I will spend two days in Munich next month at the end of my European trip I will be staying at the Hotel am Viktualienmarkt. My flight back to the U.S. leaves Munich on a Monday around 9:45 am. In looking at the subway map it looks like I can catch the S8 from the Marienplatz station to the airport. I would appreciate it if anyone can give me an idea approximately how long the ride will be to the airport. Thanks!
The S8 is a little more direct. At the tracks, they have those digital displays that tell you when the next train is coming, so if it's only a few minutes difference between the 2, I'd wait a bit and catch the S8.
The S8 is faster to the airport, by 9 minutes, but the the S8 leaves from Marienplatz 18 minutes after the S1. The next S1 is in about 2 minutes. About half the time, the S1 gets you to the airport sooner than the S8. The two S-Bahn stations (to the east and to the west) are on different levels in Marienplatz. It's hard to compare unless you go up and down the escalators and compare times on the digital dispays, and then the signs only show when the trains depart, not when they arrive at the airport. So, unless you're really good at schedule reading, take the S8. Another issue is that the front cars of the S1 separate at Neufahrn and go to Freising, while the back cars go to the airport. You can avoid this minor concern by using the S8.
My thanks to each of you for providing this information!
It's super easy to catch the train to the airport and that's one thing that makes Munich so tourist friendly and easily navigable. The Hotel am Viktualienmarkt is a great budget place to stay.
Just some additional information: Marienplatz has four underground levels. The top one, directly below the Platz, is a "mall" - access to some surrounding stores, ticket sales, etc. The level below that is the S-Bahn station for trains headed east to Ostbahnhof on Gleis 1. The next level down is an S-Bahn station for trains headed to the Hbf, Gleis 2. The lowest level is a U-Bahn station. If you are taking the S-8 to the airport, you want the Gleis 1 station, in the direction ( Richtung) of Ostbahnhof, which is the next level below the mall - the quickest to get to. The S-Bahn stations at Marienplatz are in the tunnel that connects the Hbf to Ostbahnhof. If you are at all claustrophobic, take the first S-Bahn through Marienplatz. They all go to Ostbahnhof, which is above ground. The S8 goes through Ostbahnhof. You can catch the same one when it gets there.