Getting around in Munich (München) is very easy using the vast and efficient public transportation system that combines S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains, buses, and trams into a smooth network. Various transportation cards and passes are available to reduce the cost of public transportation in Munich with day tickets often offering the best savings deals. The Munich City Tour Card combines unlimited public transportation with discounts to many popular sights in München.
The Munich City Tour Card
Tourists in the Bavarian capital München can save on transportation cost and admission tickets to many popular sights when using the Munich City Tour Card. The Munich City Tour Card combines the advantages of a regular Munich transportation day ticket with further discounts at various sights, restaurants, shops, and attractions.
Like the regular Munich transportation day tickets (Tageskarten), the Munich City Tour Card comes in two versions: single for solo travelers and Partnerkarte for groups of up to five adults. For the Partnerkarte, two children between 6 and 14 years old count as one adult.
The Price and Validity of the Munich City Tour Card
The Munich City Tour Card is available for one or three days and is valid from the moment of validation up to 6 am the following (or fourth) morning. The ticket is valid for transportation in the Innenraum (center of Munich) or Gesamtnetz (larger Munich transportation network including traveling to Munich Airport).
The prices of the Munich City Tour Cards are as follows:
- One-Day Innenraum – €9.80 Single / €16 Partner
- Three-Day Innenraum – €18.80 Single / €29 Partner
- Three-Day Gesamtnetz – €29.50 Single / €48 Partner
For comparison, the transportation-only day cards are:
- One-Day Innenraum – €5.40 Single / €9.80 Partner
- Three-Day Innenraum – €13.30 Single / €22.80 Partner
- One-Day Gesamtnetz – €10.80 Single / €19.60 Partner
(A three-day transportation ticket only is not available for the full Munich mass transit network.)
Saving Money with the Munich City Tour Card
In order to save money with the Munich City Tour Card, it is necessary to save more than around €4 per day on admission fees. This saving is easily achieved through active sightseeing or by visiting sights that give large discounts.
Most of the museums and sights offer only around €1 discount on admission fees to bearers of the Munich City Tour Card. However, a visit to the popular and surprisingly pricy BMW Museum gives a discount of €4 on its own. Sea Life München gives a similarly large discount but the biggest saving is the €10 off a Segway Tour.
Some of the sights that give discounts with the Munich City Tour Card include the Residence, Schloss Nymphenburg, Beer and Oktoberfest Museum, Bavaria, Cuvilliés Theater, and Olympia Park. Discounts are also offered on bike rental, city walking tours, and bus excursions to other sites in Bavaria, including Schloss Neuschwanstein.
The Munich City Tour Card can be bought at almost all places where regular Munich transportation tickets are sold including vending machines at stations and bus stops, the tourist information office, and at many hotels. A handy pamphlet with map comes with the card if bought from tourist offices.
Family Savings and Munich Transportation Day Tickets
The Munich City Tour Card discounts are often only given on the full adult price and not necessarily on child admission fees that are usually discounted any way. For families with children the regular Munich transportation Partnerticket will often give better value than the Munich City Tour Card.
Especially for children aged 6 to 14, the regular Munich transportation day ticket (€2.60) that covers the entire München mass transit network cannot be beaten on price, except when the children are included on the Partnerticket with parents.
Travelers heading to Munich on day trips from other parts of Bavaria may save by using the Bayern Ticket. The Bayern Ticket covers almost all forms of local transportation throughout Bavaria including the whole Munich public transportation network.
Henk Bekker - Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer currently living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
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