Any Help? Would like to be somewhat near train station and Europcar rental if possible. Also near restaurants, shopping etc.?

Are you any relation to bettyk?

>Any Help? Would like to be somewhat near train station and Europcar rental if possible. Also near restaurants, shopping etc.?

Well, you can hardly have a hotel in Schwabing AND near the train station.
No idea where Europcar rental is.

You might get something fairly close to a U-Bahn station such as the Marriott.

You have a choice: Schwabing or the train station, but both is not possible geographically.

If you want the hotel, my choice for a middle of the road, yet comfortable place just off the main street, Leopoldstrasse, is the Astoria.

It is located at Nicolaistrasse 9, just about 100 yards east of Leopoldstrasse.
The whole area is lined with stores of various types.

The hotel serves the best breakfast I know of. Plenty of choices and quality as well.

The front desk staff is top notch.

I take one of the larger rooms, even though it is a little extra in price. I find it spacious and comfortable, very spacious for a European hotel room.

Europcar has a rental office at Leopoldstrasse 94, which is to the north of Nicolaistrasse about a block or so. It is within easy walking distance, for a normal person.

There is also a rental outlet at the train station as well as several other places around Munich.

But, take your pick: Hauptbahnhof or Schwabing, but one is not close to the other although the taxi ride is perhaps 20 minutes. You can also get there with U-Bahn. The Gieselastrasse U-Bahn station is about a block away as is the MUENCHNER FREIHEIT station near to where the rental car place is located.

As a bonus there are two Italian gelato shops close to the hotel. One of those double delights, and you can diet for a day or two to pay for it. I'll be there in August, and my thoughts are already scheming for gelato.

Should I be related to bettyk?

Thank you dukey and bob brown for your HELPFUL answers. I'm sorry, I meant some sort of public transportaion. I am still very early in my planning and have been reading for days, but still not understanding the whole transportation system in Munich. BUT I'M LEARNING quickly! I will continue my search.

For the inner area of Munich, you usually take the U-Bahn, where U = unter = under.
The S-Bahn is more for distant suburbs, BUT it does operate locally. (The S-Bahn goes to the airport; I tried it once and have opted for the Lufthansa bus since then.)

I am hoping you have a good map of the U-Bahn system, BUT do not neglegt the old street cars either. They move well and rapidly on the surface and you can see where you are going.

If you have a map of the subway system, try to identify lines U6 and U3. Both go to the Gieselastrasse U-Bahn station which is within throwing distance of the Astoria's front door. Muenchener Freiheit is the next stop up-line and it is about equidistant from the Astoria.
Both stations are in the heart of Schwabing.

The Muenchener Freiheit stop has one advantage over the Gieselastrasse stop: It has an elevator and an escalator to help you get to the surface whereas Gieselastrasse has only an escalator.

Ordinarily that is a minor point, but
we were coming from the airport via the bus and, feeling lively, we took the U-Bahn from the Nordfriedhof station to Muenchener Freiheitand used the elevator because of our luggage.

You can buy transit tickets from vending machines in the stations. If I am going to be taking several rides, I buy a Streifenkarte, or strip ticket.
Day cards, however, can be a bargain if you are doing considerable coming and going.

With the Streifenkarte you must cancel ticket sections before boarding. There are stamping machines in the station. You need only to fold under the number of sections you need, and insert the "short end" into the machine. It will imprint the station, time, and date data on the ticket.

Usually 2 sections are all you need to cancel unless you are taking a fairly long trip. I don't recall more detail at the moment. (I was in Munich last August, but we did not use the U-Bahn. I don't trust my memory for what I did 3 years ago!!)

The whole system depends highly on honesty. There are at times inspections, and if a person is caught without a canceled ticket, the fine is substantial. Not worth taking the risk. I have never been in a "control", but they do happen.

If you want a very detailed street map of Munich, I recommend the Marco Polo map with one warning: It is in German.
I got my copy from a specialty store called One Map Place, which has a web site and sends out maps mail order.

My copy is old and worn with quite a few inches of transparent tape holding it together. It has served me well for quite a few visits!! I have no plans to replace it until it disintegrates.

PS.

If you decide you want to try the Astoria, you can email the desk, or call the desk.

All of the regular foursome of ladies who staff the front desk between 8 am and about midnight speak very good English for tourist purposes. No communications problems on that score.

I know them all: Frau Quade, Frau Hildebrand, Frau Rauecker, and Frau Schmallstieg.

http://www.astoria-hotel-muenchen.de/#

If you call or e-mail, tell then I suggested you try the Astoria. I will make an even money bet that they will recognize the name. I have been there enough that I am regarded as a "regular." If you call, do it during the Munich day, which is 6 hours ahead of EST.

Frau Hildebrandt and Frau Quade are on duty this week. Which means Frau Rauecker and Frau Schmalstieg will be on next week. (Her name may be Schmalsteig; not sure if it is ei or ie. Don't remember.)

At any rate, the gelato emporium awaits. If you don't want any, I suggest crossing the street before going by.
Sometimes, invisible forces ensnare people and pull them into the store. The only way to secure release is to buy something. I got caught twice last summer, in one day.

Thanks again Bob . I really appreciate your patience, your explanation of the "system" and the tip on the gelato & hotel Sounds really good to me. I am traveling with my 19 yr old son who fortunately speaks some German. I am trying to learn some too, but my brain just doesn't retain like it used to. Thanks again!!!

owinsmom

What Bob_Brown didn't mention, that will suit your 19 year old down to the ground, is that an Irish pub called Gunther Murphys is in the basement and is full of 18 year old nannies and it does tend to get a bit lively

http://www.gunther-murphys.com/

Geordie

Hopefully this map may help you a bit, too

http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/Munich.mvv96.gif

Well, THAT didn't wok..let me try again...

http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/Munich.mvv96.gif

SORRY!!!..ONE more time for the map:

http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich...ubahn_map.html

Geordie-THanks for Irish Pub tip. Yes that will be right up his alley and I was hoping to find some nightlife for him. He loves the European Techno and I'm sure this would also appeal to him.

Thanks again Dukey, the link is VERY helpful. Little by little the pieces are starting to fit together!!!!

Happy traveling

P.S. Geordie: Not to mention the 18yr old nannies.

There are a lot of young people around the Schwabing area. I never was in that Irish pub that is located seemingly under the Astoria.

If it is full of young German girls, it should be interesting. Many of them speak very good English. I have been surprised at just how well some of the locals speak English, particularly in places where I did not expect it.

At any rate, Schwabing is full of people and stores and shops.

If you want the traditional beer places, then the Hofbrauhaus and others are more around the Marienplatz area which is the BIG transit interchange station seemingly for all of Munich.

If you look at a transit map, just about all S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines seem to run together there.

I have always regarded Munich as an interesting place to visit. My first visit was many years ago. I return now because we have friends who live there.