Things to Do in Munich: The Sights Really Worth Seeing

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

Most of the top things to do in Munich are in the old town and can be covered on foot in a single day: Marienplatz with the New Town Hall and Glockenspiel, the Frauenkirche, Alter Peter, the Viktualienmarkt, the Residenz and Odeonsplatz. Right behind them begins the English Garden with the Eisbach, the Monopteros and the Chinese Tower. For the Deutsches Museum, BMW Welt and the Olympiapark, it is best to plan a second day.

We run a boarding house with 54 apartments at Ländstraße 6 in Lehel, opening in autumn 2027. We know the routes in this article from countless walks around our building, in Föhn sunshine (the warm Alpine wind) as well as drizzle. That is why we calculate all walking times from Lehel. If you book one of our holiday apartments in Munich here, Isartor is four minutes from your door and the old town is practically on your doorstep.

In this article:

• Top 10 sights in Munich at a glance
• Town hall and Glockenspiel in the old town
• Frauenkirche, Alter Peter and Asamkirche
• Residenz, Odeonsplatz and Maximilianstraße
• Parks and green spaces: Eisbach, Monopteros, Chinese Tower
• Deutsches Museum, BMW Welt and Olympiapark
• Munich’s sights in one day: our route
• Insider tips in Lehel and along the Isar
• In the rain and in winter
• Frequently asked questions

Things to do in Munich: the top 10 sights at a glance

The table shows the places guests ask us about most often. Seven of them are in the city centre, and none is more than half an hour from central accommodation in Munich. Walking times are guide values from Ländstraße in Lehel.

Sight	Admission	Time to allow	From Lehel approx.
Marienplatz, New Town Hall, Glockenspiel	free (town hall tower charges)	30 min	12 min on foot
Frauenkirche	free	30 min	15 min on foot
Alter Peter (tower)	small charge	45 min	11 min on foot
Viktualienmarkt	free	45 min	9 min on foot
Munich Residenz	museum charges, Hofgarten free	2–3 hrs	15 min on foot
Odeonsplatz with the Feldherrnhalle	free	20 min	15 min on foot
English Garden with the Eisbach	free	2 hrs	18 min on foot
Deutsches Museum	charge	3–4 hrs	12 min on foot
Asamkirche	free	15 min	20 min on foot
BMW Welt and Olympiapark	BMW Welt free	half a day	25 min by U-Bahn

Something that does not appear on any top-10 list but that we pass every day: the Isartor, one of the three surviving city gates. It is four minutes from us and the natural starting point for any walk into the old town.

Town hall and Glockenspiel in the old town

Marienplatz has been the centre of Munich since the city was founded in the 12th century. It used to be the market square; today it is where tourists, school groups and locals who just want to change trains all cross paths. In the middle stands the Mariensäule (Column of St Mary), and on the north side the New Town Hall. It looks old but was only built between 1867 and 1905 in the neo-Gothic style. Glockenspiel times, the town hall tower and everything else around the square are covered in our guide to Marienplatz in Munich.

The Glockenspiel hangs in the town hall tower. It plays every day at 11 am and 12 noon, and additionally at 5 pm from March to October. For around ten minutes, knights joust and coopers (Schäffler) dance. It is busiest at eleven. If you want photos without the crowds, come before nine in the morning, when you will have the square almost entirely to yourself – apart from the pigeons.

Our tip: take the lift up the town hall tower. The view of the Frauenkirche from there is almost as good as from the Alter Peter, and you save yourself the stairs.

Frauenkirche, Alter Peter and Asamkirche

The Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady) with its two towers is the city’s landmark. You can see its green domes from almost everywhere, including the Isar. A 2004 referendum voted that high-rise buildings in Munich should not exceed the towers’ height of just under 99 metres. At the entrance, people will happily show you the Teufelstritt (devil’s footprint), a footprint in the floor surrounded by legend. Admission to the church is free.

The best view of the Frauenkirche is from the Alter Peter, the city’s oldest parish church, right on Marienplatz. Around 300 steps lead up to the viewing platform; there is no lift. The staircase is narrow and the top gets crowded in fine weather. On Föhn days you can see the Alps so clearly they seem to lie just beyond the city limits.

A few minutes further on, on Sendlinger Straße, stands the Asamkirche. The Asam brothers built it in the 18th century as a private church next to their own house. It is narrow, laden with gold and stucco, and easy to miss from the outside. Inside, most visitors end up staying longer than planned.

Residenz, Odeonsplatz and Maximilianstraße

For centuries, the Munich Residenz was the city palace of the Wittelsbach dynasty. Today more than a hundred rooms are open as a museum, plus the Treasury with crowns and jewellery. Allow two to three hours. If you are short of time, just see the Antiquarium, a long Renaissance hall with a painted ceiling. For many, it is the most beautiful room in the whole palace.

The Hofgarten (court garden) behind the Residenz is free. In the middle stands the small Temple of Diana; on summer evenings someone is often playing music there, and couples dance the tango. From the Hofgarten it is only a few steps to Odeonsplatz with the Feldherrnhalle and the yellow Theatinerkirche. This is where Ludwigstraße begins, heading towards the university.

On the way back to Lehel we usually take Maximilianstraße. At the near end it is lined with fashion houses and the opera; further along it gets quieter, until the street ends at the Isar in front of the Maximilianeum, seat of the Bavarian state parliament. It is five minutes from our front door.

And the Hofbräuhaus? It is seven minutes from us on the Platzl. To be honest, it is loud, expensive and full of tour groups. You should still see it once, if only for the vaulted ceilings and the brass band. For the evening, though, we would rather recommend one of the Munich beer gardens.

Parks and green spaces: Eisbach, Monopteros and the Chinese Tower

The English Garden is larger than New York’s Central Park and begins less than 20 minutes from us. We usually walk north along the Isar and turn into the park behind the Haus der Kunst. Its size, rules and all the highlights in the park are described in our guide to the English Garden in Munich.

Right at the entrance is the Eisbach wave, where surfers have been riding in the middle of the city for decades. A current note: since autumn 2025 the wave had disappeared at times following works on the stream bed, and there was a long dispute over restoring it. Check the latest news before your visit to see whether anyone is surfing.

Ten minutes further on, on a small hill, stands the Monopteros, a round 19th-century temple. From there you look across the meadows to the Frauenkirche and the Theatinerkirche. It gets busy at sunset, but the atmosphere is great. Afterwards, head to the Chinese Tower, one of Munich’s largest beer gardens. If you like, have dinner there and walk back through the park afterwards.

The English Garden is also one of the reasons why guests with dogs love Lehel: the meadows along the Isar start right outside the building. What you need to know about staying with a four-legged friend is on our page about dog-friendly apartments in Munich.

Deutsches Museum, BMW Welt and Olympiapark

The Deutsches Museum stands on an island in the Isar, about a twelve-minute walk from Ländstraße across the Ludwigsbrücke. It is one of the largest science and technology museums in the world, with aircraft, a mine and a hall full of ships. The museum has been undergoing modernisation for years, and not all sections are open at the same time. Check the website beforehand to see what is currently on show, and allow at least three hours.

In the north of the city, BMW Welt and the Olympiapark sit side by side. From Lehel, the U-Bahn takes around 25 minutes to Olympiazentrum, with one change at Odeonsplatz. BMW Welt is free to enter, though the museum next door is not. In the Olympiapark, the climb up the Olympiaberg hill is worthwhile, offering a panoramic view all the way to the Alps in clear weather. Football fans can also visit the Allianz Arena, although it lies further out to the north.

These are exactly the sights many business travellers manage on a free afternoon. If you are staying several weeks for a project, serviced apartments in Munich are often a better fit than a hotel room, because you can cook and work in peace.

Munich’s sights in one day: our route from Lehel

What should you not miss in Munich if you only have one day? This is the walk we recommend to friends visiting Munich for the first time. It is about eight kilometres long, unhurried and includes a lunch break.

• 9:00 Isartor: start in Lehel, four minutes to the gate.
• 9:15 Viktualienmarkt: breakfast at one of the stalls. By tradition, white sausages are only served until noon.
• 10:15 Alter Peter: climb the tower while it is still quiet.
• 11:00 Marienplatz: the Glockenspiel, then on westwards.
• 11:30 Frauenkirche: a short visit, with a detour to the Asamkirche if you like.
• 13:00 Odeonsplatz and Hofgarten: lunch break, then the Residenz or a stroll.
• 15:30 English Garden: Eisbach, Monopteros, dinner at the Chinese Tower.
• Return: along the Isar back to Lehel, around 30 minutes on foot.

For a short break of two or three days, simply add the Deutsches Museum and the Olympiapark. And if you are actually in town for a trade fair and only have one afternoon free, start at Odeonsplatz and do the second half of the route. We have summarised where best to stay for that on our page about accommodation near Messe Munich.

Things to do in Munich: insider tips in Lehel and along the Isar

Lehel in Munich is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods and surprisingly quiet away from the big sights. We like to show guests these places, because they hardly feature near the top of any guidebook:

• St. Anna im Lehel: the monastery church on St.-Anna-Platz was decorated in the 18th century by, among others, the Asam brothers. Hardly any visitors, plenty of peace.
• Müller’sches Volksbad: an Art Nouveau indoor swimming baths from 1901, right by the Ludwigsbrücke. You can actually swim there, and the building alone is worth the trip.
• Praterinsel: a small island in the Isar with old factory buildings, which hosts events in summer.
• Maximiliansanlagen and the Friedensengel: a footpath along the high bank of the Isar, topped by the golden Angel of Peace looking out over Prinzregentenstraße.
• The Isar banks in the evening: in summer, students and families sit on the gravel banks between the Ludwigsbrücke and the Maximiliansbrücke. This is Munich as the locals like it.

Best of all: you can reach all of these places from Ländstraße in five to 20 minutes on foot.

Sights in Munich in the rain and in winter

Munich can be grey, especially in November. When it rains, you can stay flexible in the city centre, as the major venues are close together:

• Deutsches Museum: you can spend a whole day here without getting wet.
• Residenz and Treasury: a lot of walking, but all under one roof.
• Alte Pinakothek: painting from the Middle Ages to the Rococo – more in our guide to the Pinakothek der Moderne and its sister galleries. The Neue Pinakothek has been closed for renovation for years.
• Churches: the Frauenkirche, Asamkirche and St. Anna cost nothing and are quick to visit.

In winter, from the end of November, Marienplatz transforms into the Christkindlmarkt, the biggest of the Munich Christmas markets. The city is packed then, but the atmosphere is lovely all the same. On clear winter days, the rule is: head up the Alter Peter. When the Föhn is blowing, the view of the snow-covered Alps is often better in winter than in summer.

On rainy days you also notice how handy your own kitchen is. Instead of trudging through the rain to a restaurant, you simply cook for yourself. That is exactly why many guests prefer to book an aparthotel in Munich rather than a conventional hotel room.

Conclusion: Munich on foot, with a detour to the north

Most of the sights in Munich are so close together that you do not need a bus or train ticket for the old town. In one day you can see Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, the Residenz and the English Garden. With two to three days, you can add the Deutsches Museum, BMW Welt and the Olympiapark. You will get the most out of the city if you stay centrally and walk. If you are looking for holiday apartments in Munich with a kitchen, you will find ours in Lehel from autumn 2027, just a few minutes from Isartor.

Frequently asked questions about things to do in Munich

What should you not miss in Munich?

On your first visit to Munich, you should see Marienplatz with the Glockenspiel, the Frauenkirche, Alter Peter, the Viktualienmarkt, the Residenz and the English Garden with the Eisbach. These places are close together and can be done on foot in a day.

Which sights in Munich are free?

Free sights include Marienplatz and the Glockenspiel, the Frauenkirche, the Asamkirche, the Viktualienmarkt, the Hofgarten, the English Garden, the Olympiapark and BMW Welt. Places that charge admission include the Alter Peter tower, the Residenz and the Deutsches Museum.

Can you walk between the sights in Munich?

Yes, the sights in Munich’s city centre are all within about two kilometres of each other. You only need the U-Bahn for BMW Welt, the Olympiapark and the Allianz Arena.

When does the Glockenspiel on Marienplatz play?

The Glockenspiel in the town hall tower plays every day at 11 am and 12 noon, and additionally at 5 pm from March to October. It lasts about ten minutes.

How many days do you need for Munich?

One day is enough for the old town and the English Garden. With two to three days, you can also fit in the Deutsches Museum, BMW Welt, the Olympiapark and a relaxed evening by the Isar.

Which sights in Munich are good on a rainy day?

On rainy days, the Deutsches Museum, the Residenz with its Treasury, the Alte Pinakothek, BMW Welt and the old town’s big churches are good choices.

Is the Eisbach wave still there?

The Eisbach wave disappeared at times after works on the stream bed in autumn 2025. Check the local news shortly before your visit to see whether anyone is currently surfing there.

What are some insider tips for Munich?

Lesser-known but well worth seeing are the church of St. Anna im Lehel, the Müller’sches Volksbad, the Praterinsel and the footpath through the Maximiliansanlagen to the Friedensengel.