The Stuck at the Aiport team spent last week exploring museums (we loved the BMW Art Cars), eating and walking through neighborhoods in Frankfurt and Munich.
In both cities we used airport Hilton hotels as our homebases, making it easy to arrive by plane or train and start exploring right away.
In Munich, our upgraded stay at the Hilton Munich Airport gave us a chance to eat a hearty breakfast and relax in the Excutive Lounge. We visited the pool, the fitness center and hung out in the massive, glass atrium lobby.
The hotel is adjacent to the Munich Airport Center (MAC Forum), a giant glass-roofed plaza between Terminals 1 and 2 that is currently hosting Padel Days through September 6, 2026.
(Padel looks like pickeball, but there are some key differences)
Three padel courts are set up in the plaza with a comfy chairs and a viewing stand for spectators who want to watch civilians having fun on the courts during the week and professionals in tournaments on the weekends.
The Munich Airport Center is also home to the Airbrau – which opened in 1999 as the world’s first airport brewery. Nearby the Airbrau beer garden is Smokey Joes, a currywurst truck made with airplane parts.
Next stop: Frankfurt Airport’s 2 Hilton hotels
In Frankfurt, we split our Frankfurt Airport hotel stays between the Hilton Frankfurt Airport and the HIlton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, which is adjacent and shares part of the grand lobby area as well as some amenities.
The breakfast buffets at both hotels were excellent (and, we suspect, prepared by the same kitchen team), and we were delighted to find a guest laundry room at the Hilton Garden Inn.
At check-in there was notice alerting us that the alarm system would be tested early one morning during our staty. Usually that’s a nightmare situation that arrives at the same time deep sleep does for those whose from different time zones. But instead of a blaring signal, the test tone was… nice music.
Both hotels are located in “The Squaire” building, a bustling shopping, dining and business center connected to Frankfurt Airport via a covered pedestrian bridge.
It’s located directly above Frankfurt Airport train station, so from here we could easily and quickly get to and from the City Center and enjoy the food, festivities, music and marvelous museum exhibits offered during this year’s Museum Embankment Festival.
We purchased a festival button for about $8 and it gave us admission to all 39 participating museums and a variety of special events that continued late into the evenings.
One of our favorite stops was the Frankfurt Historical Museum, with its multitude of collections, special exhibitions and treaures.
