Financial prosperity, artistic flair, and academic curiosity have helped the people of Munich develop some of the finest museums anywhere.

  • Deutsches Museum, Munich: Since 1925, this museum has been one of the most important showcases of science and technology in the world. Occupying an island in the Isar River, it features many hands-on and historical exhibits.
  • Alte Pinakothek, Munich: This massive and symmetrical building is one of the most visible in Munich, with a wraparound garden where urbanites like to walk during lunch hour. Inside is a staggering assortment of important paintings from every era.
  • Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Dachau, near Munich: Heinrich Himmler first organized Dachau as a concentration camp for enemies of the Reich in 1933. An escaped inmate, Joseph Rovan, described it as "implacable, perverted, an organization that was totally murderous, a marvelous machine for the debasement and dehumanizing of man." Today, it's one of the most poignant museums in the world.
  • Lenbachhaus, Munich: Housed in the former villa of portrait painter Franz von Lenbach, this museum has a stunning and internationally renowned collection of modern art, including the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) period, best represented by Kandinsky. It also has a rich collection of Gothic artwork.
  • Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (Bavarian National Museum), Munich: One of the largest and most impressive of the history museums of Germany, the exhibits range from classical antiquity until the 1800s. The nucleus of the collection dates from the reign of the Wittelsbachs, and was donated to Bavaria in 1855 by Maximilian II.
  • Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich: This is Munich's version of Tate Britain in London or the Pompidou Center in Paris. It is one of the world's largest museums devoted to the visual arts of the 19th and 20th centuries. Artists from Picasso to Warhol are exhibited, as are 400,000 drawings ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Cézanne.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.