You can rest at Munich Airport without entering Germany: napcabs sleeping cabins and five free recreation areas are past security, open around the clock. The Hilton between the terminals has day rooms but sits before passport control. Showers, two pay-at-the-door lounges and left luggage cover the rest.
Can you sleep at Munich airport during a layover?
Yes, past security and without entering Germany. napcabs sleeping cabins in Terminal 2 cost €17 an hour by day and €12 an hour from 10pm to 6am, with a €34 minimum, and five free recreation areas with lounge chairs are open 24 hours. The Hilton Munich Airport, between the terminals, is before passport control.
Resting past security
At Munich Airport (MUC) you can rest past security without entering Germany, in a napcabs cabin or one of five free recreation areas. Both terminals and the Terminal 2 Satellite have Schengen and non-Schengen gates, and the airport doesn’t say which side each cabin or area is on, so check your gate on the departures board first and rest near it.
| Where | What | Hours | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| napcabs, Terminal 2 by gates G and H (levels 03 to 05) and the Satellite by gates K and L (level 05) | Sleeping cabins with a bed and a desk | 24 hours | €17 an hour, 6am to 10pm; €12 an hour, 10pm to 6am; minimum €34 |
| napcabsXL, Terminal 2 | Larger cabins | 24 hours | €24.50 an hour by day, €18 at night; minimum €49 |
| Recreation areas, Terminal 1 by gates A (level 04) and Terminal 2 by gates G, H, K and L (levels 04 and 05) | Lounge chairs, USB charging, flight screens | 24 hours | Free |
napcabs is the only bed past security, and the cheapest private rest at the airport. At the night rate, a 6-hour sleep from 10pm costs €72; a short nap costs the €34 minimum. Most cabins are past security in Terminal 2; one more location is in the public area, before passport control.
The recreation areas are the free choice: quiet seating with lounge chairs, charging points and flight screens, open around the clock. Flying from Terminal 1, the one by gates A is yours; the others are in Terminal 2 and the Satellite.
Does the airport close at night? No: the cabins and recreation areas stay open all night. Passenger flights don’t normally land or take off between midnight and 5am, though, and the shuttle train to the Satellite runs only from 4am to midnight, so if your gate is in the Satellite, settle in on the Satellite side before midnight or wait for the 4am train.
Hotels and day rooms
The Hilton Munich Airport is the hotel at the terminals: between Terminals 1 and 2, on level 04, open 24 hours. It sells day-use rooms as well as nights, but doesn’t publish their price, so check when you book. It’s before passport control, so you need to be able to enter Germany (visa and transit rules); on a connection between two flights outside Schengen without a visa, use napcabs instead.
| Hotel | Where | Airside or landside | How you get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilton Munich Airport | Between Terminals 1 and 2, level 04 | Landside | On foot from either terminal, on level 04 |
Its Mountain Hub Spa, on level 03, sells two-hour and day passes; it’s open 7am to 10pm on weekdays and 8am to 10pm at weekends. Prices aren’t published, so ask at the hotel.
Lounges you can pay for
| Lounge | Where | Hours | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airport Lounge Europe | Terminal 1, area D, level 05 | 5:30am to 8pm | €52 |
| Airport Lounge World | Terminal 1, gates A, level 04 | 5am to 9:45pm | From €72 |
Both are past security in Terminal 1, and each serves one side of the border: Lounge Europe only flights within Schengen, Lounge World only flights outside it, from up to 3 hours before departure. Lounge Europe may close to walk-ins when it’s full. Flying from Terminal 2, you’d need the bus between terminals and back, which takes 5 to 7 minutes each way, so a napcabs cabin or a recreation area near your gate is usually the better use of the time.
Showers
A shower cabin costs €25 for up to 2 hours, towels included, plus a €20 deposit for the key, which you get back. There are showers in the Munich Airport Center and in Terminal 2 by gates G and H, both on level 03 before security, and by gates K and L in the Satellite, on level 05 past security.
Left luggage
The Service Center keeps bags at two desks, in the Munich Airport Center and in Terminal 2 by gates G and H, both on level 03 and before security. One is open daily from 5am to 11:30pm and the other from 6am to 10pm.
| Bag | Up to 5 hours | Per 24 hours |
|---|---|---|
| Cabin bag, up to 8 kg | €6 | €10 |
| Suitcase, up to 20 kg | €8 | €12 |
| Bulky bag, up to 40 kg | €10 | €16 |
Leave cases here before heading into town: the Alte Pinakothek, for one, takes nothing bigger than an A4 bag.
Something to do landside
From 13 November to 27 December 2026, the airport’s Christmas and Winter Market fills the covered forum of the Munich Airport Center, between the terminals: open daily 11am to 9pm, and until 4pm on 24 December. It’s open to every passenger and visitor, and has an ice rink, €5 a person with skates for hire at €5. It’s landside, so you need to be able to enter Germany, but on a layover too short for the city, it puts a Munich Christmas market a few minutes from the terminals.
Airbräu, the airport’s own brewery restaurant, is in the Munich Airport Center too.
Connections, money and Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi. Free in both terminals and the Munich Airport Center: choose “Free Wifi – Munich Airport”, open a browser and sign in with an email address.
- eSIM. Set one up before you fly if you plan to go into town.
- Money. Germany uses the euro. Shops at the airport and the railway stations stay open on Sundays and public holidays, when most shops in town are shut.
- Terminals. The S-Bahn station is under the Munich Airport Center, between Terminals 1 and 2. The Satellite is a minute from Terminal 2 on the shuttle train, every few minutes from 4am to midnight, and a free bus links Terminals 1 and 2 in 5 to 7 minutes.
- Security again. Changing planes, you may have to go through security again, so allow time for it.