We cannot deny the fact we love a bus tour. The hop on hop off Munich sightseeing tour was a great way to the Munich with kids. Actually, it’s one of the best things to do in Munich. It gets you to the sights quickly and with little fuss. It is great in the summer when it is boiling hot and brilliant in the winter when it is freezing cold. Our girls absolutely love them as double-decker buses are not common in our part of the world.

Riding up the top with no roof causes near hysteria when they board. If the very front seat is free Marley is in it in a flash! Wherever we go we try to go on at least one sightseeing tour to see the city quickly especially if we have limited time or one of the girls are tired at that stage of the trip.

Olympic Park Munich is home to Sea Life aquarium, BMW Welt, BMW Museum and the 1976 Olympic Stadium.

We try to go on the first couple of days to see places that we can then seek out for a longer visit or decide whether a place is worth going back for another longer visit. There have been a few times that the hop on, hop off bus has saved us lining up at a place and other times it has cemented a return visit.

Hop on hop off Munich bus tour is great for kids

We had very limited time in Munich on our last trip and we had some plans to see things we had missed on previous trips. So we thought the best way to stay warm and see as much as we could was to get a Gray Line hop on, hop off bus for a Munich city tour. Even after visiting Munich four times we jumped at the chance to go on the Grayline Munich Bus Tour. There is always something new to see in a city like Munich and after the sightseeing tour had ended we realised just how much of Munich we had totally missed. Thank you, Grayline hop on hop off Munich Bus Tour for showing us!

Munich hop on hop off bus gives you access to all the sights

We met the Munich City Sightseeing bus at Haptanbarnhof which was just down from the amazing hostel that we were staying in called Meininger and straight away I was impressed that the bus was already there waiting to start. Next, to the bus the guides were chatting to people about what the Munich city tour covered, the time it went for, how long the stops at each place where and what route that it would be taking on that day. As it was winter the routes were slightly different with fewer buses going between the stops. We were able to listen in to some of the conversations before showing our confirmation letter and getting out tickets printed.

The weather in Munich can cold make sure you rug up in the winter. Willow loved her North Face snow jacket.

We got a map and decided to go straight to Nymphenburg Palace to see it in the snow as that was the longest route going that day. Nymphenburg Palace is also the first Palace we ever visited when I first came over to Europe and my dream has been to see in covered in snow so to make sure we got there with our limited time, that was stop number one for us. Seeing Nymphenburg Palace covered in snow was top of the list of things to do in Munich with kids.

It was mighty cold that morning in Munich, so when those doors finally opened it was a mad rush to get on there, get a seat and most important of all get warm! As we passed our driver Angelo we all said hello and looked for our headphones you normally get on the hop on, hop off buses. I asked him for some but he smiled at me and said that there was none.

Munich attractions are waiting around every corner

I found this quite odd but thought that they may be waiting for some new ones to come before the bus tour started. We climbed the stairs and found our seats easily (Marley was not impressed that she missed out on the front set!) and sat down in preparation to leave on our Munich hop on hop off tour. The bus was already lovely and warm. Perfect for winter in Munich!

The Viktualienmarkt is a daily food market and a square in the centre of Munich. The bus drops off 100 meters away.

The next thing that really impressed me and that I noticed straight away was that the windows were clean. We would have to take pictures out of them as we went and the windows did not open. As 10 am rolled around we were off! This is where my absolute love for the Gray Line München Bus Tour was cemented.

The Munich hop on hop off sightseeing bus keeps you warm on a winter tour

Nymphenburg Palace was our first stop on the tour. It looked amazing in the snow

You know those little headphones that you plug in, the ones I didn’t get on the way onto the bus? The ones that never work or don’t have your language or when you plug them in the volume is so loud you just can’t bear it?…These were not going to be a problem for us at all on the Grayline Munich hop on hop off  Tour. We had a REAL LIFE PERSON speaking to us and her name was Heidi! She was absolutely magnificent.

Heidi gave us the personalised touch that other sightseeing tours had just missed with the tiny headphones. As we cruised the streets she gave us little facts, quirky stories and funny things she had noticed around the city. Heidi also included some of the histories in what she was telling us, she did not gloss or ignore some of the things that had gone on in parts for the city in the past. We could ask her questions and she answered as best as she could.

I loved it and so did the girls. We were all finally getting the same stories at the same time rather than fighting over a set of headphones or trying to relay what was being said to the rest of the family.

The bus will take you to all the best things to do in Munich

Our stop came all too quickly and we hopped off the bus at Nymphenburg Palace. As we got off Heidi reminded us of the time for the next bus and that the pick up was right where we were being dropped off. We hopped off and we were off to explore the carriages museum.

Königsplatz is a square and home Munich’s gallery and museum quarter.

Watching the time we realised that the next pick up was getting close so we left the museum to wait at the stop. The bus was due at 11.15 am and it was only 5 minutes late which was fantastic! There are so many reasons that they can be late but 5 minutes is absolutely nothing! This time we had a different lady who was telling us about Munich.

While she was good she just was not Heidi! We ended up getting off this time near the Munich Residenz and spent a lot of time wandering that area. We then walked up to Marienplatz to get on the bus again and who should be on that bus? Heidi and Angelo!

We stayed on the bus this time for nearly an entire lap to see as much as we could as the girls were finding the cold very hard on this day. I really enjoyed Heidi and her commentary again. After a while both the girls had enough so when we got back to Hauptbahnhof Mark decided to go back to the hostel with them.

There are so many top things to do in Munich so I got off the bus to wander down to a section of Munich I wanted to take pictures of. (This was the closest stop) As I got off the bus Heidi gave me directions and a fresh map just in case I needed one that had no writing on it.

The antiquarian hall is the oldest room in the Munich Residence and the most amazing as well

As I set off I got a toot and a big wave from Angelo as he passed me a little down the street. This made me smile and really put me in a brilliant, confident mood to go and explore some of Munich by myself.

Thank you, Gray Line Munich Bus Tour for a fabulous day and for a wonderful afternoon exploring the top things to do in Munich

Great family activities in Munich that you can book here. Just click the highlighted text! for some of the best things to do in Munich.

• Ride the Munich Hop on Hop off Bus and see the city
• Get a Munich city tour card HERE for discounts all across the city
• Reserve your amazing Day trip to Neuschwanstein
• Oktoberfest (If it is on when you visit )
• Visit Allianz Arena Tour for all football lovers
• A Segway tour is fun for the whole family
• Book a Bike tour or rent Bike

Getting to Munich:

• Munich is the second biggest city in Germany.
• Flughafen München Franz Josef Strauß is 28.5 kilometres from the city centre.
• Munich is serviced by many international airlines and budget carriers. For cheap flights from with Europe check Veuling, EasyJet and Eurowings. You can check the prices of international flights to Germany with cheapOair. Domestic flights can be booked with Expedia
• By February of 2017 Flughafen München, Franz Josef Strauß features flights to 248 destinations, making it the airport with the fifth-most destinations worldwide.
•  The S1 and S8 S-Bahn lines connect the airport with the centre of Munich, with departures every 10 minutes. The airport is also easy and convenient to reach by bus from the Munich city centre
• Many international and domestic trains and bus service’s Munich terminating at Munich’s Central Station (Hauptbahnhof)
• You can book an airport transfer with Suntransfers who we have personally used on many occasions.
• You can book a rental car with AutoEurope and have it waiting for you at Munich Airport.

Getting around Munich:

• Munich has an extensive public transportation system. It consists of a network of underground (U-Bahn), suburban trains (S-Bahn), trams and buses. … Tickets can be purchased at the blue vending machines, found at U- and S-Bahn-stations, at many tram and bus stops and newspaper kiosks.
• There are different types of tickets: Single Tickets (called “Einzelfahrkarte”), Stripe Tickets (called “Streifenkarte”) and Day Tickets (called “Tageskarte”).
• Before first embarking, the ticket must be validated – insert the ticket into the small stamping machines posted at the entrances to U- and S-Bahn tracks or on trams and buses. It’s a € 60 fine if you are caught riding without a valid ticket.
• The Munich City Tour Card allows free use of public transport, plus discount and free admission to some of the best Munich sights. More information and booking click here
• Another alternative for tourists is to buy a pass for the Munich Hop on hop off bus which takes you to all the sites in the city. Click here for further information and prices.

Where to stay in Munich:

• Munich has accommodation options for every budget from Hostels, to apartments and hotels rooms.
• Hostels in Munich can start from as little as 20 euro’s a night for a shared dorm room.
• You can search Airbnb for their Munich accommodation offerings. If you have never used Airbnb before get yourself $50 credit by signing and booking a stay right HERE.
• Hotels in Melbourne generally start from around $100 a night for a double room and increase incrementally as the luxury rating rises towards 5 stars. Google states that 3-star averaging $144, 5-star averaging $469 for a night stay.
• You can compare and book your stay on Agoda, Hotels.com and Priceline

( All coloured text in the Getting to Munich, Getting around Munich and Where to stay in Munich links to the pages mentioned for your information and booking convenience. We at Wyld Family Travel will make a small commission from any bookings you make. This money goes into maintaining our website. )

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