Things to do in Munich in 2 Days

Munich is noted for its rich history (as the home of Bavarian culture) and architecture. Of course, there are many things to see and do in Munich, but even if you only have two days to explore the city, this itinerary will allow you to visit every essential attraction.

This itinerary moves from the city centre to the outskirts. The reason for this organisation is to make it easier for tourists to get around. Remember that time and money are limited resources, so make the best use of them.

Munich is a wonderful experience. Your first day in Munich starts with a walking tour through the historic city centre. Then sign up for a visit to the Hofbrauhaus, Munich's flagship brewery. Finally, head to the English Park to end the day with a sunset dinner.

Take a tour of the historic centre of Munich

If you book a guided tour of Munich you will be able to visit several of the main attractions in the city centre, while a professional guide explains their history and cultural importance. This tour lasts around two hours.

The price for this tour is around €22. I recommend that you book your place at least one day in advance. If you wish, you can start the tour having already had breakfast, but if not, there is a breakfast stop along the way.

Of course, you can also do the tour on your own, but you will not have the interesting explanations of the guides. In either case, here is part of the tour in detail.

Go to Karlsplatz

Leave your hotel at around 9.30am and walk towards Dachauer Street - we recommend that you stay in a central area of the city if possible to keep the journey short. Here you will meet your guide and the rest of the group who will take you on a tour of Munich's old town.

This type of tour usually starts around 10.15am. On the way, the first stop is usually Karlsplatz, a busy square of considerable historical value, where tourists and locals mingle on a daily basis.

Here, the Karlstor arch, a huge medieval monument worthy of being photographed, marks the beginning of the city centre.

Be amazed by the Frauenkirche

The second stop on the tour is less than 10 minutes from the first stop. Also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Munich, the Frauenkirche is one of the oldest religious buildings in Munich and was completed in 1488.

The cathedral is striking for its size (it can hold up to 20,000 parishioners) and its medieval stained-glass windows. A curious detail is that in Munich there is a government regulation that no building in the city centre can be taller than the cathedral.

Enter the Marienplatz/Carillon Rathaus-Glockenspiel

The next stop, Marienplatz, marks the centre of Munich's historic city centre (this is probably the point where the city originated). Inside this square you'll see a few attractions, such as the Maria Column, an 11-metre monument dedicated to the patron saint of Bavaria.

Here you will also find one of Munich's main historical attractions,the Glockenspiels carillon, which is located in the clock tower of the Neue Rathau (New Town Hall). This carillon is famous for the performance of its mechanical figures three times a day. The figures in the upper part represent a medieval tournament (jousting) and those in the lower part perform a traditional dance (the 'Schäffletanz'), which was invented by the barrel-makers' guild to cheer up the population after the outbreak of plague (1517).

The carillon figures come to life when the clock bells ring at 11 am, 12 noon and 5 pm. This stop lasts 20 minutes, so you should be on time for the first performance.

Don't miss Viktualienmarkt

When you arrive at the Viktualienmarkt, Munich's most popular open-air market, you'll quickly realise that it's the ideal place to try an authentic Bavarian meal, if you didn't have breakfast at your hotel.

I recommend you try the pretzels with obatzda, a type of creamy Bavarian cheese made with spices. But your German-style breakfast wouldn't be complete without a beer to accompany your order, and this market is home to Munich's best beer garden.

Traveller Tip

If you call to reserve a table (it's an option at some of the market's food stalls), you may save yourself several valuable minutes.

Visit St Peter's Church

Next to the market is St. Peter's Church, which dates back to the 12th century AD. It is the oldest church in Munich.

This church has been partially destroyed and rebuilt several times, and as a result its structure mixes elements of Gothic, Baroque and Rococo architecture.

As this stop is short, I recommend that you use your minutes to observe the wonderful view of Munich from the highest tower (91 metres) of the church, and to take at least one panoramic photo of the city!

Admire the Wittelsbach Royal Family Residence

Next stop is the Residenzstraße. Here is the residence of the Wittelsbachs, the royal family that ruled Bavaria for almost a millennium (since the monarch Otto I founded the Germanic Roman Empire in 962, until its dissolution in 1806).

In my opinion the main attraction of this palace-museum is the antiquarian hall: a long gallery filled with Renaissance sculptures and decorative frescoes on the ceiling. The entrance to the antiquarian hall costs 13 €.

As this stop is not very long, I leave it up to you to decide whether to pay for the visit now or leave the more extensive tour for another time. But I can tell you in advance that a complete tour can take at least two hours.

Delve into the history of Odeonsplatz

If you're a history buff, Odeonsplatz, the end point of the tour, will be of special interest, as it was here that Hitler first attempted to overthrow the German government in 1923; the event is known as the 'Beer Hall Putsch'. On this occasion, Hitler and his conspirators were stopped just in time by the Bavarian police.

If this subject is of particular interest to you, you can also book a tour of the Third Reich where you will be given numerous details about the history of Germany in general and the city of Munich in particular.

Enjoy a beer in the Hofbrauhaus

At 12:45 a.m. walk back through the Residenzstraße, a 10-minute stroll will bring you to your next destination: the Hofbrauhaus brewery. Open since the 16th century, this is the official brewery of the royal house of Bavaria, and it's also the place where you'll have lunch. In fact, if you book a gastronomic tour, it is one of the places that is usually included.

In this legendary brewery you can drink German-style beer, that is, served in a one-litre jug. You can choose from different brands of beer, my favourite being Augustiner. If you want to avoid getting drunk, a trick that can help is to order a radler beer, which is served in the same one-litre jug, but is a mixture of half a litre of beer with half a litre of lemonade.

At the Hofbrauhaus you will have several choices of lunch dishes, but I recommend you order weisswurst, which is white sausage, stuffed with veal/pork, (which is usually served with sweet mustard).

Dinner in the English Park

One of the options to get to your next stop, the English Park, is to book the Munich sightseeing bus. Created in the 18th century, the English Park is the largest park in Munich, and its natural splendour and beauty make it the ideal place to have your photo taken.

Inside the park you can visit the Japanese tea house, the Greek monopole on the hill, or the famous Chinese tower. This tower, besides offering a breathtaking view of the park, also has a beer garden/restaurant, where you can dine and drink more beer. The park closes at 10pm.

See the nightlife at the Feierbanane

If you're back in the centre, it's already dark, but you don't want to go to your hotel to sleep yet, you can still enjoy Munich's nightlife.

My advice is to head to Feierbanane, an area of about one and a half kilometres, which stretches between Brienner and Blumen streets.

Most of the bars in this area close between 1 and 2am, so you'll have plenty of time to choose the one you like best. If you prefer the bar and nightclub experience at the same time, my recommendation is to visit the Blitz Music Club.

To get to know Germany's history in depth, you need to learn about the horrors of Nazism during World War II. So on your second day, you'll start with a tour of the Dachau concentration camp. You will then head to Nymphenburg Palace. Then you will visit the former art gallery (House of Arts). Finally, you will end your day with dinner in the Olympic Park.

Take a tour of the Dachau Concentration Camp

One of the greatest horrors of World War II was the concentration camps, and Munich is home to one of the largest in Germany: Dachau. There is more than one way to visit it, but my recommendation is to book an excursion to Dachau.

It is best to leave early for Munich's main train station (easily reached on foot from the city centre), to leave by train with your guide and your group. After 20 minutes you will arrive at Dachau station, where the bus to the concentration camp will be waiting for you. The guided tour of the Dachau concentration camp lasts between three and five hours. Here you will see, among other things, the following points of interest:

• Main entrance gate (with the Nazi motto: "Arbeit Macht Frei" [Work will set you free]).
• Memorial Museum/Exhibition (where you can see the short documentary 'The Dachau Concentration Camp 1933-1945', among other informative materials).
• The prisoner barracks (replicas, as the originals were destroyed in 1945).
• Four religious memorials.
• Monument to the Unknown Soldier (celebrating German soldiers who opposed the Nazi regime).
• Nandor Glid monument.
• The Tally Square.
• SS troop training camp.

If you didn't eat at your hotel because you left too early, there is a cafeteria in Dachau open from 9am to 5pm (continuous hours), where you can have breakfast. Your tour should be finishing around 13:00 and at around 13:30 you can return to Munich city centre using the same bus and metro as on the way out.

Walk around Nymphenburg Palace

You are back at the Hauptbahnhof (central station), it's 2pm and you have half an hour for lunch. I advise you to eat at the Wirtshaus Rechthaler Hof, a traditional Bavarian restaurant located in front of the Hauptbahnhof. After lunch, return to the Central Station to catch the Nymphenburg-Olympia sightseeing bus (you must have booked your ticket in advance) at around 14:30. It will take you to the Nymphenburg Palace on the western edge of Munich. Entrance to the palace costs 8 €.

Nymphenburg was the summer residence of the Bavarian royal family. There's a lot to see in this baroque palace, but you'll need to spend an hour here to follow this itinerary. Here are the must-see attractions:

• The Great Hall (dining room of the royal family).
• The Gallery of Beauties (a collection of 36 paintings of the most 'beautiful' women in Bavaria, painted between 1827 and 1850, for the enjoyment of King Ludwig I).
• The Carriage Museum (a collection of dozens of elegant carriages used at some point by the royal family).

Around 15:30 you will take the tourist bus back to Munich Central Station. You will arrive there between 16-16:30.

Visit to the Alte Pinakothek (the former House of Arts)

Once at the main station, head for Munich's Museum District. In this district you will find the Alte Pinakothek (former House of Arts), a museum dedicated to Renaissance and pre-modern art, where you can see works by masters such as Dürer, Da Vinci, Velázquez, Brueguel, Rubens, Goya, etc. The entrance fee is €7. Your visit to the Alte Pinanothek will end around 6pm, as the museum closes at this time (on Tuesdays and Wednesdays it is open until 8pm).

An alternative if you're more interested in 20th century art is the Pinakothek der Moderne (House of Modern Art), located opposite the Alte Pinakothek. In this museum you will find works by artists such as Dalí, Picasso, Gerhard Ritcher, J. Beuys, among others. It closes on Thursdays at 8 pm and the rest of the week (except Mondays, when, like the rest of Munich's museums, it does not open) at 6 pm.

With the notable exception of Dürer, almost all the works you will see in these museums are by non-German artists. Nonetheless, these are must-see collections that will help you understand Munich's importance in Europe's cultural landscape.

Dinner at the Olympic Park

At 6.15pm, you'll head back to Munich Central Station, where you'll take the underground to the Olympic Park. The entrance fee is between €3 and €5, depending on the day. This park has several attractions, such as a fantastic aquarium, a skating rink, and the Olympic Tower, a 291-metre high building, ideal for panoramic views of the city.

If you still have energy, I suggest you walk around the park, because even at night it is charming (the park is open until 1am). But I do recommend that you have dinner first. You can do this in a beer garden right next to the Olympic Tower. When you leave, use the same underground line as when you came, to go back to the centre of Munich.

If this is your first time in Munich, I recommend that you take the sightseeing buses or the underground as your first choice of transport when you are not travelling on foot.

However, it is now possible to book a bicycle tour of Munich and get around comfortably in this way. I recommend you to read the following article with some of the Munich bike tours to get you into the trip.

Another fun option is to book a segway tour of Munich, which lasts between one and a half and two hours and you'll be accompanied by a local guide.

This will depend mainly on your budget and what you are willing to sacrifice. If you travel in summer (June-September), you will be able to enjoy the warmer weather in Munich to enjoy all the things to see and do in Munich, but the amount of tourists in the city will also be higher.

On the other hand, if you visit Munich in winter (December-March), the prices will be cheaper and you may encounter fewer tourists, but you will also need to be warmer.

In both cases, I recommend that you arrange your two-day trip to coincide with a weekend, as there are discounted admission prices to certain public attractions on Sundays. Admission to several museums, for example, is just €1.