The main station building at Munchen Hbf

München Hbf/Munich main station (München / Munich)

Welcome to our guide to using Munich's main train station, it won't be on any 'Most Stylish Stations' lists, but the central station in Munich is a highly practical rail terminal packed with passenger facilities, most of which are on one level.

However, München Hbf is to be completely re-built so some of the usual pedestrian routes through the station may be subject to alteration.

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Terminus Station
Looking down into the main departure hall at Munchen Hbf used by the long distance trains Looking down into the main departure hall at Munchen Hbf used by the long distance trains
Munchen Hbf is a  hub for international trains Munchen Hbf is a hub for international trains
Looking towards the main food court (one of many) at Munchen Hbf Looking towards the main food court (one of many) at Munchen Hbf
The platforms/gleis at Munchen Hbf in the main station have step free access to the concourse The platforms/gleis at Munchen Hbf in the main station have step free access to the concourse

It's difficult to avoid Munich's central station when exploring Europe by train, more international trains depart from here than any other station in Europe.

Fortunately if you're lucky enough to be taking a train to the likes of Austria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland or The Netherlands, then Munchen Hbf is a comparatively easy station to use

All of the large numbers of gleis (platforrms/tracks) in the main station are at street level, so you won't have to use stairs, escalators or lifts, when accessing the local area around the station, including the tram stops.
Transferring between any express and Regio service simply involves walking from one gleis (platforrm/track) to another.
The gleis (platforrms/tracks) that nearly all of the long-distance trains use are directly adjacent to the main concourse.
When arriving by any mainline train you simply have to walk ahead of you, to the main concourse in order to access the exits, taxis and all public transport connections.

Though the station is so vast that not all of the gleis (platforms/tracks) can be housed within the main building, so gleis 5-10 and gleis 27-36 are in distinct areas on either side of the main train shed.
Some of the ticket agents will alert travellers to the need to access these different parts of the station, but they ae not entirely separate from the main Munchen Hbf, so can be accessed from within the main building.
It's not a scenario where those making connections needs to find their way to an entirely different station / location.

The only part of the station which isn't at street level are the platforms/tracks used by the local (S-Bahn) trains and somewhat inevitably the U-Bahn trains, which are the equivalent of metro/underground trains.
All of the local (S-Bahn) trains which serve München Hbf use a tunnel which crosses the city centre, hence the access to and from them being shared with the access to some of the U-Bahn lines which serve the station
When arriving by train on a gleis (platforrm/track) connected to the main concourse, the primary access to the S-Bahn part of the station is to the left.

Construction work

München Hbf is not a beautiful station, but this is changing over the coming years.
The main building across the front of the station which faced the city centre has already been demolished and it housed many of the shops.

So the access in and out of the station is currently by the entrances/exits on either side the main concourse, on ArnulfstraBe to the north and on BayerstraBe to the south.

Left luggage

München Hbf has left luggage lockers in two locations; when arriving by main line train, one of these is behind the access to the S-Bahn trains.
This is where you will now find most of the lockers as the part of the station where the majority of the lockers were located, has been compromised by the building work, though there are still some lockers in this area which is behind the food court.
You will need €6 in coins for a large locker, the lockers are coin operated only.

Food and drink

Large stations can resemble shopping malls, airport terminals or cathedrals, but München Hauptbahnhof/München Hbf is akin to a giant food court.
Though the number of catering outlets has been reduced due to the now commenced reconstruction work, which has removed the larger restaurants in the station.

The multiple food/drink outlets include those scattered across the main concourse, so when first arriving by train, the station can seem somewhat chaotic.
The food available from the food court on the main concourse is superior (and often cheaper) than that which can be taken away from a bar car on any train that departs from here, so stock up before you hop on board.

Accessing The Trains in Munich's main station

emoMünchen Hbf is a terminus station so changing trains simply usually involves simply walking from one platform to another on the one level.

Though München Hbf is used by so many trains that they are four distinct parts of the station.

The local (S-Bahn) trains, which offer the best connection between Munich's main station and its city centre use a separate, lower level part of Munchen Hbf.

Almost all of the long-distance trains arrive at and depart from gleis (platforms/tracks) 11-26 that are directly connected to the main concourse, so are steps away from the entrances/exits and the access to/from the S-Bahn and U-Bahn.
The services which typically use this part of the station include:

  • all of the ICE services
  • nearly all of the IC services
  • the EC trains to/from Austria, Italy and Slovenia
  • the Railjet trains to/from Wien/Vienna and Budapest
  • the ALX trains to/from Praha/Prague
  • the night trains.

Most of the shorter distance Regio trains depart from gleis (platforms/tracks) which are located to the left and right of the main station building, and are therefore some distance from the main concourse.
So if you will be taking one of these services, it's a good idea to be at the station at least 5 minutes before departure to allow for an easy transfer to the train.
If you don't want to rush against the clock also allow at least 10 minutes when making connections to/from the trains which use these gleis (platforms/tracks) which are outside the main station building.
All transfers between platforms at Munchen hbf have to be made via the main concourse, there is no short-cut passage way at the other end of the station, which links all the platforms.

Gleis (platforms/tracks) 5-10

Gleis (platforms/tracks) 5-10 have recently been reconstructed, so they are now further from the main concourse then previously
It is now virtually a different station, not only is it totally outside the main station building, it is pretty much separated from it.
The access to/from them is by walking along virtually the full length of gleis (platform/track) 11, so at at a leisurely pace it takes at least two to three minutes to reach them from main concourse.

Gleis (platforms/tracks) 5-10 are typically used by services that include:

  • trains to/from Salzburg that are operated by Meridian and
  • Westbahn services to/from Wien/Vienna
  • Regio trains to/from Muhldorf and Kufstein,
    All of the trains which use gleis (platforms/tracks) 5-10 also call at München Ost station so when using these trains to travel to/from the city centre, making transfers München Ost is the way to go.
    Also worth knowing is that Salzburg, Kufstein and Wien/Vienna are all served by other train services to/from München Hbf which use the main part of the station.

Some of the Railjet services to Wien and Budapest can also use this part of Munchen Hbf.

Gleis (platforms/tracks) 27-36 are to the north of the main station building, so when facing the trains on the main concourse, they are over to the right.
They are not quite so distant as gleis (platforms/tracks) 5-10, but at a leisurely pace its best to allow two minutes to reach them from the main concourse, the access to them is by walking along gleis 26.
Gleis (platforms/tracks) 27-36 are typically used by services that include:

  • the ECE services to/from Zurich
  • a few IC services heading to Stuttgart and beyond
  • the Regio services to Garmisch, Fussen and Lindau.

Other Main Line Stations in Munich/München

München Hbf is one of three stations in the city used by long distance daytime trains, so some trains to and from the city also call at München Ost or München-Pasing stations.

München-Pasing is on the route between Stuttgart and Munich - and Munchen Ost is served by long-distance trains travelling between the city and Austria.

So if  you want to travel from/to Munchen hbf, which is the main city centre station, be sure to specify this when making a booking.

And be wary of confusing the stations; don’t head for Munchen Hbf if your ticket is for a train leaving from Munchen Ost etc.
In particular ticket agents will see that journeys from Munchen Ost and Munchen-Pasing stations are faster, so can assume that travellers would rather board at those stations.

To The City Centre from Munchen Ost:

If you’re heading to the city centre and your train calls at Munchen Ost station  make a transfer to the S-Bahn trains at that station.
You’ll be at Marienplatz (in the heart of the city) around 10-15 mins faster compared to remaining on the train and making the transfer at Munchen hbf.

To the city centre:

In common with other major German cities the subway/metro system in Munich/Munchen is named the U-Bahn.

However, the train service between Munchen Hbf and the heart of the city is provided by S-Bahn trains, on which rail passes are valid.
These are local/commuter trains and in Munich/Munchen they use a tunnel to cross the city centre.
There are frequent trains (to a variety of final destinations), you shouldn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for a train on from Munchen Hbf.

The S-Bahn platforms are at a lower level in Munchen Hbf, the main entrance to this part of the station is on the main concourse, opposite platform (track) 26, follow the green 'S' signs.
When facing away from the trains, this main access to the S-Bahn is on the left hand side of the main concourse.

For the heart of the city, close to the Frauenkirche** and the Neues Rathaus, take the S-Bahn (commuter trains) eastbound to Marienplatz station.

For the Deutsches Museum and Museum Island (Museumsinsel) take the S-Bahn trains to Isartor station, three stops east from the Hauptbahnhof.

At the other end of this tunnel is Munchen Ost station.
So if you will be heading to/from the city centre, and your long distance train is calling at Munchen Ost the quickest and easiest end-2-end journey will be to change trains at Munchen Ost and NOT Munchen Hbf.

By U-Bahn (metro)

How you can best access the U-Bahn (Metro) at Munchen Hbf depends on which line you will be taking, so it's best to have worked this out, before your train arrives at the station.

The optimum access to line U1 and line U2 is to use the same entrance as the main entrance to the S-Bahn, opposite platform (track) 26.

However, the easiest access to line U4 and line U5 is at the opposite end of the concourse at the side exit by platform (track) 11 on the street named BayerStraBe.

Though the Oktoberfest grounds are 15 min walk from Munich Hauptbahnfof, it’s not worth squeezing on to U-Bahn line U4 or U5 for the one stop ride to Theresienwiese starion.

Day Trips By Train

Even when the Oktoberfest isn’t happening Munchen is one of Germany’s most fabulous cities, some may argue that this particularly applies when the Oktoberfest isn’t occurring.

However, a less obvious attraction of spending some holiday in Munchen/Munich is that it is second to none amongst German cities, as a base for exploring a swathe of other must-see destinations, on day trip trains by train.

Within 90 mins of Munchen/Munich by train you can be in Augsburg or Nurnberg or Salzburg or Ulm.

Extend the journey time to within two hours and the list of fabulous destinations to visit also includes Berchtesgaden or Füssen (for easy bus connections to the fantasy castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau) or Innsbruck or Regensburg.

To and from Munich airport by train

The railway station at München Flughafen is served by two lines of the city's S-Bahn system of local trains plus there are also now hourly Regio trains which link Munich Airport with Landshut (Bay) (connect for Nurnberg) and Regensburg.

Between Munich Airport and the city centre

The trains on the S-Bahn line routes S1 and S8 both operate every twenty minutes and they both use a tunnel which crosses the city centre and has stations named:

The journey time to Marienplatz station is 38 minutes by both line S1 and S8 so when departing the airport, take whichever train will be departing first.

Though when heading to the airport look carefully at the station departure monitors at the city centre stations, because the trains on line S1 will be heading west and the trains on line S8 will be going east.

For journeys by the S-Bahn trains AirportPLUS tickets are available which include onward travel within the city that day, so they are a particularly good option if your start and end point is located by a station on the U-Bahn, which is the metro network within central Munich.
Connections with lines U2 and U3 are available at Marienplatz and Karlsplatz station offers transfers with lines U4 and U5.

When heading to the airport on the S-Bahn trains take care not to leave the train at München Flughafen Besucherpark station.

To and from the city's main railway station

Trains on lines S1 and S8 also both call at the lower level platforms / tracks in München Hbf.
The journey time by line S1 is 46 mins and by line S8 it is 41 minutes, so when heading from the airport take whichever train will be next to depart.
When going to the airport check the departure monitors, the trains on line S1 will be heading west and those on line S8 will be going west.

München Hbf has direct trains to most other cities in Germany though most of these cities, including Nurnberg, Stuttgart, Ulm and Wurzburg also have direct trains to and from Frankfurt Airport.

Making connections at München Ost station

Every 20 mins S-Bahn trains on line S8 connect München Flughafen (airport) with München Ost station in a journey time of 31 mins; trains on line S1 also go to München Ost, but they have a journey time of 55mins so are best avoided.

The trains on the main railway route between München the Austrian border, have to travel in a semi-circle around the southern side of the city in order to access the city's main rail terminal, München Hbf.
Hence it takes around 10 mins for these long-distance trains to make the journey between München Ost and München Hbf.

Therefore for rail journeys between the airport and some destinations south-east of Munich, including Bolzano, Graz, Klagenfurt Innsbruck and Salzburg, the quickest route is to make the transfer at München Ost and not at München Hbf.

Best Hotels/Hostels Near The Station

Conveniently, the greatest concentration of hotels in Munchen/Munich is the area around the Hauptbanhof, particularly in the streets immediately to the south of Munchen Hbf station.

Hotels within a 5 min walk of Munchen Hbf

Luxury:
Hotel Koenigshof

Mid-Range:
Aloft Munich

Bayer’S Hotel Munich

King’s Hotel First Class

Budget:
Hotel Eder

Buddy

Hostel:
Wombat’s

EURO YOUTH Munchen

Hotel options with direct public transport links to/from Munchen Hbf

Holiday Inn Leuchtenbergring

Holiday Inn Westpark

City Guides

Munich/Munchen isn't just a convenient location for changing trains, it's also one of the most interesting cities in Germany, so it can be worth spending a night or two here.

Things To Do (Time Out)

51 Tips From Locals (LikeALocal)

10 Free Things to Do (Loney Planet)

Unusual Attractions (AtlasObscura)

50 Amazing Things To Do (Années De Pélerinage)

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