Museum sights in Munich
-
A
Deutsches Museum
You could spend days exploring the Deutsches Museum, said to be the world's largest science and technology collection. This vast museum occupies its own island southeast of Isartor (Isar Gate) and features just about anything ever invented. Interactive displays (including glass blowing and paper making), model coal and salt mines, and wonderful sections on musical instruments, caves, geodesy, micro-electronics and astronomy are just some of the delights on offer. Demonstrations take place throughout the day; a popular one is in the power hall where a staff member is raised in the insulated Faraday Cage and zapped with a 220,000V bolt of lightning. There is also a fascinat…
reviewed
-
B
Münchner Stadtmuseum
You could spend hours roaming through the collections of the rambling Münchner Stadtmuseum, making it a perfect rainy day destination.
Historical exhibits help you understand how the royal residence evolved into today's modern metropolis, but the main artistic draw is the ensemble of Erasmus Grasser's 10 spritelike Morris Dancers (1480), medieval travelling entertainers who performed at court and on market squares. The late Gothic figures originally adorned the ballroom of the Altes Rathaus.
Also of special note is the small but powerful section on Munich during the Third Reich that forms an enlightening complement to the nearby Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum). Set in a …
reviewed
-
C
Altes Rathaus
The eastern side of Marienplatz is dominated by the Altes Rathaus. Lightning got the better of the medieval original in 1460 and WWII bombs levelled its successor, so what you see is really the third incarnation of the building designed by Jörg von Halspach of Frauenkirche fame. On 9 November 1938 Joseph Goebbels gave a hate-filled speech here that launched the nationwide Kristallnacht pogroms.
Today it houses the adorable Spielzeugmuseum (Toy Museum) with its huge collection of rare and precious toys from throughout Europe and the US. Also, on the old town hall's south side you can pay your respects to Romeo's heart-throb Juliet, a beautiful bronze sculpture that was a …
reviewed
-
D
Paläontologisches Museum
The curatorial concept of the Paläontologisches Museum could use a little dusting up but otherwise this archaeological trove of prehistoric skulls and bones is anything but stuffy. The most famous resident is a fossilised archaeopteryx, the creature that forms the evolutionary link between reptile and bird. Dino fans can check out the wicked horns on a triceratops skull or the delicate bone structure of a plateosaurus. Admission is free, so why not pop in for your Jurassic fix?
reviewed
-
E
Kurfürstenzimmer
Upstairs and only accessible in the morning are the Kurfürstenzimmer (Elector's Rooms) with some stunning Italian portraits and a passage lined with two dozen views of Italy, painted by local romantic artist Carl Rottmann.
Also up here, and accessible all day, are François Cuvilliés' Reiche Zimmer (Rich Rooms), a six-room extravaganza of exuberant rococo carried out by the top stucco and fresco artists of the day; they're a definite museum highlight.
reviewed
-
F
BMW Museum
Redesigned from scratch and reopened in 2008, the BMW Museum is like no other car museum on the planet. The seven themed 'houses' examine the development of BMW's product line and include sections on motorcycles and motor racing. However, the interior design of this truly unique building, with its curvy retro feel, futuristic bridges, squares and huge backlit wall screens, almost upstages the exhibits.
reviewed
-
G
Stadtmuseum
To mark the city's 850th birthday in 2008, the Stadtmuseum restructured its collections to create the 'Typisch München' (Typically Munich) exhibition. This condenses Munich's tangled past into five easily digestible periods, with a chronological walking route leading through the rambling building. Exhibits in each section represent what is most typical for the time, and explain why.
reviewed
-
H
Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde
A bonanza of art and objects from Africa, India, the Americas, the Middle East and Polynesia, the Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde has one of the most prestigious and complete ethnological collections anywhere. Sculpture from West and Central Africa is particularly impressive, as are Peruvian ceramics, Indian jewellery, mummy parts, and artefacts from the days of Captain Cook.
reviewed
-
I
Verkehrszentrum
Sheltered in an historic trade fair complex, the Verkehrszentrum features some fascinating exhibits, with hands-on displays about pioneering research and famous inventions, plus cars, boats and trains, and the history of car racing. Another section shows off the Deutsche Museum's entire vehicle collection, ranging from the first motorcars to high-speed ICE trains.
reviewed
-
J
Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum
Pose with a bronze boar, admire a rococo hunting sledge or examine prehistoric fishing tackle at the old-school Deutsches Jagd und Fischereimuseum, spread across three floors of a former Augustinian church. There are plenty of stuffed critters and dioramas alongside trophies, weapons, paintings and porcelain embellished with hunting motifs. Creepy or captivating? Up to you.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Schatzkammer Der Residenz
Schatzkammer der Residenz shares the Residenzmuseum's entrance. It exhibits an Aladdin's cave of baubles and precious objects. Included among the mind-boggling treasures are portable altars, the pearl-studded golden cross of Queen Gisela of Hungary, the Bavarian crown jewels, and 'exotic handicrafts' from Turkey, Iran, Mexico and India.
reviewed
-
L
Archäologische Staats- Sammlung
Occupying a contender for the world's ugliest museum building, the Archäologische Staats- sammlung traces the settlement of Bavaria from the Stone Age to the early Middle Ages. The exhibition features objects from Celtic, Roman and Germanic civilisations, including the well-preserved body of a ritually sacrificed young girl.
reviewed
-
M
KinderReich
Many museums have special kid-oriented programs, but the highly interactive KinderReich specifically lures the single-digit set. Here tots ages three to eight can climb all over a fire engine, build things with giant Lego, construct a waterway with canals and locks, or bang on the drum all day in a - thankfully - soundproof instrument room.
reviewed
-
N
Puppentheater-Museum
The upper floors of the Münchner Stadtmuseum house the speciality collections. A delightful diversion, not only for tots, is the Puppentheater-Museum, a fantasy world inhabited by an international cast of hand puppets, marionettes, shadow puppets, stick figures and all manner of dolls, dragons and devils. Call for upcoming shows.
reviewed
-
O
Rock Museum
At the Olympiaturm, your lift ticket also buys access to the small if quirky Rock Museum. Ozzie Osbourne's signed guitar, a poem penned by Jim Morrison and Britney Spears' glitter jeans jostle for space with letters, photos and concert tickets, all the result of three decades of collecting by a pair of rock fans.
reviewed
-
P
Bier & Oktoberfestmuseum
In a 14th-century timber-framed house is the cute little Bier & Oktoberfestmuseum, providing a potted history of Germany's national tipple. Pore over old brewing vats, historic photos and some of the earliest Oktoberfest regalia. The earthy tavern is open 6pm to midnight (closed Monday).
reviewed
-
Nibelungensäle
Even without a ticket to the Residenzmuseum, you're free to visit the Nibelungensäle (Halls of the Nibelungs) off the Königsbauhof courtyard to marvel at an exhibit depicting the near total destruction of the Residenz in WWII and the miraculous restoration in subsequent decades.
reviewed
-
Q
Internationale Jugendbibliothek
Internationale Jugendbibliothek, a unique research and lending library with about half a million children's books in 130 languages. It has reading rooms, runs exhibits and activities and also has a small museum dedicated to Michael Ende, author of Neverending Story.
reviewed
-
R
Marstall- Museum
Also in the main building of the palace, the Marstall- museum displays royal coaches and riding gear (including Ludwig II's over-the-top sleigh) on ground level, and a collection of porcelain from the legendary Nymphenburger Manufaktur on the 1st floor.
reviewed
-
S
Residenzmuseum
The Wittelsbachs' amazing treasures, as well as the trappings of their lifestyles, are on display at the Residenzmuseum. The museum has roughly 130 rooms, and is so large that it's divided into two sections. You can see it all with a free audioguide.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
T
Bayerisches Nationalmuseum
Off the southeastern corner of the Englischer Garten stands the stern building of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. It's chock-full of exhibits showcasing the art, folklore and cultural history of southern Germany, and Bavaria in particular.
reviewed
-
U
Glyptothek
Munich's oldest museum is the Glyptothek. Like all the buildings on Königsplatz, Glyptothek is a piece of Greek fantasy. Classical busts, portraits of Roman kings and sculptures from a Greek temple in Aegina are among its prize exhibits.
reviewed
-
V
Musikinstrumenten-Museum
The Musikinstrumenten-Museum is packed with fun, precious and rare sound machines from around the world, including Indonesian ceremonial gongs and mechanical musical instruments. Some of them are cranked up regularly during concerts.
reviewed
-
W
Schönheitengalerie
The most famous room in the Schloss Nymphenburg is the Schönheitengalerie (Gallery of Beauties), in the southern wing, a portrait gallery of 38 'beauties' from all walks of life and parts of the world hand-selected by Ludwig I.
reviewed
-
X
Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst
German explorers of the Near East brought back treasures that made their way into the Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst. The excellent collection dates from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms (2670-1075 BC).
reviewed
