What Is Olympiapark Munich?

Olympiapark was built as the central venue complex for the 1972 Summer Olympics, the first Games hosted in Germany since 1936. Architect Günter Behnisch and engineer Frei Otto designed the site's signature tent-roof canopy — a sweeping acrylic-glass-and-steel-cable structure that still covers the stadium, the Olympiahalle, and the swimming hall, and remains one of the most-photographed pieces of 20th-century sports architecture in Europe.

The park's hill, Olympiaberg, isn't a natural feature — it was built from roughly 10 million cubic meters of rubble cleared from Munich after World War II bombing raids, then landscaped over with grass. At around 60 meters, it's one of the highest points in central Munich and a popular free spot to watch the sunset over the tent roofs below. The 1972 Games are also remembered for the Munich massacre, in which eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by a Palestinian militant group; a memorial to the victims stands near the Connollystraße athletes' village site on the park's northern edge.

Today the 85-hectare grounds double as Munich's largest public park — used for jogging, cycling, picnics, and open-air concerts — while the historic venue buildings host events, tours, and, when open, sightseeing.

Olympiapark Munich Tickets & Prices 2026

Entry to the park grounds themselves is free — there's no gate and no ticket required to walk the lake, climb Olympiaberg, or picnic on the lawns. Where most visitors run into confusion is the two paid attractions that made Olympiapark famous, and both are currently closed:

• Olympic Tower (Olympiaturm): closed for renovation since June 2024. The tower's own page states it is expected to reopen to visitors in Q4 2027 — some earlier estimates pointed to a 2026 return, so treat Q4 2027 as the current official guidance and confirm before planning a trip around it.
• Olympic Stadium: closed since September 2025 for a renovation the operator expects to take approximately two to three years. Stadium tours, the climbing wall, and the Flying Fox activity tied to the stadium are all suspended while work continues.

What's still bookable in 2026: a guided walking tour of the grounds (Architec-Tour and similar routes), which runs about 120 minutes and costs €20 for adults or €15 for pupils, students, and groups over 20 people, per the operator's most recently published price list — confirm current rates before booking. SEA LIFE Munich, a separately operated aquarium inside the park, publishes online-advance adult tickets from around €18 (about €23 at the gate) and child tickets from around €14; it prices and books independently of Olympiapark's own ticketing, so check SEA LIFE's own site for exact current rates. Boat hire on the Olympiasee lake and the Olympia-Alm beer garden atop Olympiaberg are both open on their own separate pricing. If you're weighing a multi-attraction pass for the rest of your trip, our guide on whether the Munich Pass is worth it covers what those bundles cover — and don't cover — given the current closures.

Opening Hours & Best Time to Go

The park grounds have no set hours — access is free and unrestricted 24 hours a day, every day. The guided walking tours and SEA LIFE Munich each run their own posted daily schedule and aren't tied to the park's own hours, so confirm start times when you book.

Early morning is the quietest window for walking the grounds, especially around the lake and up Olympiaberg, before joggers and tour groups build up through mid-morning. Weekday visits are noticeably calmer than weekends, when the park fills with local families and, in summer, event crowds heading to concerts at the Olympiahalle or the open-air stage. Sunset from Olympiaberg is one of the best free views in Munich, with the tent-roof silhouette and the BMW headquarters tower visible across Lerchenauer Straße to the north.

How Long to Plan

Budget 2 to 3 hours for an unhurried walk around the lake and up Olympiaberg — the grounds are large and there's real distance between the western entrance near the U-Bahn and the athletes'-village memorial on the northern edge. Add roughly 2 hours if you book the guided walking tour, since it runs a fixed 120 minutes. Add another 1.5 to 2 hours for SEA LIFE Munich if you're visiting with kids. A brisk visit focused only on the lake, the hill, and photos of the tent roof can be done in under an hour, but with both the Tower and Stadium closed, most visitors pair Olympiapark with a half-day that also includes BMW Welt and the BMW Museum directly across the street, or fold it into a broader 2-day Munich itinerary.

How to Get to Olympiapark Munich

The park sits at Spiridon-Louis-Ring 21, 80809 München, on the U-Bahn lines U3 and U8 at Olympiazentrum station, which lets out directly at the park's western edge. Bus routes 173, 180, and the N76 night bus also stop at Olympiazentrum, a short walk from the entrance. There's no dedicated visitor parking directly at the park, but paid parking is available at the Olympiapark garages off Spiridon-Louis-Ring.

Two ongoing roadworks are worth checking before you drive: Föhringer Ring is closed near the park from June 22 to July 22, 2026, and the Landshuter Allee bridge is under renovation through December 2026, both of which can affect car and bike routing into the area. Neither closure affects the U-Bahn approach, which remains the simplest way in.

Visit Tips: Queues, Booking & Common Mistakes

The most common mistake is showing up expecting to ride the Olympic Tower or tour the Olympic Stadium — plenty of older travel content still lists Tower prices and stadium tour times that no longer apply. Check the official site before you go rather than relying on a guide that hasn't been updated since the closures began.

If you want the guided walking tour, book ahead in summer — group sizes are limited and slots fill on weekends. SEA LIFE Munich's online tickets are worth buying in advance both for the price difference and to skip the gate line, especially on rainy days when the indoor aquarium draws a crowd of visitors who'd otherwise be outside in the park. Wear real walking shoes: the grounds cover 85 hectares and the loop around the lake plus a climb up Olympiaberg adds up to more distance than it looks like on a map.

Nearby Attractions

The English Garden is a short U-Bahn and tram ride southeast and makes a natural second green-space stop on the same day. Nymphenburg Palace, the Wittelsbach summer residence with its own sprawling park and canals, sits a similar distance to the west and pairs well if you're building a parks-and-palaces day away from the old city center. For the historic core, Marienplatz and the Neues Rathaus are about 20 minutes away by U-Bahn and worth the trip back into town once you're done at the park.

Frequently Asked Questions