Three days in Munich runs the Altstadt and Residenz on Day 1, Nymphenburg Palace and the Englischer Garten on Day 2, and the Deutsches Museum with BMW Welt on Day 3. Days average 6-8 km of walking with 1-3 MVV transit segments per day. Day 3 covers the most ground by U-Bahn between the two sites, so buy the MVV Zone M day pass ($10.50 from the MVV app or any yellow machine) on arrival and use it across all three days for $31.50 total rather than buying singles. Book the Residenz Museum online at residenz-muenchen.de before you leave; no other Munich sight requires advance booking.

Day by day

Day 1: Marienplatz, Residenz, Hofgarten, and Viktualienmarkt

  • Marienplatz Glockenspiel performance, 30 min. Free; the carillon runs at 11 AM and noon daily (5 PM added March through October). Arrive 10 minutes early and stand near the square's center.
  • Residenz Museum and Treasury, 2 hr. $16 combo ticket at residenz-muenchen.de. Enter through the Residenzstrasse door to start the museum sequence on the first floor. The Ancestral Gallery on the upper floor, a 67-meter mirrored hall with 121 Wittelsbach portraits, is skipped by most tour groups.
  • Hofgarten, 30 min. Free. The Italian court garden at the north side of the Residenz; the 1615 Diana Temple at the center has a painting of historic Munich on the interior ceiling.
  • Odeonsplatz and Theatinerkirche, 20 min. Free to enter. The 1690 Baroque church has a yellow-stucco facade on the north side of the square; the side chapels hold several Wittelsbach tombs.
  • Rest valve: Cafe Luitpold on Brienner Strasse, 30 min. Coffee $4, cake $5. The 1887 confectioner's building is 3 minutes northwest of Odeonsplatz.
  • Viktualienmarkt: Obatzda with pretzel at a dairy stall and Langos at the northeast corner stand, 45 min. $12-15 for both. The market closes at 6 PM weekdays and 3 PM Saturdays.
  • Sendlingerstrasse evening walk: Sendlinger Tor medieval gate and the Asamkirche, 30 min. Free. The Asamkirche on Sendlingerstrasse is one of the smallest and most densely decorated Baroque churches in Bavaria; entry is free.
  • Total: ~5 km walking; 0 transit segments.

Day 2: Nymphenburg Palace and Englischer Garten

  • Tram 17 from Hauptbahnhof or tram 51 from Karlsplatz to Schloss Nymphenburg, 20-25 min. $4.50 single or covered by day pass.
  • Nymphenburg Palace main building: Grand Hall, Gallery of Beauties, and State Apartments, 1.5 hr. $16 combo entry. The Gallery of Beauties has 36 portraits commissioned by King Ludwig I including a shoemaker's daughter and a baker's wife displayed at equal scale to the queen.
  • Nymphenburg Park: south section fountain garden and the Badenburg bathhouse, 45 min. Included with palace ticket. The Badenburg, a 1721 two-story bathhouse, has an indoor heated pool lined in Delft tiles and is one of the first indoor swimming facilities built in Germany.
  • Rest valve: Schlosscafe im Palmenhaus in the palace orangery, 30 min. Coffee $4, lunch $10-14. The 1820 greenhouse serves food in a glass-and-iron arched hall year-round.
  • Tram back to city center, then U6 north to Giselastrasse for the Englischer Garten south entrance, 30 min. Covered by day pass.
  • Monopteros hill viewpoint, 20 min. Free. The circular Greek temple on an artificial hill at the south edge of the park; climb the 8 steps for the Frauenkirche-and-Maxvorstadt skyline panorama.
  • Eisbach river wave, 20 min. Free. Walk 4 minutes north from the Haus der Kunst museum on Prinzregentenstrasse to the bridge above the wave. Surfers ride year-round; the overhead bridge view beats the crowded bank.
  • Chinesischer Turm, 30 min. Free. The 25-meter Chinese pagoda in the park center has a brass band performing from the upper platform on most Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM.
  • Dinner on Turkenstrasse in Schwabing, 1 hr. Döner Kebab $7-10 or a student restaurant for Käsespätzle $12-15. The corridor is an 8-minute walk north from the park's south entry.
  • U-Bahn from Universitat or Odeonsplatz back to hotel, 10-15 min. Covered by day pass.
  • Total: ~8 km walking; 3 transit segments.

Day 3: Deutsches Museum and BMW Welt

  • Walk or S-Bahn to Isartor, then 10-minute walk across Ludwigsbrucke bridge to Museumsinsel, 15-20 min. $4.50 or covered by day pass.
  • Deutsches Museum: basement mining tunnels and the aviation and aerospace halls, 3 hr. $16 entry. Go to the basement level first before tour groups find the mining gallery; the 1-kilometer tunnel walk is the single most underrated room in Munich. The aviation hall on the 2nd floor holds the original 1919 Junkers F 13, the first all-metal passenger aircraft.
  • Rest valve: Deutsches Museum ground-floor cafe, 30 min. Lunch $10-14. The cafeteria faces the Isar and has views across to the riverbank; the outdoor terrace is open May through September.
  • U3 from Sendlinger Tor or U4/U5 from Karlsplatz to Olympiazentrum, 20-25 min. Covered by day pass. BMW Welt is a 5-minute walk north from the station exit.
  • BMW Welt upper walkway and delivery floor overview, 45 min. Free. Take the escalator to the upper level inside the main entrance and walk the glass bridge above the delivery hall; the overhead view shows the concept car grid and the live handover bays at ground level below.
  • BMW Museum next door, 1.5 hr. $11. The 1973 bowl-shaped building covers 100 years of BMW production history with 120 vehicles arranged by decade; the 2002 Turbo concept and the 1951 501 sedan are the anchors.
  • Olympic Park: landscaped hill above the 1972 venues, 45 min. Free. The hill is a 10-minute walk southeast from BMW Welt and gives a 360-degree panorama over the city, the Olympic Stadium roof, and the Alps on clear days.
  • Dinner in Maxvorstadt or Schwabing, 1 hr. Käsespätzle at an Amalienstrasse student restaurant $12-15, or Döner on Turkenstrasse $7-10.
  • Total: ~8 km walking; 3 transit segments.
Traveller Tips
  • The Deutsches Museum is best visited on a weekday morning when the aviation hall sees light crowds; Saturday afternoons bring school groups that queue 15-20 minutes at the submarine entrance. Arrive at the 9 AM opening and go straight to the basement mining gallery before any queue forms at the entrance.
  • BMW Welt is free and open daily 7:30 AM to midnight, which makes it one of the few Munich sights you can visit in the evening after dinner; the upper walkway view over the delivery floor is the same at 8 PM as at 10 AM and is less crowded after 6 PM when the daytime tour buses have left.
  • The Nymphenburg tram on Day 2 is faster than the U-Bahn for reaching the palace; tram 17 from Hauptbahnhof runs direct to the Schloss Nymphenburg stop in 22 minutes while the U-Bahn route requires a change and takes 35-40 minutes. Use the tram outbound and the tram back to Marienplatz for the most direct routing.
  • Carry EUR 30-40 in cash across all 3 days: Viktualienmarkt stalls are cash-only, the Peterskirche tower at $4 is coin-operated, and the Langos stand at the market does not have a card reader. The Galeria department store on Kaufingerstrasse has a free ATM on the ground floor and free toilets on the 3rd floor.
  • The Asamkirche on Sendlingerstrasse at the end of Day 1 closes at 6 PM on most days and 1 PM on Sundays; check the door schedule before planning it at the end of the afternoon, as it is only 18 meters wide and 28 meters long and most visitors underestimate how quickly the interior can be seen (20 minutes is enough).