Art Galleries and museums

Munich has an excellent international reputation of being a multifaceted cultural metropolis. Over hundred museums, exhibition halls and galleries, as well as numerous historical castles and churches with their cultural possessions and treasures, shouldn’t be missed by no means.

Pinakotheken

If you are planning to visit Munich’s museums, the three art galleries called “Pinakotheken”, all located on Schwabing’s Barerstrasse, are an absolute must. One of the most important art galleries in the world, “Alte Pinakothek” features more than 800 paintings by European masters from Tizian and Giotto to Rubens and Rembrandt. Just walk up the street to the next building to find “Neue Pinakothek”, an important collection of European art from the late 18th to the early 20th century that includes works by Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Gauguin, or Cézanne. The triad is completed by the “Pinakothek der Moderne”, which opened in autumn 2002, and provides a comprehensive overview of 20th and 21st-century fine and applied art.

Haus der Kunst

“Haus der Kunst” hosts important special exhibitions and retrospectives from any period in art history. The art gallery is located on the southern edge of the English Garden. Built in 1937, the building gained notoriety by staging an exhibition featuring so-called “Degenerate Art” after Hitler had seized power. Today, “Haus der Kunst” is an institution that attracts contemporary artists from all over the world.

Lenbachhaus and Kunstbau

“Lenbachhaus”, a Tuscan villa built in the 19th century for Franz von Lenbach, a “prince of painters”, is home to numerous works by the great expressionist group of artists called “Blaue Reiter”. During your visit, you will marvel at paintings by Paul Klee, Franz Marc, August Macke, or Wassily Kandinsky. Besides, since the 1970s the museum has been collecting representative contemporary works of art by influential luminaries such as Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Anselm Kiefer, Dan Flavin, or Jeff Wall. .

The adjacent “Kunstbau” hosts special exhibitions and works of the classical modern period as well as contemporary art discussed today.

Bavarian National Museum

Gothic sculptures and works by late Renaissance goldsmiths, precious tapestries as well as Baroque and Rococo jewellery bring a long-bygone age back to life. Paintings, clocks and visual art made of ivory complete a splendid array of Bavarian and European art. The Bavarian National Museum is one of Europe’s great museums in the fields of art history and cultural history. Its diverse collections spanning the arts, arts and crafts, and folklore reach far beyond Bavaria’s borders.

German Museum

Sailing vessels, models of the atom, windmills, spacecraft, diesel locomotives, industrial robots, organs, search-and-rescue vessels,…

This list doesn’t even come close to describing the plethora of technological achievements – and much more – you will find at the German Museum (Deutsches Museum). It is a museum of superlatives – not only one of the world’s first scientific and technological museums but also one of the most visited and, at more than 538,000 square feet, one of largest.

Munich City Museum

If you want to find out more about the City of Munich, you should visit the City Museum’s temporary and permanent exhibits. The institution presents documents from the city’s history but also stages special exhibitions dealing with aspects of international cultural history or the history of civilization. Whether it’s photography, fashion and accessories, graphics and paintings, sculpture, arts and crafts, or musical instruments, the Munich City Museum (Stadtmuseum) covers a wide range of cultural facets.