Munich by bike
A guide to exploring Munich by bike
Munich claims to be one of Germany’s most cycle-friendly cities and with good reason, even the Lord Mayor gets to work on two wheels!
There is seriously no better way to discover the Englischer Garten and the Isar River on a warm day, with a couple of stops to dive into a beer garden and/or the water along the way.
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TWO-WHEELED TOUR: Several operators offer group tours of Munich by bike. Sometimes they're even free, see below for details.
Pic: CC jeffwilcox
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There are over 200kms (124mi) of bike paths in greater Munich. Many cycling lanes are marked off on the side of the road and others are on sidewalks.
You have to be careful of the occasional pedestrian wondering onto the path ahead of you, just make sure your bike bell is working!
Always lock your bike up (the city’s not that safe) and take note of signs reading Fahrräder abstellen verboten! They mean you’re not allowed to park there.
Taking bikes on trains in Munich and Bavaria
Bikes can’t be loaded onto city buses or trams but you can take them on the U- and S-Bahn – usually. They’re not allowed on during rush hour (Monday to Friday from 6am to 9am and again from 4pm to 6pm). But during school holidays the afternoon ban doesn't apply.
You also need to buy your bike a ticket and stamp it at the ticket machines.
The Fahrrad-Tageskarte MVV (Munich Bike Day Pass) costs €2.50 and is valid from when you stamp it until 6am the next day.
A Fahrrad-Tageskarte Bayern (Bavaria Day Bike Pass) not only covers Munich’s U- and S-Bahns, but also regular train services throughout Bavaria. They cost €4.50 and are valid from the time of purchase until 3am the next day.
It’s available from train station ticket machines.
The two Munich tourist information centres provide extra advice and pamphlets on how to get the most out of the city on two wheels.
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RENT A RIDE: Why not hire a bike in Munich? Pic: © Stuart Anderson -
Destination Munich |
Bike rental in Munich
If you’d like to rent a bike, a typical daily rate is €15 a day for a three-gear bike and €20 for a 24-gear or mountain bike.
They usually come with a lock and/or a basket and operators are happy to
lend you a helmet.
Call-A-Bike
The Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) runs a system called Call-A-Bike.
You register over the phone, get a code, pick up a bike from the Main Train Station and away you go, it’s charged automatically to your credit card.
You can also pick up random Call-A-Bikes elsewhere in the city and leave them at any major intersection.
It’s cheap at just 8c per minute and a maximum charge of €9 for 24 hours.
For more info you can download a PDF brochure in English here.
You can also rent bikes from...
Radius Tours and Bikes
Open March 15 to the end of October from 9.30am to 6pm
Address Arnulf Strasse 3. it’s in the Hauptbahnhof – Main Train Station – opposite platform 32
Website www.radiusmunich.com
Phone 089 59 61 13
Email info@radiusmunich.com
Munich Walking Tours Bikes
Open 9am to 11pm
Address Thomas-Wimmer-Ring 1, it’s 5min walk from Marienplatz
Website www.munichwalktours.de
Phone 089 24 23 17 67
Email info@munichwalktours.de
Organised tours of Munich by bike
A guy called Lenny from Discover Munich offers free three-hour bike tours through downtown Munich and the Englischer Garten.
Tours start from the Fish Fountain at Marienplatz and go daily from March 1 to November 10 (March 10 to April 15 and September 1 to November 10 at 12.30pm, from April 16 to August 31 at 11.30am and 4pm)
See the website here for more details.
Mike’s Bike Tours offer half and full-day tours Munich by bike costing €18 and €49 respectively.
Tours start at the tower of the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) on Marienplatz.
From March 1 to April 14 and September 1 to November 10 tours leave at 12.30pm, from April 15 to August 31 at 11.30am and 4pm.
There are some discounts for backpackers, check out the website here.
More info
The Munich city council website has an excellent section on biking in and around Munich, which you can find here.
Have a blast exploring Munich by bike!
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Explore Munich
