IAS Guesthouse Information

The IAS guesthouse’s address is Siegesstr. 8, 80802 München.

The IAS guesthouse is a listed historic building which was donated by Fritz and Lotte Schmidler to TUM with the purpose of turning it into a guesthouse for international researchers. The guesthouse is managed by the IAS and is only available to Fellows and guests of the IAS.

The IAS guesthouse is in the Munich neighborhood of Altschwabing. Altschwabing is one of Munich’s most charming and historic neighborhoods, known for its leafy streets, beautiful old buildings, and vibrant cultural scene. It is a safe and well-established area, popular with locals and expats alike. With plenty of cafés, boutiques, and easy access to public transport, it offers a relaxed yet lively atmosphere.

The IAS guesthouse offers five apartments located on the ground, first, and second floors. Four of them have two rooms and range in size from 58 to 77 m², while one is a studio apartment measuring 24 m². The rental costs vary depending on the size. All apartments are designed for one to two guests.  If more than two people will be staying in the apartment, please let us know in advance – we can arrange for extra beds to be provided.

If you are an IAS Fellow or Visiting Fellow and have an IAS budget, the rent (including cleaning) will be deducted directly from your Fellowship budget. If you do not have an IAS budget or would prefer to pay for the rent from other sources, it is also possible to set up a rental agreement and pay the rent by bank transfer.

There is no check-in time; the apartment is available to you throughout the first day of your reservation, and you can move in at any time of the day (once you have your transponder key; see “Transponders”).

There is no check-out time; the apartment is available to you throughout the last day of your reservation, and you can leave at any time of the day. 

Example: If you have booked the apartment from December 1 to December 12, you can leave the apartment at any time on December 12. From December 13 onwards, we assume that the apartment has been vacated and is available for cleaning and/or maintenance work.

We kindly ask you to:

• Leave the apartment in a reasonably tidy and clean condition. 

• Move furniture back to its original position.

• Dispose of all rubbish.

• Do not leave any perishable food behind. Non-perishable food (such as coffee, spices, or rice) can be left in the kitchen cupboard for the next tenant. Please do not leave any packaging open behind (you will find sealing clips in the drawer).

• Switch off all the lights, oven, and stove.

• Close all windows.

• Inform us of any damage.

There is no IAS staff at the IAS guesthouse. Cleaning and maintenance staff come in regularly, but there is no permanent staff on-site.

The cleaner comes in every other week, meaning that you will only have cleaning service during your stay if you are staying for three weeks or more. Please be aware that the cleaner can come in as early as 8:30 a.m. A thorough cleaning will be carried out after the end of your stay.

Cleaning during your stay includes, for instance:

• Vacuuming and mopping

• Bathroom cleaning

• Dusting

• Making the bed

• Clearing away dishes, if applicable

Cleaning during your stay does not include, for instance:

• Taking out the trash

• Changing and washing the bed linen and towels

• Re-stocking kitchen paper towels, toilet paper or dishwasher detergent

If something is broken or if you break something, or if the state of the apartment is not to your satisfaction at the time of moving in, please contact the IAS office: guesthouse(at)ias.tum.de. 

The IAS guesthouse doors lock and unlock with transponder keys, which look like small black disks with a softer button in the middle. To open the door, please move the transponder close to the electronic doorknob and press the button. The doorknob will respond with a faint beep. You can then open and lock the doors by turning the doorknob. The doorknob will remain active for a few seconds.

There are three options:

• You can collect the transponder(s) at the IAS headquarters in Garching from the IAS staff during office hours.

• You can collect the transponder(s) at the IAS headquarters in Garching from our key safe (e.g. because you arrive outside office hours).

• If there is someone who will pick you up e.g. at the airport or who can meet you at the guesthouse (e.g. someone from your TUM host group), we can send the transponder(s) to them (for this, we need about two weeks’ notice).

Please be sure to arrange your preferred pick-up option with the IAS staff well in advance.

Important: As there are no permanent staff at the IAS guesthouse, you will unfortunately not be able to collect the transponder(s) directly there.

Please arrange the return with the IAS staff. There are two preferable options:

• Returning them to the IAS, either to a member of staff or by dropping them in the IAS mailbox (inside the IAS building on the ground floor next to the elevator).

• Leaving them in the apartment. For this, activate the doorknob, leave the transponders inside the apartment, pull the door shut, and lock the door while the doorknob is still activated.

If none of these options are suitable for you, please let us know so that we can discuss alternative options. 

If the main battery of the locking cylinder runs out, eight short, rapid beeps will sound after the transponder is activated before the cylinder is engaged.

If the battery of the transponder runs out, eight short, rapid beeps will sound after the transponder is activated and the cylinder is engaged.

In both cases, do not panic – the batteries will last for a few more days. However, please contact us as soon as is convenient.

If you end up locked out of the building for various reasons, please call your IAS program manager or the IAS front office via +49 (0)89 289 10550. If, and only if you find yourself locked out outside office hours, please call +49 (0)89 8926 2110, which is the emergency number of our maintenance service. 

The apartments are equipped for everyday use: The kitchen is fully furnished with a microwave oven, stove, kettle, and coffee maker. You will also find a hairdryer, a fan, an iron and ironing board, a clothes rack and laundry basket, cleaning equipment, spare bed linen and towels. There is no air conditioning.

All apartments are equipped with double beds. If you need additional beds, please let us know.

There is a laundry room with a washing machine and dryer in the basement for all guests to use.

We would appreciate it if you could empty the dryer promptly after the drying cycle has finished. Otherwise, the dryer remains switched on, which not only consumes energy but also makes frequent noises that can be disturbing for the residents on the ground floor.

Parking is tricky in Schwabing. Unfortunately, there is no designated parking space for the guesthouse. On Siegesstraße, only cars with a resident’s permit may park. There is a parking garage nearby (Occamstr. 18) for which you can buy a monthly pass. Public transportation is easily accessible from the IAS guesthouse, while driving in downtown Munich can be quite challenging. For all these reasons, we recommend that you arrive by public transport.

There are five doorbells at the front door, labeled with the apartment numbers. You are welcome to attach a sticker with your name to the apartment number, e.g. if you are expecting guests or deliveries. Mail is usually delivered to the mailbox at the front door if the address is correct, regardless of the recipient's name. The caretakers collect the mail regularly (but not daily) and place it on the sideboard in the entrance hall.

You are welcome to have parcels sent to the guesthouse. If the delivery person does not find you at home, the parcels will either be left on the sideboard or delivered to the nearest branch of the respective shipping company, where you can pick them up (please bring ID with you).

Germany uses Type C and Type F power sockets. These are the standard European-style plugs with two round pins. The voltage is 230V and the frequency is 50Hz.

If you're coming from a country like the US, Canada, UK, or Japan, you will likely need a plug adapter to physically fit your device into the socket. 

We are happy to provide you with a baby cot and high chair. Please arrange this with the IAS staff in advance.

Major supermarket brands near the guesthouse are Rewe, Lidl (lower price range), Alnatura and Denns (both organic); DM also sells groceries next to cosmetics, healthcare items, and household products. 

Bavaria is quite restrictive when it comes to opening hours. Shops, including supermarkets and pharmacies, close at 8 p.m. every day (small shops may close even earlier) and are not open at all on Sundays and public holidays. Bakeries are an exception, as they usually open on Sundays (opening hours differ). You will find supermarkets open on Sundays as well as public holidays at the major train stations and at the airport; some gas stations also sell groceries. 

The IAS guesthouse is within walking distance from the underground station Münchner Freiheit, operated by the underground lines 3 and 6 as well as various bus lines. 

For longer stays, the local public transport company, MVV offers weekly and monthly passes: https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/tickets-and-fares/frequent-travellers/

Note that there is a Deutschlandticket (“Germany ticket”), with which you can use local and regional public transport throughout Germany for the price of 58€/month (as of October 2025). It is accepted nationwide on local and regional buses, trams, metros, S-Bahn trains and regional trains (RB/RE). It is not accepted in long-distance trains or long-distance coaches. Note: the Deutschlandticket is a subscription that can be cancelled monthly.

https://www.mvv-muenchen.de/en/tickets-and-fares/frequent-travellers/deutschland-ticket-d-ticket/index.html

Behind the building, you will find bins for:

• Residual waste

• Organic waste

• Paper waste

We kindly ask you to also collect packaging (plastics and cans/aluminum) and glass waste and take them to the nearest recycling station, which is at Maria-Josepha-Str. (turn left when stepping out of the guesthouse).

If you need immediate medical help, please call 112.

In Germany, patients are free to choose their doctor. Specialists often require a referral from a general practitioner. For non-emergency issues, you can visit a general practitioner (Hausarzt). Many doctors speak at least basic English, especially in larger cities. It is common to make an appointment in advance, but some practices also accept walk-ins. Be prepared to wait if you don’t have an appointment. 

Klinikum Schwabing (Schwabing hospital) has an on-call medical practice outside doctors’ opening hours, including a pediatric practice: Kölner Platz 1, 80804 Munich.

You can also call the number 116117 for non-urgent medical help in the evenings, on weekends and public holidays.

If you are from the EU and have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you can use it to access public healthcare. Visitors from other countries should bring proof of travel health insurance. You may need to pay upfront and get reimbursed later.

In Germany, pharmacies adhere to general shop opening hours, closing at 20:00 at the latest on weekdays and Saturdays and remaining closed on Sundays and public holidays. However, a few pharmacies remain open for emergencies. These alternate on a daily basis. You can find today’s emergency pharmacies here: https://www.aponet.de/apotheke/notdienstsuche/