Sport
If you’re into sports, Munich is a great choice. The combination of the Alps, the Bavarian lakes, and the former Olympic venues means there is no shortage of options for you!
University Sports Center
The Munich University Sports Center (ZHS) offers incredible and low-cost opportunities to participate in 90 types of sports, including indoor aerobics, climbing or skiing in the mountains, sailing on Lake Starnberg, and yoga. Many of the activities focus on fitness and health, and you'll never get bored! The center is affiliated with the sports studies program at Technical University Munich and you’ll find all available options on the Munich University Sports Center website.
You can get a membership card for the semester (students: 7.50 euros, staff: 12.50 euros) with an option to include additional activities, such as swimming or events (students: 15 euros; staff: 20 euros). Membership cards are issued at the start of each semester in the foyer of LMU, at Schellingstrasse 3, or throughout the year at the ZHS central office in Connollystrasse 32.
Directions
The university sports facilities are located on campus at the former site of the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Olympiapark. The 45-acre grounds—worth visiting for historical reasons—include, among other things, the Olympic swimming pool, Ice Sport Center, Olympic Tennis Complex, Socca Arena, and a golf practice facility.
By the way—the nearby Olympic Village (Olympisches Dorf), with its colorful bungalows constructed for the Olympic games, today serves as student housing!
Directions to Olympiapark: From the Munich Hauptbahnhof via U2 direction Feldmoching, get off at Scheidplatz (same platform) in U3 and get off at the Olympiazentrum stop. Go from the Olympiazentrum subway station in the direction of Connolly Street, on the upper level of Connollystrasse, to the TUM campus in the Olympic Park. The trip from the station will take about 10 minutes by foot.
Additional facilities are available beyond this complex, including the water sports area on Lake Starnberg (for sailing, surfing, etc.), the Olympic Regatta Course (for canoeing, rowing, etc.) in Oberschleißheim, and of course the Bavarian Alps (for hiking, trail running, winter sports, etc.)—a special advantage of living in Munich! In Freising and Landshut, the university sports complex also doubles as a training facility for local residents.
Sports in Munich
The Munich Sports Office website (in German) gives you extensive information about additional athletic opportunities in Munich. An A–Z database describes every sporting program in Munich—including 250 sports—and offers detailed information on organizations, locations, and sport venues. Sports fans and athletes can also check the calendar for the latest sporting events and times.