mdtravel

I am planning a trip to Munich and the surrounding area for my 70+ year old father, and my brother. We will have five days/nights and are basing in Munich.

I have some questions that I'm hoping folks can help with, and may come up with more as I plan.

1. How much is cab fare from the airport to the main train station? I ask b/c there are three of us and the cab may be cheaper than 3 train tickets.

2. Do any of the multi-day public transport (MVV?) passes cover the trip to and from the airport on the train?

3. With regard to the BMW Welt, what is there to see there and how much does it cost to go there? I'm talking about the delivery center as opposed to the BMW museum.

4. Is there a fancy cocktail bar in Munich like the Hemingway Bar in Paris? Or is there a classic pub/bar to go to (aside from Hauffrauhaus)?

5. We are going to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. It looks like we can take a train and then walk up a large hill. Should we rent a car instead of taking the train?

5b. Does having a car get us closer to the actual castle or do we still have to deal with the walk up the hill?

5c. If all we see is the castle, how long will it take us to travel to and from, and to see the castle?

I think that's it for now...any help is very much appreciated.

kybourbon

It's been a few years since I was at Neuschwanstein, but there were horse drawn carriages you could pay for to take you up if you didn't want to walk.

mdtravel

Yep; 4 euro for the way up and 2 for the way down. Still, does a car get me closer than the horse drawn carriage or to the same point as the same point?

scatcat

From the ticket office, you can go up by the carriage, bus, or walk. From Munich you will take the train to Fuessen then bus on to Hohenschwangau. The bus lets you off just a few yards from the ticket office. I usually take a bus up the hill then walk down if the weather is nice. If you drive, you will have to park a little further away.

Gary_Mc

A MVV Partner Day Ticket for the whole system (about 19 euros) will take all three of you from the Airport to the Main train station. I have read that a taxi is about 50 euros.

Regards, Gary

kybourbon

Most airports have a transport page on their websites.

http://www.munich-airport.de/en/consumer/anab/index.jsp

kybourbon

http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/home/t...ket/index.html

mdtravel

The airport pages are good for figuring out where stuff is but doesn't say anything about the cost of a taxi. Gary says 50 euro so I'll go with that.

I'm trying to figure out the most cost and time efficient method of visiting the castle. Without a car it sounds like it is train, then bus, then either walk or pay for a horse ride. Wondering if a car and three people sharing the cost of it makes it much shorter a journey in terms of time.

jscarbary

If you drive you still have to park your car down in the town, but it isn't a very far walk to the ticket office. At the castle, the carriage and the bus only go half of the way to the castle, you still have to walk the rest of the way up.

mdtravel

Thanks jscarbary. Sounds like the train is just as easy as the car. Good to know I can't drive right across the drawbridge and park by the front door!

mdtravel

If we start at Munich Hbf, how long will we need to travel to the castle, see the castle and then travel back to Munich?

mdtravel

bump

scatcat

It will take almost an entire day. It's about 2 hours to Fuessen and the bus on over to Hohenschangau is only about 10 minutes. But you will have a time scheduled for your tour of the castle. The tour itself is not too long, but you will want to go to the bridge for some incredible photos. I love this area. I would allow a full day.

logos999

Right from the airport, you take your car on the A92 southbound, west on the Autobahnring to Lindau and at "Munich southwest" just a few km from Germering, you go on the A96 to Memmingen, two lane only from Gilching, but not that much traffic. In Memmingen, you go south on A7 to Füssen.

That's it. You GPS will know the route. 2 hours. The train can't match that.

jonesie

Driving to Neuschwanstein is easy if you are up for it, but yes, you still have to get up the hill. There is a carriage ride availabel as others have mentioned. It does get crowded, and English tours are limited, so be aware. If you are up for the it, the view from the Marienbrucke is stunning and worth every ounce of effort. I would plan on a half day, more if you are planning on Hohenschwangau or the Weisse Kirche. There is a supposed to be a great abbey out that way with a Bier Garten, we did not find it, but did not have good directions either!

Not sure what all you are planning on, but unless you are spending a whole lot of time in the beer gardens, you may want to rent a car for a day or two and do some exploring. I don't know that there is much more than about 2 days worth of sites in Munich proper. But there is lots to explore in the surrounding area, which would probably be easier to do with a car.

Hope that helps.

Hofbrauhause is fun if you are in the mood. And we sat at a table with German tourists -- so it won't just be Americans!
Our favorite by far in Augustiner-- it feels like a very traditional biergarten. We went more than once.

mdtravel

Wow, great information folks. We had bee planning on taking the train to the castle; sounding like a car will save us signficant time? What is the time for train vs. car to the castle?

logos999

Airport to Pasing station 45min (change in Laim) or 51min (direct). Pasing to Füssen 2 hours, one train every hour.

logos999

Airport - Füssen 3 hours 10min departing once every hour. Have to walk a little from the S-Bahn station at Hauptbahnhof to platform 36.

grrr

3. With regard to the BMW Welt, what is there to see there and how much does it cost to go there? I'm talking about the delivery center as opposed to the BMW museum.

http://www.bmw-welt.com/web/portal/en/


4. Is there a fancy cocktail bar in Munich like the Hemingway Bar in Paris? Or is there a classic pub/bar to go to (aside from Hauffrauhaus)?

Cocktail bar: http://www.schumanns.de/index.html


BTW, it´s Hofbräuhaus. And it surely is NOT a classic pub/bar...
http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/index_en.html

mdtravel

Thanks again Logos and Grrr.

I know what we're getting into with the Hofgrauhaus...no pub setting indeed!

We will be heading to the castle from Hbf in Munich. It looks like that is a 2 hour train ride to Fussen and then a bus ride to the ticket center (how long is the bus ride?), and then a short walk to the actual castle. Do I have that right? Or is it train, bus, bus or horse drawn carriage, short walk?

The drive looks to be 1:46.