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Travel to Munich

Flying to Munich

As an international and domestic hub, Munich’s airport is Germany’s second most important, offering direct flights to key destinations including Paris, Rome, London, and long-haul destinations such as New York and Sydney. Flights to Munich can be taken from most major UK airports, and airlines flying there include British Airways, Lufthansa and Delta Airlines. Cheap flights to Munich are available from budget airlines such as easyJet and Germanwings.

Flight times: 

From London - 1 hour 45 minutes; New York - 7 hours 45 minutes; Los Angeles - 14 hours 50 minutes; Toronto (via Frankfurt) - 9 hours 20 minutes.

Travel by road

Summary:

Germany has an excellent network of roads and motorways. Generally, there are no speed limits on much of the motorway network, but individually marked speed limits appear on a large percentage of motorway miles. A maximum of 130kph (81mph) is recommended. On normal roads, speed limits are 100kph (62mph) outside built-up areas, and 50kph (31mph) or 30kph (19mph) in built-up areas. Traffic drives on the right and the minimum age for driving is 18 years. Foreign drivers require their national driving licence and proof of insurance – third-party insurance is mandatory, but a Green Card is strongly recommended. A country identification sticker must be displayed on the vehicle.

In Munich, Mitfahrzentralen (agencies that link motorists with travellers heading for the same destination) include Citynetz Mitfahrzentrale, Adalbertstrasse 6 (tel: (089) 19444; www.citynetz-mitfahrzentrale.de) and Mitfahrzentrale Hauptbahnhof, Lämmerstrasse 4-6 (tel: (089) 19440).

General information on travelling by car in Germany can be obtained from the Allgemeine Deutsche Automobil-Club (ADAC) (tel: 0180 510 1112; www.adac.de).

Emergency breakdown service:

ADAC (tel: 0180 222 2222).

Routes:

The A9 runs south to Munich from Berlin via Würzburg and Nuremberg, the A92 from Passau enters the city from the northeast, while the A96 from Lindau is to the west, connecting with the A1 to Zurich. From the Alps, the main route is the A95. From Salzburg, the A8 heads northwest via Munich towards Ulm, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, where it connects with the A5 to Frankfurt. Motorways from all directions converge on the Mittlerer Ring (middle ring road).

Driving times:

From Salzburg - 2 hours; Zurich - 3 hours 30 minutes; Frankfurt - 4 hours 10 minutes.

Coaches:

Deutsche Touring GmbH (tel: (089) 8898 9513; www.touring.de) operates international Eurolines services between Munich and numerous European destinations. Coaches depart from Munich Hauptbahnhof, Bahnhofsplatz 2. Tickets are available for purchase at the station or on the bus.

Travel by rail

Services:

Germany's rail network is modern, extensive and highly efficient.
Munich Hauptbahnhof (central station) is situated at Bahnhofsplatz 2, in the centre of the city. Information on pan-European rail travel is available in English from the EurAide office (tel: (089) 593 889; www.euraide.com), behind the Deutsche Bahn Reisezentrum.

There is a daily ICE service to Munich: from Dortmund via Düsseldorf, Cologne and Mannheim, from Hamburg via Hanover and Kassel, as well as from Berlin via Frankfurt and Stuttgart or via Nuremberg. A sleeper service, the InterCityNight (ICN), runs between Munich and Berlin or Hamburg. InterRegio trains run from Dresden to Munich. International services arrive from Vienna, Zurich and Venice via Innsbruck.

Operators:

Deutsche Bahn (DB) (tel: 0180 599 6633; www.bahn.de) is the national service provider. National and international services include high-speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, which run between major cities in Germany and further afield, InterCity (IC) and EuroCity (EC) trains, which serve cities in Germany and Europe respectively, and InterRegio trains, which link different regions of the country. DB offers a number of rail passes, including the Bayern Ticket, valid for one day's travel on local trains throughout Bavaria and on the MVV public transport system.

Journey times:

From Stuttgart – 3 hour 30 minutes; Vienna – 4 hours 15 minutes; Zurich – 5 hours; Paris – 6 hours; Venice – 8 hours.

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