Skip to content
TimeToStep

Munich guide

The Kunstareal on Foot: Munich's Museum Quarter in Two Hours

A two-hour walk through Munich's museum quarter, from the Blue Rider rooms of the Lenbachhaus and the Glyptothek's Greek marbles to Museum Brandhorst and its Twombly room. It suits first-time visitors who want art and design in a compact area; avoid Mondays.

The Kunstareal is the museum quarter between Königsplatz and Theresienstraße, and it packs ancient marble, Expressionist painting, design, architecture and contemporary art into a few flat streets. This walk takes six of its museums in an order that never doubles back. You will not see everything inside each one, and you do not need to. Pick the rooms that interest you and keep moving.

One practical point: most of these museums close on Mondays, so plan the walk for another day. The Neue Pinakothek is shut for a long renovation and is not on the route.

Lenbachhaus

Start at Lenbachhaus, a villa built for a painter that now holds the best collection of the Blue Rider group anywhere. In 1957 Gabriele Münter gave the city more than a thousand works by Kandinsky and his circle on her eightieth birthday, and the museum's Kandinsky room grew from that gift. Head straight for the Blue Rider rooms. When you leave, walk east along Luisenstraße to Königsplatz.

Lenbachhaus
LenbachhausMuseumHead for the Blue Rider rooms first: the collection grew from Gabriele Münter's 1957 gift of more than a thousand works, so Kandinsky, Münter, Marc and Macke hang here in depth. Closed Mondays.Photo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0

Glyptothek

Glyptothek stands on the far side of the open square, and it is the oldest stop on the walk: a museum of Greek and Roman sculpture. Look for the figures from the pediments of the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina, and for the Barberini Faun, a sleeping satyr in marble. A long renovation of the building finished in 2021, so the rooms are in good shape. Leave by the front and cross the square towards the dark building on its south side.

Glyptothek
GlyptothekMuseumInside, the Aegina pediment figures and the Barberini Faun are the ones to find, and you can walk through at your own pace; the collection is Greek and Roman sculpture only, so it takes less time than its size suggests. Closed Mondays.Photo: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0

NS-Dokumentationszentrum

NS-Dokumentationszentrum is a plain white cube on the site of the former Nazi party headquarters, the Brown House. It opened in 2015, and entry is free. The exhibition follows how the movement grew in Munich and what it left behind. It is the most serious stop on the route, and you decide how long to stay. Leave by the main door, turn north and follow Gabelsbergerstraße.

NS-Dokumentationszentrum
NS-DokumentationszentrumMuseumEntry is free. The exhibition covers the rise of National Socialism in Munich on the site of the former party headquarters. Allow as long as you want, it is a place to read rather than to skim.Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0

State Museum of Egyptian Art

You will pass the State Museum of Egyptian Art without seeing most of it, because it lies underground beneath the film school. Look for the entrance on Gabelsbergerstraße, then go down. The museum reopened in this building in 2013, and its galleries take you from the Nile valley to the Roman period. If your feet need a break, this is a quiet place to take one.

State Museum of Egyptian Art
State Museum of Egyptian ArtMuseumThe galleries are built below ground under the film school, a calm contrast to the square outside. Take the main rooms and skip the rest if time is short.Photo: Bbb-Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Pinakothek der Moderne

Walk east along Barer Straße and Pinakothek der Moderne appears on your right: a big pale building that opened in 2002 and has a glass-domed rotunda at its centre. Four collections share the roof: modern art, design, architecture and works on paper. Stand in the rotunda for a minute before you choose a wing. Design and architecture are the easy ones to enjoy if modern painting is not your thing.

Pinakothek der Moderne
Pinakothek der ModerneMuseumStand under the glass dome of the rotunda before choosing a wing. Modern art, design and architecture all share the building, so choose one or two and leave the rest.Photo: Rufus46, CC BY-SA 3.0

Museum Brandhorst

The last stop is a short walk along Theresienstraße. Museum Brandhorst is easy to spot: its walls are covered in 36,000 ceramic rods in 23 colours, so the building seems to change shade as you move. It opened in 2009 for the collection of Udo and Anette Brandhorst. Climb to the top floor, where the Cy Twombly Lepanto cycle, twelve large paintings, fills a room built for it.

Museum Brandhorst
Museum BrandhorstMuseumGo straight to the top floor for Cy Twombly's Lepanto cycle, twelve large paintings in a room made for them. Look at the facade from across the street before you leave. Closed Mondays.Photo: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0

That is the quarter in one line of straight streets: Greek marble, Egyptian art underground, the history of a regime, and three museums where the buildings are part of the show. The best use of the walk is to choose two or three museums for a proper visit, and treat the rest as short stops. Many of the state museums charge only a token fee on Sundays, which makes a second visit easy.