Pinakothek der Moderne, Alte Pinakothek and Museum Brandhorst: Munich’s Pinakothek museums

By Daniel Schulz, residir GmbH · Last updated: 13 October 2026

The Pinakothek der Moderne, the Alte Pinakothek and the Museum Brandhorst stand side by side in the Kunstareal (museum quarter) in Maxvorstadt, and a €12 day ticket lets you visit them all in one day. On Sundays, admission to each museum costs €1, and on Mondays they are closed. The Neue Pinakothek has been closed for renovation for years; some of its major works are currently on display in the Alte Pinakothek and the Sammlung Schack.

We run a boarding house with 54 apartments at Ländstraße 6 in Lehel, opening in autumn 2027. When guests ask us for a museum-day tip, the Pinakothek museums are almost always the first thing we suggest. This guide explains which museum shows what, what tickets cost, when they are open and how to get there from Lehel. If you are looking for central accommodation in Munich, you will also see how short the distances to the museums are from the old town.

In this article:

• Munich’s Pinakothek museums at a glance
• Kunstareal Munich in Maxvorstadt
• Alte Pinakothek
• Neue Pinakothek: closed
• Pinakothek der Moderne
• Museum Brandhorst
• Sammlung Schack
• Tickets, admission and €1 Sundays
• Getting there from Lehel and parking
• A day in the Kunstareal: our plan
• The Kunstareal with children
• Conclusion
• Frequently asked questions

Pinakothek der Moderne and Munich’s other Pinakothek museums at a glance

The table summarises the opening hours and prices of the museums run by the Bavarian State Painting Collections. All information comes from pinakothek.de. It may change, so please check the official website before your visit.

Museum	Focus	Opening hours	Admission
Alte Pinakothek	European painting from the 14th to the 18th century	Tue and Wed 10 am to 8 pm, Thu to Sun 10 am to 6 pm	€9, concessions €6
Neue Pinakothek	19th-century art	closed for renovation	–
Pinakothek der Moderne	Art, design, architecture and works on paper from the 20th century onwards	Tue to Sun 10 am to 6 pm, Thu until 8 pm	€10, concessions €7
Museum Brandhorst	Contemporary art	Tue to Sun 10 am to 6 pm, Thu until 8 pm	€7, concessions €5
Sammlung Schack	19th-century German painting	Wed to Sun 10 am to 6 pm, 1st and 3rd Wed of the month until 8 pm	€4, concessions €3
Day ticket	all four open museums on one day	museum ticket desks only	€12

What is a Pinakothek? The word comes from Greek and means something like picture collection or painting gallery. In Munich the term refers to the painting galleries founded by King Ludwig I in the 19th century. Today locals simply say “die Pinakotheken” and mean the whole ensemble of the Alte, Neue and Moderne Pinakothek.

Kunstareal Munich: museums within a few hundred metres

The Kunstareal lies in Maxvorstadt, north-west of the old town between Königsplatz and the universities. Within a few hundred metres, alongside the Pinakothek museums, you will find the Glyptothek, the State Collections of Antiquities, the Egyptian Museum, the Lenbachhaus and the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism. How Maxvorstadt differs from other Munich neighbourhoods is explained in a separate guide.

Between the museums are lawns where students sit in the sun in summer. Around Amalienstraße and Türkenstraße there are cafés and good-value lunch spots. So you do not have to leave the area for a break between two museums.

Alte Pinakothek Munich: Old Masters in Klenze’s gallery building

The Alte Pinakothek was built between 1826 and 1836 to designs by Leo von Klenze and is one of the oldest public painting galleries in the world. It shows European painting from the Middle Ages to the Rococo, with a focus on early German, Flemish, Dutch, Italian and French art. Badly damaged in the Second World War, the building was reconstructed by Hans Döllgast. The filled-in bomb gaps can still be seen today as lighter areas of brick on the south façade.

Famous paintings and masterpieces

Among the best-known paintings are Albrecht Dürer’s Self-Portrait in a Fur-Collared Robe and his Four Apostles. The Rubens Hall, with large-format works by Peter Paul Rubens, is one of the most impressive rooms in the museum. There are also paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt and Titian. If you only have two hours, use the floor plan beforehand to pick out the rooms with the masterpieces that interest you.

Opening hours, exhibitions and guided tours

The Alte Pinakothek is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 8 pm and Thursdays to Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm; it is closed on Mondays (as of October 2026). The late evenings on Tuesday and Wednesday are the quietest time to visit. No partial closure is currently announced on pinakothek.de. Individual rooms may nevertheless close at short notice when works are being rehung; this will be shown on the website.

Alongside the permanent collection, the museum regularly puts on special exhibitions, which usually cost extra. You can find out which exhibition is currently on at the Alte Pinakothek under “Exhibitions” on pinakothek.de. There you will also find public guided tours and dates for groups.

Neue Pinakothek Munich: closed for renovation

The Neue Pinakothek shows 19th-century art, from Romanticism and Realism to Impressionism and Art Nouveau. The current building by Alexander von Branca dates from 1981 and has been undergoing a complete renovation since 2019. The official website does not currently give a firm reopening date (as of October 2026).

You do not have to miss out on the collection altogether. A selection of major works hangs on the ground floor of the Alte Pinakothek, including paintings by Turner and van Gogh, and another part in the Sammlung Schack. Whether a particular painting is currently on display is shown for each work in the online collection of the State Painting Collections. If you want to know how far the rebuilding of the Neue Pinakothek has progressed, you will find news on the website of the responsible State Building Authority.

Pinakothek der Moderne: four museums under one roof

The Pinakothek der Moderne opened in 2002 and was built to designs by Stephan Braunfels. It brings together four independent collections in one building: the Modern Art collection with painting, sculpture, photography and media art; Die Neue Sammlung, the design museum; the Architecture Museum of the Technical University of Munich; and the State Graphic Collection Munich. If you are searching for the “Moderne Pinakothek”, this is the museum you mean.

At its centre is the tall rotunda beneath the glass dome, from which stairs lead up to the galleries. Many visitors stop here first to get their bearings. On the lower floor, Die Neue Sammlung shows everyday and industrial design, often including vehicles, furniture and computers. It is a good starting point for anyone who finds painting alone not quite enough.

Opening hours, admission and current exhibitions

The Pinakothek der Moderne is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, and until 8 pm on Thursdays. Admission costs €10, concessions €7, and €1 on Sundays (as of October 2026). Which exhibition is currently on at the Pinakothek der Moderne is listed on pinakothek.de. The four collections run several changing exhibitions at the same time, some with their own ticket.

You can buy tickets for the Pinakothek der Moderne at the ticket desk in the foyer. Whether online tickets with time slots are also available for a major special exhibition is stated for each exhibition on pinakothek.de. At weekends it is worth checking in advance, as queues form at the ticket desk.

Museum Brandhorst: contemporary art behind a colourful façade

The Museum Brandhorst stands right next to the Pinakothek der Moderne on Theresienstraße and opened in 2009. Its core is the collection of Udo and Anette Brandhorst, with works of art from after 1945. The museum is known for its large groups of works by Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly.

The building by the architects Sauerbruch Hutton stands out even from the outside. The façade consists of thousands of coloured ceramic rods that look different depending on the angle and the light. Inside, the rooms are bright and calm, and in a good two hours you can make your way through the collection without rushing.

The Museum Brandhorst is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, and until 8 pm on Thursdays. Admission costs €7, concessions €5 and €1 on Sundays; the audio guide is free (as of October 2026).

Sammlung Schack: the small detour in Lehel

The Sammlung Schack is not in the Kunstareal but at Prinzregentenstraße 9, i.e. right here in Lehel. It shows 19th-century German painting assembled by the art collector Adolf Friedrich von Schack, including works by Carl Spitzweg, Moritz von Schwind and Arnold Böcklin. While the Neue Pinakothek is closed, works from its collection also hang here.

It is around a 10- to 15-minute walk from Ländstraße. The collection is small, and an hour is enough for a first look around. Note the opening hours: it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and open until 8 pm on the first and third Wednesday of the month.

Tickets and admission: day ticket and €1 Sundays

Each museum has its own ticket, and you also buy tickets for the Alte Pinakothek directly at the ticket desk. If you want to visit more than one museum in a day, take the €12 day ticket. It is valid in the Alte Pinakothek, the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Museum Brandhorst and the Sammlung Schack, in each case during opening hours. According to pinakothek.de, the day ticket is only available at the museum ticket desks and does not include special exhibitions with a separate charge.

• Sunday: €1 admission to the permanent collections of all museums
• Children and young people: free admission for under-18s
• Concessions: for students and people over 65, among others
• Annual pass: €90, concessions €60

As of October 2026, source: pinakothek.de. The cheap Sunday has a catch: the Alte Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne are noticeably busier then, especially in bad weather. If you want peace and quiet, visit the Alte Pinakothek on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening and pay the normal admission.

For guests staying in the city for several weeks, the annual pass can pay for itself after just a few visits. What a stay of several months with us looks like is explained on our page about temporary housing in Munich. Check the current terms on the official website before you buy.

Getting to the Pinakothek museums from Lehel and parking

The Kunstareal is just under two kilometres from Isartor as the crow flies. From Lehel there are three easy routes; all times are guide values from our front door, excluding waiting time:

1. Bus 100 (museum line): around a 10- to 15-minute walk to the Reitmorstraße/Sammlung Schack stop, then without changing to the Pinakotheken stop. During the day the bus usually runs every 10 minutes and also stops at the Haus der Kunst and Odeonsplatz.
2. U-Bahn and bus: take the U4 or U5 from Lehel one stop to Odeonsplatz, then change to bus 100 towards Hauptbahnhof Nord as far as Pinakotheken. Around 20 to 25 minutes in total.
3. S-Bahn and tram: from Isartor take the S-Bahn to Karlsplatz (Stachus), then tram 27 or 28 to the Pinakotheken stop.

On foot it is around 30 to 35 minutes from Lehel via the Hofgarten and Brienner Straße. In good weather this is a lovely walk, past the Munich Residenz and Odeonsplatz. If you are combining the old town and the museums in one day, you will need an MVV day ticket; the app shows current prices.

Parking at the Alte Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne

To the best of our knowledge, the Pinakothek museums do not have their own visitor car parks. Maxvorstadt has controlled parking zones, free spaces on the street are scarce during the day and must be paid for. Free parking at the Alte Pinakothek is therefore hardly possible. We recommend taking the bus, tram or U-Bahn; the car is better left in your accommodation’s garage or at a Park & Ride site.

A day in the Kunstareal: our plan for rain or shine

For a museum day, we recommend starting with the Alte Pinakothek while you are still fresh. For lunch, head to one of the cafés on Amalienstraße. In the afternoon, continue with the Pinakothek der Moderne or the Museum Brandhorst, which are only a few minutes’ walk apart. With the €12 day ticket you only pay once.

When it rains, the Kunstareal is one of the best places in the city, as there are only short stretches outdoors between the museums. If you prefer technology to painting, you can spend a second rainy day at the Deutsches Museum, which is within walking distance of Lehel. You will hardly manage both museums in one day, so it is better to plan two mornings.

A Sunday with €1 admission fits well into a Munich weekend: museum in the morning, the English Garden in the afternoon. On Mondays, by contrast, all the Pinakothek museums are closed. If you are in Munich on a Monday, plan the Residenz or the old town for that day instead.

The Kunstareal with children

Admission to all the museums is free for children and young people under 18. The Pinakothek museums regularly offer family tours, workshops and materials for children; dates are listed in the calendar on pinakothek.de. With small children, Die Neue Sammlung in the Pinakothek der Moderne is often more exciting than a gallery of old paintings, because it has cars, bicycles and furniture on display.

With children, plan two short visits rather than one long one. They can let off steam on the lawns between the museums. Families staying several days who want to cook for themselves are often more comfortable in an aparthotel in Munich with a kitchen than in a hotel room.

If you are staying in Munich for longer, for example for an internship, a semester at the nearby university or a work assignment, you will usually be looking for furnished apartments in Munich. It is then worth getting to know the museums over several weeks rather than trying to see everything in a single day.

Conclusion: the Pinakothek museums with a day ticket, ideally on a weekday

The Pinakothek der Moderne, the Alte Pinakothek and the Museum Brandhorst can be combined in one day with the €12 day ticket, and on Sundays €1 per museum is all you need. As the Neue Pinakothek is closed, plan a short detour to the Sammlung Schack, which is just round the corner from us. If you would like to stay centrally between the old town and the Isar, you will find all the details about our boarding house in Munich.

Frequently asked questions about the Pinakothek museums in Munich

How much does admission to the Pinakothek der Moderne cost?

Admission to the Pinakothek der Moderne costs €10, concessions €7, and €1 on Sundays (as of October 2026). Admission is free for under-18s.

When is the Alte Pinakothek open?

The Alte Pinakothek is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 8 pm and Thursdays to Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm. It is closed on Mondays (as of October 2026).

Is there a combined ticket for the Pinakothek museums?

Yes, the €12 day ticket is valid for one day at the Alte Pinakothek, the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Museum Brandhorst and the Sammlung Schack. It is only available at the museum ticket desks and does not cover special exhibitions with a separate charge.

Does the Pinakothek really cost only €1 on Sundays?

Yes, on Sundays admission to the permanent collections of the Pinakothek museums, the Museum Brandhorst and the Sammlung Schack costs €1 each. Special exhibitions may cost more.

Is the Neue Pinakothek open?

No, the Neue Pinakothek is closed for a complete renovation. A selection of its major works can be seen on the ground floor of the Alte Pinakothek and in the Sammlung Schack.

What is a Pinakothek?

A Pinakothek is a collection of paintings or a painting gallery; the word comes from Greek. In Munich it refers to the state painting galleries in the Kunstareal.

How do I get from Lehel to the Pinakothek museums?

The easiest way is bus 100 to the Pinakotheken stop, either from Reitmorstraße/Sammlung Schack or from Odeonsplatz after one stop on the U4/U5. Allow around 20 to 25 minutes.

How much time do you need for the Alte Pinakothek?

For a first tour of the Alte Pinakothek you should allow two to three hours. If you only want to see specific masterpieces, you can do it in around an hour and a half.