Munich Metro Map 2026 – Timetable, Tickets & Prices

The subway network in Munich was built in preparation for the 1972 Summer Olympics and is therefore much younger than the subway network in Berlin, which has existed since 1902. The eight operating lines wind their way through the Bavarian capital over a route length of around 95 kilometers and currently serve 100 stations, almost all of them within the city. The subway lines operated by Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) can be recognized on Munich’s public transport map by the large “U” in front of them.

A special feature of the Munich subway is the three main lines through the city center, each of which is covered by two lines. The resulting overlaps are defined in the Munich subway plan so that there is a dense and even train sequence on these heavily frequented routes. The subway plan in Munich also provides for two supplementary lines, the U7 and U8. While the U7 on Mondays to Fridays between about 6:30 AM and 9:45 AM and again between 12:30 PM and 7:45 PM serves to absorb the peaks in commuter and school traffic, the U8 is intended to relieve traffic on Saturdays.

The Munich subway lines at a glance

• U1 (Olympia-Einkaufszentrum – Mangfallplatz)
• U2 (Feldmoching – Messestadt Ost)
• U3 (Moosach – Fürstenried West)
• U4 (Westendstraße – Arabellapark)
• U5 (Laimer Platz – Neuperlach Süd)
• U6 (Garching-Forschungszentrum – Klinikum Großhadern)
• U7 (Olympia-Einkaufszentrum – Neuperlach Zentrum)
• U8 (Olympiazentrum – Neuperlach Zentrum)

By the time it hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, Munich had developed from a sleepy provincial town into a cosmopolitan city. This development is also reflected in the number of subway passengers. In 2025 alone, MVG’s subway trains carried 442 million passengers - slightly fewer than in 2024. In addition to numerous schoolchildren and commuters, there are also more and more tourists from Germany and abroad on the trains.

Current publications from the city of Munich speak of around 9.3 million guest arrivals in 2025. Since many sights such as the Allianz Arena, the Frauenkirche and the Olympic Park can be reached by subway and Nymphenburg Palace by streetcar, it is very important to know the ticket prices and timetables, especially when on vacation in Munich.

As in many other major cities, Munich relies on a standardized ticket system. The tickets of the Munich Transport and Tariff Association are thus valid for the subway as well as for the bus, streetcar and S-Bahn. The price of a subway ticket in Munich is generally based on fixed fare zones. The Bavarian capital and its surrounding area have Zone M and Zones 1 to 12. While Zone M covers the city center including Karlsplatz, Zones 1 to 12 cover more distant parts of the MVV network; the airport is in Zone 5.

If you want to buy a subway ticket in Munich, you should take a look at the fare zones beforehand, as tickets can be purchased for Zone M or for the zones traveled through up to M-12. The more zones the desired ticket covers, the more expensive it becomes.

Alternatively, MVV also offers inexpensive short-distance tickets that are valid for a maximum of four stops, including no more than two stops by U-Bahn, S-Bahn, express bus or regional train. In Munich, tickets are also subject to a maximum travel time. While a short-distance ticket is valid for one hour, for example, a “full” ticket that covers an entire zone remains valid for two hours. From Zone M-1 or three outer zones, the maximum travel time increases to three hours, and from M-5 or seven outer zones to five hours.

In addition to one-way tickets, day tickets for singles and groups as well as particularly inexpensive children’s day tickets are also available. There are also CityTourCards for three to six days. This special multi-day ticket is particularly interesting for tourists who are planning a longer stay in Munich. In addition to entitlement to subway travel in the selected period and fare zone, the CityTourCard also includes substantial discounts at over 100 tourist partners in Munich and the surrounding area. However, day tickets are valid until 6:00 AM on the following day; multi-day CityTourCards until 6:00 AM on the day after their final day of validity.

The most important subway tickets in Munich

In Munich, U-Bahn tickets are generally available from ticket machines at U-Bahn and S-Bahn stops as well as from machines in many buses and streetcars. In addition, some tickets can also be purchased in the form of online and cell phone tickets. The latter is particularly easy with the help of the MVV app. However, a personalized MVV mobile ticket is only valid in conjunction with an official photo ID.

The same rule applies to personalized print tickets, which can be printed out at home in advance. In Munich, tickets issued unvalidated must be validated before travel. The ticket validators provided for this purpose are usually located at the entrance to the platforms. This also applies to U-Bahn tickets issued unvalidated by Deutsche Bahn vending machines. There you can choose between validated and unvalidated tickets.

The subway schedule in Munich is designed to run every 5 minutes, especially on sections of the U3 and U6 at peak times, to ensure a smooth commute. Outside rush hours, the U3 and U6, for example, run every 10 minutes on many sections according to the subway timetable. While the subway trains run continuously in many major cities, the subway plan in Munich provides continuous night-time operation only on weekend nights and before public holidays. As a result, from Monday to Thursday, trains stop running after about 1:00 AM until the first morning services. On the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday, however, the subway runs continuously every 30 minutes. In both the first and last hours of operation, intervals on individual lines may reach 20 to 30 minutes.

To the timetables of the Munich subway lines:

U1, U2, U3, U4, U5, U6, U7, U8

Just because the subway plan in Munich does not provide for such connections from about 1:00 AM until the first morning services, Monday through Thursday, does not mean that night owls have to walk. Replacement services during the week are provided by night buses (N40-N45) and the night streetcar lines (N17, N19, N20, N27). At weekends and on the nights before public holidays, the above-mentioned bus connections, which are supplemented by the night buses N72, N74-N79 and N80/N81, mostly run every half hour; N80/N81 run hourly.

Further information on the Munich subway

Inspired by the construction of subway lines in other major cities such as Berlin (1902), plans for the construction of a subway line were also developed in Munich at the turn of the century. This plan envisaged an underground route between Hauptbahnhof and Ostbahnhof, but was rejected as the expense would not have been worth it for the volume of traffic. As an underground railway project begun in 1938 was halted in 1941 because of the war, it would take until 1965 for the ground-breaking ceremony for today’s subway to take place.

You might also be interested in these metro maps – for comparison or for your next trip:

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