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Ahnengallery
Tours at the Residenzmuseum take you through the downstairs Ahnengallery (Ancestors' Gallery), a riot in rococo with 121 portraits of the rulers of Bavaria in chronological order.
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Aktionsforum Praterinsel
An art and cultural centre in a former schnapps distillery with artists studios, exhibits, open-air performances and parties.
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Alpines Museum
In a deceptively beautiful building on the island's southern tip, the Alpines Museum could deliver a fascinating exhibit about the Alps but is actually a pretty dry and predictable presentation. Paintings, photographs, scientific instruments and graphics illustrate the history of the mountain range, its settlement, expeditions and the popularity of Alpinism. Sadly it avoids the debate over the mountains' touristic exploitation and environmental problems resulting from global warming.
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Alte Pinakothek
Munich's main repository of Old European Masters, the Alte Pinakothek is stuffed with all the major players that decorated canvases between the 14th and 18th centuries. It's in a neoclassical temple masterminded by Leo von Klenze and is a delicacy even if you can't tell your Rembrandt from your Rubens. Nearly all the paintings were collected or commissioned by Wittelsbach rulers and mirror their eclectic tastes over the centuries. It fell to Ludwig I to unite the bunch in a single museum.
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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.
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Antikensammlungen
Complementing the Glyptothek, one of Munich's oldest museums, the Antikensammlungen is an engaging showcase of exquisite Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. The collection of Greek vases, each artistically decorated with gods and heroes, wars and weddings, is particularly outstanding. Other galleries present gold and silver jewellery and ornaments; figurines made from terracotta and more precious bronze; and super-fragile drinking vessels made from glass.
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Antiquarium
The famous Antiquarium is a barrel-vaulted hall smothered in frescoes and built to house the Wittelsbachs' enormous antique collection. This leads to the Schlachtensäle (Battle Halls) decorated with scenes from the Napoleonic campaigns, some of which King Ludwig II himself participated in.
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Archäologische Staatssammlung
Turns out Bavaria has been a popular place of residence for 120,000 years. Prehistoric Stone Age people came first, then the Romans, the Celts and finally various Germanic tribes. The Archäologische Staatssammlung opens up a window on these long-gone civilisations with cult objects, floor mosaics, jewellery, medical equipment and scores of other items.
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Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
A Gutenberg Bible, the original Carmina Burana and 1000-year-old prayer books are part of the amazing archive of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Founded in 1558 by Duke Albrecht V, it's in another Gärtner building and brims with 9.1 million volumes, nearly 400,000 maps and subscriptions to over 42,000 periodicals. Yup, that would make it one of the largest in the German-speaking world. Check it out, if only for the free art exhibits.
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Bayerisches Nationalmuseum
A highlight of Munich's museum scene, the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum is chock-full of items illustrating the art, folklore and cultural history of southern Germany between the Middle Ages and the early 20th century. The ground floor yields new treasures and surprises in every room, from suits of armour to oil paintings, town models to altars and emotionally-charged sculpture by Tilman Riemenschneider.
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Bier & Oktoberfestmuseum
East of the Viktualienmarkt is the Bier und Oktoberfestmuseum where you can learn all about the golden nectar and the world's favourite drink-up. Think four floors of old brewing vats, historic photos and some of the earliest Oktoberfest regalia. The building itself, a sensitively restored survivor from 1340, has some great medieval features including painted ceilings and a kitchen with an open fire. The earthy pub is open to midnight (closed Mon).
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BMW Museum
The silver-bowl-shaped BMW Museum is due to emerge from a complete revamp in spring 2008. Channel your inner Michael Schumacher in what promises to be an avant-garde exhibition space merging art, history and design. Check the website for details.
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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.
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Deutsches Museum
Even if memories of school science make you groan, a visit to Deutsches Museum should convince you that, gee, science can be fun. Spending a few hours in this temple of technology is an eye-opening journey of discovery that takes you from the future back to the Stone Age.
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Deutsches Theatermuseum
Trains the spotlight on theatre in German-speaking countries with sets, props, costumes, masks and programmes in changing themed exhibits.
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Filmmuseum
The Filmmuseum keeps things dynamic with well-curated screenings of tributes, retrospectives, foreign films, both old and new. Directors, actors and film historians often swing by for pre-show presentations.
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Foto Museum
This photography museum focuses on the early years of the medium, beginning around 1840.
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Glyptothek
If you're a fan of classical art or simply enjoy the sight of naked guys without noses (or other pertinent body parts), make a beeline to the Glyptothek. One of Munich's oldest museums, it's a feast of art and sculpture from ancient Greece and Rome amassed by Ludwig I between 1806 and 1830, and opens a surprisingly naughty window onto the ancient world.
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Haus der Kunst
It was built in 1937 to showcase Nazi art, but now the Haus der Kunst presents works by exactly the artists whom the Nazis rejected and deemed degenerate.
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Hypo-Kulturstiftung
The chic Fünf Höfe shopping complex houses the Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, a modern gallery renowned for quality cross-genre exhibits. Fünf Höfe embraces five courtyards. The sleek glass-and-steel passages are lined with upscale designers, cafés and gift shops .
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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 .
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Jüdisches Museum
Coming to terms with its Nazi past has not exactly been a priority in Munich, which is why the opening of the Jüdisches Museum in early 2007 was hailed as a major milestone. Relatively small and as yet without much of its own collection, its permanent exhibit in the basement offers insight into Jewish history, life and culture in Munich, creatively presented in seven installations.
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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.
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Kunstbau
Kunstbau is a 120m-long underground tunnel above the U-Bahn station Königsplatz. Works of the expressionist Blauer Reiter (Blue Rider) artist group founded by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc in 1911 are shown here as well as at the nearby Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus.
It's scheduled to close in 2009 for a top-to-bottom renovation directed by British star architect Lord Norman Foster. A reopening date has not been set.
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Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung
An art space with high-calibre changing exhibits.
