Munich Hop on Hop off Bus Tours

There are many ways to tour Munich, but if you have little time during your trip and do not want to miss any of the monuments of this German city, I recommend buying a one or several day pass for the Munich sightseeing bus.

The tourist buses that run through the city of Munich are designed to communicate the main points of interest of the city saving us time and effort. And for about 22 euros you can get your ticket to get on and off as many times as you want.

How this service works

Munich's tourist buses are based on the concept of free stops, also known as "hop on hop off". This means that the passenger using the bus does not pay per ride each time he/she uses the bus, but with a fixed fare of 24 or 48 hours he/she can get on and off the bus as many times as he/she wants and at the stops he/she wants.

How I recommend using the tourist bus

First of all, use the service as an ordinary means of transportation with the difference that you will get to the sites sooner and orient yourself much better than you would by subway or regular bus.

Secondly, enjoy the tour, the panoramic views of the different monuments of the city and the audio commentary in several languages that are available on board. In other words: I advise you, at least once during the validity of your pass, to take the entire route without rushing just to see the city in a comfortable and unhurried way.

You can purchase your sightseeing bus pass online, regardless of whether you prefer the 24-hour or 48-hour ticket. Once you have made your reservation you will receive your pass in your email.

You will have plenty of time to activate it so you can buy it with peace of mind before your trip, and if your plans change you can request the cancellation of your pass 24 hours before the start of your trip and you will be refunded.

How to activate it

The tourist bus pass is activated the first time you use it and from then on the time of use begins to run. To take full advantage of its possibilities, I recommend activating it first thing in the morning. All buses are adapted for wheelchair users and younger children do not need to pay a pass if they are seated on top of an adult.

The Munich sightseeing bus pass entitles you to take two different routes through the city: the shorter express route and the Grand Tour route, which covers a larger area of the city and is ideal for getting to know Munich in more detail.

Express Tour

The Express Tour covers places of interest such as Marienplatz, the English Garden, the Art Gallery or the House of Arts. The stops on this tour are as follows:

Grand Tour

The Grand Tour, meanwhile, includes many of the stops of the shorter route, but also adds other sights such as Ludwig University to the tour. These are the stops:

Ana's Traveller Tip

Make the most of your pass by activating it first thing in the morning and, at least once, take the entire route to listen to the audio commentary.

In Munich the tour bus stops are clearly marked. When there is a stop that shares two routes, look closely at the bus signs to see which route the bus is taking.

The shorter route is ideal for visiting the main sights of the city saving time, but to learn the meaning and history of the different monuments of Munich the ideal is to take the longer route complete and listening to the audio commentary available in several languages.

A good idea to get to know the city in depth is to combine walking sections between nearby monuments with bus sections to move to more distant areas.

If you have made good use of the tourist bus, you will have already visited practically all the points of interest of the city of Munich, but there is still much more to see during your trip. In the surroundings of Munich you can find the Bavarian mountains with their amazing landscapes, cities like Salzburg, fairytale castles or historical lessons such as the Dachau concentration camp.

Check out this article on Best Tours and Day Trips from Munich to make the most of your trip.