Things to do in Munich: ten sights, hours and prices
Much of Munich costs nothing: the squares, the market, the churches, the Englischer Garten and the parks of Nymphenburg and the Olympiapark. Admission charges start with the palaces and museums, and visitors under 18 get into the state palaces and the Pinakotheken free.
The München City Pass, from €55.90 for one day, includes the Residenz, Nymphenburg, the Deutsches Museum, the Alte Pinakothek, both towers above Marienplatz and public transport in the city. It only pays off on a full day with three or more paid sights.
1Marienplatz and the New Town Hall
Photo: ubeyonroad / Pexels, Pexels License
The square at the heart of the old town, dominated by the neo-Gothic New Town Hall, completed in 1905. Its tower holds a carillon of 43 bells, one of the largest in Germany, with life-size figures that turn and dance.
Time
45 min to 1 h 15 min, with the carillon and the tower
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Shortly before the late-morning carillon
Getting there
U3, U6 or any S-Bahn line to Marienplatz
Tip: The upper figures re-enact a ducal wedding of 1568 with a jousting tournament; below them, the coopers dance, a custom said to have cheered the city after a plague. At 9 pm the tower plays again, more quietly, as the Münchner Kindl is put to bed. For the view, the tower works in 20-minute time slots, so book one and use the wait for the arcades of the courtyard.
Carillon daily at 11 am and 12 pm, March to October also at 5 pm; free to watch. Tower daily 10 am to 8 pm, last lift 7.40 pm, from €7.
The late Gothic brick cathedral of Munich, whose two towers with green onion domes are the city's best-known silhouette. Inside, tall white pillars carry a plain, bright nave.
Time
30 min to 1 h, with or without the tower
Setting
Both
Best time
Early in the day, before the tour groups
Getting there
Two minutes on foot from Marienplatz (U3, U6, S-Bahn)
Tip: Look for the footprint in the stone at the entrance, the so-called Devil's Step, then walk to the middle of the nave and notice how the pillars hide the windows. From the top of the south tower you look straight across at the town hall and, on clear days, south to the Alps; the climb starts with a narrow spiral staircase before a lift takes over.
Church daily 8 am to 8 pm, free; no sightseeing during services. South tower Monday to Saturday from 10 am, Sundays and holidays from 11.30 am, until 5 pm, last ascent 4.30 pm; adults €7.50.
For four centuries the seat of Bavaria's dukes, electors and kings, and the largest city palace in Germany. Three visits share one entrance: the palace museum with the Renaissance Antiquarium, the Treasury with crowns and jewels, and the rococo Cuvilliés Theatre.
Time
2 to 3 h, depending on how much you see
Setting
Indoor
Best time
A rainy day, or any afternoon
Getting there
U3, U4, U5 or U6 to Odeonsplatz
Tip: With time for one part only, choose the museum: it includes the Antiquarium, a vaulted hall of painted ceilings and antique busts that is the highlight of the building. The Treasury is compact and takes under an hour. Behind the palace, the Hofgarten is free and leads straight on to the Englischer Garten.
Museum and Treasury 9 am to 6 pm from 28 March to 25 October, otherwise 10 am to 5 pm; last entry one hour before closing. Museum €10, Treasury €10, both €15, Cuvilliés Theatre €5, all three €20. Free under 18.
The open-air food market behind St Peter's Church: stalls of cheese, sausage, fruit and flowers, a painted maypole, six fountains honouring Munich comedians and folk singers, and a beer garden in the middle.
Time
45 min to 1 h 30 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Late morning on a weekday
Getting there
U3, U6 or S-Bahn to Marienplatz, then three minutes on foot
Tip: Buy lunch from the stalls and eat it at the beer garden tables: by Bavarian custom you may bring your own food, and only drinks are bought there. The market is quietest in the morning and busiest around noon.
Free. Monday to Friday 10 am to 6 pm from April to October and until 5 pm from November to March; Saturday until 3 pm; no market on Sundays. Individual stalls set their own hours.
King Ludwig I wanted an Athens on the Isar, and Königsplatz is the result: a wide lawn framed by a Greek-style gateway and two museums of antiquities. Around the corner stand the Pinakotheken, Munich's great picture galleries.
Time
1 h 30 min to 3 h, most of it in one gallery
Setting
Both
Best time
Morning for the gallery, evening light for the square
Getting there
U2 to Königsplatz, or U3 and U6 to Universität
Tip: Pick one gallery. The Alte Pinakothek holds Dürer's self-portrait in a fur-trimmed coat and a room of enormous Rubens canvases; while the Neue Pinakothek is closed, a selection of its nineteenth-century works hangs in the Alte's east wing. Admission drops to €1 on Sundays, which also makes Sunday the busiest day.
Pinakotheken Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 6 pm, closed Mondays; Alte Pinakothek until 8 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Pinakothek der Moderne on Thursdays. Alte Pinakothek €9, Pinakothek der Moderne €10, Sundays €1; day ticket for the Pinakotheken, Brandhorst and Schack €12. Free under 18.
At 376 hectares, Munich's largest park stretches from the edge of the old town far into the north of the city. In the south are the Monopteros on its hill, the Chinese Tower and a Japanese tea house; further north the meadows widen and the city falls away.
Time
1 h 30 min to 3 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A warm, dry afternoon from May to September
Getting there
U3 or U6 to Universität or Giselastraße, then a short walk east
Tip: The southern end fills up on sunny afternoons. Walk north past the Kleinhesseloher See, where rowing boats are for hire, and the crowds thin within a quarter of an hour. The beer gardens at the Chinese Tower and the Seehaus are the classic stops; the path up to the Monopteros has steps and is not accessible.
Where the Eisbach stream emerges from under Prinzregentenstraße, its current forms a standing wave, and surfers ride it in turns all year, in thick wetsuits in winter. It is one of the stranger sights of any European city centre, and watching costs nothing.
Time
20 to 40 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A dry afternoon, when the queue of surfers is longest
Getting there
U4 or U5 to Lehel, or bus 100 to Nationalmuseum/Haus der Kunst
Tip: Stand on the bridge or the bank, keep your distance from the edge and combine it with the walk into the Englischer Garten, which starts right here. The wave is for experienced surfers only; the current is strong and the stream bed shallow.
The summer palace of the Wittelsbachs, a façade over half a kilometre long facing a straight canal. Behind it lies a landscape park with four small park palaces, among them the Amalienburg with its silver and blue hall of mirrors.
Time
2 to 3 h, longer with the park
Setting
Both
Best time
A dry morning between April and mid-October
Getting there
U1 to Rotkreuzplatz, then the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg
Tip: In summer the combined ticket is the right choice, because it includes the park palaces, which close from mid-October. In winter the palace and the Marstallmuseum with its royal coaches and sleighs are enough for a morning. The park is free all year and is best on foot along the canal towards the cascade.
Palace and Marstallmuseum 9 am to 6 pm from April to 15 October, otherwise 10 am to 4 pm; last admission 30 minutes before closing. Combined ticket €20 in summer, €16 in winter; palace only €10, Marstallmuseum €8, park palaces €6. Park free; under 18 free.
BMW Welt is a showroom under a sweeping roof with a glass double cone, where buyers collect their new cars. Across the road, the bowl-shaped museum tells the company story from aircraft engines to electric cars.
Time
1 h 30 min to 2 h 30 min
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Tuesday to Sunday; after dark for the lit roof
Getting there
U3 to Olympiazentrum, then a short walk
Tip: BMW Welt is free and open to anyone; the museum charges admission and is worth it for the architecture and the design rooms as much as for the cars. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm and takes cards only, no cash. Tickets and current exhibitions are on the museum page.
Built for the 1972 Summer Games, the park is still where Munich goes for open-air concerts, summer festivals and Sunday walks. Its stadium and arenas share a translucent tent roof that seems to float above the lawns and the lake.
Time
1 h 30 min to 3 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A clear late afternoon
Getting there
U3 to Olympiazentrum
Tip: Climb the Olympiaberg, a hill a few minutes from the U-Bahn, for a view across the roof, the lake and the city, and on a föhn day the Alps. Combine it with BMW, just across the road, and come in the late afternoon when the light is softer.
Park free and always open. The Olympic Tower has been closed for renovation since 1 June 2024; reopening is planned for about October 2027.
