by Lukáš Hron/ CC BY-SA 3.0

A. About Munich

Nickname: World City with Heart

Laid-back and welcoming Munich with a population of around 1.45 million, located at the River Isar close to the Alps in the south of Bavaria, was almost completely destroyed in two world wars.

Yet most of its beautiful walkable historic center, as well as many of its historic buildings (including the Frauenkirche, the famous city hall, and the Residenz), have been carefully rebuilt to its former glory.

Famous for its annual Oktoberfest (which starts in September) and year-round beer gardens, the capital of Bavaria is Germany's most prosperous and orderly city, making it repeatedly into the top ten of global quality-of-life rankings.

Munich is Germany's second most visited tourist destination after Berlin.

Best Things to do in Munich

The Good: 

Munich's walkability, cleanliness, safety, and consistency in most other areas, explain its top fifty accomplishment.

The Not-So-Good: 

Do not expect any major checklist attractions, great weather, or low price level.


B. Best Things to Do in Munich in 2024 (Detailed List with Photos and Information)

In total, we count more than fifty sights in Munich. The following sights contribute to a score of 7.10/10 in this most important category:

# Marienplatz 6 3.1 out of 5 stars

Munich's majestic main pedestrian square is dominated by the New City Hall (Neues Rathaus) with its elaborate façade and its famous carillon (Glockenspiel) and the reconstructed gothic Old City Hall.

Visitors can ascend the 85-meter tower of the New City Hall by elevator to a viewing platform on the ninth floor (from April to November) for magnificent views of the city.

Square

by Chris 73 / CC BY-SA 3.0

# Residenz 6 3.1 out of 5 stars

Delightfully restored and reconstructed after WWII, this former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria is now a museum with 130 rooms in three main sections (Königsbau, Alte Residenz, and Festsaalbau).

Highlights of the vast complex around seven courtyards include the magnificent Renaissance Antiquarium, the Schatzkammer (treasury), and the impressive Cuvilliés Theatre (in the Festsaalbau).

Former Royal Palace

by Patrick Theiner / CC BY-SA 3.0

# Alte Pinakothek 6 3.1 out of 5 stars

The Alte Pinakothek, one of the oldest museums in the world, is home to one of the world's most significant collections of European paintings from the 14th to the 18th century.

In the halls of the gallery, you can see famous masterpieces by Botticelli, Dürer, da Vinci, and Rogier van der Weyden among many others.

Show top 5 paintings (click here)

Art Museum Gallery Space: ca. 4,500 m2 / 48,437 ft2 | Galleries: 19 | Artworks on Display: ca. 800 | Established: 1836 | Visitors (2016): 193’ 570)

by Sandro Botticelli / Wikimedia

# English Garden 6 3.1 out of 5 stars

Created in 1789, the lovely Englischer Garten is one of the world's largest urban parks, even bigger than New York's Central Park, covering an area of 3.7 km2 (910 acres).

It contains a Japanese Teahouse, a 25-meter-tall pagoda (Chinesischer Turm), a small temple (Monopteros) a boating lake, ponds, and even a permanent artificial wave for surfers.

Park Area: 3.7 km2 / 910 acres | Created: 1789

by Sven Teschke / CC BY-SA 3.0

# Deutsches Museum 6 3.1 out of 5 stars

Opened in 1925, the German Museum is the largest science and technology museum in the world spanning fifty areas of science and technology on seven floors.

Although there are many interesting exhibits to see (Highlight of the collection: Wright Brothers’ First Motorized Flying Machine [created 1902]) and a reproduction of the cave of Altamira) the presentation seems mostly dry and outdated.

Museum 

by Jorge Royan / CC BY-SA 3.0

# Neue Pinakothek (New Art Gallery) 6 3.1 out of 5 stars (⚠️closed until 2025)

Reopened in 1981 in a postmodern building, this museum displays about four hundred works of art from the 18th-19th century.

The most notable displays include works by Van Gogh (“Sunflowers” and “View of Arles”), Manet “Luncheon in the Studio”), Gauguin (“The Birth of Christ”), or Munch (Woman in Red Dress).

The gallery of the Neue Pinakothek has been closed for several years for structural reasons and to prepare extensive renovation measures for the public. A selection of masterpieces of 19th-century art is shown on the ground floor of the Alte Pinakothek and in the Schack Collection.

Museum Gallery Space: ca. 8,000 m2 / 86,111 ft2 | Galleries: 30 | Artworks on Display: ca. 400 | Established: 1853 | Visitors (2016): 218,930

 Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers by Bibi Saint-Pol / Public Domain

# Schloss Nymphenburg (Nymphenburg Palace) 6 3.1 out of 5 stars

Completed in 1679 and surviving both World Wars largely intact, Nymphenburg Palace is the largest Baroque palace complex in Germany.

Apart from the lovely gardens, the palace's main showpiece is the lavishly decorated three-story Steinerner Saal (Stone Hall) in the central pavilion with stunning ceiling frescoes.

Palace

by Otto Schemmel / CC BY-SA 3.0

# Altstadt (Old Town) 5.5 2.7 out of 5 stars

The atmospheric car-free historic core of Munich was carefully reconstructed after WWII in its former glory with cobblestoned lanes, numerous historical houses, towers, and churches.

Historic Area

by Prokrust 007 / CC BY-SA 4.0

# BMW Museum and BMW Welt (BMW World) 5.5 2.7 out of 5 stars

These spectacular buildings house a car museum, a conference center, and a showroom in extraordinary space-age architecture.

Car Museum | Modern Architecture

by Diego Delso / CC BY-SA 3.0

# Allianz Arena 5.5 2.7 out of 5 stars

Famous for its unique façade made up of diamond-shaped cushions of air that can be illuminated, Munich's futuristic football stadium is home to the famous FC Bayern Munich, one of the biggest and most important football clubs in the world. 

Stadium Seating Capacity: 75,000 | Designed by: Herzog & de Meuron

by Maximilian Dörrbecker / CC BY-SA 2.5

Scoring and Icons Legend (Click here for detailed information)

10 = top-10 sight in the world

9 = world-class  

8 = outstanding

7 = excellent 

6 = impressive

5 = interesting

4 = decent

3 = mediocre

2 = bad

1 = abysmal

= World Heritage Site

= Excursion

C. Other Notable Sights and Attractions in Munich

    • Asamkirche (Asam's Church) 5.5
    • Villa Lenbach (museum) 5.5
    • Peterskirche (Church with climbable tower) 5.5
    • Viktualienmarkt 5
    • Hofbräuhaus 5
    • Olympic Park 5
    • Botanischer 5
    • Schack Gallery 5
    • Bayerisches Nationalmuseum 5

D. Best Day Trips and Excursions from Munich

Schloss Neuschwanstein (126 km from Munich, 1 h 40 min) 9

Salzburg (city, 144 km from Munich) 6


E. Top 10 List of the Best Things to Do in Munich (including close-by excursions)

To sum things up, these are the ten best sights we recommend to you when visiting Munich for at least three entire days:

Schloss Neuschwanstein (126 km from Munich, 1 h 40 min) 9

Marienplatz 6

Residenz (museum) 6 

 Alte Pinakothek (museum) 6

English Garden 6

Deutsches Museum 6

Neue Pinakothek (New Art Gallery, museum) 6 (⚠️closed until 2025)

 Schloss Nymphenburg (Palace) 6

 Altstadt (Old Town) 5.5

BMW Museum and BMW Welt (museum) 5.5