2 hours in Munich

[Sockmate123]

Early January with 2 kids 12 & 9. Heading skiing in Austria but will have about 2 hours available to spend in Munich....looking for suggestions of where to visit to have a walk about and lunch?

Are you flying or driving?

If you're flying, can you be a bit more specific about timing (when your incoming plane lands and when the next departs)? A taxi to the centre of town will cost about €80 one way and take at least half an hour, more with traffic.

Are you including travel time in that?
I would generally say a walk round the old town and then food at viktualienmarkt might work to get a feel for the city

Sorry should have said. .flying then hiring a car. We land about 2pm i think and it's a Saturday

I would ensure the S8 train service is fully operational that day. Munich is undergoing a lot of changes to its transport network currently and some lines are closed on the weekend.

Thank you, I don't think we should need the use of a train....we are hiring a car at the airport....

Munich Airport is far outside of the city centre, so by the time you collect the car, drive in, find somewhere to park etc. your 2 hours are up.

You also need to get around the A99 ring road. The airport is north of the city and Austria is south, and on a winter Saturday when all the ski tourists are driving down from Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia and everyone has to drive around the A99, the traffic can be nose-to-tail. On a busy Saturday it can easily take 2 hours just to do this 50km section of your journey. Remember this too when planning your return journey.

If you don't land until 2pm and you're travelling to any resort in Austria you really need to get going to the resort. Assuming that your flight is on time, it is still going to take 60-90 minutes to clear the airport formalities (Brexit has slowed the entire entry process down for British passport holders) and pick up the car. Even the closest Austrian resorts are a minimum of 3 hours drive away. Ignore the route planners that say you can drive to somewhere like Saalbach in 2 1/2 hours - that's the travel time on a weekday in the summer, not the travel time on a winter Saturday with heavy tourist traffic, idiots driving on summer tyres (your rental car will have winter tyres) and wet roads, when the same journey can easily take 4 hours. In January it will also be dark by 5pm.

I agree
By the time you collect your car and drive anywhere near Munich and park you will need to turn around and go back to the airport.
I would probably delay collecting the car for a couple of hours if you REALLY want to go into Munich and go by train - but although I do love Munich I wouldn't bother for 2 hours.

Munich is a great city but 2 hours isn't long, the drive from the airport can take some time, the Olympic park area with BMW world would be an easy suggestion if you want to see some of the city and park easily. However we loved Neuschwanstein castle which is near the Austrian border - we just did the walk up to it and back and there are traditional restaurants in Fussen - might not be the right direction for the ski resort I don't know but it's really beautiful and worth the hike to see it from the bridge.

If the OP is thinking about going sightseeing on their arrival day then forget Munich, BMW World, Neuschwanstein castle or anywhere else. With a 2pm arrival time there simply isn't time to go anywhere if they want to reach their resort by a reasonable time - e.g. before it gets dark at 5pm or before the rental shops close at 6pm.

The same applies on the return journey. Traffic from the Austrian resorts to Munich Airport is notoriously slow on winter Saturdays as the A99 ring road is one huge bottleneck. Better to get to the airport an hour earlier than necessary rather than an hour too late for the flight home - remembering to allow time for returning the rental car at the same time as everyone else is returning their cars.

Thank you for all the replies and yes I remember the pain in the ass that motorway was on the way home last year so thanks for the reminder!

We are going to Westendorf....it took about 2 hours drive last time. Can anyone recommend somewhere nice to stop en route for a snack and just to let kids stretch their legs so they can say they've been to Germany! We stopped at a service station last time 😂😂 looking for something a little nicer!

Actually we are planning on doing a day trip to Salzburg while there, I note it's only 6km from German border so maybe that's a better idea? 🤔 I see a town called Freissaling? Has anyone been?

Remember that you need to prepay for the Austrian motorway network before entering Austria, but it's easier enough to just take the non motorway route in your case. Set Google to avoid tolls!

@Sockmate123 The Austrian toll sticker only costs €12.40 for 10 days, so just buy one if your route uses the Austrian autobahn system and you're concerned about the heavy fines - although you can turn off at Kufstein to get to Westendorf and not need a sticker.

I don't know about where to stop between Munich and Westendorf - you could just take pot luck and turn off the autobahn south of Munich and see what the first town you come to can offer. Every town will have a bakery and a Gasthaus serving food, or for the authentic German experience there will almost certainly be an "Imbiss" selling carrywurst and bratwurst.

If you're going to drive to Salzburg for a day trip, your route uses the 178 via Sankt Johann in Tirol and Lofer - and then goes into Germany to cross over the corner of Germany via Bad Reichenhall, which is a nice spa town where you could spend an hour or so "in Germany." Forget Freilassing - it's just an industrial and retail suburb serving Salzburg. Remember to take your passports if you are doing this trip - there are often border controls at the Austrian/German border. When you get to Salzburg, use the Park and Ride at Salzburg Airport as parking in the centre of Salzburg is impossible. Go into the airport terminal and get your parking ticket exchanged for a ticket that is valid on the trolleybus into Salzburg (these run every 10 minutes). The desk for this is in the check-in area.

This is really useful. Thank you so much for taking the time to type that all out...you are very kind 😀

Salzburg is lovely - perfect for a day trip.
We took the train from Munich, so not sure about parking.