Discover the Munich way of life

At Munich Central Station, Call a Bike stations are located on the north side in Arnulfstraße and on the south side of the station in Bayerstraße. In addition, you will find numerous Call a Bike bikes independent of stations in the immediate vicinity of the station.

352 bicycle parking spaces are located in the immediate vicinity of the station.

In the main station, in the northern wing of the station, just opposite platforms 27 to 36, you will find your bike rental.

Whether e-bikes, city bikes, sports bikes or children's bikes - at Radius Bikes everything is available that visitors need to "conquer" Munich on a rental bike. The city is considered the secret cycling capital anyway, has a wonderfully developed network of cycle paths, is flat and offers relatively short distances.
There are over 250 bikes in the shop. Bicycle baskets, air pumps, repair kits and city maps are provided free of charge. Panniers, child seats and helmets are available for a small surcharge. Per day, the rental costs between 18 and 38 euros plus the desired extras.

Interested parties can book their rental bikes in advance on the homepage or enquire by phone.

From Arnulfstraße, keep north, follow Luisenstraße and after eight minutes you will have reached your first tour highlight.

Königsplatz was laid out in 1806. Architecturally, it is closely related to the entire layout of Maxvorstadt and especially Brienner Straße, the former Wittelsbach Fürstenweg. The architect Karl von Fischer wanted to break up the strict classicist order of the boulevard with squares and green spaces. In designing the Königsplatz, he was guided by the ancient model of the Acropolis.

During the Nazi era, Brienner Strasse and Königsplatz underwent numerous changes that alienated their original character. Königsplatz in particular was used for Nazi marches and also for the burning of books. The former design of the square was completely reversed. All greenery was removed and buildings were erected in the Nazi style. The entire square was covered with huge granite slabs. During the air raids towards the end of the war, the square was covered with tarpaulins on which paintings simulated dense residential development. Nevertheless, the classical buildings in particular were severely damaged.

In 1987/88, Königsplatz was almost restored to its original aesthetic.
Today the square is used for open-air concerts, festivals or demonstrations.
Art collections and museums are housed in the buildings.

The drive along the Nymphenburger Straße that follows now allows Munich's lifestyle and flair to shine through. The street has been an important trade route since the 12th century and was considered the Fürstenweg, as it led directly to Nymphenburg Palace. You cycle past Grünwald Park and the Hubertus Fountain, finally arriving at Nymphenburg Palace on an idyllic path along the banks of the canal.

In view of the gigantic size of the Nymphenburg palace complex, it is hard to imagine that all this once emerged from a single small country house that was roughly the size of one of the later side buildings. Today the north-south axis measures 632 metres. Nymphenburg Palace is thus larger than Versailles Palace.

The palace park is 180 hectares in size. It was laid out around 1700 in the style of the French Baroque. Beginning in the southern part of the park, it was altered a hundred years later in the style of an English landscape park. Today, the extensive grounds are a major visitor attraction. The smaller castles in the park (Amalienburg, Badenburg, Magdalenenklause, Pagodenburg) are also popular with visitors. They are built in the rococo style and are considered artistic gems.

Guided tours of the castle's museum rooms, the Marstall Museum with its carriage fleet and the Nymphenburg Porcelain Museum convey a sense of courtly life.
In the northern part of the palace is the Museum Mensch und Natur, Munich's natural history museum.

The palace and the park castles can be visited barrier-free, and guided tours are also offered in simple language.

After so much splendour and magnificence, you may be thirsty for a nice stop in the countryside. After cycling north-east along the Nymphenburg-Biedersteiner Canal, take a short detour towards the Taxisgarten at Taxisstraße 12. Since 1924, you can enjoy relaxed cosiness here in the shade of majestic trees. There is a playground for children and probably the best spare ribs in town for a hungry stomach. Open in good weather from Monday to Saturday from 12:00 and on Sundays and public holidays from 11:00.

Strengthened and refreshed, we now continue to the Olympiapark.

The Olympic Lake was created with the 1972 Olympic Park and forms an extension of the Nymphenburg-Biedersteiner Canal. The lake has a total area of 8.6 hectares. Its widest point measures 200 metres. It is only 1.3 metres deep on average. It is fed by water from the canal and receives rainwater from the roofs of the Olympic Stadium. At the same time, a weir helps to catch the water that falls on sealed surfaces and release it into the canal in a dosed manner. This prevents flooding.
The lake is a stopover for many migratory birds, a popular excursion destination for people and a venue for cultural events.

On the promenade below the Olympic Tower, stars and celebrities have immortalised themselves with a handprint, for example the Dalai Lama, Tom Jones, Elton John and Liza Minnelli, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Genesis, Die Toten Hosen, B.B. King, Aerosmith, Kiss, R.E.M. and The Undertaker.

Now the route continues north-east along the Petuelring. A clever urban planning solution is the Petuelpark, which is located on an under-tunnelled section of the ring. A garden for self-planting, playgrounds, art exhibition and a café make it a popular recreation area for residents and guests.

Leopoldstraße takes you past the Münchener Freiheit. On Geiselstraße you will encounter the Walking Man, a huge sculpture by New York artist Jonathan Borofsky. From here you go directly to the Siegestor.

The architect Friedrich von Gärtner designed and planned the Siegestor. He used the Arch of Constantine in Rome as a model. The Siegestor was built between 1843 and 1850 and is now a Munich landmark. It marks the border between the districts of Schwabing and Maxvorstadt. The quadriga that adorns the gate shows the Bavaria guiding a quadruped of lions.
After it was badly damaged in the Second World War and then rebuilt, the following inscription was added to the gate: "Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, admonishing peace."

Continue southwards via Odeonsplatz, named after the concert hall that King Ludiwg I once had built here. After the Second World War, it was converted into the Ministry of the Interior. You cycle past the Hofgarten, a 400-year-old park, and arrive at Max-Joseph-Platz.

The bronze monument in the centre of the square depicts Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. The square was named after him. After a Franciscan monastery was demolished here in 1802 to make room for a new National Theatre, the architect Leo von Klenze designed this square. Today, the Königsbau with the Academy of Fine Arts, the Residenztheater with the Bavarian State Theatre, the Bavarian State Opera in the National Theatre and the Palais Toerring-Jettenbach are located here. The construction of an underground car park in 1963 changed the appearance of the square. Nevertheless, much of the former charm can be felt thanks to the well-preserved buildings. Since 1990, the opera festival has been regularly broadcast here to the public.

Now take your way back to Munich Central Station. You will pass the Wittelsbacher Brunnen, the impressive monumental fountain in Munich's city centre. It symbolises the elemental forces of water and was built according to plans by the sculptor Adolf von Hildebrand.
From here it is only 4 minutes to the main station and your bike rental. You will find numerous possibilities to end the day with a good meal around the station. One of them is Munich's oldest beer garden. The Augustiner Keller is only an 8-minute walk from the main station at Arnulfstr. 52, 80335 Munich; phone: 089 - 594 393. Beer garden and restaurant, one of each is open daily from 10:00 to 0:00.