3 Best Sights in Munich, Germany

Background Illustration for Sights

Munich is a wealthy city—and it shows. At times this affluence may come across as conservatism. But what makes Munich so unique is that it's a new city superimposed on the old. The hip neighborhoods that make up the City Center (Innenstadt) are replete with traditional locales, and flashy materialism thrives together with a love of the outdoors.

Deutsches Museum

Isarvorstadt Fodor's Choice
Photocamera Display from Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany
(c) Ifeelstock | Dreamstime.com

Aircraft, vehicles, cutting-edge technology, and historic machinery fill the seven levels of this monumental building on an island in the Isar River, home to one of the biggest science and technology museums in the world. There are some 215,000 square feet and 20 exhibits to explore (the other half of the museum is closed until 2028 for modernization). Highlights include exhibitions on nanotechnology, biotechnology, and robotics. Children have their own “kingdom,” the Kinderreich, where they can learn about modern technology and science through numerous interactive displays (parents must accompany their children). One of the most technically advanced planetariums in Europe has two to four shows daily, depending on the day, albeit in German only. Two affiliated off-site museums are the Verkehrszentrum (Center for Transportation), on the former trade fair grounds at the Theresienhöhe, and the Flugwerft Schleissheim, an airfield and hangar packed with historical aircraft in Oberschleissheim, north of Munich.

BMW Museum

Milbertshofen
MUNICH - GERMANY JUNE 12: BMW building museum on June 12, 2011, Munich, Germany. The BMW Museum is located near the Olympiapark in Munich and was established in 1972 shortly before the Summer Olympics; Shutterstock ID 115418476; Project/Title: Photo Databa
meunierd/Shutterstock

Munich serves as the headquarters for the famous BMW car company. The circular tower of its museum in the Olympiapark is one of the defining icons of Munich's modern cityscape. It contains not only a dazzling collection of BMWs old and new but also items and exhibitions relating to the company's social history and its technical developments. 

Am Olympiapark 2, Munich, 80809, Germany
089-1250–16001
Sight Details
€12
Closed Mon.

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COMU Carl Orff Museum

Among the most famous artists who made their home here was the composer Carl Orff, author of numerous works inspired by medieval material, including the famous Carmina Burana. His life and work—notably the pedagogical Schulwerk instruments—are exhibited in this museum which reopened in summer 2025 after a major renovation. The museum can be reached via public transportation: take the regional train from Munich's central train station to Diessen, then change to the bus 13 and get off at the station Klosterhof. From there, it's another 25-minute walk. It's much faster and easier to take the car and combine your trip with a stop in Herrsching. 

Ziegelstadel 1, Diessen, 86911, Germany
08807-947--4321
Sight Details
€9.50
Closed Mon. and Tues.

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