My wife and I came into Munich by train from Hamburg, and we walked two blocks from the main station to the Hotel Monaco.

Even with luggage for two months in Europe (thank heavens it all rolls), it was a very easy connection. After checking in, the friendly lady at the hotel desk helped us find something to see in the evening; we like classical music, so we decided on the opera at Gaertnerplatz.

We took the U-Bahn (subway, about $1.50) two stations, then walked a block to the theater. It is situated on a square with several cafes, so we were able to find buy tickets (about $20) at the box office and have a light supper (about $25 for two) before the opera began at 7. We ate at the local branch of Le Pain Quotidien (the Belgian chain that has several branches in NYC), and it was perfect.

The opera was finished at 9:45, and we hopped back on the U-Bahn to the main station, and walked back to the hotel. So, for an evening for two with transportation, supper and opera we paid around $70 – that’s cheap by NY standards. What a difference the exchange rate makes!
Ed

My wife and I just recently stayed at Hotel Monaco for our trip to Munich to visit the Christmas Markets.  We ended up choosing Hotel Monaco based off of the reviews from on online web site, and I can say we were quite pleased with the result.  As soon as we entered reception, we noticed our name on the welcome board.

Everything was very clean and the hotel staff were exceptionally helpful.  We received many recommendations for places to eat (breakfast, lunch, and dinners) and all were brilliant!  The staff were even nice enough to phone ahead and get us reservations when needed and they offered us umbrellas when it was raining outside.

Although we did not take part in the breakfast every morning, it smelled lovely and we will definitely try it on our way out to out early flight tomorrow.  The location is also worth noting.  It is literally a 5 minute walk from the Haufbaunhof and it was perfect to walk to the Munich center.  We really didn’t need to even buy tickets for the tram/subway as it was conveniently located to everything Munich had to offer.  The only negative comment I have is we wished there was at least one television station in English, but traveling to Germany, I guess that is more of a wish than a necessity.

I truly can not say enough about the friendliness of the hotel staff and how much they were able to help us during our short stay.  I would highly recommend this hotel to any of our friends or family that might be traveling to Munich.  Thank you so much for a great stay!

Kind Regards,
James Gray
Room #501

If you travel to the Munich area, I strongly suggest taking the train out to Dachau for a guided tour. You can do an audio tour and walk around on your own, however the guided tour is nice for a more personal perspective of the era and the camp itself. It is 20 minute train ride to the bus station in the town of Dachau, and then another 15 minutes or so to the concentration camp.

The size of the camp is staggering. As you go through the tour, there are only a couple of barracks still standing, but you can clearly so the rows of prisoner housing that once existed. It understandably leaves one with an eery feeling. Just walking through the gate to the camp leaves a pit in your stomach, as you’ve likelz seen images and photographs of prisoners entering through the very same gate- many to never leave the camp. The number of people interned at the camp is staggering; not to mention the tens of thousands of people that died there.

The memorials that have been erected in recent years are a touching tribute to the different groups (religions) of people that suffered, perished, and survived there. The museum on the grounds is also nice. Though with the guided tour, there wasn’t much time to take it all in. There is a short video to watch as well, toward the end of the tour. It was an experience I won’t soon forget…and I hope that I never do.

Our Munich accommodation at the Hotel Monaco was very nice.

In order to really experience the city of Munich properly it is good to take a tour offered by one of the professional advertisers.  A good place to start is the tourist information office.  There is one located in the Main train station, and another at the Marienplatz.  A city map can be obtained for only .50. and the new Munich 2009 city guide in German or English is only one euro.  There is everything from travel information to public transportation information, as well as museums, castles, excursions, special events,  and shopping tips.  Also included are sightseeing tours.  If time is important, and limited. consider the city bus tour.  This is especially enjoyable on a fine day.  There are also tours offered for Neuschwanstein castle, Dachau concentration camp memorial tour, and third reich tour.  The last three tours are Sandemans new munich free tour, and brochures are available.  Another new munich tour is the beer challange, up to four beer gardens and beer halls available to tour.  And do not forget to say prost.

I arrived from Munich early this morning from a long train trip from Prague. As soon as i walked out of the train station i knew i would like what Munich had to offer. Munich is perfect for any traveller on any kind of budget. There’s the typical high street fashion stores such as H&M, Zara and New Yorker round the Marienplatz and also a string of other less known (but equally as good) fashion stores around Schillingerstrasse. Plus there are numerous good value tours on offer ranging from walking tours, to bike tours and also a speciallised day trip out to Dachau, a former Nazi Concentration Camp. If only my partner and i had all the time in the world! The hotel where we are staying Hotel Monaco is great value as well. Our room is quite spacious, with a large bed and large bathroom as well, not to mention the very friendly service from the receptionist as soon as we arrivedl. Munich is definitely one of the highlights of my European trip so far and would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Bryan (Australia)