Munich attractions

Being around 310 miles (500 kilometers) from the coast, the landlocked city of Munich is perhaps one of Europe's most unlikely surfing spots. However, surfers have been flocking to ride the city’s artificial Eisbach Wave since the 1970s. The continuous wave is about 3 feet (1 meter) high and the ideal spot for surfers to practice year-round.

Home turf of Munich’s FC Bayern and TSV 1860 football (American soccer) teams, Allianz Arena is one of Germany’s largest sports stadiums. Built in 2005, it’s renowned both for its award-winning architecture—by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron—and sports legacy as host to major events, such as a World Cup and UEFA Champions League Final.

The Bavarian State Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper) is a historic opera company in Munich that dates back to 1653. It hosts around 400 events every year, with 600,000 spectators, and the main headquarters are at the National Theater Munich on Max-Joseph-Platz in central Munich. Visitors come to see ballet, concerts, music recitals, and operas.

Housed in a futuristic mirrored building, the BMW Museum is located at company headquarters near Munich’s Olympic Park. Inside you can find motorcycles and cars ranging from vintage Rolls-Royces to classic MINIs, with a series of interactive exhibits detailing 90 years of automobile design.

Munich’s Beer & Oktoberfest Museum offers a glimpse into the history and culture of the city’s most beloved drink. Set inside Munich’s oldest townhouse—right in the city center—visitors will explore several floors of suds-related exhibits, showcasing everything from the Bavarian monks’ purity laws and the unique quality of Munich’s beer to the history of Oktoberfest and historical artifacts, like old beer steins and brewing equipment. Don’t miss the ground-floor pub, which serves plenty of wurst to go with samples of the city’s best brews.

Billed as the world’s largest technology museum, the Deutsches Museum is so vast that it takes over an entire island in the center of Munich. Six floors of exhibitions are devoted to topics like aviation, energy, and natural science, with hands-on displays and activities that make it fun and educational for all ages.

Modeled on Florence’s Loggia dei Lanzi, Field Marshals’ Hall (Feldherrnhalle) towers over the southern end of Odeonsplatz. Built during the 1840s, its three archways host bronze sculptures that honor Bavarian military heroes: Count Tilly, who fought Swedes; General von Wrede, who battled Napoleon; and the army from the Franco-German War.

Munich's Old Pinakothek, or Alte Pinakothek, is an illustrious art museum displaying more than 800 works by European painters, dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Seek out the gallery specifically designed to showcase The Last Judgement by Peter Paul Rubens.

With no permanent collection, the House of the Arts (Haus der Kunst) offers an ever-changing menu of contemporary art exhibitions featuring big international names alongside newer talents. Artists featured have included Andreas Gursky, Gerhard Richter, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Rauschenberg, and Gilbert & George.

Go behind the scenes at Olympiapark in Munich, home to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games. The vast complex is now an international events center, concert venue, recreational park, and sports venue. Thrill seekers may be interested in climbing to the roof of the stadium and abseiling on a zipline to the stadium lawn 130 feet (40 meters) below.

Amid the landscaped parklands of the Olympic Park, SEA LIFE® Munich whisks visitors on an underwater adventure. Home to over 8,000 fish and marine creatures; expect to see sharks, sea turtles, octopus, and more, from the native creatures of Germany’s lakes and rivers to the natural wonders of the world’s oceans.

The Neue Pinakothek forms part of an extraordinary concentration of art museums just outside Munich’s old town. The collection is largely 19th-century art, with an impressive showing of English works—Gainsborough, Turner, Constable—and an impressionist collection with works by almost all of the movement’s leading lights. Note: The Neue Pinakothek is currently closed for major renovations, with a reopening planned for 2029.

Located on an island on southern Germany’s Lake Chiemsee, Herrenchiemsee New Palace was commissioned in the late 19th-century by Bavarian king, Ludwig II. Designed to echo Versailles and pay homage to Louis XIV, the palace is one of the most lavish royal buildings in Germany.

Driving along the Romantic Road is like flipping through a postcard book of Bavariaó: you'll see fairytale castles, picturesque medieval villages, and elegant walled towns all set against the dramatic backdrops of the Bavarian Alps and the Franconian vineyards. The 220-mile (355-km) tourist route runs all the way from Wurzburg in the north to Fussen in the south, passing through some of southern Germany's most scenic towns.

Munich’s predominant event area and the home of the Oktoberfest beer festival, the Theresienwiese (Wiesn occupies over 100 acres (42 hectares of prime central Munich. While the name means meadow, most of the grass is long gone, leaving the 60-foot (18-meter Bavaria statue to take center stage.

Towering a dizzying 955 feet (291 meters) over the surrounding Olympic Park; Munich’s Olympic Tower is one of the city’s tallest buildings and boasts its highest observation deck. Built for the 1972 Olympic Games, it’s more than just a Munich landmark—it’s also a TV broadcasting tower and home to a museum and restaurant.

Stately Munich may have a fairly conservative reputation, but bohemian Schwabing is where the city lets its hair down. North of the city center, Schwabing features some of Munich’s most prominent universities and prettiest green spaces, plus shops, restaurants and buzzing bars aplenty.

The Jewish Museum (Jüdisches Museum) provides insight into the history and cultural traditions of Jewish people in Munich. Through a mix of permanent and temporary exhibits, the museum covers topics such as life after World War II, religious practices, and the contribution of Munich’s Jewish community to science and modern thought.

Standing on a hilltop near Lake Ammersee in south Bavaria, the Andechs Monastery is Bavaria’s oldest pilgrimage church, a working Benedictine abbey, and a brewery and tavern rolled into one. Pilgrims come for the monastery’s holy relics while others come to admire the church before enjoying the country views over beers and Bavarian food.

Munich’s Paulaner Brewery (Paulaner Brauerei) dates back to 1634, when monks first started brewing beer on the Nockherberg hill by the River Isar. While commercial production has moved outside of the city, the small brewery still boasts a restaurant and beer garden, and hosts an annual beer festival.

Munich is known for its beer halls, and the most celebrated of them all is Hofbrauhaus. Formerly the royal brewery, Hofbrauhaus is now owned by the state government and serves thousands of revelers a year who come to raise a stein of beer and listen to live music. They also have one of the largest tents at Oktoberfest.

Munich's Tierpark Hellabrunn, one of the largest zoos in Europe, offers a range of opportunities for encountering animals, from a petting zoo with goats and deer to a “polarium” with penguins and polar bears. The area is organized geographically by continents and the natural habitats of the animals.

The Munich outpost of the legendary Hard Rock Cafe, this restaurant delivers hearty American-style fare with a bonus of music memorabilia. When a burger craving strikes and you're near Munich’s famous Hofbräuhaus, check out Hard Rock. This spot serves food and drinks, including cocktails and Bavarian beer for lunch and dinner.

Munich's Gasteig cultural center, on the banks of the Isar, showcases top performers year-round. It's home to the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule education center, and the municipal library. There are multiple performance spaces booked with a full program of events.

Mullersches Volksbad is an art nouveau structure that dates back to 1901, when it opened as Munich’s first public swimming baths. The space has undergone renovations to preserve its original features, with ornaments and paintings that give a twist to modern swimming pools. Along with taking a dip, visitors can relax in a Finnish sauna and a Roman-Irish steam bath.

The Lenbachhaus is a twofer for Munich visitors. It's one of Europe’s largest art and cultural history museums, and its vast collection comes housed in a Florentine-style villa built for the painter Franz von Lenbach. It’s perhaps most famous for exhibiting works from the Blue Rider—der Blaue Reiter—movement, plus other contemporary German movements from the 20th century.

Situated in the picturesque setting of Munich’s Old Town Hall since 1983, the Munich Toy Museum has a vast collection of vintage treasures. From model trains to Barbie dolls, teddy bears to tin toys—some pieces date back to the 1800s. Adults come for a nostalgic journey, while kids can enjoy an educational experience on toys of the past.

Movie buffs and film fanatics will be in their element at Bavaria Filmstadt, a theme park set within one of Europe’s largest and most renowned film studios. Founded in 1919, the Bavarian film studio has provided the backdrop to films such as The NeverEnding Story and Asterix and Obelix vs. Cesar, and remains a working studio today.

Three islands sit in Chiemsee, the largest lake in Germany’s Bavaria: Herreninsel, Krautinsel, and Frauenchiemsee. The latter, the second-largest, is home to a Benedictine church and convent with roots that go back 1300 years. Today, the island is a popular spot thanks to its views, rich history, and community of artists and craftspeople.