Are you planning a trip to Munich? Then you’ve probably noticed that the entrance fees for sights, attractions, and museums add up quickly. Entry to the Pinakothek der Moderne alone costs 12 euros and the trip to the viewpoint from the Olympic Tower costs 11 euros.
Before our trip to Munich, we were advised to buy the Munich City Pass for visits to the museums and sights. There are two of these official tickets for Munich to get free entry.
In this article, we have summarized our experience with the Munich City Pass.
- Here you will find inspiration for Munich: The most important sights with our highlights.
- All tips for planning a trip to Munich can be found in this article.
What does a Munich Pass bring me?
Sights, attractions, and tours are now available in more and more cities. These “City Passes” are special cards that allow you to visit a certain number of attractions and museums. Some include public transport.
The big advantage of these sightseeing cards is that you only have to pay once and then you can visit all the included sights as you wish. Sometimes public transport, airport transfers, tickets for the hop-on hop-off bus, or discounts for restaurants and shops are also included.
You no longer have to buy a ticket to most sights. The passport is only scanned. This not only saves you time but also money. Awesome right?
When is a Munich City Pass worth it?
First time in Munich?
Are you in Munich for the first time and want to visit the top sights and museums? These are included in the city passes. This is why these passes are most worthwhile for people who are in Munich for the first time or for the first time in a long time.
A city pass could also be worthwhile for tourists who have been here several times. Because great tours and lesser-known attractions are often included in these passes.
If you want to see a lot of sights in a short time
Are you like us and want to see as much as possible on city breaks? Then a Munich City Pass is definitely worth it. It is roughly said that you have to visit 2-3 attractions to make the pass worthwhile. The more you look at, the more worthwhile a Munich City Pass is.
The longer you stay, the more the passes pay off
For short stays, it is often difficult to recoup the purchase price of the pass-through sightseeing and participating in tours.
The longer you stay, the more the passes usually pay off. That’s why we are often 4-5 or even longer in cities.
One ticket for everything
A big advantage is that you pay once for sightseeing passes. Once you are in Munich, you no longer have to calculate whether tickets are still within budget. Most passes also include tickets for hop-on hop-off bus tours, ideal for getting an overview of the city.
We also find the free use of local transport a great bonus.
Which City Cards are there for Munich?
New passes for Munich are added every year. I present the most important and official City Cards to you here.
Munich City Pass
The Munich City Pass is an all-inclusive card. This pass includes entry to many museums, observation decks, and tours, and gives discounts to restaurants, specialty shops, and cafes. Free use of public transport is included in the “Inner Space” urban area. The entire network with the airport costs a small surcharge (depending on the duration of the pass).
- The pass is available for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 days.
- Price: 44.90 euros
- Buy Munich City Pass Turbopass here
Munich Card
The Munich Pass is the “small pass” and costs less than half of the Munich City Pass. It offers discounts everywhere and is perfect for groups. Free use of public transport is also included in the “Inner Space” urban area. The entire network with the airport costs a small surcharge (depending on the duration of the pass).
- The pass is available for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 days.
- Price: from 13.90 euros
- Order the Munich Card from the official provider Turbopass here
Services included in the passes
Sights and tours included in the Munich City Pass:
- Ascent to the Olympic Tower: €11
- Alte Pinakothek: €7 (€1 on Sundays)
- Neue Pinakothek: 7 € (Sunday 1 €)
- Pinakothek der Moderne: €12 (€1 on Sundays)
- Museum Brandhorst for contemporary art: 7 € (Sundays 1 €)
- Bavarian National Museum: €7 (€1 on Sundays)
- German Museum: €12
- New town hall tower: €3
- Treasury in the residence: €10
- Nymphenburg Palace: €6
- Nymphenburg Palace, Botanical Garden: €4.50
- Lenbach House: €10
- Jewish Museum: €6
- Kunsthalle Munich: €12
- Alpine Museum: €4.50
(The figures in euros are the regular prices without a pass)
You can take part in these tours for free:
- Tour of the old town (Munich Walk Tours), duration: 1.5 hours; normal price: €15.00 per person
- Hop-on Hop-off (can be upgraded to large route): Duration of one loop without getting off: 1 hour. Price without pass: €17
- Bavaria Filmstadt guided tour: €14.00
- FC Bayern Erlebniswelt or combined ticket with arena tour: €12 or €19
View all attractions included here.
museums and castles
| Museums & Castles | Munich Card | Munich City Pass |
| Alte Pinakothek (art museum) | – 29% | Free entry |
| Old Schleissheim Castle with religious and historical exhibition | – 33% | Free entry |
| Bavarian National Museum | – 14% | Free entry |
| Botanical Garden Munich Nymphenburg | – 33% | Free entry |
| Grünwald Castle with tower | – 71% | Free entry |
| Cuvilliés Theater (famous rococo theater) | – 29% | Free entry |
| German museum | – 17% | Free entry |
| Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum | – 21% | Free entry |
| German Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim | – 21% | Free entry |
| German Theater Museum | – 20% | Free entry |
| Glyptothek and State antiquities collections | – 33% | Free entry |
| Jewish Museum | – 20% | Free entry |
| Kunsthalle Munich | – 20% | Free entry |
| Lenbachhaus (art museum) | – 20% | Free entry |
| Marstallmuseum (important carriage collection) | – 22% | Free entry |
| Munich City Museum with Film Museum | – 20% | Free entry |
| Museum Brandhorst for contemporary art | – 29% | Free entry |
| Five Continents Museum – ethnology up close | – 20% | Free entry |
| Museum Man and Nature – experience natural history | – 29% | Free entry |
| Museum Villa Stuck – the world of the painter Franz von Stuck | – 20% | Free entry |
| Neue Pinakothek (Museum of European Art) | closed* | closed* |
| Schleissheim New Palace (baroque palace with a beautiful garden) | – 22% | Free entry |
| Nazi Documentation Center | – 20% | Free entry |
| Park castles in the Nymphenburg Palace Park | – 22% | Free entry |
| Pinakothek der Moderne – art, graphics, architecture, and design | – 30% | Free entry |
| Museum Kingdom of Crystals | – 50% | Free entry |
| Residence Museum – Germany’s largest inner-city palace | – 14% | Free entry |
| Hall of Fame and Bavaria with the viewing platform | – 29% | Free entry |
| Schack Collection – German painting of the 19th century | – 25% | Free entry |
| Treasury in the residence | – 14% | Free entry |
| Lustheim Castle with Meissen porcelain collection | – 29% | Free entry |
| Nymphenburg Castle | – 17% | Free entry |
| State Coin Collection | – 33% | Free entry |
| State Museum of Egyptian Art | – 29% | Free entry |
| Valentin Karlstadt Musäum – life and work of the comedian | – 20% | Free entry |
| Alpine Museum | – 33% | – 33% |
| German Hunting and Fishing Museum | – 20% | – 20% |
| Children’s Museum Munich | – 20% | – 20% |
* The Neue Pinakothek is closed until 2025 due to renovation work.
How the purchase works
- On the Turbopass website, choose whether you want to buy the Munich Pass or the Munich City Card.
- Click the number of days you want to use the pass.
- Consider whether the area of validity for the city center is sufficient for the local transport ticket, or whether you would like to upgrade the surcharge for the entire network with the airport.
- Then you have to enter the first day of use, your name, and date of birth.
- Immediately after the purchase, you will receive an email with the ticket. Print it out and show it at the first attraction on the 1st day of validity.
How much does the Munich City Pass cost?
It depends on how many days you want to buy the Munich City Pass. The following variants are available for local public transport:
- 1 day: €44.90 (day ticket for interior €6.70)
- 2 days: €59.90 (2-day ticket corresponds to 2 x day tickets for the interior €13.40)
- 3 days: €79.90 (3-day ticket for the interior €16.80)
- 4 days: €89.90 (corresponds to a 1-day and a 3-day ticket: €23.50)
- 5 days: €99.90 (corresponds to 1 2-day and a 3-day ticket: €30.20)
As you can see, day tickets for the bus, tram, and subway alone cost a lot. It depends on you whether you always need day passes or whether a stripe ticket (10 strips, short-distance corresponds to 2 strips with €2.80) would suffice.
Or with the entire network including the airport:
For the entire network, you can only buy day tickets and not multi-day tickets. Here you save a lot if you often want to drive out of the inner city area (Erding, airport).
- 1 day: €46.90 (day ticket for the entire network €13)
- 2 days: €74.90
- 3 days: €99.90
- 4 days: €114.90
- 5 days: €129.90.
Here you can conveniently order the Munich City Pass before your trip.
Alternative: Cost of the Munich Card
The Munich Card only offers discounts and no free entries. Accordingly, the pass is cheaper. Ideal for anyone who wants to use local transport and wants to save money. Because the low costs save you money quickly.
The following variants are available for local public transport:
- 1 day: €13.90 (day ticket for the interior €6.70)
- 2 days: €19.90 (2-day ticket corresponds to 2 x day tickets for the interior €13.40)
- 3 days: €28.90 (3-day ticket for the interior €16.80)
- 4 days: €32.90 (corresponds to a 1-day and a 3-day ticket: €23.50)
- 5 days: €37.90 (corresponds to 1 2-day and a 3-day ticket: €30.20)
The Munich Card is really cheap if you subtract the cost of the day pass for public transport. Ingenious and the right thing for everyone who wants to be flexible.
Or with the entire network including the airport:
For the entire network, you can only buy day tickets and not multi-day tickets. Here you save a lot if you often want to drive out of the inner city area (Erding, airport).
- 1 day: €22.90 (day ticket for the entire network €13)
- 2 days: €32.90
- 3 days: €45.90
- 4 days: €54.90
- 5 days: €59.90
Here you can conveniently order the Munich Card before your trip.
Conclusion & experience with the Munich City Pass
As holders of the pass, we were able to visit many museums without having to pay the entry fee again. In addition, you can use the hop-on hop-off bus (the blue buses) and local public transport (bus, tram, and subway) for 24 hours for the entire validity of the pass.
We’ve also done things that we wouldn’t have done without the pass. These include the treasury in the Residenz or the botanical garden at Nymphenburg Palace.
We think the hop-on hop-off bus is great for the first overview of all cities. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do any other tours due to lack of time, tips from Munich friends, and the best weather in March (e.g. Schlemmer Tour at the Viktualienmarkt).
We would buy the pass again and again! It’s simply practical if you don’t have to pull out a wallet on the spot, just your passport.
Here you can conveniently order the Munich City Pass before your trip.
