Grandparents land, friends fly in for a long weekend, and everyone wants the Munich they've seen in pictures. These are the sights that work for the adults and keep the kids moving: towers to climb, a market to graze, parks with room to run. Here's what we checked, from the Glockenspiel on Marienplatz to a cogwheel train up the Zugspitze.
Munich's central square, with the Neo-Gothic New Town Hall to the north and the Old Town Hall to the east. In the town hall tower, the Glockenspiel's 43 bells ring while figures joust in a knights' tournament and turn in the coopers' dance. The Mariensäule column stands in the middle, and the Fish Fountain by the town hall is the classic meeting point.
The Frauenkirche's south tower is one of the cathedral's two onion-domed towers, and the one visitors can climb. Kids walk 86 steps up a narrow spiral staircase, then ride an elevator to the tower room 80 meters up, the highest point in the old town, with windows over the rooftops and the countryside beyond.
The tight stairwell doesn't suit anyone claustrophobic.
Alter Peter is the bell tower of St. Peter's, the oldest parish church in the city, beside Marienplatz. Kids climb 306 steps to a viewing platform over the old town rooftops, and on clear days the view reaches the Alps.
On the way up, windows at the belfry show the eight bells, including one cast for the city's 800th anniversary, and kids can watch them swing when they ring.
Viktualienmarkt is the Old Town's open-air food market, with more than 100 stalls selling fruit, cheese, bread, honey and flowers around a blue-and-white maypole.
Kids can snack their way through the stalls, spot the six statue fountains of Munich comedians and folk singers, and sit in the central beer garden, where families may bring their own food.
The Residenz was the palace of Bavaria's Wittelsbach dukes, electors and kings, and has been a museum since 1920. Most rooms still hold their original furniture, tapestries and paintings, so kids walk through gilded halls as they were used. The Antiquarium, the oldest surviving room, is a long painted vault lined with marble busts. The separate Treasury shows the dynasty's treasures, and the Court Garden outside is free.
Bavaria's Wittelsbach rulers spent their summers here. The main palace has frescoed state rooms, and the 180-hectare park around it has lakes, swans, squirrels and four small park palaces to peek into.
The Marstallmuseum, in the old riding stables, holds over forty royal coaches and sleighs, including King Ludwig II's gilded state coaches and the Rococo coronation coach of Emperor Karl VII.
The English Garden is a 376-hectare landscape park of flat paths, streams, more than 100 bridges and wide meadows. A historic children's carousel stands beside the Chinese Tower beer garden, and pedal and rowing boats rent on Kleinhesseloher See.
Kids can watch surfers ride the Eisbach wave, climb the Monopteros hill for a view over the city, and spot grazing sheep in the quieter north.
A standing wave on the Eisbach, the fast creek that rushes out from under the Prinzregentenstraße bridge at the southern tip of the Englischer Garten. Surfers in wetsuits line up on both banks and drop in one at a time.
Kids watch from the bridge railing or the stone banks. The current is strong and the wave is for skilled surfers only, so this is a place to watch, not to paddle.
BMW Welt is the carmaker's showroom and delivery center, a sweeping glass building with a twisted double cone at one end. Kids can explore the latest BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad models up close, and look down on the Premiere, where new owners drive off in their cars.
The BMW Museum, directly opposite, covers more than 100 years of BMW history and runs hands-on workshops for kids.
Built for the 1972 Olympics, the park wraps around a lake and the 60-meter Olympic Hill, a grassy mound piled from wartime rubble with views over the city to the Alps. Kids climb the easy paths to the summit and run the open lawns, and there is boat hire on the Olympic Lake. SEA LIFE, minigolf and the Munich Action Park's climbing kids area sit inside the grounds.
The FC Bayern Museum fills Level 3 of the Allianz Arena with club history since 1900: original trophies, jerseys, match footage and a Hall of Fame of player legends.
The arena tour takes families from the museum into the stadium itself. Kids can rent their own multimedia guide, Café Gisela serves snacks inside the museum, and the FC Bayern Fan Store is right next door.
Munich's oldest beer garden, first marked on a city map in 1812, seats 5,000 under more than 100 chestnut trees. Kids head for the raised playground with a sandpit, swing, climbing tower and slide, and tables sit right around it so parents can watch.
In the self-service area, families can bring their own picnic, as Bavarian tradition allows, or buy pretzels, roast chicken and fish grilled on a stick.
Neuschwanstein is the 19th-century castle King Ludwig II built on a crag above the village of Hohenschwangau, with the Alps behind it. Inside, a 30-minute guided tour in English or German leads through 14 rooms, including the Throne Hall, a man-made grotto and the Singers' Hall. Afterward kids can see the old kitchen, then walk to Marienbrücke, the footbridge with the classic view of the castle.
Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain, at 2,962 meters. A cogwheel train climbs from Garmisch-Partenkirchen past Lake Eibsee and through a 4.5 km tunnel to the glacier plateau, home to the country's highest church and, in winter, a family toboggan run.
The Gletscherbahn lifts you on to the summit platform and its golden cross. The record-breaking cable car drops two kilometers back down to Eibsee.
Grandparents land, friends fly in for a long weekend, and everyone wants the Munich they've seen in pictures. These are the sights that work for the adults and keep the kids moving: towers to climb, a market to graze, parks with room to run. Here's what we checked, from the Glockenspiel on Marienplatz to a cogwheel train up the Zugspitze.
Munich's central square, with the Neo-Gothic New Town Hall to the north and the Old Town Hall to the east. In the town hall tower, the Glockenspiel's 43 bells ring while figures joust in a knights' tournament and turn in the coopers' dance. The Mariensäule column stands in the middle, and the Fish Fountain by the town hall is the classic meeting point.
The Frauenkirche's south tower is one of the cathedral's two onion-domed towers, and the one visitors can climb. Kids walk 86 steps up a narrow spiral staircase, then ride an elevator to the tower room 80 meters up, the highest point in the old town, with windows over the rooftops and the countryside beyond.
The tight stairwell doesn't suit anyone claustrophobic.
Alter Peter is the bell tower of St. Peter's, the oldest parish church in the city, beside Marienplatz. Kids climb 306 steps to a viewing platform over the old town rooftops, and on clear days the view reaches the Alps.
On the way up, windows at the belfry show the eight bells, including one cast for the city's 800th anniversary, and kids can watch them swing when they ring.
Viktualienmarkt is the Old Town's open-air food market, with more than 100 stalls selling fruit, cheese, bread, honey and flowers around a blue-and-white maypole.
Kids can snack their way through the stalls, spot the six statue fountains of Munich comedians and folk singers, and sit in the central beer garden, where families may bring their own food.
The Residenz was the palace of Bavaria's Wittelsbach dukes, electors and kings, and has been a museum since 1920. Most rooms still hold their original furniture, tapestries and paintings, so kids walk through gilded halls as they were used. The Antiquarium, the oldest surviving room, is a long painted vault lined with marble busts. The separate Treasury shows the dynasty's treasures, and the Court Garden outside is free.
Bavaria's Wittelsbach rulers spent their summers here. The main palace has frescoed state rooms, and the 180-hectare park around it has lakes, swans, squirrels and four small park palaces to peek into.
The Marstallmuseum, in the old riding stables, holds over forty royal coaches and sleighs, including King Ludwig II's gilded state coaches and the Rococo coronation coach of Emperor Karl VII.
The English Garden is a 376-hectare landscape park of flat paths, streams, more than 100 bridges and wide meadows. A historic children's carousel stands beside the Chinese Tower beer garden, and pedal and rowing boats rent on Kleinhesseloher See.
Kids can watch surfers ride the Eisbach wave, climb the Monopteros hill for a view over the city, and spot grazing sheep in the quieter north.
A standing wave on the Eisbach, the fast creek that rushes out from under the Prinzregentenstraße bridge at the southern tip of the Englischer Garten. Surfers in wetsuits line up on both banks and drop in one at a time.
Kids watch from the bridge railing or the stone banks. The current is strong and the wave is for skilled surfers only, so this is a place to watch, not to paddle.
BMW Welt is the carmaker's showroom and delivery center, a sweeping glass building with a twisted double cone at one end. Kids can explore the latest BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad models up close, and look down on the Premiere, where new owners drive off in their cars.
The BMW Museum, directly opposite, covers more than 100 years of BMW history and runs hands-on workshops for kids.
Built for the 1972 Olympics, the park wraps around a lake and the 60-meter Olympic Hill, a grassy mound piled from wartime rubble with views over the city to the Alps. Kids climb the easy paths to the summit and run the open lawns, and there is boat hire on the Olympic Lake. SEA LIFE, minigolf and the Munich Action Park's climbing kids area sit inside the grounds.
The FC Bayern Museum fills Level 3 of the Allianz Arena with club history since 1900: original trophies, jerseys, match footage and a Hall of Fame of player legends.
The arena tour takes families from the museum into the stadium itself. Kids can rent their own multimedia guide, Café Gisela serves snacks inside the museum, and the FC Bayern Fan Store is right next door.
Munich's oldest beer garden, first marked on a city map in 1812, seats 5,000 under more than 100 chestnut trees. Kids head for the raised playground with a sandpit, swing, climbing tower and slide, and tables sit right around it so parents can watch.
In the self-service area, families can bring their own picnic, as Bavarian tradition allows, or buy pretzels, roast chicken and fish grilled on a stick.
Neuschwanstein is the 19th-century castle King Ludwig II built on a crag above the village of Hohenschwangau, with the Alps behind it. Inside, a 30-minute guided tour in English or German leads through 14 rooms, including the Throne Hall, a man-made grotto and the Singers' Hall. Afterward kids can see the old kitchen, then walk to Marienbrücke, the footbridge with the classic view of the castle.
Zugspitze is Germany's highest mountain, at 2,962 meters. A cogwheel train climbs from Garmisch-Partenkirchen past Lake Eibsee and through a 4.5 km tunnel to the glacier plateau, home to the country's highest church and, in winter, a family toboggan run.
The Gletscherbahn lifts you on to the summit platform and its golden cross. The record-breaking cable car drops two kilometers back down to Eibsee.
