The best ways to travel from Munich Airport (MUC) to downtown Munich are the frequent S-Bahn trains or the convenient Lufthansa Airport Express buses.
The easiest and cheapest ways to get from Munich Airport (MUC) to downtown are by S-Bahn trains or the convenient Lufthansa Airport Express buses. Travel time from the airport to central Munich is around 45 minutes. The airport station, used by all railway passengers, is Flughafen München. Airport shuttle buses usually stop at both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. It is often necessary to travel via central Munich to reach most destinations in Bavaria by train or bus — the Bavaria Ticket is a great option for travel beyond Munich.
Private airport transfers are a good time-saving option for destinations without direct train links. Taxis and private transfers are convenient for small groups, families with young children, and travelers with limited mobility, especially when traveling at odd hours or with lots of luggage. Book private airport transfers in advance and compare rates, as fares and service levels vary widely.
Munich Airport Transportation: Quick Guide
All downtown Munich ↔ Munich Airport public transportation options take around 45 minutes and cost about the same. Select whatever service is best for your destination or travel needs:
- Lufthansa Airport Express bus: cheapest, less walking, no stairs, and runs every 20 minutes. A great option if taking a taxi to your final destination or the U-Bahn from Schwabing.
- S-Bahn S1 & S8: a train to München Hauptbahnhof every 10 minutes, best option when continuing by public transportation to your final destination.
🎟 Best Ticket:
- Cheapest: Lufthansa Airport Express bus return ticket (valid for a year)
- Public transportation day tickets: Zone M-5 if traveling only in Munich, or Bayern Ticket for all trains and buses in Bavaria.
→ Plan journeys with Deutsche Bahn or MVV.
🚕 A private transfer directly to your destination is comfortable, especially late at night and when traveling with luggage, but it will never be cheaper than the train or bus to downtown.
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Trains S1 & S8 · Lufthansa Express Bus · Buses to Ingolstadt · Freising, Regensburg & Nuremberg
Trains from Munich Airport (MUC) to Downtown München Hauptbahnhof & City Center
S-Bahn commuter trains are the most common way to travel from Munich Airport to downtown. Long-distance and high-speed IC and ICE trains do not stop at the airport, so most passengers to other destinations in Bavaria and Austria have to change trains in central Munich (Hauptbahnhof, Ostbahnhof, or Pasing).
S-Bahn S 1 & S8 Trains from Munich Airport
Two different S-Bahn train lines (S1 and S8) connect Flughafen München (Munich Airport) and Munich downtown. These two lines encircle the north of Munich from opposite directions, with traveling time to the main station about the same on either line, but a 20-minute difference when traveling to, for example, the Ostbahnhof. These S-Bahn trains generally run every 20 minutes, meaning in effect a train to downtown stations every 10 minutes.
- S-Bahn line S8 (yellow): Munich Airport to Pasing (or Herrsching) with stops en route at the Ostbahnhof (33 minutes), Marienplatz (38 minutes), and Hauptbahnhof (41 minutes).
- S-Bahn line S1 (blue): Munich Airport to the Ostbahnhof (53 minutes) with stops, amongst others, at the Hauptbahnhof (45 minutes) and Marienplatz (48 minutes).
When traveling TO the airport:
Note that S-Bahn S1 trains to Munich Airport split in two at Neufahrn — only the wagons towards the rear of the train go to the airport.
The train station at Munich Airport is Flughafen München — it serves both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, which are an easy walk from each other. Don’t use Flughafen Besucherpark station unless you’re traveling to a relevant parking lot. You may also see München Airport Center (MAC), which is the area between the airport terminals used for the station, buses, taxis, and shops.
Train Tickets from Munich Airport to Downtown
You need a Zone M-5 Ticket to travel by train from Munich Airport to downtown — the ticket covers onward connections by S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram, and bus. An M-5 day ticket, often advertised as the Airport-City-Day-Ticket, is usually the best value. Day tickets are especially cheap for small groups of up to five traveling together. If traveling to other destinations in Bavaria by train or bus, a Bayern Ticket could offer significant savings.
Munich Train, tram, and Bus Ticket Prices 2026:
| Tickets & Munich Travel Zones | Zone M (Center) | M-1 (Dachau) | M-5 (Airport) | Child Ticket (6-14) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single Ticket (Einzelfahrt) | €4.20 | €6.40 | €15.10 | €2.00 |
| Single Day-Ticket (Single-Tageskarte) | €10.10 | €11.70 | €17.50 | €3.80* |
| Group Day Ticket (Gruppen-Tageskarte) – for up to 5 | €19.70 | €21.20 | €32.60 | NA |
| Weekly Ticket (Wochenkarte) | €23.80 | €38.30 | €80.60 | * |
*Note: Up to three children travel for free with an adult using a Single Day Ticket.
- See Save with Munich Transportation Passes and Day Tickets for more details.
- Save with a Bavaria Ticket when traveling outside Munich.
Check German Railways schedules — use MUC as a shortcut for Munich Airport and M for München Hauptbahnhof. To central Munich, options requiring a transfer or trains other than S1 or S8 are rarely worth the additional hassle.
Railway construction work continues in Munich, with the München Hauptbahnhof area currently most affected. Train services operate mostly as normal, but long detours may be required between trains and station exits. Use other stations when possible, especially when traveling with luggage.
German Railways Trains (Deutsche Bahn) to Munich Airport
Long-distance trains of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) currently do not stop at Munich Airport. As a result, most train passengers have to travel to Munich Main Station (München Hauptbahnhof) to transfer to long-distance trains.
Some long-distance trains also stop at Pasing in the west of Munich or Ostbahnhof in the east of Munich, allowing for faster and easier transfers than at the Hauptbahnhof. (Ostbahnhof is particularly handy for connections to Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, and Chiemsee.)
Munich Airport to Regensburg and Nuremberg via Freising
Passengers for Regensburg, Landshut, and Freising may use the hourly RE22 train (ÜFEX Flughafenexpress Airport train) directly from Munich Airport. This route sometimes also works for Nuremberg, with traveling time not much slower than the more expensive option via Munich Hauptbahnhof. It is a regional train, so the Bayern Ticket is valid.
A further alternative for passengers heading to Regensburg, Nürnberg, Passau, and Bamberg is bus 635 to Freising and changing there to local trains. Transferring at Freising often saves time over going to the Hauptbahnhof and allows for the use of the Bayern Ticket, which is valid on local trains and buses (but not intercity trains).
A direct Lufthansa Express Bus to Nürnberg (Nuremberg) is only available to Lufthansa passengers (and partner airlines). Book the bus at the same time as booking the Lufthansa flight — use NUE rather than MUC as the destination. It is usually not possible to add the bus at a later stage.
Check German Railways schedules before traveling, using the exact dates and times for the most accurate information. In case of delays and cancellations, far more alternative options are available from München Hauptbahnhof than from Freising or any other station in the region.
Traveling by Car to Munich Airport (MUC)
Munich Airport is on Autobahn A92, which connects Autobahn A9 (Munich to Nürnberg) and Deggendorf on the Danube. For the airport, use exit 6, Flughafen München.
Driving time from downtown Munich can be as little as 40 minutes, but it depends on traffic. Taxis cost around €80-90. Taxis to Freising take around 15 minutes (€50).
For small groups, private airport transfers may be of interest. These airport shuttles are available to most towns in Bavaria, and many different service providers operate from the airport. Compare rates, as fares and service levels vary widely.
Transportation by Bus to Munich Airport (MUC)
Buses connect Munich Airport with both downtown München and several Bavarian towns. Flixbus intercity coaches provide direct connections to 62 destinations in Europe and Germany from Munich Airport, but many may require an actual bus change en route.
Airport Express Buses from Munich Airport to Downtown
The Lufthansa Airport Express Bus (sometimes referred to as the Munich Airport Shuttle) connects Munich Airport and München Hauptbahnhof (45 minutes) three times per hour. En route, all buses stop also at München-Nord / Schwabing (25 minutes). These airport shuttle buses operate from around 5 am to 8 pm — S-Bahn trains provide transportation to Munich Airport until later at night.
The one-way fare is around €13, while a return (open dates, within a year) is only €20.
The Airport Express bus is often the cheapest option for downtown if you don’t need onward public transportation. The main benefit of the Lufthansa Express Bus is not saving money, but the convenience of street-level access, not having to drag luggage through stations, a guaranteed seat, air conditioning, and usually free working Wi-Fi.
Lufthansa Airport Express Bus Stops in Munich:
- München-Nord — the bus stop is directly at the U-Bahn U6 stop Nordfriedhof, which provides faster connections to many parts of Munich rather than continuing to the city center by bus.
- Hauptbahnhof — the airport bus stops at Arnulfstr. 12 (on the northern side of the main station).
- Munich Airport — each Lufthansa Airport Express Bus stops four times: at Terminal 1D and 1B, Airport Center (MAC), and Terminal 2.
The Lufthansa Airport Express Bus is available to all travelers. Flying on Lufthansa, or any other airline for that matter, is not required. Public transportation tickets and railway passes are not valid on the Lufthansa Airport Bus.
- Buy the Lufthansa Express Bus ticket online — it is possible to buy tickets from the driver at a slight surcharge. It is not possible to reserve seats, and tickets are valid for any departure on the date of booking. Return tickets are valid for a year.
During major events and exhibitions, buses are available from the airport directly to the Messegelände (Show Grounds). The traveling time is around 45 minutes.
Buses from Bavarian Towns to Munich Airport
Scheduled bus services are available directly to some towns in Bavaria and are quite convenient as they avoid transiting via Munich itself. Two bus services are worth noting:
- MVV Bus 635 connects Munich Airport and Freising up to three times per hour in 20 minutes (and often hourly in 10 minutes on a Regional Express train too). Freising has handy regional train connections to Regensburg, Passau, and Landshut. This option sometimes works to Nuremberg (Nürnberg) as well, but most travelers will have to change at München Hauptbahnhof.
- The Ingolstädter Express Bus X109 connects Munich Airport in an hour up to 13 times per day with Ingolstadt, the home of German luxury motorcar manufacturer Audi, with some buses stopping en route at the Ingolstadt Fashion Outlet Village. Bus X109 is not cheap, but it can save a lot of travel time.
Bus services to other destinations are surprisingly limited, with Flixbus the most likely service provider. Direct services are sometimes available from Munich Airport to Prague and to Salzburg, but it is often faster to travel via downtown Munich than to wait hours for a direct connection.
A direct Lufthansa Express Bus to Nürnberg (Nuremberg) is only available to Lufthansa passengers (and partner airlines). Book the bus at the same time as booking the Lufthansa flight — use NUE rather than MUC as the destination. It is usually not possible to add the bus at a later stage.
Munich Airport is the second-largest airport in Germany and serves more European destinations than Frankfurt International Airport. Both low-cost and full-service airlines fly to Munich Airport. Alternative airports in the region include Salzburg (SZG) in Austria and Nürnberg / Nuremberg (NUE).