Best Places to Visit in Munich With Kids in 5 Days: Your Itinerary

Old Munich, the centre of Bavaria, is like a kindly grandfather who always has surprises in store for his beloved grandchildren. It's not all about parks and playgrounds, which are the same everywhere else — Munich offers kids something unusual to keep them occupied for a long time.

If your kids love a city walk, take our route to some of the most unusual places in the city. So all you need to do is buy a Bavarian ticket (it's cheaper to travel around the city and surroundings and go as far as Austria with one) and hit the road.

All of Munich's wonderfully punctual transport leads to the city centre, and Marienplatz has long been the city's most important square. While all the guidebooks rave about the architectural features of the Old and New Town Halls, it's a fairytale location.

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Even adults flock to see the Glockenspiel clock on the New Town Hall at 12 noon and 5 p.m., and puppet figures like royalty, knights in shining armour, dancers and other characters appear in the open windows.

During the fifteen-minute performance, audiences have time to learn about the most critical events in Bavarian history.

Marienplatz is littered with sculptures that stand in the most unexpected places. With their mouths open, children watch how the "bronze" figure, green with age, suddenly descends from the pedestal and goes to the kiosk for sausages — it's hard to believe it's just an actor playing the role of a statue. And if you're lucky enough to be in Munich at Christmas, the kids have long memories of the fancy Christmas tree at Marienplatz, the baked apples, gingerbread and the merry-go-round.

The entire Old Town (and the architecture is worth seeing) can be explored from the observation deck — rivalled by the 85m tall New Town Hall and the 56m high bell tower of St. Peter's Cathedral. But some important details can only be seen from the ground. For example, only the attentive observer will notice the small Old Town Hall door leading to the Toy Museum.

The four-storey tower is a treasure trove of toys for children: you can't get enough dolls and dollhouse dishes, cars, trains and planes, mechanical toys and everything else that children love.

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After the hustle and bustle of the city centre, it's nice to find yourself in a cosy park. To the northwest of Munich, the Nymphenburg is a verdant palace. Depending on the child's age, a visit here can turn into a quiet stroll through the park, a game of princes and princesses, or an exciting journey into the history of the Wittelsbach dynasty.

The splendour and refinement of palace chambers are something preschoolers will remember when reading the story of the Naked King or The Princess on the Pea together again. And Goldilocks may well take on the features of one of the 36 girls whose portraits are collected in the Gallery of Beauties.

The palace also houses several interesting museums. The most children's museum is the Museum of Man and Nature, where knowledge is not shelved but is revealed only to the curious. Children will be taken on an excursion into the times when life appeared on Earth and will then be able to follow the plant and animal life of the planet. The interesting information they learn at the museum will be helpful in a quiz in the Natural History Games room.

But other museums have something to surprise your child as well. At the Porcelain Museum, he's sure to spot the characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte — all eager to crack a joke, even though they're made of porcelain.

And the Carriage Museum has a range of feelings, from delight to bewilderment. Every girl, like Cinderella, sees a pumpkin transformed into a carved and gilded carriage. And every boy probably imagines how the carriage, equipped with primitive springs instead of complicated shock absorbers, shakes.

Try to decide together which looks more imposing: an executive car or a coach with a royal coat of arms, pulled by eight horses in gold embroidered harnesses?

A huge botanical garden, beautiful at any time of year, adjoins the palace. You can stroll around the park and learn about any of the 15,000 plant species collected here. There are cacti and edelweiss, orchids and... cucumbers — yes, actual cucumbers: alongside the exotic plants, you'll find common vegetables and spicy herbs.

If memories of cumbersome carriages are fresh, take your children to the BMW Museum. The exhibition illustrates how a clumsy, slow-moving carriage evolved into a fast car with improved aerodynamic performance.

The exhibition space stretches over 5,000 square metres to accommodate all of BMW's 100 years of production. There are aviation and car engines, mainly motorbikes and cars, from the earliest to the most modern ones. To enthuse children, they are offered a workshop on how to build cars.

Just a 10-minute walk from the BMW Museum, on the shores of Lake Olympia, is the Sea Life Aquarium. Even if you have fish living in your home, only a large centre like Sea Life can house a collection of 4,500 species of marine life. Fish, molluscs, crustaceans, corals, anemones and other fantastic sea creatures do not care that people see them and mind their business.

And it's exciting to watch them, especially since you can get to know some of the aquarium's inhabitants up close: crabs and starfish can hold them in their hands. They will also be shown how turtles eat, and the feeding of sharks becomes a real spectacle.

As you travel between museums, you might have spotted Olympia Park, where we suggest you spend part of your day. The park was created in 1972 to celebrate the opening of the Summer Olympics, and today it's a great place to relax and do sports.

There's an Olympic Stadium, swimming pool, ice rink, football field, tennis courts, and mini-golf course. You can take a guided tour of the stadium and listen to how such a complex structure was designed and built, or you can ride a cable car 37 metres above the stands.

Overlooking the Olympic Tower, you can see just outside Munich or climb the tower to the small Rock Museum, which tells its creators that rock 'n' roll is still alive. A sightseeing train operates in the park, and you can get off at any lawn that catches your eye, and on a nice day, you can take a boat ride on Lake Olympia.

"Again, to the museum?!" To avoid hearing that from your child, suggest a trip to Museum Island, home to the world's largest Museum of Natural Science and Technology in Munich, known simply as the Deutsches Museum.

Travelling to an island always promises adventure, and there is bound to be some. Whether it's a tour of a mine or a helicopter flight, a walk on an ancient sailing ship or an aerodynamics test on an aeroplane, there's something to suit your tastes.

Math games, hands-on physics experiments, ingenious ancient inventions, modern marvels — something to keep the kids' attention. And for the youngest visitors, there's a huge play area where relaxation becomes an enjoyable educational experience.

If the weather is excellent for a walk, take the whole family to Tierpark Hellabrunn Zoo.

Europe's second-largest zoo is a small world: the animals are grouped by continent, so you can stroll through America, Australia, Africa, the Arctic Circle and even visit bats. A contact zoo has been created to help children learn more about the animals: friendly goats, sheep, ponies and ducks come up to meet the little visitors and gladly accept their food.

The zoo also invites its guests to an animal show. You can't decide who is more talented or artistic — elephants, mongooses, sea lions or owls. They all manage to wow audiences and earn applause in a short performance.

Note that visiting the German Museum and the zoo can take all day. However, you don't have to explore every last corner — you can concentrate only on what captivates you.

On a nice day, offer the children a trip to the Bavaria Filmstadt. Everything there is authentic: the sets, the costumes, the props, the lighting and even an offer to star in a film. After sightseeing in the city, it's worth a trip to the immediate suburbs of Munich.

Those willing to perform a short scene in front of the camera will get a mini-film packed with special effects at the end of the tour. It's both fun and exciting to get involved. The film studio will tell you how films are shot, what secrets makeup artists know, and how stuntmen come up with their tricks. Most importantly, real film sets are on display, which you can watch with your children if you haven't seen them before.

If you stay in Munich during the colder seasons, you can organise a summer day for the children at the GALAXY water park. It has everything you need for water fun: slides, pools and waterfalls. The little ones will have fun in the frog box, play in the fountain and slide down the colourful low slides. For the older ones, there are steep slides that provide a long ride. After the ride, it's nice to swim or soak in the mineral water pool.

The GALAXY centre also houses two dozen saunas and steam rooms, but the entrance to this area is only permitted for the age of 16. An outdoor pool with two slides is available in the water park during the summer. There are also outdoor sports fields and playgrounds for children.

If you only pass through Munich, make time for a sightseeing tour. The double-decker buses, which make sightseeing so good, cover the entire city centre in an hour.

You can, however, get off at any stop for a closer look and then hop on the next bus, as the ticket allows you to transfer as many times as you like during the day. We hope this sightseeing tour and our article will make you want to stay longer in Munich. Check out our special Munich fun collection for more family and children's excursions.