garyincary

My 13 year old daughter and I are going to be taking our first trip to Germany in July. We play to spend 3 nights in Munich. I have found a person who would give us an overview orientation of the city, show us how to use public transportation, etc. He chages 100 Euros for half a day/4-5 hours. Would it be worth the money to get this service? We arrive in Munich around 10 a.m. so figure we could get the tour that afternoon, and be ready to really take on the city the next day. What is your advice? Thanks for your input!!!!

SUNSHINE1223

My sister and I have done both London and Paris on our own without a tour person. We read up on the cities with the D & K travel books. I found it very easy to get around the city by using the metro or the tube. I didn't feel like we needed one.

Now if you said you would be in a city for one day then I would definitely use a guide. This way you get the highlights of the city in 1 day. Read up and make an itinerary of what you both want to see. Being with your daughter, I would leave some time in to go shopping.

I hope this helps,
Kari

noe847

Whether you choose to use a guide has a lot to do with your comfort level in traveling to a new place, and where you will be staying in Munich.

If you are used to visiting new places and you are staying within walking distance of the Marianplatz, then you could probably do the city on your own. Munich isn't as big and spread out as London or Paris. We spent three days there in December and felt comfortable with the layout fairly quickly. Get a good map ("stadtplan" in German) and a guidebook or two, and you'll no doubt be fine.

We did hire a guide (with a car) in Salzburg who took us on a tour of the surrounding countryside, which was well worth it.

garyincary

Noe847,

We are staying at the Hotel Acanthus. According to people on www.tripadvisor.com, it's only a 5-10 minute walk to the Marienplatz. Given that, how does that effect input regarding hiring a guide?

noe847

Are you arriving in Munich by train? Is the Acanthus near the train station? Many hotels are, but ours was not. We just took a taxi to the hotel (cab line right outside the train station). After that, we walked everywhere, including back up to the train station area to meet some friends. We thought about public transportation, but really found the walking manageable. The shopping and many of the attractions are on the street that leads from the train station to Marianplatz.

JoyC

This message is for noe847 if he/she happens to open this thread. Would you mind sharing some details on the guide (with car) that you hired in Salzburg to tour you around. Thanks.

J62

I don't think it worthwhile to spend 100Euro for guided tour of Munich. The first day there you'll stroll to Marianplatz - I think the Glockenspiel on the town hall (Rathaus) does it's thing at noon every day.

There is a pedestrian shopping zone leading away from Marianplatz, and many of the usual tourist sites are close by.

Getting around Munich by subway is very easy - there are ticket vending machines downstairs before boarding the trains - they have English instructions and are easy to use.

I'm not against using a guide, but as was said above, central Munich is very compact, and if you use the town hall as a reference point you'll soon get the lay of the land.

Spygirl

Gary-I can't IMAGINE paying or needing a personal tour guide in Munich, particularly for 100 E for half a day-that's a lot of money!

You don't need that, people in Munich, Germans in the big cities particularly, generally speak quite good English- that's not an issue.

If you buy a good guide book, (or two) it will give you most of the information you need- part of the fun of being in a foreign country is interacting with the locals and finding out how to do things yourself!Your hotel's front desk will give you public transportation information, that and your guide book (look on the Fodor's mini-destination guide for Munich here on this website for information too). Then, you're good to go!

If you really want to take a day-tour, why not just do a Gray Line or utilize some other commercial tour company for half the price? You can gain valuable insights even on these type of tours. (Your hotel will have all the brochures, and will arrange for your pick-up). Use that money for one of the many fine German restaurants in Munich-you'll be a lot happier, and learn a LOT more about German culture that way, rather than spending your time with some guide, believe me.

J62

I enjoy Munich for museums (esp art and science museums), outdoor market, and historic center.

But frankly speaking , I really don't think there are 100Euro worth of sites a guide would need to show you.

I think after 4 hrs tour you'd likely say 'we paid 100 Euro for that?'

noe847

JoyC, I will see if I can find his name/email address. We actually got him as our taxi driver from the train station to the hotel. He asked if we wanted to get a beautiful night view of Salzburg on our way, and of course we did. When we learned that he was also a guide, we arranged for him to pick us up on New Year's day (after lunch) as we didn't know what would be open in town that day. This was 3 1/2 years ago. He was very enterprising and had several business ventures going, so I have no idea if he is still doing tours. so I'll see if I saved his business card. If so, I'll post the info here.

JoyC

Thanks noe847, I really appreciate your response.