Munich Airport

The chances are your stay will begin at Munich Airport, the most modern in Germany and second busiest behind Frankfurt. I say airport... it's also a shopping centre and entertainments venue.

It has two plush terminals - flights via British Airways, Easyjet, Aer Lingus and Air Berlin drop you at Terminal 1, while Lufthansa lands you at the newer Terminal 2.

Both have extensive retail and eating options but in between the two you'll find a huge plaza under a glass roof complete with beer garden. The open space is ofter handed over to entertainments such as beach volleyball.

Should you be so inclined to spend half your holiday at the airport you can head to the visitor centre close to Besucherpark station, one stop down the S-Bahn line - and even take a bus tour of the airport.

Airlines plying the UK to Munich route are as follows::

Lufthansa
British Airways
Easyjet
Air Berlin
Opodo

Getting into town

You can take a shiny new Mercedes taxi into town but you are a good distance from the centre, around 40 minutes depending on traffic, and the fare will be around 50 euros. So your best bet is to take the S-Bahn, which terminates underneath the airport terminals.

Two lines head to the centre, S1 and S8, which each take a different route but both serve the main central stops including Marienplatz, Ostbahnhof and Haupbahnhof in around 40 minutes. S8 is a tad quicker to most central bases but there's really not much in it so you are better off boarding whichever arrives first.

Trains run every ten minutes during the day.

First off you must buy a ticket, and there are machines giving English on the platform. However on your first visit it may as well be in Mandarin Chinese as buying a ticket for the Munich transport system is by far the most complicated of any major city I've been to. The pressure is on as you desperately punch every button as the train prepares to leave behind you...

The good news is that if you get the right ticket according to your needs, it's then a frequent and cheap system to use. Check out below for a full rundown.

A word of warning. Conductors are present on the trains to and from the airport so make sure you get the right ticket if you don't want to start your visit with an argument in your schoolboy german and then face a 50 euro fine.

If you return at the end of your trip via S1, the train splits in half at Neufahrn - the front half heads off on a branch line to Freising, while the back half goes on to the airport so that's where you'll need to be. You are given a minute at Neufahrn to change ends if you need to.

Munich by train

If you fancy going by land, you can leave London in early evening and pull into Munich first thing in the morning.

After taking the Eurostar to Paris are Du Nord, it's a quick walk round to Paris Est station, where you can board the daily modern sleeper train. This leaves at 10.45pm and arrives at Munich's Hauptbahnhof (main train station) at 8.59am the next morning. The return trip leaves slightly earlier each evening, at 8.56pm, back in Paris for croissants at 6.46am with the aim of being back in Blighty for a cheese sarnie by mid morning.

Costs vary for couchettes and sleeping cars depending on how luurious a night's kip you want on the rails but you can get the whole trip from £159. It is usually more expensive than flying but spares you the airport hassles and does of course save you a night's accommodation and transfers each way.

The Hauptbahnhof has all the facilities you would expect of a major train station including bars, restarants and left luggage holders, and connects with the city's transport system.

Your best advice site for all european rail travel is Seat 61.

Getting around Munich

As you would expect from a major German city, Munich's public transport is extensive, quick, clean and efficient.

It is made up of S-Bahn - the overground suburban rail network, the underground U-Bahn service, trams and buses. At times the U-Bahn runs overground and the S-Bahn goes underground, just to confuse you.

The S-Bahn is probably the service you will use most. The shiny red trains link many of the key places and can take you to the airport and to Dachau.

The U-Bahn is a little older - perhaps the clue is that it links the city centre to the Olympic Park, and you get the impression it dates from that time. Some of the rolling stock has seen better days and the platforms aren't the most modern you'll find. However, it remains a good way to get around if that's what you need.

Helpfully most of the lines meet up in the middle meaning you can reach most parts of the network from the Hauptbahnhof, or the city centre at Marienplatz, without changing.

The tram system is comparatively small, serving a small areain the centre but is worth bearing in mind.

Buying tickets

More than a hundred years ago Albert Einstein lived in Munich.  Lucky chap. If he had been born a century later, that great mind may have tried and failed at his ultimate challenge - trying to buy a Munich train ticket.

The city's public transport fares and tickets system tries to be fair to everybody, and give everybody the best deal.

The only problem is that this leads to so many different tickets - based on time, number of trips, the zones you pass through, how many there are in your party, what your inside leg measurement is blah blah blah - that when you first see it you don't know which one is best.

Most of the ticket machines offer an English version but you're still in the dark. However, after spending a few days there I'm a little wiser and if you get it right you will save money. And the ticket machines are straight-forward if you know which ticket you want.

If there are more than one of you, the real bonus is getting a Partner-karte as this covers up to five people and is excellent value.

If you're arriving at Munich Airport, getting the train into the city and staying for a couple of nights I'd recommend:

From the station at the airport buy a one day ticket covering all zones (Gesamtnetz). The airport is in the outer zone. In 2012, this costs 11 euros for one person (Singlekarte), or 20 euros for a Partner-Tageskarte covering up to five people. These cover you throughout Munich until 6am the next morning.

From the next day get the day ticket that serves you best.

A day ticket for the inner zone covers virtually all the main places to go, including the Allianz Arena and the Olympic Park. The Single-karte costs 5.60 euros for one person or it's 10.20 euros for a Partner-Tageskarte - again up to five people.

Please note if you visit Dachau this takes you out of the inner zone and you will need a Munich XXL day ticket instead (7.50 euros each or 13.10 for the partner ticket).

When you head home, it's once again best to get the ticket covering all zones (Gesamtnetz) back to the airport.  Including a Dachau visit, your total transport bill for a party of up to five on a three day visit would be 47.80 euros, just over £30.

If you are getting a taxi to and from the airport, once in the middle you can then get a three day inner zone ticket (3 Tage Innenraum) which is great value at 13.80 euros, or 23.20 euros for a 3 Tage Partner-Innenraum for up to five.

All tickets are valid on suburban rail services (S), underground (U), trams and buses. Once you get your ticket it has to be validated before your first trip. Get it stamped at the validating machines on the platforms or on board trams and buses.

See, simple really....

Click here for the official public transport site with some english and a few maps.