← MARATHON MÜNCHEN by Brooks·Day trip

Dachau Memorial Site: A Day of Remembrance

The former Nazi concentration camp on the edge of Munich, reached entirely by public transport in under an hour, a historically essential half-day rather than a leisure excursion.

DurationDay trip
TransitS-Bahn line S2 from München Hauptbahnhof, about 20 minutes, then local bus to the memorial site
DepartsMünchen Hauptbahnhof

After the Munich Marathon: Dachau Memorial Site

The Route: München Hauptbahnhof → Dachau Bahnhof → KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau → Dachau Bahnhof → München Hauptbahnhof Logistics: S-Bahn plus a short local bus. An out-and-back day trip with no overnight stay. Marathon Month: October Duration: Day trip

München Hbf ──(20 min, S-Bahn S2)──> Dachau Bahnhof ──(10 min, local bus)──> KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau
                                                                                        │
                                              München Hbf ◄──(reverse route, ~35 min)──┘

MARATHON MÜNCHEN by Brooks finishes at Willi-Daume-Platz in Olympiapark, and the day after asks little of most runners beyond finding somewhere flat to sit down. October in Munich tends to be cool and grey rather than warm, which suits Dachau better than a bright day would: this is not an outing to enjoy, and treating it as one misreads what it is. The S-Bahn line S2 runs from München Hauptbahnhof to Dachau station in around 20 minutes on a standard MVV ticket, and a local bus signed for the KZ-Gedenkstätte covers the remaining distance from the station to the site entrance in about 10 minutes. Check the current MVV timetable before travelling, since Sunday and Monday services run less frequently than on weekdays.

The Memorial Site

Dachau was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime, opened in March 1933, and it operated for the full twelve years of the regime that followed. The memorial site today occupies the former camp grounds: the roll-call square, several reconstructed and original barrack buildings, the crematorium area, and a permanent exhibition housed in the former maintenance building near the entrance. Entry to the grounds and the permanent exhibition is free. An audio guide is available for a fee and adds useful context to what would otherwise be a largely unmarked landscape of gravel and foundation outlines; without it, much of the site's significance depends on prior reading rather than what is physically in front of you.

Walking the grounds is entirely flat, on gravel and paved paths, and the whole visit, exhibition included, typically takes two to three hours depending on how much of the exhibition text is read in full. There is no requirement to see everything: choosing the roll-call square, one reconstructed barrack, and the main exhibition building covers the core of the site in under two hours for anyone whose legs are asking for a shorter day. Benches are placed at intervals through the exhibition building, which matters more than usual the day after finishing 42.195 km.

This is a heavier day than the other excursions on this list, and it is worth planning the rest of the day around that rather than stacking a big lunch or a second sightseeing stop straight afterward. Most runners find that a quiet meal back in Munich, rather than in Dachau town itself, suits the mood of the visit better.

Buses back to Dachau Bahnhof run at similar intervals to the outbound service, and the S2 back to München Hauptbahnhof runs roughly every 20 minutes for most of the day. Check the current MVV app before setting out, since marathon-weekend service notices can occasionally affect connecting routes even a few days after the race itself.