could have lunch at one of the two biergartens in the Englischergarten. I would rate this as Europe's 2nd best urban park.
Even though the area around the train station is not the best, I felt safe when I was there. I think it's a bit overblown. Marienplatz is just two s-bahn stops away. As for good restaurants, somebody mentioned the Hofbrauhaus. On Marienplatz, Ratskeller and Donisl were both good spots offering traditional bavarian food. Good luck!
We're going in September and most of our 18 days will be spent in smaller local hotels. In Munich though, we've decided to stay at the Hilton City Center because the train station in directly under the hotel. The ride to the airport is about 30 minutes so no getting lost. It's very central to the Marienplatz and the center of town and still not far from the Theriesen area of the Oktoberfest.
As for beer halls, I recommend the Hofbrauhaus. It's in town and can get crowded and rowdy. I love this place. The food is good and I find the atmosphere fun. The music and beer are great.
