How to find us

The Campus of the Technical University Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics are both located in the Research Park Garching.

How to reach the Campus and MPQ by plane
Taxis from Munich airport are pretty expensive; a journey from the airport to Garching usually costs around 25 EUR. We recommend you take an S-train which leaves from the lower level of the Munich airport and runs between the hours of 04:06 and 01:06.The S1 line travels from the airport via Neufahrn, Unterschleißheim and Laim to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) every 20 minutes. The S8 line also departs every 20 minutes from the airport and travels via Ismaning, Ostbahnhof, and Marienplatz to Hauptbahnhof. Train departure times are staggered so as to ensure a train travels from the airport to downtown Munich every 10 minutes. Directions to the S-train are clearly marked with a round sign depicting a white S on a green background (see on the right side of this page). There are two ways to proceed: Both S-trains take about 40 minutes to downtown München. Disembark the train at Marienplatz. Follow the directions under How to reach the Campus and MPQ by underground. Travel with the S-train S8 to the station at Ismaning, the third stop, and disembark there. Use the stairs or lift to go to the street level and here you will find both a taxi rank and a bus terminus. If travelling by bus, follow the directions for Bus 230 under "How to reach the Campus and MPQ by bus". See also route map and ticket information.

How to reach the Campus and MPQ by car
The MPQ is located within the Garching research park and can be reached by car from the A9/E6 (München-Nürnberg) motorway. Take the Garching-Nord exit and follow the sign to Garching. After approximately 300 metres you will come to a set of traffic lights at the intersection with the B11 road. Go across this intersection and continue on for about 1km until you turn right into Hans-Kopfermann-Straße. From here you will see the MPQ. See also route map.

How to reach the Campus and MPQ by train
After arriving at the main München train station (Hauptbahnhof), proceed to the S-train. The way is clearly marked by a round sign depicting a white S on a green background. Take any train departing from platform 1 marked Richtung Ostbahnhof. Disembark the train at Marienplatz, the second stop. Proceed as directed in How to reach the MPQ by underground. See also route maps and ticket information.

How to reach the Campus and MPQ by underground
Take any U6-train marked Garching-Forschungszentrum and disembark at the final stop. Use the stairs or the lift to get to the street level, then walk against the direction of the train for about 500 meters until you see the ESO on your left hand. Go further south-west, and you will find the MPQ behind the bushes. It is the southernmost institute on the research park. See also route map and ticket information.

How to reach the Campus and MPQ by bus
The MPQ is located within the Garching research park and can be reached with two bus lines of the MVV (Munich public transport authority). Both buses pass through the town of Garching. On exiting Garching, the bus will take a sharp turn to the right. The second stop after this turn is called Boltzmannstraße; you should exit here. To indicate to the driver that you wish to disembark the bus, you should press the button and/or get up and approach the door. After leaving the bus, walk about 20 metres in the direction of the bus, then turn right into Hans-Kopfermann-Straße. Here you will see the MPQ. See also route map and ticket information.
Bus 230 - Ismaning (S8) - Garching TU: Bus 230 runs from Ismaning (airport S-train S8) to the Garching research park, Monday to Friday, every 40 minutes during daytime. Buses do not run at night or on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The buses quite often wait up to 8 minutes for S-trains that are running late.
Bus 291 - Garching/Hochbrück (U6) - Garching TU: Bus 291 runs from the Garching/Hochbrück underground station to the Garching research park, Monday to Friday, every 20 minutes during daytime and every 40 minutes on Saturdays and evenings. From the Garching/Hochbrück station it is possible to take the underground U6 line to Munich or buses to Unterschleißheim (219), Oberschleißheim (292), Studentenstadt (293), Neufahrn (690), Freising (691) and Am Hart (82).
During university semester time, express buses displaying the sign Verstärker run between the underground station and the research park. NOTE: Verstärker buses do not stop in Garching town, but pass directly to the Campus and MPQ! See also route map.

Tickets for public transport (www.mvv-meunchen.de)
Tickets can be purchased from all bus drivers, tram drivers, automatic ticket dispensing machines at stations and from news stands displaying the MVV logo. Some ticket machines accept 5 EUR and 10 EUR notes and most will give change. A Streifenkarte is recommended as a slightly more economical ticket. Once you have purchased your ticket, be sure to validate it by stamping it in the blue boxes you will see. This should be done prior to entering the station or immediately after boarding a bus or tram. To validate a Streifenkarte you must fold back the sections not required and insert the ticket into the validating machine (see below for number of required sections). Once you have validated your ticket, you may travel with any form of transport as long as you continue to travel in the same direction.

Fares

Streifenkarte (10 Sections)

Travelling between
Airport - Downtown
Airport - MPQ (Garching)
Airport - Ismaning
Downtown - MPQ (Garching)		 Euro 10,--

Number of sections to be cancelled
8
6
6
4

*Downtown includes: Marienplatz, University, Hauptbahnhof (central railway station)