Munich City Guide - Getting Around

The comprehensive transport network is run by the Münchener Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund GmbH (MVV) (tel: (089) 210 330; website: www.mvv-muenchen.de/en). This consists of an integrated system of 20 Strassenbahn (tram) lines, more than 80 bus lines, eight U-Bahn (underground) lines and eight S-Bahn (suburban train) lines. The area covered by the MVV is divided into concentric zones.

All transport runs daily 0500-0100, with additional hourly services on night buses and trams 0100-0500. Tickets are available for purchase from blue ticket machines marked with the MVV logo and from other ticket outlets. Tickets must be validated in blue Entwerter machines, marked with the letter ‘E', upon boarding - except on new trams, for which pre-validated tickets are available.

Both 1-day and 3-day passes are available and up to five adults travelling together can save money by buying group tickets (Partner Tickets).

Taxis are usually beige Mercedes and can be safely hailed on the street. Taxi-München (tel: (01733) 825 038; website: www.taxi-muenchen-online.de/engl) is the central dispatching service. A tip of 5-10% is common practice.

Traffic can be heavy, particularly during rush hour (roughly 0700-0900 and 1600-1800) and parking is often problematic. Drivers should note that trams always have priority in the city, although driving on their tracks is permissible and usually unavoidable. Buses have priority when leaving stops.

The most useful car parks include those at Karlsplatz, particularly towards Munich Hauptbahnhof, and at Färbergraben, just south of the pedestrianised Kaufingerstrasse.

Drivers need to be at least 21 years old to hire a category one car. Nevertheless, small cars, such as a Smart car, can be hired at 18 years. Insurance in Germany is mandatory and drivers must hold a valid national driving licence.

There are numerous car hire firms, both at the airport and in the city. Central locations of representative major providers, with late hours, include Avis, Im Hauptbahnhof (tel: (089) 550 2251/2; website: www.avis.de) and Hertz, Bahnhofsplatz 2 (tel: (089) 550 2256; website: www.hertz.de). Autoverleih Sander, Leopoldstrasse 107 (tel: (089) 348 046; website: www.sander-autoverleih.de) is a local alternative.

Call A Bike (tel: 0700 0522 5522; website: www.callabike.de), operated by DB, has bikes spread over Munich. By calling the number (above), a credit card account is set up, which enables customers to release the electronically locked bike by inputting a pin code. When finished, the cyclist returns the bike to a bike rack, situated near major intersections. The appropriate fee is then deducted from the credit card. Once an account and pin code are set up, any available bike can be used at any time.

Bikes can be hired in the ordinary way from May to October, at Radius Touristik, in Munich Hauptbahnhof, opposite platform 32 (tel: (089) 5502 9374; website: www.radiusmunich.com). The company also offers maps and advice and can organise tours if reserved beforehand. Spurwechsel, Sankt-Martin-Strasse 9 (tel: (089) 692 4699; website: www.spurwechsel-muenchen.de), also hires out bicycles. Allround Auto- und Motorradvermietung GmbH, Boschetsriederstrasse 12 (tel: (089) 723 2343; website: www.allroundrent.de), hires out cars, motorbikes and scooters.