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town in Bavaria, Germany
Europe > Central Europe > Germany > Bavaria > Bavarian Swabia > Memmingen

Memmingen is a city of about 44,000 people (2019) in the German Federal State of Bavaria. The numerous courtyards, patricians' houses and fortification in its old town are well worth seeing. Due to its proximity to the Allgäu region it is also a popular base for tourists who are planning to visit the Bavarian Alps or Lake Constance. Memmingen is however mostly known by foreign travellers due to Allgäu Airport Memmingen being nearby.

Understand

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The so called "Wine Market"

Memmingen is a small town with central functions in a rural area of Bavaria. Tourism was once widely limited to guests from places around. With the opening of the Allgäu Airport increasingly more international guests, discover the charm of the town for trips to the tourism regions around as well as to the popular destinations Ulm, Augsburg and Munich.

Get in

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By plane

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Ryanair and Wizz fly to Memmingen

1 Allgäu Airport Memmingen (FMM  IATA) (4 km east of Memmingen in the village of Memmingerberg). This minor international airport serves budget and leisure flights. Low-cost airlines sometimes sell it as "Munich West", which makes as much sense as calling it Stuttgart South or Zürich North - it however can be an alternative to the often significantly more expensive Munich Airport due to its practical ground transportation connections. Ryanair and Wizz Air fly from over three dozen cities and leisure destinations with a focus on south-eastern Europe and the Mediterranean such as Alicante, Dublin, London-Stansted, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Sofia, Tel Aviv, Belgrade, Pristina or Skopje, but also rather unusual destinations like Kutaisi. The airport is small so it can get congested, but is normally clean and spacious, with cafes, car hire and free WiFi available. The Starfighter F104 by the entrance recalls bygone days as a military airfield. It became a commercial airport in 2004 but stuttered for years without regular flights until Ryanair and Wizz established routes and has since expanded to serve nearly 2 million passengers per year. Memmingen Airport (Q651281) on Wikidata Memmingen Airport on Wikipedia (updated Dec 2022)

Busses 2 and 810 shuttle daily approx. half-hourly between 05:00-23:00 from the terminal to the bus station (ZOB), which is next to Memmingen railway station and central in town. The ride takes 10-15 min and costs €3.50 (exact change preferred, card payment not always available) - with a railway ticket it may be included in the price, check when booking if the destination says "Memmingerberg, Allgäu Airport"; Bayern-Tickets are also valid on the busses. A taxi to town might be €15. From the station you can easily reach Munich (see below), or for that matter Stuttgart or Zürich. There are multiple daily direct coach services (Allgäu Airport Express) from Memmingen Airport to Munich city centre as well which can be booked online or at a counter next to the arrivals area.

By train

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Regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Go-Ahead run at least hourly from Munich (60-90 min, line RE96 being the fastest) and from Stuttgart via Ulm. Every two hours there are semi-high-speed long-distance trains (EuroCity-Express) from Zürich via Winterthur, St Gallen and Bregenz and onwards to Munich as well.

The railway station is about a 5-minute walk away from the town center. There are luggage lockers next to the building. If all lockers are in use it is suggested to ask at the DB booking office for alternatives.

Remember there are special train tickets for Baden-Württemberg (Baden-Württemberg-Ticket) and Bavaria (Bayern-Ticket). With these ticket up to five people can use all regional trains for a whole day for €21 - 38 (all together). Both ticket types are valid for travelling to Memmingen. The Bayern-Ticket also covers the costs for the local public bus transport. More information about these tickets can be obtained from the Deutsche Bahn[dead link].

  • 2 Memmingen railway station (Bahnhof Memmingen). Memmingen (Q801171) on Wikidata Memmingen station on Wikipedia (updated Jun 2021)

By car

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Memmingen is at the intersection of the A7 (Hamburg - Hanover - Ulm - Memmingen - Füssen) and A96 (to Austria and Munich) autobahns.

Get around

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By foot

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The town center is small enough to walk to all places of interest in the city. You can get a free map at the tourist office ("Stadtinformation") at the market square.

By bicycle

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Going by bike is a fast way to get around in Memmingen. This way you get around independently from the rather poor public transport and moreover this way you might even visit some attractions in and around Memmingen which are not easy to reach by foot. Special signs for cyclists point the direction to regional bicycle routes. The Iller-Radweg is a long-distance route leading to Ulm in the north and to Oberstdorf in the south. The Kneipp-Radweg leads to the spas Bad Grönenbach and Bad Wörishofen. Bicycles can be hired at:

By bus

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However, if you plan to visit nearby attractions out of town taking a bus [dead link] might be the right choice. The bus station is next to the train station. Tickets can be bought when entering the bus. Please check the return times in advance. After 19:00 there is no regular bus service but a so called "Anrufsammeltaxi" (hailed shared taxi), where a telephone notification in advance is necessary. Connections for public transport (within Bavaria) can be looked up at www.bayern-fahrplan.de.

By car

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If you choose to discover the countryside around Memmingen, smaller villages in the Allgäu region or if you want to follow the tourist route "Oberschwäbische Barockstraße" you may decide to hire a car. At the airport you will find the car hire agencies Sixt, Hertz and Europcar. Another car hire service by Europcar is near the train station. A local car hire service called "Auto Greif" is located at Colmarerstr. 34.

Kreuzherrenkloster
Fuggerbau

Medieval old town

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The medieval old town center consists of several attractions:

  • Market place. This is one of the most picturesque sites in the town. It is surrounded by the town hall, the Großzunft(Guildhouse) and the Steuerhaus (tax house). On Tuesday and Saturday morning there is a farmers market held, where fresh vegetables and fruit are being sold. 
  • Medieval city gates and towers form a part of the old towns fortification: About 2 km of the town wall, including five towers and five gates have been preserved.
  • 1 St Martin's church, ☏ +49 8331-856920. This is one of the oldest churches in Upper Swabia and the towns landmark. The building with a height of about 65 m is still the towns highest building. Seasonally from May to October the tower of the church can be visited in the course of a guided tour. Tours in English may be possible, if you ask in advance. 
  • 2 Antoniterkloster. The well preserved former Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony monastery has been built in the 15th century. Today the building is used as local library, museum and event house for lectures, Kabarett or art exhibitions. Antoniterkloster Memmingen (Q606504) on Wikidata 
  • 3 Kreuzherrenkloster. Former monastery. Kreuzherrenkloster (Q1354683) on Wikidata 

Municipal parks

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Around the old town walls where the moats used to be in the Middle Ages public park areas have been created. The moats have been filled up with exception of the "hohe Wacht" in the south of the old town and a part of the "Königsgraben" south of the "Westertorplatz". One of the parks is the Zollergarten a short walk north of the market place. In the north outside the old town there is a wider-ranging park named "Neue Welt". Although it is a 10-minute walk away from the center it is a popular place for relaxation. A beer garden, Kneipp facility, volleyball field, streetball court and a skate park are a part of it.

Municipal park "New World"
  • Walk along the tourist routes "Roter Weg" (red route) and "Grüner Weg" (green route). These will guide you to most of the sights in town.
  • 1 Eissporthalle, Hühnerbergstraße 19, ☏ +49 8331-62430. Sept-March. Visit the ice rink Eissporthalle Memmingen and do some ice-skating or Bavarian Curling. €4. 
  • [formerly dead link] Strike Bowling, Haußmannstr. 2a. Bowling Center with 6 tracks and restaurant in the southern part of the town. 

Events

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  • Memminger Jahrmarkt (Annual fair): October. is special because of its location. Public streets and places right in the town centre are closed to traffic to make room for the fair. (date needs updating)
  • Memmingen blüht (Shopping and Familyday). May. Lots of activities and market stalls throughout the city. (updated Feb 2019)
  • Fischertag (Fisherman's day): July.  (date needs updating)
  • Wallenstein Festival (Europe's biggest historic festival). With about 4,500 participants this festival is one of the biggest historical re-enactments in Europe. It takes place every four years and commemorates the invasion by Wallenstein in 1630. (updated Feb 2019)
Historical parade during the "Wallenstein Festspiele"
Fischertag in Memmingen at 8 o'clock in the morning


The major shopping street starts at the marketplace and leads directly to the Schrannenplatz.

Budget

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All these are in the city centre:

  • 1 Treff, Kuttelgasse 20. Local pub and restaurant (updated Feb 2023)
  • 2 Cennis, Kreuzstraße 9. Italian (updated Feb 2023)
  • 3 Pasta Fresca Doro, Ulmer Str. 22. (updated Feb 2023)
  • 4 King, Maximilianstraße 20A. Kebab store (updated Feb 2023)
  • 5 Drachen Imbiss, Kalchstraße 6. Asian (updated Feb 2023)
  • 6 Maxi Milian, Maximilianstraße 26. Turkish (updated Feb 2023)

Mid-range

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Splurge

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  • 12 Engelkeller, Königsgraben 9. German cuisine (updated Feb 2023)

Drink

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Cafés

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Pubs

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For a pub crawl start your way at Lindentorstraße near the train station, head to the Schrannenplatz and then continue along the street Baumstraße. On your way you will find an amount of pubs and bars.

Sleep

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Budget

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  • 1 Gasthof Lindenbad, Lindenbadstraße 18 (550 metres to the station), ☏ +49 8331 3278. Supposedly the cheapest way to stay in Memmingen. Less than a 10 minutes walk to the town centre. Single €25/30; double €50/60; breakfast €5; garage €5. 
  • Pension Erb, Zollergraben 5 (centrally located only 3 minutes walking distance from the market square; 600 m to the station), ☏ +49 8331 - 8 48 68. Very central and yet quiet and reasonably priced. Breakfast included. Single €41; double €71. 
  • Gasthof Schwabenhof, Illerstraße 42 (1.4 km to the station), ☏ +49 9 83 31- 6 28 72. Located outside the city centre. Might be a choice for low-budget tourists. Single €39; double €68. 

Mid-range

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Connect

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Post office

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A post office in the inner city of Memmingen can be found at Lindentorstr. 22. Other post offices are in Machnigstr. 4 (in a Feneberg supermarket), Augsburger Str. 90, Dr.-Karl-Lenz-Str. 4 (also in a Feneberg supermarket) and Oberer Kirchweg 1 (which actually is in the nearby village of Steinheim) .

Internet access

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Throughout the city (e.g. near the market place) you will find public Wi-Fi hotspots. Some might be limited to a certain timespan.

Nearby

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Interior of Ottobeuren basilica
  • Buxheim Charterhouse (4 km west)
  • Huge Benedictine abbey and lavish late-Baroque basilica in the village of Ottobeuren, dubbed the "Swabian Escorial" (11 km southeast). The abbey can be reached by regional bus from the central bus station (next to the train station) in Memmingen.
  • Schwäbisches Bauernhofmuseum in Illerbeuren (12 km south): Swabian Open-Air Museum with historic farmhouses. Weekdays it can be reached by bus.
  • Baroque pilgrimage church Maria Steinbach (15 km south of Memmingen, another 3 km from Illerbeuren)
  • Skyline Park (amusement park) near Bad Wörishofen (35 km east)

Go next

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Cities of interest around Memmingen that can be reached easily by train or car:

  • Kempten (35 km south, 20–30 minutes by train)
  • Ulm (60 km north, 40 minutes by train)
  • Augsburg (85 km northeast, 65 minutes by train, change in Buchloe)
  • Munich (115 km east, 1:15 hours by train)
  • Allgäu region which stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Bavarian Alps (e.g. Sonthofen is 65 km south, one hour by train).
  • Lake Constance region, e.g. you can easily get to Lindau by train (65 km southwest, 1–1:15 hours).
This city travel guide to Memmingen is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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