Munich vs Frankfurt: Which Should You Choose for a First Trip to Germany?

The short answer

Munich is the Bavarian capital, where an old town centered on Marienplatz, a royal palace, the vast English Garden and beer-garden culture come together. It also makes a great base for Alpine day trips such as Neuschwanstein Castle. The guide suggests 3 to 4 nights.

Frankfurt is a transport hub on the River Main. The rebuilt Römerberg and New Old Town, the cathedral where emperors were crowned and Goethe's birthplace are all within walking distance, and across the river Sachsenhausen offers the Museum Embankment and apple-wine culture. The guide suggests 1 to 2 nights.

Best for: Munich suits travelers who want to stay a few days for palaces, parks, beer gardens and day trips. Frankfurt suits a short stay exploring the old town and museums on foot, or travelers who want to continue by train to other European cities.

• Full Munich travel guide →
• Full Frankfurt travel guide →

From the airport to the city

At Munich Airport, the S-Bahn S1 and S8 alternate, giving a train roughly every 10 minutes into the city. It takes about 40 minutes to Hauptbahnhof, and the S8 runs around the clock (about every 40 minutes from 1-4 a.m.). The airport is in MVV fare zone 5, so the Airport-City-Day-Ticket, valid all day between the airport and the city, is the easy choice. If you have lots of luggage and want to avoid changes, there is also an airport bus to Hauptbahnhof.

At Frankfurt Airport, the Regional Train Station is below Terminal 1 (Level 0), and the S-Bahn S8 and S9 run into the city. The airport is RMV fare zone 5090, so a city-only (zone 5000) ticket is not valid; buy a city-airport ticket. Check official information for journey times (the tourist board says the S-Bahn reaches the center in a few minutes).

For both airports, flight availability and schedules can change, so check with the airlines.

• Munich S1/S8: about 40 min to Hauptbahnhof, Airport-City-Day-Ticket from about €17.50 (check official)
• Munich airport bus: about 45 min to Hauptbahnhof, every 20 minutes (check fares officially)
• Frankfurt S8/S9: city-airport single EUR 6.90, day ticket EUR 13.50
• Frankfurt bus 61: stops in front of Terminals 1 and 3 on the arrivals level (check routes and fares with RMV)
• Frankfurt taxi: about 20-30 min from the city, depending on traffic (check fares officially)

How many days and what budget

The guides suggest 3 to 4 nights for Munich and 1 to 2 nights for Frankfurt. Munich's plan includes a full-day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, plus a separate half day if you visit the Dachau Memorial Site. In Frankfurt, two days cover the old town, the Museum Embankment and the Palmengarten.

The two guides present budgets differently, so it's hard to say which city is cheaper. The Munich guide lists daily budgets by level; the Frankfurt guide lists transport and admission prices and says hotel and food costs vary a lot by date, so check booking sites.

• Munich daily budget: low about €90-120, mid-range about €200-280, high about €500+ (higher during Oktoberfest)
• Munich transport: single ticket from about €4.20, zone M day ticket from about €10.10 (valid until 6 a.m. the next day)
• Frankfurt transport: city single EUR 3.80, city day ticket EUR 7.75 (valid until 5 a.m. the next day), Frankfurt Card including the airport EUR 13 for 1 day and EUR 21 for 2 days
• Frankfurt sample admissions: Städel Museum EUR 19, Goethe House EUR 12, Palmengarten EUR 9
• Deutschlandticket (monthly subscription for local and regional transport throughout Germany): EUR 63, or EUR 66.80 from 2027 according to RMV (long-distance trains such as ICE are not included)

Weather: the same months side by side

The Munich guide picks May-September, when beer gardens are in full swing, and the Frankfurt guide picks March-October, when the Palmengarten stays open until 7 p.m. Here are the normals for May, June and September, all inside the May-September overlap.

In all three months Frankfurt's daytime highs are slightly higher, and Munich gets more rain than Frankfurt.

Oktoberfest runs from mid-September to early October (18 September to 3 October in 2027), and Munich hotels fill up months ahead. Munich's Christmas markets open around Advent, and Frankfurt's Christmas market runs from 23 November to 22 December 2026.

The normals are 1991–2020 data from Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), rounded: München-Stadt station for Munich and Frankfurt/Main (airport) station for Frankfurt. Check the official forecast before you go for this year's weather.

• May: Munich high 19°C, low 9°C, rain 107 mm / Frankfurt high 20°C, low 9°C, rain 60 mm
• June: Munich high 23°C, low 13°C, rain 121 mm / Frankfurt high 24°C, low 13°C, rain 55 mm
• September: Munich high 20°C, low 10°C, rain 78 mm / Frankfurt high 21°C, low 11°C, rain 48 mm

What you'll do there

Munich starts at Marienplatz in the old town. The Glockenspiel in the New Town Hall tower plays daily at 11 a.m. and noon, with an extra show at 5 p.m. from March to October. See the Frauenkirche a 2-minute walk away, the Viktualienmarkt (closed Sundays) and the Residenz, then walk in the English Garden and stop at a beer garden; trams also reach Nymphenburg Palace.

Day trips include Neuschwanstein Castle, visitable only on a guided tour (train to Füssen, then a bus of about 15 minutes), and the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. For Neuschwanstein, buying a timed tour ticket in advance from the official online shop is safest.

In Frankfurt, the Römerberg and the Römer (city hall), the Kaiserdom with its roughly 95-metre west tower climbed via 328 steps, the New Old Town completed in 2018, St Paul's Church where Germany's first National Assembly met in 1848, and the Goethe House are all within walking distance. Cross the Eiserner Steg to the Museum Embankment with the Städel Museum (closed Mondays) and the apple-wine district of Sachsenhausen, and take the U-Bahn to the Palmengarten.

The food differs too. Munich is known for Weisswurst (white sausage), Brezn, Schweinshaxe and beer-garden culture; Frankfurt for apple wine, green sauce made with seven herbs, and Frankfurter sausages.

How to choose, or combine the two

Pick Munich if you want time for Alpine day trips, palaces and parks. Pick Frankfurt for a short stay walking the old town and museums, or if you want to continue from Hauptbahnhof, which has trains to cities such as Paris, Vienna, Brussels, Basel and Amsterdam.

If you combine both in one trip, the guides don't give train times or fares between the two cities, so check official Deutsche Bahn information. The Deutschlandticket does not include long-distance trains such as ICE.

Check official information before travel for entry requirements (visas, ETIAS and so on). Plan around Sundays too: according to the city of Munich, all shops except petrol stations and bakeries close on Sundays (shops inside Hauptbahnhof stay open), and Frankfurt's Kleinmarkthalle is closed on Sundays and public holidays. Check your government's current travel advice for Germany before you go.

• Full Munich travel guide →
• Full Frankfurt travel guide →

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