Munich, germany
Attractions Guide

Munich is the capital of Bavaria and is Germany’s second largest city, hosting many attractions including several popular museums. Munich hosts two giant palaces, and is the gateway city to visit one of Germany’s top attractions, the fairytale-like Neuschwanstein Castle.

Additionally, Munich is the top destination in Germany during Oktoberfest, which takes place every year for about 2 1/2 weeks, beginning in mid to late September.

Marienplatz

At the center of Munich is its Inner City / Old Town, which is filled with many large historical buildings, many of which were rebuilt after the World Wars. At the very center of the Inner City is Marienplatz, Munich’s main public square since the 12th century.

Neues Rathaus & Victuals Market

Towering above Marienplatz is the massive Neues Rathaus (New City Hall) building, a stunningly intricate gothic structure. You can climb to the top of the Neues Rathaus for amazing views overlooking Marienplatz and the surrounding area.

Adjacent to Marienplatz is the Victuals Market, a large outdoor public market square with many stalls selling mostly food, flowers, and souvenirs.

Medieval Gates

Munich’s Inner City area is filled with countless great restaurants, cafes, and shops. The Inner City was surrounded by walls in the Middle Ages, which no longer exist, however three medieval gates still remain on the edges of the Old Town.

These gates include Isartor on the east side, Sendlinger Tor on the south side, and Karlstor on the west side, with Karlstor located behind a beautiful fountain square called Karlsplatz.

Alter Hof

Central Munich’s modest medieval Alter Hof (Old Court) castle was the former residence of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV. Alter Hof is known for its Affenturm tower, and also hosts a Munich city history museum.

Hofbräuhaus München

Munich’s Inner City also hosts extremely popular Hofbräuhaus München, a beautiful 16th century beer hall and brewery which was created for Munich’s Royal Residence.

This is the site of the original Hofbräuhaus brewery, which is actually owned by the Bavarian government and has become one of the most popular German beers around the world. This massive multi-story beer hall serves both excellent beer and Bavarian food dishes.

On the north side of Munich’s Inner City is the Odeonsplatz square, which hosts the lovely baroque Theatine Church, and the Feldherrnhalle, an Italian-style loggia modeled on the famous Loggie dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy.

Adjacent to Odeonsplatz is the 14th century Munich Residenz palace, an historic royal residence of the Kings of Bavaria. Inside the palace you can tour many extravagant rooms from different eras, such as the highly ornate Renaissance-era Antiquarium, the Baroque-style Ancestral Gallery, and the lavish Imperial Hall.

The vast Munich Residenz also hosts the elegant Rococo-style Cuvillies Theatre and an impressive royal treasury. Additionally you can walk around the palace’s Hofgarten formal gardens.

St. Peter’s Church

Unsurprisingly, you’ll find Munich’s most beautiful churches within its Inner City. Munich’s oldest church, St. Peter’s Church is simple but quite iconic. The interior of St. Peter’s Church is quite beautiful, and you can climb the church tower for sweeping views over Munch.

Frauenkirche Church

Towering above Munich is the massive Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), also called the Munich Cathedral, which is displays simple gothic architecture without ornamentation. This church is famous for its Devil’s Footstep, which survived the bombings during WWII.

Asamkirche Church

Munich’s most incredible church is certainly the smaller Asamkirche (Asam Church), with its stunningly intricate and majestic baroque interiors adorned with elegant frescoes, statues, and gold leaf.

St. Luke’s Church

Also notable just east of the Inner City is Munich’s Lukaskirche (St. Luke’s Church), which sits along the Isar River displaying brilliant Neo-gothic and Romanesque architecture, built of red brick topped with light green roofs.

In Northern Munich is the BMW headquarters, around which are the extremely popular BMW Welt and the BMW Museum. The BMW Welt is the most popular attraction in Bavaria, hosting a stunning array of vehicles on display, acting as an amazing showroom and exhibition hall. The BMW Welt is housed within an incredible futuristic-style building, which is connected via bridge to the BMW Museum across the street.

Inside the BMW Museum you can learn about the history of BMW, including its vehicles, motorcycles, engines, and aircraft. The BMW Museum houses many modern and vintage vehicles exhibited within stunning futuristic displays.

Kunstareal Art District

Most of the Munich’s top museums are concentrated in a small area just northwest of the Inner City, in Munich’s Kunstareal art district. In addition to many museums, this Kunstareal hosts the Konigsplatz (King’s Square) surrounded by grand neoclassical buildings, such as the Propylaen monument.

Pinakothek Art Museums

Munich’s Alte Pinakothek is one of the world’s oldest art galleries, specializing in European fine art collections from the 13th-18th centuries. At the time of its construction in the early 19th century, the Alte Pinakothek was the largest museum in the world.

The Neue Pinakothek hosts an important collection of European artworks from the 18th-19th centuries. You’ll find a significant collection of modern and contemporary art at Munich’s Pinakothek Der Moderne museum, which is one of the largest modern art museums in the world.

More Kunstareal Museums

The Egyptian Museum Munich hosts an impressive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts as well as archaeological finds from ancient Assyria and Babylon.

Munich’s Glypothek Museum hosts an array of Classical sculptures from Ancient Greece and Rome, from Bavarian King Ludwig I’s private collection. The Lenbachhaus Museum specializes in modern and contemporary art by Munich painters.

Deutsches Museum

Southeast of Munich’s historic center located on an island in the Isar River is the Deutsches Museum, the largest science and technology museum in the world. This museum hosts an extremely wide array of exhibits, even including a replica of the prehistoric Altamira Cave from Cantabria, Spain.

English Garden

Munich’s English Garden (or Englischer Garten) is a sprawling urban park along the Isar River, located just north of the Inner City.

The English Garden is home to the famous Eisbachwelle, a continuous wave along the Eisbach River where Munich’s surfers take turns surfing hundreds of miles away from any ocean. The Eisbachwelle wave is located at the very southern end of the English Garden, not far from the Munich Residenz palace.

Within the English Garden park you’ll find vast fields, forests, ponds and streams, and countless pathways and trails to explore and hike along. English Garden hosts several beer gardens, including the Mini-Hofbrauhaus, as well as several photogenic monuments such as the pagoda-like Chinese Tower. Another popular site is the hilltop Monopteros, a lavish altar-like monument with Greek-style columns offering views overlooking the park.

Westpark

On the western outskirts of Munich is the much smaller Westpark, which hosts very beautiful and highly photogenic Asian gardens, including a Japanese Garden, a Chinese Garden, Thai-style and Nepalese-style pagodas, and a lovely rose garden.

Olympic Park

Across from the BMW Welt and Museum is Munich’s beautiful Olympiapark (Olympic Park), which was built to host the 1972 Summer Olympics. Within the park are many impressive futuristic structures such as the Olympic Hall and the giant Oympiaturm tower, which hosts an observation deck providing excellent panoramic views over Munich.

The Olympic Park was built with grassy rolling hills and a large pond at its center. You can admire the many amazing structures of Olympiapark from atop Olympiaberg, a grassy hilltop viewpoint providing stunningly picturesque views overlooking the park.

Near the western outskirts of Munich is the sprawling Schloss Nyphenburg Palace, a former summer residence of the Bavarian royalty. This massive 17th century baroque palace is among the largest in Europe. Within Nyphenburg Palace are many opulent rooms and halls decorated in highly ornate rococo and neoclassical styles.

Highlights within the Nyphenburg Palace walls include the Royal Apartments, the popular Carriage Museum, the Museum of Man and Nature, and the Porcelain Museum. Perhaps the most photogenic view of Nyphenburg Palace is from behind the large fountain pond, which is located in front of the palace.

Behind the palace are the vast gardens and woodland parks of Schlosspark Nyphenburg (Nyphenburg Palace Park), hosting a massive canal similar to that of Versailles. Within the Schlosspark be sure to explore the lush themed Botanical Gardens.

In the suburb of Oberschleissheim to the north of Munich is another summer residence of the Bavarian royalty, the Schleissheim Palace. The 17th century Schleissheim Palace complex actually consists of three palaces, separated by vast baroque gardens and a long canal. On the west side of the complex is the Old Schleissheim Palace, which you might admire from outside.

Across from it is the much more impressive New Schleissheim Palace, a stunning 18th century baroque structure which is quite photogenic when seen behind the gardens/pond on either side of the palace. Within the New Palace are many extravagant rooms and halls decorated with baroque fine art.

Across the long palace gardens from the New Schleissheim Palace is the lovely little Italian-style Lustheim Palace with its elegant interiors and porcelain collection. The Schleissheim Palace complex even hosts a beer garden and restaurant, which originally built as a royal brewery for the palace grounds.

While visiting Munich, you might also consider peering into Germany’s dark past in the early 20th century. Northwest of Munich are the remains of the infamous Dachau Concentration Camp, which has been preserved as a museum, with some of the original structures also been rebuilt.

The atmosphere at Dachau is very eery, and visitors are able to freely explore the grounds or book a tour if they want to delve deep into the history.