Right, I am ready to book seats from Munich to Paris return. Although I clicked on the ENGLISH version the schedule still is in German and I need to clarify the following:

What is the diff between Flughaven Terminalbereich A/B and Munchen Flughaven Terminal ?

What is Munchen - Liam and Munchen Pasing?

Passing is a S-Bahn station
Flughaven means airport
you really only want to book Munich Hauptbahnhof to Paris i think for online discounts - there is only one train station at Munich Airport but the trains take two different routes to the Hauptbahnhof - two different S-Bahn lines taking about the same time. this could explain the A/B - A for one route and B for the other?

I am not sure what schedule you are looking at. When I look at the rail schedule I only see Munchen Hbf (Hauptbahnhof) to Paris Est.
The S-Bahn from the airport is either Line S1 or S8 to Hauptbahnhof. Both lines will get you there and you do not need to purchase a ticket in advance for this. There are machines right by the track.

Lynnaustin & Palenque , I am looking at the schedule for July 22nd going to Paris not earlier than 9.24 and returning in August 27th. For the retun date we have decided on the 9.00+- departure with that scarey dash at Stuttgart between platforms.
It was when I was looking at the Munich/Paris schedule that some of the options showed names of places I thought may cause a problem.
I feel sure my booking will be OK now- thanks!

München Hbf Th, 22.07.10 dep 10:23 14 ICE 598 Intercity-Express

Stuttgart Hbf Th, 22.07.10 arr 12:47 10
Stuttgart Hbf Th, 22.07.10 dep 12:54 9 TGV 9574
Paris Est Th, 22.07.10 arr 16:34

First train looks like the 10:23 and with 7 mins in Stuttgart to go to the train awaiting on the very next platform - that tells me it is probably a coordinated change where if the train from Munich is a bit late the TGV will wait for it - i would not sweat that connection very much.

I think it may be for technical reasons the TGV can only start at Stuttgart but not sure.

As the others have said, the only relevant station for you is München Hauptbahnhof (or Hbf), which means Central Station.

München-Pasing is a station on the Western edge where also many long-distance trains call.
München-Laim is a suburban train station only.

The different airport stops are not all suburban train stations but also bus stops. With bahn.de you can also get connections to bus stops, so that's why you often see a lot of potential stops as destinations.

If you travel on a saver fare or are otherwise restricted to specific trains and you should miss your dedicated connection in Stuttgart due to late arrival from Paris, see the passenger information in the main hall ("Info Point") to get a remark on your ticket. You will be able to use the next train, which run frequently (at least one per hour).

I resent the statement that Pasing, the Munich distict I was born in, is a train station. It was a town, long before trains even existed. Laim too is a Munich district and not an S-Bahn station!

And Flughafen is spelled with "f".

And "Terminalbereich A/B" is the name of a bus stop outside terminal 1 area A and B, while the "Flughafen Terminal" stop is outside of terminal 1 area Z.

LOL.. true, Pasing and Laim are districts - but the S-Bahn stations are the most important buildings as they are the fastest way to get away into the real city LOL

Like when people say New York City, they only think Manhattan...

I have done that exact connection each of the last 2 summers and the ICE train arriving in Stuttgart was on time to the minute and it is an across the platform transfer...off the ICE onto the TGV takes 30 seconds...I wouldn't worry...indeed it is Munich Hbf which is the main station....the ICE train originates from there and the actual train arrives about 15 minutes before departure giving you plenty of time to get on it with no hassle whatsoever.....

Cowboy & everyone - Firstly I am releived to know that we can have our tickets remarked should we miss our connection. I hope they don't charge extra as we are getting this special internet rate for booking early!

Here are my proposed bookings:

MUNICH to PARIS

München Flughafen Terminal Th, 22.07.10 dep 09:33 1 S 1 S-Bahn Direction: München Ost

München-Laim Th, 22.07.10 arr 10:08 2
München-Laim Th, 22.07.10 dep 10:13 1 S 8 S-Bahn
München-Pasing Th, 22.07.10 arr 10:15 6/7
München-Pasing Th, 22.07.10 dep 10:31 9 ICE 598 Intercity-Express
Stuttgart Hbf Th, 22.07.10 arr 12:47 10
Stuttgart Hbf Th, 22.07.10 dep 12:54 9 TGV 9574 TGV

Paris Est Th, 22.07.10 arr 16:34

As you can see this is where I got confused about Munchen-Pasing & Munchen Liam>

RETURN JOURNEY Paris to Munich:


Paris Est Fr, 27.08.10 dep 09:09 TGV 9553 TGV

Mannheim Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 arr 12:14 3
Mannheim Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 dep 12:30 5 ICE 595 Intercity-Express

München Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 arr 15:33 14
München Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 walk 10 min.
München Hbf (tief) Fr, 27.08.10
München Hbf (tief) Fr, 27.08.10 dep 15:43 2 S 1 S-Bahn

München Flughafen Terminal Fr, 27.08.10 arr 16:26


Now, this next OPTION VIA STUTTGART with arrival on platform 6 and the ICE connection departing from platform 15! This is where we nearly came unstuck last time:


Paris Est Fr, 27.08.10 dep 11:24 TGV 9573 TGV

Stuttgart Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 arr 15:04 6
Stuttgart Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 dep 15:12 15 ICE 597 Intercity-Express.
München Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 arr 17:33 14
München Hbf Fr, 27.08.10 walk 10 min.
München Hbf (tief) Fr, 27.08.10
München Hbf (tief) Fr, 27.08.10 dep 17:43 2 S 1 S-Bahn
München Flughafen Terminal Fr, 27.08.10 arr 18:26

I would appreciate anyone pointing out any hitches or give me some advice about stations and platforms. Thanks so much.

Are you trying to get
A) From Munich AIRPORT to Paris and back, or
B) From Munich Central Station (downtown, city centre) to Paris and back?

If you simply take an S-Bahn earlier you can comfortably change at the HBf (main station) without doing all that mad dashes in Laim and Pasing. The schedule tries to save you time but all it means is inconveniencing you for the sake of 10 min saving.

Cowboy - From MUNICH airport to Paris.

Altamiro - I would love to get through customs, pick up our bags and then jump on a train which will get us on the road to Paris! If I book the Laim & Pasing ticket and we find that we can get on a S-Bhan to the HBf, will we be asked to pay again? I don't see any other option on the DBhan schedule.

tod..
Munich airport has NO long-distance train station. All trains departing from Munich airport are suburban trains (S-Bahn). When you buy a ticket from Munich airport to Paris, the S-Bahn ride to Munich Central station is included.
Please forget the Laim/Pasing option: It's the *shortest* connection which in this sense means that you may save 5 or 6 minutes compared with a change at Munich Central. But: You have stairs only to change platforms at Laim and Pasing, so simply forget this option no matter what the website tells you.
Take ANY train leaving Munich airport (S1 or S8).
Get off at Munich Central (Hauptbahnhof)
Take escalators two levels up to the main hall (signs, also in English, will guide you towards "long distance trains").

And, unless taking the train has a certain sightseeing benefit for you, have you checked flights from Munich to Paris? airberlin.com might have good fares, also o/w only.

Right, we will jump on the S-Bhan as soon as we are through with all the formalties at Munich Airport. Once at Munich central station we will board(or wait for) our designated train for Paris - changing at Stuttgart.
The advice about Munich Liam & Pasing was invaluable Cowboy- once again am so pleased to be a member of the Fodorite family! All you have to do is ask.....even if the questions seem dumb at the time.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you,
Tod

Laim has elevators but of course Munich Hauptbahnhof is the better choice. The S1 from the airport is frequently delayed, because it share tracks with local trains.