These are the experiences worth building a Munich trip around, from the Glockenspiel over Marienplatz to a litre of beer under the chestnut trees of the English Garden. The city mixes blockbuster culture — a science museum the size of a small town, galleries full of Duerer and Kandinsky, a Wittelsbach palace — with the simple, democratic pleasures of markets, parks and beer gardens, and most of the best of it is cheap or free. We have ranked them roughly by how essential they are to a first visit, but in a city this compact you can fold half a dozen into a single day on foot. Save the ones that appeal and slot them into your own itinerary.
The Best Things to Do in Munich
1
Landmark
Marienplatz
The city's 850-year-old central square and the stage for the animated Glockenspiel — the obvious first stop and the heart of the Old Town.
2
Park
Englischer Garten
A city park larger than Central Park, with beer gardens, open meadows and the surreal year-round surfers of the Eisbach standing wave.
3
Landmark
Frauenkirche
Munich's brick-Gothic cathedral, its twin onion domes the protected symbol of the skyline; the soaring nave is free to enter.
4
Market
Viktualienmarkt
The much-loved open-air food market just off Marienplatz, trading since 1807, with a central beer garden at its heart.
5
Landmark
Nymphenburg Palace
The Wittelsbachs' sprawling baroque summer palace, with opulent state rooms and a vast, free landscaped park behind it.
6
Museum
Deutsches Museum
The world's largest science-and-technology museum, on its own Isar island — hands-on, vast and brilliant for families.
7
Viewpoint
New Town Hall Tower
A step-free elevator ride to an 85-metre platform over Marienplatz — the easiest big-city panorama in the centre.
8
Museum
Alte Pinakothek
One of the planet's great picture galleries: Duerer, Rubens, Rembrandt and Leonardo, anchoring the Kunstareal museum quarter.
9
Viewpoint
Frauenkirche South Tower
Climb and lift up the cathedral's south tower, reopened in 2022, for a roughly 80-metre view over the rooftops toward the Alps.
10
Viewpoint
Olympiaberg
A free, rubble-built hill in the Olympic Park with one of Munich's best sunset and Alpine panoramas.
11
Park
Schlosspark Nymphenburg
Nymphenburg's free palace park: baroque parterres, tree-lined canals and woodland walks dotted with ornate pavilions.
12
Museum
Pinakothek der Moderne
Four collections — modern art, design, graphics and architecture — under one striking rotunda in the Kunstareal.
FAQ
- What is the one thing not to miss in Munich?
- Marienplatz and its Glockenspiel, followed by a beer garden in the English Garden. Together they capture both sides of the city — its civic, historic centre and its relaxed, outdoors beer-and-pretzel culture — and both cost almost nothing.
- What is free to do in Munich?
- Plenty: the English Garden and its Eisbach surfers, the Frauenkirche nave, the Nymphenburg and Westpark gardens, the Olympiaberg viewpoint, and wandering the Viktualienmarkt. Many state museums also charge just 1 euro on Sundays.
- Is Munich good for families?
- Very. The hands-on Deutsches Museum, the wide-open parks, the Olympic Park, and the markets are all easy with children, and the compact, stroller-friendly Old Town and excellent public transport make getting around simple.
Make it your trip
Save these places and build your own Munich itinerary in TripBox.