🇩🇪Munich
Germany's richest big city and its most Bavarian — beer gardens under chestnut trees, a gold-and-baroque old town, the Alps on the horizon on a clear day, and the most expensive hotel rooms in the country.
Mid-range figures, per person
Per person, no flights — those are just below. The mid-range figure is researched; budget and luxury scale it, so treat the two as rough. The trip calculator and hotels below break the day down properly.
Long-haul fares are mostly into Frankfurt or Munich; Berlin (BER) usually needs a connection from the US. Hamburg is under two hours from Berlin by ICE. The Europe row is short-hop fares on easyJet, Ryanair and Eurowings. Ranges are typical fares booked 1–3 months out, checked mid-2026 — school-holiday peaks run higher, and patient shoppers beat the bottom end.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Entry & visa
Not for stays up to 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen area, if you hold a US, UK, Canadian, Australian or most other Western passport. Since April 2026 the EU's Entry/Exit System takes your fingerprints and photo at the border the first time you enter instead of stamping your passport — allow extra time at passport control. ETIAS, the planned online travel authorization, was not yet running as of September 2026 and the EU has not set a start date; ignore sites charging for it now.
Visa rules turn on your nationality and change often — always confirm the current requirement for your own passport with an official government source before you book.
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Munich takes cards more readily than Berlin — hotels, restaurants, the transit machines and most shops are fine with Visa or Mastercard, contactless included. Cash still matters in a few very Munich places: the self-service counters of the older beer gardens, the Viktualienmarkt stalls, and Oktoberfest, where card acceptance in the tents is patchy and the waiters want notes. Use bank ATMs (Sparkasse, HypoVereinsbank, Deutsche Bank), not the standalone Euronet machines, and always decline the offer to convert to dollars.
What locals earn
| Average monthly salary (Germany, full-time, gross) | ≈ €4,850 ($5,530) | Destatis figure for 2025 — roughly €2,900 ($3,300) after tax and social contributions. Munich pays the most of any big German city |
| Minimum wage | €13.90/hr (≈ $15.80) | since January 2026; rising to €14.60 in 2027 |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Leberkässemmel or Brezn from a butcher/bakery | €3.50–6 | $4–7 |
| Beer-hall main (roast pork, sausages, Schweinshaxe) | €16–25 | $18–29 |
| Casual restaurant, per person | €15–25 | $17–29 |
| Mid-range dinner with a drink, per person | €35–60 | $40–68 |
| Maß (1 liter) in a beer garden | €9–12 | $10–14 |
| Maß at Oktoberfest 2026 | €14.80–15.90 | $17–18 |
| Cappuccino | €3.20–4.80 | $3.60–5.50 |
Transport
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Single ticket, zone M (the whole city) | €4.20 | $4.80 |
| Short-trip ticket (up to 4 stops, 2 by U-/S-Bahn) | €2.10 | $2.40 |
| Single-Tageskarte (day ticket), zone M | €10.10 | $11.50 |
| Airport → center, S-Bahn single | €15.10 | $17.20 |
| Airport-City-Day-Ticket (airport trip plus the day) | €17.50 | $20 |
| Taxi, airport → center | €90–110 | $103–125 |
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Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | €30–55 ($34–63) | Clustered around the Hauptbahnhof; triple that during Oktoberfest |
| Budget hotel | €80–130 ($91–148) | Small and functional; the streets south of the station are cheapest |
| Mid-range hotel | €130–220 ($148–251) | The most expensive city in Germany for a normal room |
| Luxury | €350+ ($400+) | Bayerischer Hof and the Vier Jahreszeiten are the grand old names |
Been recently? Check our prices
One tap per figure. Check-ins reset whenever this guide is re-priced, so they only ever vouch for the numbers you see here.
Trip cost calculator
$355 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel)
A rough estimate from this page’s daily budget and hotel prices — not a quote. Lodging assumes one room for the group; flights use the midpoint of the Getting there ranges above.
Getting around
- From the airport
- Munich Airport is about 30 km northeast of the city. The S1 and S8 S-Bahn lines reach Marienplatz in about 40 minutes. A single costs €15.10, so if you're arriving before mid-afternoon buy the Airport-City-Day-Ticket (€17.50) instead — it covers the ride in and the rest of the day. A taxi is €90–110 and no faster at rush hour.
- U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams & buses
- Zone M covers the whole city, and a day ticket (€10.10) pays for itself after three rides. There are no gates: buy in the MVV or MVG app or at a machine, and stamp paper strip tickets before boarding. Plain-clothes inspectors are common and the fine is €60. The €63 Deutschlandticket covers all of it plus regional trains to Neuschwanstein and Dachau, but runs by calendar month — worth it only for a longer stay.
- Taxis & ride apps
- Taxis are cream-colored, metered and expensive. Uber, Bolt and FreeNow all operate. The old town is walkable enough that you'll rarely need one outside late nights.
- On foot & by bike
- Everything between the Hauptbahnhof, Marienplatz and the English Garden is walkable, and Munich is one of Germany's best cycling cities — flat, with proper bike lanes. Rent through the MVG Rad app. Keep out of the bike lanes on foot.
Map
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Neighborhoods to stay in
- Altstadt (old town)
- Marienplatz, Viktualienmarkt and the Hofbräuhaus on the doorstep. The easiest first-timer base, and the priciest.
- Maxvorstadt
- The museum and university quarter just north of the center — the Alte Pinakothek, cafés, student prices, and a short walk to everything.
- Schwabing
- Elegant old apartment streets beside the English Garden. Calm, residential and good for longer stays.
- Haidhausen
- Across the Isar, with cobbled squares, neighborhood restaurants and fewer tourists. Two S-Bahn stops from Marienplatz.
- Ludwigsvorstadt (Hauptbahnhof)
- Cheapest beds and best transport links, a walk from the Oktoberfest grounds. The streets right by the station are scruffy rather than dangerous.
Things to do
Beer halls & beer gardens
Sights & museums
Outdoors & markets
Day trips
Tipping & etiquette
- Share the table. In beer halls and beer gardens, a free seat at a long table is yours — ask 'Ist hier frei?' and sit down. But a table marked 'Stammtisch' or 'Reserviert' belongs to regulars.
- Clink glasses looking the other person in the eye, and say 'Prost'. Skipping the eye contact is, by local legend, seven years' bad sex.
- Weißwurst is a morning food, traditionally eaten before the noon bells. Nobody will stop you later; they'll just know.
- Shops close on Sundays by law. Stations and the airport are the exceptions, so stock up on Saturday.
- Don't cross on a red light. Munich drivers and pedestrians both follow the rules closely, and a fine is possible.
How to spend a trip to Munich
Munich's center is compact and walkable, so the days below go on foot and save transit for the day trips. From late September to early October, Oktoberfest takes over — every plan still works, but add it as an afternoon and book beds months ahead.
One day is enough for the old town and a beer garden, which is what most people come for.
- MorningMarienplatz for the 11am Glockenspiel, then up St. Peter's tower for the view.
- MiddayLunch grazing at the Viktualienmarkt, or a Weißwurst at the Weisses Bräuhaus before noon.
- AfternoonThe Residenz, or walk to the English Garden to watch the Eisbach surfers.
- EveningThe Chinese Tower beer garden or the Augustiner-Keller, then one drink at the Hofbräuhaus if you want to see it.
Three days is the right length for Munich itself: the old town, the art, and one sobering day out.
- Day 1The old town: Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt, the Residenz, and a beer hall in the evening.
- Day 2Maxvorstadt and the English Garden: the Alte Pinakothek in the morning (€1 on a Sunday), the Eisbach and the Chinese Tower beer garden in the afternoon.
- Day 3The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial in the morning, then Nymphenburg Palace or Haidhausen in the afternoon.
Munich doesn't need five days on its own, but it's the best base in Germany for day trips — so the last two go out of the city.
- Days 1–3The three-day plan above.
- Day 4Neuschwanstein Castle, with a timed tour booked in advance. Leave early; it's a full day.
- Day 5Salzburg by train, or a slow last day in Schwabing and a beer garden. Heading north instead? Berlin is about four hours by ICE.
Safety & common scams
Munich is one of the safest big cities in Europe. The real risks come in September: Oktoberfest brings pickpockets, drunk crowds and a lot of people who have misjudged the strength of a liter of festival beer. Outside the festival, the area immediately around the Hauptbahnhof is scruffy at night but not dangerous.
Scams to know
- Oktoberfest pickpockets — the grounds, the U-Bahn at Theresienwiese and the tents all get worked by thieves when the crowds peak. Keep phone and wallet in a front pocket and zipped.
- Resold tent reservations — Oktoberfest tables are booked directly with each tent, usually by buying food-and-drink vouchers for the table, and bookings resold online at big markups are often fake or get cancelled. You don't need one: a share of every big tent's seats is kept for walk-ins, and weekday mornings are easy.
Emergency numbers: 112 fire & ambulance · 110 police · 116117 out-of-hours doctor · there's a police and first-aid station on the Oktoberfest grounds
Phone & internet
An eSIM is the easy route — about $10–20 for a week or two of data, bought before you land. German prepaid SIM cards legally need an ID check, which for non-EU passports usually means a trip to a Telekom, Vodafone or O2 shop. EU SIM cards roam here at home prices. Coverage in the city is good; expect dead zones on regional trains to the Alps.
First-timer FAQs
How many days do I need?
Two to three days covers the old town, the museums, the English Garden and Dachau. Add a day for each trip out — Neuschwanstein and Salzburg are the two that justify it.
When is Oktoberfest, and what does it do to prices?
It runs about 16–18 days, starting on a Saturday in mid-to-late September and ending on the first Sunday of October (or on 3 October if that's later). In 2026 it runs 19 September – 4 October. Hotel prices typically double or triple, weekends worst, and central rooms sell out months ahead — book as early as you can, or stay in a nearby town on the S-Bahn. Entry to the grounds and tents is free.
Do I need a tent reservation for Oktoberfest?
No. Big tents must keep part of their seating unreserved for walk-ins. Come on a weekday before about 3pm and you'll get in. On weekends and on 3 October, tents fill by late morning and close their doors when full. Bags larger than about 20 × 15 × 10 cm aren't allowed on the grounds.
Is the Deutschlandticket worth it here?
For a three-day city visit, no — day tickets are cheaper. It becomes worth it if you're in Germany for a week or more and taking regional trains, since at €63 it covers every local and regional train and bus in the country for the calendar month (not ICE or IC express trains). Cancel by the 10th or it renews.
Do I need to dress up in Lederhosen or a Dirndl?
You don't need to, but a lot of locals do, and so do most visitors. Cheap costume versions are obvious; if you want one, a basic real one from a department store costs more but looks right.
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Munich or…?
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