Munich City Guide

Public transport

Operator. The Munich Transport and Tariff Association (MVV) is not an operator itself, but the fare association for the whole Greater Munich area. It sets fares, zones and timetable frequencies. Within the city, the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) runs the U-Bahn, tram and bus, while S-Bahn München, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, runs eight S-Bahn lines. Regional buses are run by private companies. A single ticket is valid across all these operators and modes of transport.

Network. Eight U-Bahn lines, S-Bahn, trams and buses. One ticket covers everything.

Modes of transport. U-Bahn · S-Bahn · Tram · Bus · Regional bus · NachtTram · NachtBus

Operating hours. Monday to Thursday the U-Bahn runs until about one in the morning, after which there is a service pause in the U-Bahn network until four, and night service runs on tram and bus lines instead. On the nights from Friday to Saturday, Saturday to Sunday, and before public holidays, the U-Bahn runs continuously every 30 minutes, with U2/U3/U5 and U1/U4/U6 offset by 15 minutes from each other, which works out to an effective 15-minute frequency in the city center.

Night service. Night tram lines N17, N19, N20 and N27 run all night at hourly intervals. Night bus lines run every 30 minutes, with sections of lines N19, N27, N40 and N41 even every 15 minutes, while lines N40 to N45, N72 and N74 run hourly. Between 1.30 am and 4.30 a.m., all night tram lines plus buses N40 and N41 meet centrally at Karlsplatz (Stachus) once an hour, with a short shared wait for connections.

Buying tickets. MVV tickets are available from touchscreen vending machines at U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus stops, which accept coins, banknotes, Girocard with PIN, and Mastercard, Visa and American Express. Older, button-based machines on trams and buses only take coins and notes. MVG and S-Bahn München service points also sell tickets, for example at the main station, Marienplatz and Ostbahnhof, as do private sales outlets in shops near the stops. Regional buses have electronic ticket printers with the driver that accept coins and notes.

App and payment. The MVV app bundles real-time timetables, network maps and mobile tickets for your phone. MVGO additionally combines classic public transport with sharing services such as bike rental, e-scooters and car-sharing in a single app. For pure rail travel across all of Bavaria there's also the München Navigator. Payment methods within the apps aren't broken down in detail on the official overview page, and at the vending machines themselves contactless card payment only works on the more modern touchscreen models.

Which ticket. Under the MVV price list, valid since January 1, 2026, single short-distance ticket 2.10 euros, single ticket Zone M 4.20 euros, children's single ticket (age 6 to 14) 2.00 euros uniformly across all zones. Single-day pass Zone M 10.10 euros, children's day pass 3.80 euros, group day pass (2 to 5 people) Zone M 19.70 euros, each valid until 6 a.m. the following day. Strip ticket 18.70 euros for adults (10 strips) or 10.20 euros for U21 (age 15 to 20), a short-distance trip costs 1 strip, a journey within Zone M costs 2 strips. In terms of the math, the single-day pass (10.10 euros) pays off from the third single journey in Zone M on the same day, since 3 times 4.20 euros already comes to 12.60 euros.

Fare zones. The city center lies entirely within the uniform Zone M. The airport lies outside it, in fare zone 5, which requires a ticket with a wider coverage area, S-Bahn München recommends Zone M-6 for that, or the Airport-City-Day-Ticket for 17.50 euros (single), which combines unlimited travel across the whole city area with the trip to the airport.

Tip. You can walk almost the entire length of the Isar bank, which often saves a train in the centre.

Links

• MVV ticket and fare overview
• MVV journey planner (EFA)
• MVG night lines
• S-Bahn München to the airport
• Lufthansa Express Bus timetable
• MVV app
• Sales outlets and vending machines
• Network map

Getting there

Main station

Location. Under reconstruction for years. Long-distance, regional and S-Bahn services in one place, with the old town five minutes' walk east.

Long-distance trains. From the terminus station Munich Hbf, you can reach almost every major city in Germany without changing trains. ICE lines run every half hour via Nuremberg and Erfurt to Berlin, as well as to Hamburg, via Nuremberg to Cologne and Essen, via Stuttgart and Frankfurt into the Rhine-Ruhr region, and to Dresden. One ICE connection runs all the way to Amsterdam. Internationally, the Brenner Pass is the key route. Several DB-ÖBB Eurocity trains run daily via Innsbruck to Verona, with some continuing to Bologna and Venice. Further Eurocity trains run to Ljubljana and Zagreb, and toward Austria there are frequent direct connections to Klagenfurt and Graz. At night, Nightjet trains with sleeper and couchette cars take over, including toward Warsaw and on to Przemyśl on the Ukrainian border.

Opening hours. Live departures, elevator status and replacement services are available via the DB station website. Fixed closing times for the building are not stated on the official page.

Airports

Local quirks

• You're allowed to bring your own food to the beer garden. Wherever it says self-service, bringing your own picnic is explicitly allowed. Drinks you have to buy there.
• Surfing in the middle of the city. On the Eisbach in the Englischer Garten there's a standing wave that's surfed year-round. Watching costs nothing.
• The MVV is an Olympic legacy. The transport association was sealed by contract on April 5, 1971, and went into operation on May 28, 1972, just weeks before the Olympic Games. It was one of the first integrated networks in Germany, built on the principle of one network, one timetable, one ticket.
• Englischer Garten is bigger than Central Park. 376 hectares, or 411 hectares including adjoining areas. That makes it bigger than Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London. On foot or by bike it can be used as a green shortcut straight through the northern city center.

Good to know

Currency

EUR €

Emergency number

112

Plug type

C · F

Time zone

Europe/Berlin

Driving

right

Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h, outside towns 100 km/h, motorway no general speed limit (advisory speed of 130 km/h, not subject to fines)

Many motorway sections have no fixed maximum speed, which surprises drivers from almost every other country. By law, the 100 km/h rural limit explicitly does not apply on the motorway. Signposted limits at roadworks, curves, or in built-up areas, however, are strictly enforced with speed cameras and section control.

Tipping. Five to ten percent, said when paying rather than left on the table.

Tolls. No tolls for cars. The Warnow tunnel in Rostock and the Herren tunnel in Lübeck charge a fee.

Access restrictions. Many city centres are environmental zones open only to vehicles with a green sticker, foreign vehicles included. The sticker is available at test centres and garages.