MVV zones, the Deutschlandticket, the airport, and what a valid ticket must show. Munich's fare map is a set of rings, and the difference between Zone M and everything beyond it is the number most newcomers get wrong.
Munich's transport is one network — U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus all take the same ticket — and it is priced in rings. Almost everything a visitor does happens inside Zone M, the innermost ring; the airport does not, which is the single most expensive misunderstanding available here.
The Deutschlandticket changed the arithmetic for residents. At €63 a month since 1 January 2026 it covers all local and regional transport across Germany, which for most people in Munich is cheaper than a monthly pass and vastly cheaper than singles.
Two things catch people out. Tickets bought on paper must be validated before you board — an unvalidated ticket counts as no ticket. And the S-Bahn trunk line through the centre is a single tunnel shared by almost every line, so one fault there disrupts the whole system at once.
Articles in this section cover the ring system, what each airport route actually costs, and whether the Deutschlandticket or a local pass is better for a given pattern of travel.
The MVV no longer runs on rings. Since December 2019 the network has used a zone model: Zone M covers Munich and a handful of neighboring towns, surrounded by Zones 1 through 6. Fares depend on how many zones a trip crosses. Zone M’s outer edge rarely matches the city’s own administrative boundary — it … Read more
