Free self-guided walking tour of Munich's Old Town

This free self-guided walk covers the highlights of Munich's Old Town (Altstadt) in about 3.5 km and roughly 45 minutes of walking. It has 11 stops, starts at Marienplatz and ends at the Asamkirche on Sendlinger Straße. With time to look inside a few places, plan on 2 to 3 hours.

Distance and walking time come from the OpenStreetMap foot router (routing.openstreetmap.de), calculated along streets between the stops of Guidera's curated Munich tour.

What does the Munich Old Town route look like?

The route makes a loop north from Marienplatz to Odeonsplatz and the Hofgarten, comes back south past the Residenz, the Nationaltheater and the Hofbräuhaus, and finishes through the Viktualienmarkt and St. Peter's to the Asamkirche.

What will I see on the Munich Old Town walk?

Each stop below has a short summary and the sources it is based on.

1. Marienplatz: Munich's main square since 1158

Marienplatz has been Munich's main square since 1158. The Mariensäule (Mary's Column) in the middle was put up in 1638 to celebrate the end of the Swedish occupation during the Thirty Years' War. On the north side of the square, the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) holds the Glockenspiel, which was inspired by the tournaments held on Marienplatz in the Middle Ages.

According to the City of Munich, the Glockenspiel plays daily at 11:00 and 12:00, and also at 17:00 from March to October. Check the city's page before you go, since times can change. The New Town Hall tower has a viewing platform that you reach by lift.

Sources: Wikipedia: Marienplatz, City of Munich: Neues Rathaus

2. Frauenkirche: the twin-domed cathedral and the Devil's Footprint

The Frauenkirche is a late Gothic brick church and the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. Construction began in 1468, and Jörg von Halsbach finished the main building in about 20 years. The towers were completed in 1525 with the rounded domes that now define the Munich skyline. The north tower is 98.57 m tall and the south tower 98.45 m.

Just inside the entrance is the Teufelstritt, a black mark shaped like a footprint. Legend says it is where the Devil stood and stamped his foot. After a narrow local vote, the city prohibits buildings taller than 99 m.

Source: Wikipedia: Frauenkirche, Munich

3. Odeonsplatz: Klenze's square, the Feldherrnhalle and the Theatine Church

Odeonsplatz was laid out in the early 19th century by the architect Leo von Klenze and marks the southern end of Ludwigstraße. The square is named after the Odeon, a former concert hall built in 1826–28. The Feldherrnhalle and the Theatine Church frame the square, and an equestrian statue of King Ludwig I was added in 1862.

Odeonsplatz is also a place of 20th-century history: on 9 November 1923, a gun battle here ended the Beer Hall Putsch, and four state police officers and 16 Nazis were killed. The annual parade to the Oktoberfest still follows this route.

Source: Wikipedia: Odeonsplatz

4. Hofgarten: a Renaissance court garden next to the Residenz

The Hofgarten was built in 1613–1617 for Maximilian I of Bavaria in the style of an Italian Renaissance garden, between the Residenz and the Englischer Garten. At its centre is the Dianatempel, a pavilion built in 1615 by Heinrich Schön the Elder, topped by a replica of a Bavaria sculpture by Hubert Gerhard. The Hofgartentor gate on the west side, built in 1816, was Leo von Klenze's first work in Munich.

In the north-east corner, a black granite memorial honours the White Rose group, whose members were executed for their non-violent campaign against Hitler's regime.

Source: Wikipedia: Hofgarten (Munich)

5. Munich Residenz: the largest city palace in Germany

The Munich Residenz is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria and the largest city palace in Germany. The first buildings on the site date from 1385. Today the complex has ten courtyards and displays 130 rooms, including the Antiquarium, a Renaissance hall built between 1568 and 1571, and the Treasury, which holds royal crowns and insignia.

The Residenz was severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War, and most of its rooms were reconstructed by the 1980s. The Residenz Museum and the Treasury charge separate admission.

Sources: Wikipedia: Munich Residenz, Wikivoyage: Munich/Altstadt

6. Nationaltheater: home of the Bavarian State Opera

The Nationaltheater on Max-Joseph-Platz is home to the Bavarian State Opera, the Bavarian State Orchestra and the Bavarian State Ballet. With 2,101 seats it is Germany's largest opera house. King Maximilian I commissioned it in 1810; Karl von Fischer's building opened in 1818.

The theatre has been rebuilt twice. A fire during a performance in January 1823 could not be put out because the water supply was frozen; Leo von Klenze's second theatre opened in 1825. After an air raid gutted it in October 1943, it reopened on 21 November 1963. Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (1865) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868) had their premieres here.

Source: Wikipedia: National Theatre (Munich)

7. Alter Hof: the first permanent imperial residence

The Alter Hof (Old Court) is where Munich's rulers lived before the Residenz. Excavations show that a castle already stood here in the 12th century, and under Louis IV it became the first permanent imperial residence of the Holy Roman Empire. The dukes later built a new castle, the Neuveste, which grew into today's Residenz.

Look for the decorated oriel window on the west wing, which locals call the "Affentürmchen" (Monkey Tower) after a legend. The complex was rebuilt after being destroyed in the Second World War.

Source: Wikipedia: Alter Hof

8. Hofbräuhaus: Munich's best-known beer hall

The Hofbräuhaus dates back to a royal brewery founded in 1589. It was reserved for the court until 1828, when King Ludwig I admitted the general public. Max Littmann completely remodelled the building in 1897. The ground-floor "Schwemme" is the historic beer hall.

The Hofbräuhaus also has a darker history: on 24 February 1920, Adolf Hitler made a speech here at an early Nazi Party meeting. Most rooms were destroyed in the Second World War; the reopening of the Festival Hall in 1958 marked the end of the post-war restoration.

Source: Wikipedia: Hofbräuhaus am Platzl

9. Viktualienmarkt: the daily food market since 1807

The Viktualienmarkt has been held daily, except on Sundays and public holidays, since 1807. It replaced the original market on Marienplatz, which had become too small, after a decree by King Maximilian I on 2 May 1807. "Viktualien" comes from the Latin word for food. The market has around 140 stalls and shops.

Look for the memorial fountains for Munich folk singers and comedians such as Karl Valentin, Weiß Ferdl and Liesl Karlstadt.

Source: Wikipedia: Viktualienmarkt

10. St. Peter's Church (Alter Peter): the oldest parish church

St. Peter's is the oldest recorded parish church in Munich and presumably the point where the city began. Its 91 m tower, known as "Alter Peter" (Old Peter), is one of the city's emblems. The tower can be climbed for views over the old town: Wikivoyage lists 306 steps.

Sources: Wikipedia: St. Peter's Church, Munich, Wikivoyage: Munich/Altstadt

11. Asamkirche: a private Baroque chapel squeezed into a street

The Asamkirche, officially St. Johann Nepomuk, was built from 1733 to 1746 by the sculptor Egid Quirin Asam and the painter Cosmas Damian Asam as a private chapel. It stands on a plot of just 22 by 8 m, and its façade is built into the row of houses on Sendlinger Straße. It is considered one of the most important buildings of the southern German Late Baroque.

Source: Wikipedia: Asam Church, Munich

When is the best time to do the Munich Old Town walk?

Two timings are worth planning around. The Glockenspiel on Marienplatz plays daily at 11:00 and 12:00, plus 17:00 from March to October, according to the City of Munich, so starting just before 11:00 or 12:00 lets you see it at the first stop. The Viktualienmarkt is held every day except Sundays and public holidays (Wikipedia), so a Sunday walk means passing a closed market.

How do I get to Marienplatz, the start of the walk?

Marienplatz station sits directly under the square and is served by both the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn (Wikipedia). The U3 and U6 lines and the S-Bahn lines across the city centre all stop there (Wikivoyage).

Is the Munich Old Town walk accessible?

I haven't found an official accessibility guide for the whole route, so here is only what the sources say about two optional climbs: the viewing platform of the New Town Hall is reached by lift, but the City of Munich describes the tower as only partly accessible (muenchen.de), and climbing the Alter Peter tower means 306 steps (Wikivoyage). Check individual buildings before you go if step-free access matters to you.

Can I do this Munich walk with an audio guide?

Yes. This exact route is one of the curated tours in Guidera, the iPhone app I build ("Munich Old Town Highlights", 11 stops). In Guidera, text stories are free (5 per day); audio narration and Walkman mode, which narrates each stop automatically as you walk, are part of Premium. You can also download the tour and walk it offline: on the free tier one featured tour at a time, text only, after a short video; with Premium, up to 10 tours with audio. Map tiles aren't saved, so open the tour map once while online. Guidera runs on iPhone, not Android.

Sources

• Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, Odeonsplatz, Hofgarten, Munich Residenz, National Theatre, Alter Hof, Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Viktualienmarkt, St. Peter's Church, Asam Church, all English Wikipedia, checked 1 October 2026
• City of Munich (muenchen.de): Neues Rathaus, checked 1 October 2026
• Wikivoyage: Munich/Altstadt, checked 1 October 2026
• Route distance and walking time: OpenStreetMap foot router, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Frequently asked questions