Munich Central Train Station: A 5-Step Guide

Munich central train station sits inside the city's transport network, so it helps to see how the Munich public transport system works before you arrive. This guide covers the station in five steps: what is there, the airport, luggage, the area at night and day trips.

Step 1: Find your way around Munich central train station

Munich central train station is at Bayerstraße 10a, 80335 München, and the city zone M of the MVV (Munich transport association) covers it. The Deutsche Bahn station page lists a travel centre, an S-Bahn customer centre, toilets, taxis, food shops and an area for rental cars. It also lists the Bundespolizei, the Bahnhofsmission and mobile staff in burgundy caps.

About 450,000 people use the station every day, according to the City of Munich. Plans exist for a new reception building that also holds a stop for a second S-Bahn tunnel. Planning approval is still running. No opening date is given and no limits for travellers.

Many U-Bahn stations, including the Hauptbahnhof, have lifts and are step-free, says MVG, the city operator. The station page shows live lift status, so check it if you travel with a wheelchair or a heavy case. The pages we used do not describe the layout or signs inside the station. Use the station page list above to find the travel centre, toilets and taxis. To reach Marienplatz, take an S-Bahn from the station toward Ostbahnhof: the City of Munich says the Marienplatz stop sits directly under the square and is served by the S-Bahn trunk line and the U3 and U6. The ride time and a walking time are not published on the pages we fetched, so enter Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz in the MVG journey planner and pick your date.

If you want to drive, the whole area inside the Mittlerer Ring is a low-emission zone, and you need a green sticker to enter. Rental cars are offered at the station.

Step 2: Get from the airport to the station

The S1 and S8 are the best way from the airport to Munich central train station. The airport says they alternate, so a train leaves about every 10 minutes, and the ride takes about 40 minutes. The S8 runs round the clock. The S1 runs from about 3:30 a.m. to midnight, and all night on weekends and public holidays.

A single ticket from the airport (zone 5) to the city (zone M) costs €15.10 on the MVV fare list. The Airport-City-Day-Ticket starts at €17.50 and lets you ride the whole day.

The Lufthansa Express Bus runs from the airport to Arnulfstraße 12 at the station every 20 minutes, seven days a week, and takes about 45 minutes. It costs €12.50 online and €13.50 if you pay the driver. A bus listing for the same street, the airport bus from Arnulfstraße, is from €14 per person one way, with free cancellation and departures every 20 minutes.

A taxi has a fixed price of €96.00 between the airport and the Hauptbahnhof zone, says the taxi tariff. That is far more than the train for one person. For the airport trip, you do not need a tour: the S-Bahn is the cheapest way, and the bus is for readers who want a seat.

Key Takeaway The S1 or S8 costs €15.10 and takes about 40 minutes, while a fixed-price taxi from the airport costs €96.00.

Step 3: Store your luggage at the station

Use the coin lockers at Bayerstraße 10a if you need to leave bags before a late train or an early check-in. The locker page lists a small locker (24 × 42 × 76 cm) at €2.00 for 6 hours or €4.00 for 24 hours. A large locker (44 × 61 × 93 cm) costs €3.00 for 6 hours or €6.00 for 24 hours. The page says coins only.

Station works may limit how many lockers are free. Opening hours and the number of lockers are not published, so have a plan B.

Pro Tip A large locker is €6.00 for 24 hours. Bring coins, because the page lists coins as the only payment.

If you sleep near the station, your hotel may hold your bags too, so ask when you book. Hotel Cocoon München Hauptbahnhof is a compact design hotel a few minutes' walk from the station. Wombat's City Hostel is next to the station with dorms and private rooms. Sofitel Munich Bayerpost has a spa and pool, about 550 feet from the station. For other areas, see where to stay in the Munich neighbourhood guide.

Step 4: Know the area around Munich central train station at night

Short answer: we cannot say if the area is safe at night, because no official source gives a safety rating for the station or the streets around it. So stay alert, keep your bag close and know where the help points are. We can only report what official pages list.

The station page names the Bundespolizei, the Bahnhofsmission (free, no sign-up) and mobile staff in burgundy caps marked "Service". It also lists a security centre line, +49 89 13081055. The city has a weapons and knife ban around the Alter Botanischer Garten and Karl-Stützel-Platz, from 15 January 2025 for two years, says the City of Munich. Its text does not name the station.

Late at night, you still have ways home. From Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday the U-Bahn runs all night. On other nights, night buses and trams meet at Karlsplatz (Stachus) between 1:30 and 4:30 a.m., says the city.

The official pages also say nothing more on the streets around the station, so we give no verdict on the area after dark. Your safe options are the Bahnhofsmission, the Bundespolizei, the security centre line and the night transport above. If you feel unsure, go to the Bahnhofsmission or the Bundespolizei at the station.

A big station is safest when you know your exit before you step off the train.

Step 5: Start a day trip from the station

Take a day trip from Hauptbahnhof when you want a train, not a car. Only the Neuschwanstein tour below meets inside the station. The Dachau trip starts on the S2 at the station, the Herrenchiemsee tour meets at Dachauer Straße 4, and the airport bus leaves from Arnulfstraße 12. The Dachau memorial is about 25 minutes away on the S2, and then a bus. Our guide to the Dachau concentration camp tour explains the route and the guided options. No official page we fetched gives the S2 and bus times, so check them there.

For a castle, the half-day Neuschwanstein tour meets in the station opposite platform 32 at Arnulfstraße 3. It lasts 7 hours, costs from €179 per person, has free cancellation and scores 4.5 stars from 120 reviews on GetYourGuide. The group has up to 14 people. The price leaves out food and drinks, the horse carriage and the shuttle bus. Other castle choices are in our Neuschwanstein tours guide.

The Herrenchiemsee day tour goes by train and boat and takes 9.5 hours, from €59 per person, with free cancellation and 4.9 stars from 150 reviews on GetYourGuide. It meets at Dachauer Straße 4. The 11 euro palace ticket and the 19 euro boat fare are not included. See more trips like Herrenchiemsee on our day trip page.

Many tours start at a meeting point, not at your hotel. On 28 October 2026, The Best Travel Destinations counted 238 Munich-area listings on GetYourGuide, and 175 of them had no hotel pickup, so most day trips start at a meeting point, many of them near the Hauptbahnhof.

So is a tour worth it? On your own, you pay only the train fare and the entry tickets, and you choose your pace, but you plan the trains, boats and tickets yourself. With a tour, the price is higher and you follow the group's times, but the meeting point, guide and route are set for you. For the station, the airport or your bags, go on your own. For a castle or palace with a guide, a tour makes sense. Check the exact meeting point on each tour page before you go, because some meet inside the station and some meet streets away. Each tour page shows its rating, review count, free cancellation and the company that runs it, and those figures come from GetYourGuide, not from us. No official page tells us how far ahead to book, so read the page for your date. Group size is shown only for Neuschwanstein here, and we have none for Herrenchiemsee or the airport bus.

One honest limit: this guide covers the main station only. For trips to places such as Garmisch or Berchtesgaden, check the current train times on the Deutsche Bahn planner for your date.