Munich tourist attractions include Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, Residenz palace, Nymphenburg palace, and Olympiaturm.
Marienplatz is main square in Munich‘s historical city center, and it is surrounded by architecturally impressive neue and alte rathaus palaces.
The name for the square, “Marienplatz“, comes from Mariensäule column at its center. The columns is from 1638, and it was build to celebrate end to the Swedish occupation (during the thirty-years-war).
Highlights of the square include the 80-meter (262 ft) tall neue rathaus tower, located next to the Marienplatz…
….and with the nearby Frauenkirche twin towers, they are the most significant landmarks at the Munich city silouette.
Frauenkirche, meanwhile, is the most famous religious building in Munich, and one of the most significant Catholic cathedrals north of the Alps.
The church, although originally completed in 1494, got its most famous highlight much later, in 1525, the domes on top of the church towers.
Inspiration for these tower domes came from Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, a late Byzantine church and one of the most important churches in the world.
Residenz palace (residenz-muenchen.de), as one of the main Munich tourist attractions, is a former Bavarian emperor’s and king’s administrative palace, located within central Munich.
Residenz is, in fact, the largest city palace in Germany, with a total of of 10 inner courtyards…while its Residenz palace museum section is spread over 130 rooms.
Munich Residenz has three main parts:
- Königsbau,
- Alte Residenz, and
- Festsaalbau…
…with first sections built from 1385 onwards.
Highlights in the palace buildings include:
- Hall of Antiques, the largest Renaissance hall north of Alps,
- Baroque Ancestral gallery,
- Bavarian crown jewelry & the royal treasure room.
The palace also contains one of the finest furniture museums in Europe.
Munich tourist attractions also include Nymphenburg palace (www.schloss-nymphenburg.de), a Baroque summer palace of Bavarian emperors, with an adjacent 200 hectare (494 acre) park.
Work on the building commenced in 1664, and since then, the palace has been rebuilt several times…
…especially during Emperor Max Emanuel’s (in throne from 1679-1726), as Munich became a leading center for palatial construction in Europe.
The palace is open to visitors and for tours, even though it is formally still a residence for the Wittelsbach dynasty.
At the palace, highlights include…
- Great hall section (“Steinerner Saal”), decorated in Rococo style by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and François Cuvilliés, and
“Gallery of Beauties”, painted by Joseph Stieler for King Ludwig I.
In addition to the main palace, you should check out the Marstallmuseum Nymphenburg, an exhibition of royal horse carriages.
Finally, Olympiaturm (“Olympic Tower”) is adjacent to Olympiapark, a purpose-built tower which was opened for the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, 1972.
The magnificent landmark rises a the height of 291 meters (954 ft), and at 190 meters (623 ft), you’ll find an observation platform, as well as at the 181 meters (593 ft), a revolving restaurant, Restaurant 181 (www.restaurant181.com)
A good length to have a meal at the 230 customer place restaurant is 53 minutes…
…which is the exact time it takes for the restaurant to make one full revolution, and for you to see panoramic 360-degree views to the surroundings.
There is an elevator which will take you up to the restaurant and the observation platform. The ascent up takes about 30 seconds.