Munich: Attractions and Travel Guide

Munich Main Station
The Main Train Station, Hauptbahnhof, is located in the centre of Munich, only approximately 2 km from the central square Marienplatz. More than 800 long-distance trains and regional trains arrive and depart every day, and there are immediate connections to all urban trains, called S-Bahns, underground lines U1,U2,U3,U4,U5, trams and buses. You will find taxi stands at all exits of the main station.
Munich Airport
The airport of the Bavarian capital is the second largest international airport in Germany. It was opened in May 1992 and has had an average of 548 take offs and landings each day.
Location
The airport is located 28 km northeast of the city centre and offers both bus and train connections.
City Connection
Airport Bus
The Airport Bus to the city centre departs every 20 minutes for the main train station. Travel time: approx. 45 minutes.
S-Bahn
Additionally, two S-Bahn lines depart every 10 minutes to take you from the airport to the city centre.
The S1 takes the western route via Laim and the Main Train Station to the Eastern Station and is well suited for passengers whose destination is in the western part of Munich. Travel time to the Main Train Station: approx. 40 minutes.
The S8 takes the eastern route via the Eastern Station and the Main Station to Laim and Pasing, and is therefore best suited for those whose wishing to reach the east part of Munich.
Arriving by Car
Those who still prefer going by car, can easily reach Munich by motorway from all directions.
The A9 coming from the north leads directly into the city centre. If you're coming from the East, the A92 leads you into Munich. The southeast is connected to the capital by the A8 from Salzburg, the southwest via the A96. Coming from the west, you can either take A8 from Stuttgart or the A95 from Lindau.
Apart from the A95 and the A96 all these motorways are connected by the motorway bypass A99, an almost complete circle around the city.
Below you can find a useful link for information about driving in Munich: traffic rules in Germany, validity of driving licences, parking and much more.
The best way to the Oktoberfest:
There is no easier and safer way to reach the "Theresienwiese", where the Oktoberfest takes place every year, than to take the Underground or S-Bahn. Drink as much as you like and still get home safely. There are several ways to get to the Oktoberfest:
U4 or U5, disembark at Theresienwiese or Schwanthalerhöhe
U3 or U6, disembark at Goetheplatz
S-Bahn lines 1 - 8, disembark at Hackerbrücke.
Oktoberfest in Munich
When you hear the word "Oktoberfest", it's almost certain that one thing comes to mind... Bavarian Beer! The truth is, there is much more behind-the-scenes information that lurks beneath the countless years of this world-renowned Bavarian tradition. The next Oktoberfest takes place from the 17th of September until the 3rd of October 2005 - Don't miss it!

Information:
The biggest museum for modern art in Germany is being constructed in the immediate vicinity of the Alte and Neu Pinakothek: the Pinakothek der Moderne.

In this building on around 15,000 m², four outstanding collections will offer an extensive overview of fine applied arts of the 20th century right up to the present:

In addition to art, sculpture, photography and video of the Staatsgalerie moderner Kunst, Die Neue Sammlung will present itself with firstclass examples of design and handicrafts, the Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität with architectural illustrations, photographs and models and the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung with printed graphics and precious master illustrations.

Joint alternating exhibitions and open views in the architecture of the Munich architect Stephan Braunfels will enable comprehensive looks at the arts in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Pinakothek der Moderne joins the surrounding museums to become a unique art-historical and historico-cultural ensemble, which makes the range of western culture of the past and present in its incomparable denseness and quality worth experiencing.

The Alte Pinakothek is one of the oldest and most important galleries in the world. More than 800 masterpieces by European artists bring to life the development of art from the Middle Ages to the end of the Rococo period.
Venetian art is represented by its master painter Titian, as is Dutch baroque art by Frans Hals. Rubens occupies (with one of the largest collections of his works in the world) the center of the museum.
A further highlight is the Old German art by Altdorfer and Dürer. Both Dürer's epochal self-portrait from 1500 as well as his "Four Apostles" can be admired in the Alte Pinakothek

Service:
regular free guided tours and events
Suitable for handicapped persons, museum café & shop

Outstanding works of European art and sculpture from the late 18th to the beginning of the 20th century are in the spotlight of the Neue Pinakothek. One focus is on the German art of the 19th century - this collection, which goes back to the private collection of King Ludwig I, is one of the most comprehensive of all.

Works by Caspar David Friedrich show highlights of early romantic sentimentalism. Society painters such as Wilhelm von Kaulbach and Karl von Piloty represent the newly awakened interest for German history. The hall, with works by Hans von Marées, one of the most significant German artists, can be compared with no other museum.
With Thomas Gainsborough, Francisco Goya and Jacques Louis David, the Neue Pinakothek possesses celebrated portrait and landscape painters from England, Spain and France.

There is also a wonderful collection of French impressionists: artists such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Pissaro and Renoir are represented with principal works. Cézanne, Gauguin and van Gogh stand for the pioneers of the modern age. In addition to art, the Neue Pinakothek also shows important plastics of the relevant epoch.

Service:
regular free guided tours and events. Suitable for handicapped persons, museum café & shop

The Haus der Kunst has become one of the most famous places in the exhibition world through its significant theme exhibitions and retrospectives.

The Lenbachhaus owes its worldwide reputation above all to the unique collection of artists of the "Blauer Reiter". With works by Klee, Marc, Macke and Münter, the gallery owns an unrivalled panorama of this color-spraying art method. Kandinsky, the co-founder of the artists' circle, is represented with more than 90 oil paintings alone.
The Lenbachhaus, built in the 19th century as a Tuscany villa in Renaissance style for the Munich artist Franz von Lenbach, also shows paintings of the 18th and 19th century of the Munich school, representatives of Art Nouveau and the New Functionalism. The private rooms of the artist, restored true to the original, convey an impression of the generous style of home décor of the promoterism period.
Since the Seventies, the Museum has also acquired works by international contemporary artists.
The opening of the Kunstbau, a 120-meter long underground hall, offers the Gallery a new an exciting dimension for its exhibition program.

Service:
Guided tours of the collection and special exhibitions, museum café & shop, telephone announcement 49 (0) 89/233 32 002