Parking in Munich

Parking in the middle of Munich is expensive and, in the wrong garage, a squeeze. The historic centre around Marienplatz is pedestrianised and ringed by multi-storey and underground garages where the going rate is roughly €4–6 an hour and €30 or more for a day, and the reviews are full of warnings about tight, narrow bays that make life hard for an SUV or a bigger car. The trick is knowing which is which. For space and a stress-free park, drivers single out Bavaria Pschorr (the “only garage with wide spaces”) and the clean, roomy Hofbräuhaus garage; the Operngarage is best for the opera and Maximilianstraße; City-Parkhaus is the cheapest right by Marienplatz if you can find its hidden entrance; and the cavernous Tiefgarage Stachus almost always has a space when everywhere else is full. At the other end, the CONTIPARK garage right at Marienplatz is the most central but the lowest-rated — grim and tight — so it is for quick stops only. The smartest money-saver, though, is not to drive into the centre at all: park at an MVG Park & Ride such as Studentenstadt or Heimeranplatz for about €2 a day with a transit ticket, and ride the U- or S-Bahn into Marienplatz in roughly ten minutes. One thing to sort before you set off: almost the whole inner city is an Umweltzone (low-emission zone) — you need a green sticker to drive in, and an old-diesel ban applies even with one, which catches out foreign cars too. Below, every car park lists real prices, walking times and the honest picture from recent visitors — plus hotels chosen because their own parking takes the stress out of arriving by car.