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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.
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Reiche Zimmer
Upstairs 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.
Also up here 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.
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Reichekapelle
Only open in the afternoon. This chapel was reserved for court residents in the reign of the Wittelsbachs - the Bavarian rulers who lived in the Residenz from 1385 to 1918s.
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Residenz
The Residenz is a suitably grand palace to reflect the splendour and power of the Wittelsbach clan, the Bavarian rulers who lived here from 1385 to 1918. The edifice dwarfs Max-Joseph-Platz along with the grandiose Nationaltheater, home to the Bavarian State Opera. Its museums are among the jewels in Munich's cultural crown.
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Residenzmuseum
The Wittelsbach clan are the Bavarian rulers who lived in the Residenz from 1385 to 1918s. Their amazing treasures, as well as all the trappings of their lifestyles, are on display at the Residenzmuseum, which takes up 130 rooms or about half of the palace.
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Ruhmeshalle
About 1.5km west of the old town, the Theresienwiese, Theresa Meadow, is the site of the annual Oktoberfest. At the far western end of the meadow looms the classical Ruhmeshalle, Hall of Fame, an open gallery of famous Bavarians whose busts adorn the wall like hunting trophies. The hall curls horseshoe-like around the green-tinged Bavaria statue.
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Schack-Galerie
Count Adolf Friedrich von Schack (1815-94) was a great fan of 19th-century Romantic painters such as Böcklin, Feuerbach and Moritz von Schwind. His collection is housed in the former Prussian embassy, now the Schack-Galerie . A tour of this intimate space is like an escape into the idealised fantasy worlds created by these artists.
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Schatzkammer der Residenz
The Residenzmuseum entrance also leads to the Schatzkammer der Residenz. It's an Aladdin's cave worth of jewel-encrusted crowns, sceptres and royal accoutrements. Included among the mind-boggling treasures are portable altars, the ruby jewellery of Queen Therese, amazing pocket watches, and 'exotic handicrafts' from Turkey, Iran, Mexico and India. It's well worth the entry price.
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Schloss Blutenburg Church
Schloss Blutenburg Church is a rare Gothic jewel that wasn't drenched in baroque frilliness in the 17th century. The three altars by Jan Polack are outstanding examples of late-Gothic panel painting.
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Schloss Nymphenburg
Adelaide of Savoy certainly married well. After she gave birth to her son Max Emanuel, her husband, Elector Ferdinand Maria was so overjoyed that he rewarded her with her own palace, Schloss Nymphenburg. Later rulers dabbled with the place until it grew into the lavish edifice you see today.
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Schloss Nymphenburg Gardens
The sprawling park behind Schloss Nymphenburg is a favourite spot with Münchners and visitors for strolling, jogging or whiling away a lazy afternoon. It's laid out in grand English style and accented with water features, including a large lake, a cascade and a canal popular for feeding swans, and ice-skating and ice-curling when it freezes over in winter.
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Schloss Suresnes
The baroque Schloss Suresnes is a petite palace built in 1718 for one of Elector Max's government officials. Paul Klee had a studio here from 1919 to 1922, and it now houses a Catholic academy.
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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.
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Schrannenhalle
A few paces southwest of the Viktualienmarkt stalls is the Schrannenhalle , a 19th-century grain market hall reconstructed in 2005. The 400m-long glass-and-iron structure itself is quite impressive but the overpriced and often tacky shops and cafés inside are not.
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Sea Life München
Meet Nemo the clownfish and learn that seahorse males get pregnant at Sea Life München, a walk-through aquarium that takes you on a virtual journey along the Isar and Danube Rivers to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Along the way you'll meet the aquatic denizens living in the various habitats, which have been re-created in 30 tanks.
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Seidlvilla
The gorgeous former residence, the Seidlvilla, is now a community centre and art gallery. Ring the buzzer: if a show's on someone should let you in.
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Siegestor
Munich's massive Siegestor was modelled on Constantine's arch in Rome and looks like a miniature version of Paris' Arc de Triomphe. Built to honour the Bavarian army for kicking out Napoleon, it's crowned by a triumphant Bavaria piloting a lion-drawn chariot. Severely damaged in WWII, the arch was turned into a peace memorial. The inscription on the upper section reads: Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Kriege zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend (Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, calling for peace).
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SiemensForum
If you need a break from all that art, amble over to the SiemensForum. It's a fun, hands-on kind of place with five floors of promotional exhibits on electronics and microelectronics, ranging from the first Morse telegraph to the PC, chewing through 140 years of company history in the process. The changing special exhibits are usually more interesting.
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Spielzeugmuseum
The Gothic Altes Rathaus (1474) was destroyed by lightning and bombs, and then rebuilt in a plainer style after WWII. In its south tower is the city's Spielzeugmuseum with its huge collection of toys, Barbie dolls and teddy bears.
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St Nikolai
St Nikolai was first built in 1315 in Gothic style only to go for baroque three centuries later. Outside the prim church ensemble of St Nikolai and Lorettokapelle, the covered walkway protects some pretty nifty 'Stations of the Cross' made of Nymphenburg porcelain.
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St Peterskirche
It requires a little effort (306 steps, to be precise), but for our money the best view of central Munich is from the 92m-tall tower of the St Peterskirche, Munich's oldest church (1180). Also known as 'Alter Peter' (Old Peter), it's a virtual textbook of art through the centuries, from the Gothic St-Martin-Altar to Johann Baptist Zimmermann's baroque ceiling fresco and Ignaz Günther's rococo sculptures, plus some really creepy relics of an obscure saint named Munditia.
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Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst
Late 19th-century archaeologists dug up some excellent finds, some of which made their way into the Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst. It's in the NW wing of the Residenz (look for the obelisk) and has a small but choice collection of sculpture, jewellery, vases and other objects from 5000 years of art in ancient Egypt. Highlights include the gilded coffin mask of Queen Sat-dejhutji (1650 BC) and a rare double statue of King Niuserre (2390 BC) showing him both as a young and an old man.
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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.
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Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus
Leading late 19th-century portraitist Franz von Lenbach used his considerable fortune to build a fabulous Tuscan-style home, which his widow later sold to the city for a pittance but with the proviso that it be used as a museum. To get things going, she also threw in a bunch of hubbie's works. Today's Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus is swarmed by fans of the expressionist Blauer Reiter (Blue Rider) artist group founded by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc in 1911.
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Stadtmuseum
A rambling collection of collections, the Stadtmuseum is a fascinating attic of a museum that can keep you going for hours. The themed rooms range from brewing and photography to musical instruments, puppetry and the city's own tangled history. One hall spotlights the exquisitely carved and spritelike Morris Dancers, the medieval entertainers who once performed in the Altes Rathaus.
