(Photo credit Mattes)
Most travellers arriving by train come in to Munich Hauptbahnof, the Main Station, and one of Germany's busiest rail links with some 450,000 passengers daily. There are also two other important stations in the city, Munich Pasing and Munich Ostbahnhof (Munich East), of which more information below.
Although the original train station in the city was built on another location slightly to the west in 1839, the current Hauptbahnhof location has been servicing travellers since 1849, and it has gradually expanded to the impressive hub it is today, with some 32 platforms, its own U- and S-Bahn stations, and excellent connections for onward travel with offer forms of public and private transport. The Hauptbahnhof has been damaged several times in its turbulent histrory, most notably in the Second World War, but today it functions well in the heart of the city, offering plenty of facilities in addition to train departures and arrivals.
(Munich Train Station in 1870 - Photo in Public Domain from Wikipedia)
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has a VERY efficient website in several languages with timetables, special offers and online ticket purchasing. Visit the English language version here. The timetable is especially useful as it covers the whole of Europe. If you want to buy tickets in person, there is a large ticket office opposite the platforms on the right hand side as you enter the station from the front.
The Hauptbahnhof does not have its own dedicated website, but there is a useful info page (unfortunately only in German) provided by DB here.
A useful map of the station with all facilities (again only in German) can be found here.
Hauptbahnhof departure information.
Hautbahnhof arrival information.
For more information about connecting to the Munich transport system, visit the MVV website.
Take a video tour of Munich Hauptbahnhof.
Ostbahnhof (Munich East)
Opened in 1871, Ostbahnhof, or Munich East, is an important station connecting the city to Austria and South-East Europe, as well as a hub for S-Bahn and U-Bahn traffic. There are also regional services from here which connect to eastern Bavaria. Of the 17 tracks, 5 are dedicated to the S-Bahn.
More information on facilities at Ostbahnhof here.
Pasing (Munich West)
Serving destinations to the west of Munich, Pasing station opened in 1840, and it is the third biggest station in the city.
More information on the facilities of Pasing station here.