Public transportation by train and bus is easy to the Dachaz KZ-Gedenkstätte Concentration Camp Memorial from München Hauptbahnhof and Munich Airport.
Getting to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial site (KZ-Gedenkstätte) is easy by train and bus from downtown München or from Munich Airport. The memorial site is in the suburb of Ost Dachau, around 2 km from Dachau train station. Guided tours from Munich often use public transportation too.
KZ is the abbreviation for Konzentrationslager, German for concentration camp, while Gedenkstätte means memorial.
By Train and Bus from Munich to Dachau
Traveling to the Concentration Camp Memorial site in Dachau is simplest by S-Bahn train from Munich to Dachau station and then by bus to the KZ-Gedenkstätte. Total traveling time is 40 minutes –- use a Munich Zone M-1 day ticket (€11.10 for an individual or €20.10 (2025 prices) for a group ticket valid for up to five traveling together). This day ticket is cheaper than two single tickets (€6.10 x 2) and covers both the train and bus.
From München Hauptbahnhof – or any other S-Bahn station in downtown Munich – take S-Bahn train S2 to Dachau (or direction Peterhausen or Altomünster). Traveling time from Munich Main Station to Dachau Station is just over 20 minutes with generally three trains per hour. On the return, use S-Bahn S2 to Erding (or to München).
A regional train (Regionalbahn RB) would be a few minutes faster but runs infrequently.
Bus 726 from Dachau Station
From Dachau station, use bus 726 (direction Gewerbegebiet Ost / KZ-Gedenkstätte / Saubachsiedlung) to bus stop KZ-Gedenkstätte. Traveling time is less than ten minutes. (On the return, use bus 726 marked Bahnhof.)
Bus 726 departs from right in front of the train station with the stop clearly marked as Dachau Concentration Camp or KZ-Gedenkstätte. Similarly, bus stop KZ-Gedenkstätte is right in front of the memorial’s visitor information center.
Alternatively, it is around a 30-minute walk along the “Path of Remembrance” to the memorial site. This well-marked path with information panels follows the route that prisoners had to walk from Dachau station to the camp.
Check Deutsche Bahn timetables for train and bus transportation — use “KZ-Gedenkstätte, Dachau” as the destination.
Note that the RE and RB trains depart from Munich Main Station and not from underground like the S-Bahn trains. Generally, it is simpler to use the more frequent S-Bahn S2 trains, especially if traveling beyond the Hauptbahnhof.
By Train and Bus from Munich Airport to Dachau
→ NOTE: Engineering works in 2025 may cause changes and delays when traveling from / to the airport on S1, especially around Laim. It does not affect regular travel between Munich and Dachau but check the Deutsche Bahn timetable Munich Airport-KZ-Gedenkstätte, Dachau if services are affected on the exact day and time of travel.
Getting to the Concentration Camp Memorial Site in Dachau is fairly simple on public transportation from Munich Airport. At least two transfers are required with a total traveling time of an hour to 80 minutes. Use a Munich M-5 day ticket (€16.30 for an individual or €30.50 (2025 prices) for a group ticket valid for up to five traveling together) to cover all transportation needs for this trip. (The Munich M-5 is often sold as the Airport Day Ticket.)
Several transportation options are available from Munich Airport to KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau but generally using the first routing described below is the simplest. See the Deutsche Bahn timetable Munich Airport-KZ-Gedenkstätte, Dachau for details. Use the exact dates and travel times, as some bus routings are not available every day or very frequent. It is, of course, possible to combine options and use different return routings – the ticket price remains the same.
On the return to Munich Airport, note that S-Bahn trains S1 often split en route to the airport. Use the part of the S1 train marked Airport / Flughafen, not Freising. The station for passengers flying from Munich Airport is München Flughafen Terminal (not Flughafen Besucherpark!)
Best Transportation Options from Munich Airport to Dachau Concentration Camp:
- S-Bahn S1 & S2 & bus 726 – the simplest option that works every day:
From Munich Airport (MUC) use S-Bahn train S1 (direction München Ostbahnhof) to München-Laim (35 min). Change here to S2 for Dachau (or direction Petershausen) and get off at Dachau station (15 min).
From Dachau Bahnhof, use bus 726 as described above.
The total traveling time is around 1h15. This is the simplest option and is available every day. It is sometimes not listed in the timetables, as traveling time is around 5 minutes longer than more complicated options.
This is the best option when not familiar with the Munich bus system. It also won’t leave you stranded at an exposed bus stop if connections are missed. To force this route at the Deutsche Bahn timetable, add München-Laim as an intermediate stopover of a duration of 00:01.
- S-Bahn S1 & Buses X201 & 726 via Oberschleißheim:
Personally, I would stick to the routing described above but a sensible alternative is: From Munich Airport (MUC) use S-Bahn train S1 (direction München Ostbahnhof) to Oberschleißheim (20 min).
At Oberschleißheim, change to bus X201, which should reach Dachau Bahnhof in about 20 minutes (5 stops). From here, use 726 to KZ-Gedenkstätte (10 min), as described above.
Further alternatives, including changing to a bus in München-Feldmoching, are less attractive. Alternatives here are limited and the waiting areas are less interesting in case of delays and missed connections.
On the return, bus numbers and stops stay the same but the travel destinations are of course reversed.
Driving to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial
Driving to Dachau is fairly simple with Autobahn A8, A9, and A92 passing close to the town. The memorial site is in the eastern parts of Dachau – follow signs to Dachau Ost or KZ-Gedenstätte. Parking is available off Pater-Roth-Straße and Alte Römerstraße near the information center.
Guided Tours from Munich to Dachau
Several companies offer guided tours to Dachau Concentration Camp from Munich. These tours often use public transportation allowing participants to return at a later time if desired.
Official guided tours take place a few times per day while audio guides are available in several languages from the Visitors Center next to the bus stop. All signs and comprehensive information boards, with very few exceptions, are in both German and English.
→ See also Visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial for a short description of the site.
The best-known and most visited concentration camp memorial sites in modern Germany are Dachau (Munich), Sachsenhausen in Oranienburg (Berlin), Buchenwald (Weimar), and Bergen-Belsen (Celle / Hannover / Hamburg). Auschwitz-Birkenau is in modern-day Poland near Krakow.
