Hez

Just wondering from those who have been, how long would you recommend we allocate to visit the Residenz and Treasury?

Thanks, H

sandralist

Glad you are going to the Treasury, because apart from the Antiquarium, I thought it was the most enjoyable part of the Residenz.

I think I spent about 2 hours marching through entire Residenz that is open to the public (some of the rooms were closed the day I was there and they probably would have added another 20 minutes). I was underwhelmed by the Cuvilliés Theatre, which surprised me because I usually enjoy seeing these antique gem theaters. This one didn't grab me (and it is rather time consuming to see since you need to leave the main complex and walk around the block to a separate entrance).

I only occasionally enjoy Treasuries but this one I liked quite a bit (perhaps because I had found the rest of the Residenz save the Antiquarium such a tedious display of over-the-top state power (reconstructed at that). If I had it to do all over again, I would have paid to see the Antiquarium and then turned around and headed directly for the Treausry. (Do not miss that St. George and the Dragon).

I visited the Residenz believing it would reveal to me something important about the history of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Where I actually found that was in the Bavarian National Museum -- which I almost didn't visit, one find so little about it in guidebooks or online. But that is fabulous place, both architectecturally and with respect to its collection.

I realize you asked a simple question but I thought I would share all that. A lot of the "feeling" of the Residenz is evident in the public architecture of Munich and entering the Residenz -- for me -- didn't add much to that. But seeing the Bavarian National Museum (and the Blaue Reiter collection of Munich artists in Lenbachhaus) gave me a lot of appreciation of the local history.

Hez

Thanks soooo much Sandra! That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I'm now on a hunt to find out about the Bavarian National Museum! We had a similar experience in Prague with the National Museum which was absolutely extraordinary but hardly a word about it in the guidebook.

I think we will skip the Theater as I wasn't sure about it anyway so your assessment solidified that decision. Thanks!

I'm mostly interested in King Ludwig II, and honestly it didn't seem like he was terribly keen on hanging out there either. I do wish the winter gardens were still on the roof, but I guess not having leaking ceilings from the pond is worth it's removal. LOL!

sandralist

These are from my files

http://www.munichfound.com/sightseei...ationalmuseum/

http://www.reidsguides.com/destinati...nalmuseum.html

http://www.planetware.com/munich/bav...d-ba-munnm.htm

I did not rent the audio guide and I did not see anywhere an English language guide. There is no English language labeling, and were I to return, I would invest in an audio guide for every person in the group. I would have particularly liked to have known when I came across the Augsburg Weaver's room what I was looking at.

In addition to the Augsburg Weaver's room there is an entire section of re-created rooms in the basement between the gift shop and the restaurant. They are very much worth walking through. Alas, the restaurant was not to my liking -- sort of typical modern museum food. There may be a cafe for sandwiches. I recently read in another forum a recommendation for the Austrian restaurant Liebighof im Lehel on Liebigstrasse 14, quite close to the museum.

The not-too-interesting gift shop had the unusual feature of having several shelves of used books for sale, many in English at bargain basement, about obscure issues related to art and craft.

About the only thing I would skip if I were shepherding some one else around the museum is the collection of nativity scenes in the basement, 90 percent of which are from southern Italy. If you are generally interested in "presepe", then this is an exceptionally fine collection, more interesting than many I have seen in Italy itself and elsewhere. They are beautifully displayed. But if you don't have a great interest, I would drop it to the bottom of the list of things to see in the museum, since the rest of the museum is very large and one wouldn't want to rush through. I think most people would spend at least 2 hours there to see the most important aspects of the collection. Just about every gallery has several outstanding works, and even types of things one previously might have thought weren't interesting, there is such a fine example of that kind of work at the museum, I ended up not skipping anything.

The building itself is a marvel and there is a video inside about its construction (not in English). The day I was there it was rainy but it also might be possibe to stroll around the exterior or sit in a garden.

sandralist

I forgot to add that the museum only costs 1 euro on Sundays.

sandralist

And one other tip: All museums in Munich are very strict about backpacks and larger purses. They basically expect you walk through the museum without anything. They will insist that you hand over all totes, etc. I ended up wearing a light jacket with pockets just so I could put my wallet, cell phone, etc before giving up my purse. (However, I tend to think nothing ever gets stolen in any of these cloakrooms.) Some of the museums have the kind of small lockers where you can insert a euro and lock them up and you'll get the euro back when you return with the key to unlock them. So don't forget to bring some change.

Hez

Wow!! What a wealth of awesome information!!! I can't thank you enough Sandra. Just extraordinary!

sandralist

Sure. I hope you go and enjoy it.

I also hope somebody else comes by and gives their opinion on the Residenz. It is possible it would interest you more than it did me. If you go in to see the Antiquarium then you will probably be able to tell fairly quickly if you want to keep on seeing rooms. If not you probably do best to turn around and go back the way you came because otherwise it is a forced march straight ahead with no exit in sight.

If nothing else you'll get some idea why Ludwig II wanted to smash the mold architecturally.

mama_mia

I would agree with Sandralist about the Residenz. It felt like a long slog through a lot of rooms. I did have the audioguide, which made some of the rooms interesting. But after awhile, it was a blur. Also, some sections were closed due to work.

I have been to other palaces/castles/estates that seemed more interesting. I don't know if part of the reason was that so much of the Residenz is reconstruction with furniture/art not original to the building.

But that's just my opinion. If you have a particular interest in some aspect, it would certainly be worthwhile.

Wish I had known about the Bavarian National Museum.

Omar_F1

Sandralist, thanks very much!
I just added the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum to my must-see list, for the upcoming trip.

Outside the topic and to add a tip, if you never visited the German National Museum in Nuremberg, then someday you should.
They got some interesting stuff overthere.

sandralist

Funny you should mention that Omar, because the original plan of my trip was to leave Munich early and spend 2 nights in Nuremburg and thus not go to the Bavarian National Museum at all. And then my husband ended up in a conversation with a German who raved about how marvelous a city Munich is, how enjoyable, how rich in attractions -- and he wondered why were we leaving Munich to visit Nuremberg?

So we dropped the plan to go to Nuremberg and I put the Bavarian National Museum on the list of things to do In Munich. It actually worked out OK because not only did I get to see the Bavarian National Museum, the specific days we had planned to be in Nuremburg turned out to be quite miserable weather-wise, and it would have limited our ability to see other things I wanted to see there.

But I would like to go to Nuremberg for sure, I will definitely stay long enough to visit the German National Museum. Hope you enjoy the Bavarian National Museum.