Munich Germany Beer Gardens Palaces and Oktoberfest

Marienplatz and the New Town Hall

Marienplatz has been the heart of Munich since the city's earliest days. The square is framed by the Gothic Revival New Town Hall, with its ornate facade and tall tower, and the much older Old Town Hall at its eastern end.

Plan your visit around the Glockenspiel in the tower, whose life-size figures act out a ducal wedding joust and the coopers' dance. It plays every day at 11 a.m. and noon, with an extra show at 5 p.m. from March to October, and lasts around fifteen minutes.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel re-enacts a sixteenth century royal wedding and the coopers' dance. Photo: Avi1111 dr. avishai teicher, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Frauenkirche and St. Peter's Church

The Frauenkirche, Munich's cathedral, is the brick church whose twin towers with rounded green domes appear on almost every postcard of the city. Inside, look for the black footprint near the entrance, linked to a local legend about the devil.

The twin towers of the Frauenkirche, Munich's cathedral, are the city's best-known landmark. Photo: Martin Falbisoner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Viktualienmarkt

Just south of Marienplatz, Viktualienmarkt is the city's best-loved open-air market, with stalls selling fruit, cheese, sausages, fish, flowers, honey and spices, and a painted maypole standing in the middle.

Viktualienmarkt has been Munich's main open-air food market since the early nineteenth century. Photo: LBM1948, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Residenz

For centuries the Residenz was the city palace of Bavaria's rulers, and today its museum leads you through around a hundred and thirty rooms of royal apartments, chapels and courtyards. Highlights include the Antiquarium, a long Renaissance hall lined with busts, and the Treasury with crowns and jeweled objects.

The Antiquarium, a vaulted Renaissance hall, is one of the highlights of the Munich Residenz. Photo: Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Englischer Garten

The English Garden stretches north from the edge of the old town and is one of the largest city parks in the world, with meadows, streams and woods. Walk up to the Monopteros, a small round temple on a hill with a view of the city's towers, and then on to the Chinese Tower, a wooden pagoda surrounded by a large beer garden.

The Chinese Tower in the English Garden stands at the center of one of Munich's largest beer gardens. Photo: Sven Teschke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Nymphenburg Palace

West of the center, Nymphenburg Palace was the Wittelsbachs' summer home, a long Baroque building set in formal gardens and a landscaped park crossed by canals. Inside, look for the Gallery of Beauties commissioned by King Ludwig I, and in the park visit the Amalienburg hunting lodge with its mirrored Rococo hall.

Nymphenburg Palace was the summer residence of the Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria. Photo: Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

Deutsches Museum

On an island in the Isar, the Deutsches Museum is one of the largest museums of science and technology in the world, with aircraft, ships, mining tunnels, musical instruments and hands-on physics. The building has been undergoing a long modernization, so some sections may be closed when you visit.

The Deutsches Museum occupies an island in the Isar and is one of the world's largest science and technology museums. Photo: Julian Herzog (Website), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Olympiapark and BMW Welt

Built for the 1972 Summer Olympics, the Olympiapark is known for its sweeping tent-like roofs, its lake and the grassy hill made from wartime rubble. Ride up the Olympic Tower for a wide view of the city and, on clear days, the Alps, or walk the park paths and watch a concert or event at the stadium.

The Olympiapark was built for the 1972 Summer Olympics and is known for its tent-like roofs. Photo: Tobi 87, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0