Tours

The tourist office offers individual guided tours for fees ranging between €100 and €250. Bookings must be made at least 10 days in advance.

A novel way of seeing the city is to hop on one of the bike-rickshaws. The bike-powered two-seater cabs operate between Marienplatz and the Chinesischer Turm in the Englischer Garten. Just hail one; the cost is €37 per hour.

Bus Tours

The best way to get a feel of Munich is to board one of the double-decker sightseeing buses with big signs that read "Stadtrundfahrten" (city sightseeing). They leave from across the main railway station. There are the blue ones run by Autobus Oberbayern and, 80 meters to the left, yellow and red ones run by Yellow Cab Muenchen. Tours cost €13 per person (cheaper if booked online) and offer hop-on, hop-off service throughout the City Center with commentary via headphones available in eight languages. There are five stops and the full tour takes about an hour. Both bus lines run about every 20 to 30 minutes, between 9 am and 5 pm. The only difference is that the blue line has—in addition to the headphones for other languages—a live host who offers running commentary in English and German, so seamlessly that after five minutes you're sure you speak both languages. On the bus ask for a brochure with many other suggestions for bus trips.

Walking Tours

Radius Tours & Bikes has theme walks of Munich highlights, Third Reich Munich, and the Dachau concentration camp. Third Reich tours depart from the Radius offices, in the Hauptbahnhof, just across from platform 31, daily at 3 pm between early April and mid-October (Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday at 11:30 am the rest of the year). The Dachau tour is daily at 9:15 and 12.30 early April to mid-October and daily at 11 for the rest of the year. Advance booking is not necessary for individuals.

Gray Line Sightseeing Munich (Hauptbanhof, Bahnhofpl. 7, Ludwigvorstadt, Munich, 80335. Wait outside Karstadt department store. 089/54907560. www.sightseeing-munich.com.)

Tour Information

Munich Tourist Office (089/23396500. www.munich-tourist.de.)

Radius Tours & Bike Rental (Hauptbahnhof, Arnulfstr. 3, Ludwigvorstadt, Munich, 80335. 089/55029374. www.radius-tours.de.)

City Sightseeing Tours Munich (Hauptbahnhof, Elisenstr. 3a, Maxvorstadt, Munich, 80335. Wait outside Elisenhof. www.citysightseeing-muenchen.de.)