24-hour grand hop-on hop-off bus tour of Munich

Munich’s sights are further apart than the compact old centre suggests, and the gap between the Residenz, the big museums, the parks and the Olympic grounds is more walking than most people want to do in a day. A hop-on hop-off pass covers that ground above ground, and this one runs for a full twenty-four hours.

The ticket is a pass, not a single journey. Board at any stop on the route, stay on as long as you like, get off to see something, and take a later bus when you are finished. Twenty-four hours means an afternoon and the following morning if you want it that way, rather than one rushed day.

Riding a complete circuit first is worth the time. It gives you the shape of the city and shows you which stops you actually want to come back to, and recorded commentary runs as you go, in a choice of languages.

The upper deck is open where the weather allows, which is the reason to take the bus rather than the U-Bahn. Munich reads differently from up there — the scale of the Ludwigstrasse, the rooflines around Marienplatz, the trees along the Isar — and none of it is visible from underground.

Your pass buys the bus and nothing else. Admission to anything you get off to see is separate, and Munich’s busier museums and palaces are worth booking ahead independently.

The upper deck is open, so the weather reaches you: Munich is cold well into spring and wet at any time of year, and the deck may be closed in bad conditions. Route, stop list, frequency and the first and last departures of the day are set by the operator, and we confirm them with you when you book.