MVG, the Munich Public Transportation Company, is Germany’s second largest municipal transport company. It operates underground, bus and tram networks in Munich. The MVG transport network is easily accessible from almost wherever you are in Munich. Nearly every household is located within 400 meters of an underground station, a tram station or a bus stop. Although the tariff, ticketing and payment options tend to look very complicated at first glance, within only a few days of using it, you will learn to appreciate the public transport system of the Bavarian capital.

The MVG App

Since mid-2016, much of the content on the website of the MVG has been translated into the English language and the excellent MVG App, which is available for free download from Google Play and the App Store, has also been made available in English.The App offers information on Munich’s U-Bahn, buses, tram, as well as on their CarSharing and MVG Rad (bicycle sharing) and you can use it to buy tickets via your smartphone.

While the convenience of ticket buying is nice, and timetables are available at all stations, the really amazing thing about the app is the journey planner. Simply select the place you are (or a departure point) and the place you want to go, then confirm your departure time, and sit back and let your journey be mapped out for you. Using a combination of the trams, buses, U- and S-Bahns, as well as a little walking on occasion, the app can deliver you accurately to the minute to your destination.

Zones, Areas, Districts, Rings and Munich XXL

Too make things a bit harder to understand, the MVG has divided the city into zones/districts/areas/rings/Munich XXL which all more or less stand for the same thing, but different specific names are used when buying different kinds of tickets. Here is a brief explanation.

Munich is divided into four circular zones marked with the colours white, green, yellow and red; as in the map below. The white zone is also referred to as the “Inner District”, while the green, yellow and the red zones are all parts of the “Outer District”. The Entire Network is made up of the Inner and Outer Districts. The white and green zones combined make up Munich XXL. The Entire Network is also further divided into 16 rings; this is only relevant for the IsarCard ticket.

Inner District (Innenraum) - white zone

Munich XXL (München XXL) - white and green zones

Outer District (Außenraum) - green, yellow and red zones

Entire Network (Gesamtnetz) - all zones

You can find all information you need about tickets at Moving to Munich: Public Transport Tickets.