Quick answer. Munich is the arrival where cash still decides what you can do. Bavaria holds onto notes and coins harder than anywhere else in Germany: the Oktoberfest tents on the Wiesn are famously cash only, the beer gardens and Christmas market huts largely are too, and plenty of Munich bakeries and small Gaststätten still wave cards away. So unlike most European airports, the right move at MUC is to arrive with a real euro float rather than a token twenty. Get it from a bank machine, not from the blue Euronet ATMs in the terminals, which add an operator fee and push DCC. Decline DCC and choose euros. Note that MUC has no long-distance rail station, so your route into town is the S-Bahn S1 or S8, about 40 minutes to Marienplatz for roughly €13, or better value on the Airport-City-Day-Ticket.
Where to get euro at MUC
Because Bavaria wants a larger float than most of Europe, the gap between a good and a bad machine matters more in Munich than it would somewhere you only need twenty euros for a coffee. The same percentage applied to a bigger withdrawal is simply a bigger loss. Figures below are per $100 withdrawn.
| Option | Where | Markup | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deutsche Bank ATM (BoA Alliance: flat fee waived) | City; airport where available | BoA's 3% still applies; interbank otherwise | ~$113 on BoA debit; ~$110 on a no-FX-fee card |
| Other bank ATM on a no-FX-fee card | Airport and city | Interbank rate, little or no surcharge | ~$110 + $0 fee |
| Blue Euronet ATM | MUC terminals | High operator fee + DCC pitch | ~$95-102 |
| Airport exchange counter | MUC arrivals | A wide spread plus fees | ~$95-100 |
| Accepting DCC at any machine | Anywhere | +4-12% if you choose 'charge in USD' | ~$96-104 |
How much euro cash to carry into Munich, and which machines to use at MUC
Munich Airport (MUC), named for Franz Josef Strauss, is Germany's second-busiest airport, and the money question here is not really about the airport at all. It is about Bavaria. Germany as a whole is an outlier among wealthy countries for how much it still runs on cash, and Bavaria is the outlier within the outlier. The consequences are concrete and seasonal: the beer tents at Oktoberfest take cash and nothing else, so a card-only traveller cannot buy a Maß; the Christmas market huts on the Marienplatz and around the Chinesischer Turm mostly want coins and small notes; traditional beer gardens and older Gaststätten in Schwabing and Haidhausen frequently post a Nur Barzahlung sign; and Munich bakeries remain a reliable place to be caught out. This is why the arrival float matters more here than at almost any other airport in Western Europe. Most travel advice tells you to withdraw a token amount on landing and rely on cards. In Munich that advice will leave you standing outside a tent.
So plan for a larger first withdrawal than instinct suggests, and take it from the right machine. In the terminals, the blue Euronet ATMs are the ones to walk past: they hand out genuine euros but charge an operator fee and press dynamic currency conversion on you at the confirmation screen. A real bank machine is the alternative, and Bank of America cardholders have a specific advantage in Germany because Deutsche Bank is an Alliance member; the fee detail lives on our Deutsche Bank guide. One structural note about MUC that catches people: unlike Frankfurt, this airport has no long-distance railway station, so there is no boarding an ICE straight from the terminal. Everyone leaves on the S-Bahn or a coach, and both take contactless, so the float you withdraw is for Munich itself, not for the journey there.
Terminal 2
Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners, with its own satellite concourse; the busier of the two terminals for long-haul arrivals
Skip the blue Euronet machines in arrivals and look for a bank ATM, which is the cheaper way to take out the larger float Bavaria calls for. If you hold a Bank of America card, a Deutsche Bank machine removes the fees entirely. Say no when the screen offers to bill you in dollars or pounds, then head down for the S-Bahn
Terminal 1
Non-Star Alliance carriers, split across modules A to E, plus most low-cost and leisure traffic
Same rule and the same Euronet machines in the arrivals halls of the modules. The Munich Airport Center forum between the terminals is worth crossing for services, but it will not solve a bad ATM choice. If you are heading to the Wiesn or a Christmas market, take out enough here or, better, at a bank branch in the city
Do you actually need cash at Munich (MUC)?
You do not need cash to leave the airport, since the S-Bahn takes contactless. You do need a proper float for Munich itself, more than most European cities ask for. Here is where cards work and where Bavaria still insists on notes:
S-Bahn (S1 / S8 to central Munich) (~€13 single (cheaper day ticket)): About 40 min to Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz. The Airport-City-Day-Ticket is better value; groups can share a day ticket. MVV machines and contactless.
Lufthansa Express Bus (~€12-13): Direct coach to Munich Hauptbahnhof, roughly 45 min. Pay by card.
Taxi (~€60-80 to the centre): From the terminal taxi ranks; cards generally accepted.
Regional connections (Varies): Onward regional trains and buses from the city stations; tickets and contactless accepted.
⚠ DCC trap. When the ATM or terminal asks if you want to be charged in your home currency instead of the local currency, always decline and choose the local currency. Accepting locks in a 3-13 percent markup that your no-FX-fee card cannot undo. Full DCC explainer →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need cash to get from Munich (MUC) to Munich?
No. S-Bahn (S1 / S8 to central Munich) accepts contactless. Most taxis accept cards. Uber and other apps are card-only.
Can I order euro before flying?
It is a reasonable option here precisely because Munich wants real cash. CEI Currency Exchange delivers euros to a US address in 2-5 days at rates well below an airport counter, so you can land already carrying the beer-garden and market float instead of hunting for a bank machine. Ordering ahead also matters if you arrive during Oktoberfest, when the machines nearest the Wiesn are crowded and expensive.
How much cash should I actually take out on arrival at Munich?
More than the usual advice. In most of Western Europe a small float is enough because cards cover the rest, but Bavaria is the exception, and a card-only day in Munich runs into walls. If you are visiting beer gardens, markets, or smaller traditional restaurants, plan on a couple of hundred euros for a few days rather than the token amount you might take in Amsterdam or Stockholm. During Oktoberfest, budget more still, since the tents are cash only and the on-site machines run dry and charge badly. You can always spend leftover euros elsewhere in the eurozone, so over-withdrawing at a bank machine costs far less than repeated small withdrawals at expensive ones.
Is Oktoberfest really cash only?
The beer tents on the Theresienwiese operate on cash for beer and food, and this is the single most common way visitors get stuck. You order from a server, you pay in notes and coins, and you tip in coins. Card readers are not the norm inside the tents. Some of the larger rides and outside stalls have become more flexible, and there are ATMs on the Wiesn, but they are precisely the crowded, high-fee, sometimes-empty machines you want to avoid. Withdraw before you go, from a bank machine in the city, and carry small notes so that paying and tipping is quick.
Do Munich beer gardens and Christmas markets take cards?
Often not, and you should not plan around it. Traditional beer gardens, especially the self-service sections where you queue for food and a Maß, commonly want cash, and the Christmas market huts in December are overwhelmingly a coins-and-small-notes environment. Larger restaurants, hotels, department stores and supermarkets in Munich take cards normally, and contactless is widespread in those settings. The pattern to remember is that the more traditional and the more outdoors the setting, the more likely cash is required.
Can I get from Munich Airport into the city without cash?
Yes. The S1 and S8 both run from beneath the terminals to the Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz in roughly forty minutes, and the MVV ticket machines and gates take cards and contactless, as does the Lufthansa Express Bus. So you do not need notes to reach the city. What you should know is that MUC, unlike Frankfurt, has no long-distance rail station, so there is no ICE from the terminal and the S-Bahn is the practical route. A single fare runs around 13 euros; the Airport-City-Day-Ticket is usually better value, particularly for a group.
Where can I withdraw a larger amount cheaply in Munich?
In the city rather than the terminal. The bank branches around the Hauptbahnhof, Marienplatz, and along Kaufingerstraße and Neuhauser Straße give you real bank machines from Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, HypoVereinsbank and the Stadtsparkasse, rather than the independent operators clustered at the airport. Because a Bavarian trip wants a larger float than usual, the gap between a bank machine and an airport operator machine matters more here than it would somewhere you only need twenty euros. Withdraw once, properly, near a branch.