My family is heading to Lisbon from Chicago on Dec 19th. We land at Munich airport at 1:35pm and depart at 8:45pm for Lisbon. Is it possible to leave the airport to check out one of Munich’s Christmas market? Or would this be too risky and too much of a hassle? Another option is the Munich Airport Christmas Market but I don’t know if it is on for 2021. It was cancelled in 2020. Any advice?

Your 7 hour layover may not as much as you might think. Say 45+ mins each way into Marienplatz (the train takes nearly 40 mins plus 5-10 min wait time) then say an hour very minimum on arrival and 2 hrs minimum on departure in MUC, you have 4.5 hours formalities/transit. That being said you'd still have 2-3 hours 'free' for seeing/doing at the Christmas market which is terrific. I'd wait til the day and see how you feel jetlag-wise (and also if your arrival is delayed or there are SNAFU's with border control). Do you have Lounge access at MUC?

I would check the visa situation for Germany (also COVID rules). Just because you are at the airport doesn't mean you have the right to visit the country. You might be allowed in the transit area only. I could be completely wrong about this but worth checking the rules.

If you do it get a TAXI to the Marienplatz and back, NOT the S-Bahn

Oh Dukey1, a taxi can very well be slower than the S-Bahn. Traffic is torturous in the ring around Munich.

s

Oh - absolutely. No visa issues - if you are eligible to enter one Schengen country (Portugal), you are pretty much eligible to enter another (Germany). My post was assuming you have the covid 'bonafides' to enter Germany -- the covid entry regulations are different for every country - and can change at any time.

I think what you propose is possible. I too would take a taxi as it is Sunday and traffic should not be too bad. Taking the S Bahn takes about 45 minutes to the Hauptbahnof. The Marienplatz is another 15 minute walk. I believe the trains come every 20 minutes on the weekend. I am not sure how hard it would be to get a taxi to return to the airport. Hoping there are no COVID restrictions for Germany when you travel. I would get back to the airport 3 hours before the flight. There are two security checkpoints and they may be quite busy this close to Christmas. Would help if you are flying First class or have status on your airline.

The S-Bahn stops at Marineplatz - no need to walk from the Hbf.
Since you say "family" that means what? 3, 4, maybe 5 people?

If your group is small enough to fit into one taxi then that's easy, and no wait for the next S-Bahn.
Either way it'll work and you have plenty of time to enjoy Munich.

Splitting hairs I suppose but the S-8 might be a but faster to the Marienplatz than the S-1

https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/fileadmi...plan_S_U_R.pdf

I think going into Munich for a few hours would be great. I have done this on long layovers. It's very easy. When I do this, I check my luggage through and have only a small bag as my carry-on, which I just take with me in Munich. As mentioned, the city center is 45 minutes from the airport by S-Bahn.

When you arrive at MUC, once you are through immigration and all of that, go to the S-Bahn station. S-1 and S-8 go to the city center, just pick which ever one comes first - they'll be on the same platform. Take the S-Bahn to Marienplatz, which is right where you'll want to be. Then you do the reverse to get back to the airport - from Marienplatz, take either the S-1 or the S-8 to the airport - S-8 is a bit faster.

Regarding timing, with a 1:35 arrival, you should be out of the airport by 2:30, which means you should arrive at Marienplatz around 3:15 or maybe a bit before. For your departure of 8:45, you probably want to be at the airport by 7:15 (90 minutes before departure), so be on the S-bahn heading back to the airport by 6:30. This gives you about 3 hours in Munich.

In that time you can visit the Christmas Market, wander around a bit, have something to eat and drink. Even though it does take some time to get into Munich, I think that is much better than just waiting at the airport for hours and hours.

Appreciate the suggestions! We are a family of 4 (“kids” are 20 and 22) and are traveling economy. We’ll have to play it by ear based on arrival time and energy level. I cannot find anything on the Munich Airport Christmas and Winter Market, which was a real thing. Even the airport website refers to a 2018 market! It was cancelled last year and I am assuming it’s cancelled again this year due to zero information on it.

Hi MKECityMom,

Yes, the market at the airport has been cancelled, but the various markets in Munich are so far scheduled to go on. They may be more spread out, and there may be other measures in play. Covid rates are rising in Bavaria, but hospitalizations are not.

Have fun as you plan

s