3 Days in Munich: The First-Timer Itinerary
Three days moves Munich from “hit the highlights” into “actually get a feel for the place.” The extra day goes to Nymphenburg Palace and the Deutsches Museum, both worth a real afternoon rather than a quick stop. Tighter on time? See the 2 day itinerary ; want more? See the 4 day version or the full Munich travel guide .
Book these before you go
- Check rates on Booking.com for a base in the Altstadt or Haidhausen before the good rooms fill up.
- Reserve the Old Town walking tour for Day 1 if you’d rather have a guide handle the history.
- Grab a spot on the beer halls and breweries tour for an evening that covers several halls at once.
The 3 day plan at a glance
| Day | Focus | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marienplatz, New Town Hall tower, Residenz, Viktualienmarkt | €35-45 (tower €7, Residenz €10, meals, transit) |
| 2 | Englischer Garten, Eisbach surfers, Chinese Tower beer garden, Schwabing | €25-35 (beer garden meal, transit) |
| 3 | Nymphenburg Palace, Hirschgarten, Deutsches Museum | €35-50 (palace €10, museum €16, meals) |
Day 1: Old Town and the Bavarian basics
Ride the S1 or S8 S-Bahn from Munich Airport to Marienplatz, 40-45 minutes for €13.60 single. The Glockenspiel chimes at 11:00 and noon, 12-15 minutes and honestly underwhelming for the crowd it draws, so don’t build your morning around it. Buy the €7 New Town Hall tower ticket instead, a timed 20 minute elevator ride to an 85 meter platform, or climb the Frauenkirche’s south tower (€7.50) for a fuller 360 degree view. Lunch at Viktualienmarkt among the produce stalls, then spend the afternoon at the Residenz (€10), the Wittelsbach dynasty’s former seat of power, where the Antiquarium hall runs roughly 66 meters end to end. Walk down Sendlinger Straße to the Asamkirche, small, free and wildly over-decorated, on your way back toward dinner. Skip making Hofbräuhaus your only beer hall, Augustiner-Keller or Hirschgarten pour better beer in a far more local room for the same money.
Day 2: The Englischer Garten and a river that surfs
Head to the Englischer Garten first thing, bigger than Central Park and free, and make straight for the bridge near Haus der Kunst where wetsuited surfers ride a permanent standing wave in the middle of the park, no ocean for five hundred miles. It’s the single most surprising free sight in the city and it runs year-round. Walk on to the Chinese Tower beer garden for a late-morning Maß under the chestnut trees, remembering the local custom: bring your own food to the self-service tables, just buy drinks there. Spend the afternoon drifting into Schwabing, the old bohemian quarter now dressed up with boutiques and cafes, and finish with Schweinshaxe at a traditional Wirtshaus.
Day 3: Palaces, gardens and the Deutsches Museum
Tram out to Nymphenburg Palace for the morning, a Baroque summer residence with grounds big enough to lose a few hours in even if you skip the interior (park free, palace ticket €10, combo with the park palaces and Marstallmuseum €20 April 1-October 15, dropping to €16 the rest of the year). Lunch at Hirschgarten right nearby, Europe’s largest beer garden at roughly 8,000 seats, same bring-your-own-food rule applies. Spend the afternoon at the Deutsches Museum , the world’s largest science and technology museum (€16 adult), mid-renovation through 2028 so a handful of halls like the mine exhibit stay closed, but there’s still easily a full afternoon of genuine wonder inside.
Where to stay for a 3 day Munich trip
Altstadt keeps everything from Day 1 within walking distance, at a price premium. Haidhausen and Au/Isarvorstadt run cheaper and quieter, a short tram ride from the center and closer to the Day 3 tram line out to Nymphenburg.
Getting around in 3 days
The MVV network ties U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses into one fare system; a Zone M single day ticket runs €9.70, and across three days that usually beats piecing together anything else, since the Deutschland-Ticket only pays off around a week or more of heavy use.
Is 3 days enough for Munich?
Yes, and it’s arguably the sweet spot. Three days covers the full Old Town list plus Nymphenburg Palace and the Deutsches Museum without feeling rushed, and leaves one unhurried evening for a proper beer hall dinner instead of a quick bite between sights.
Is Nymphenburg worth the tram ride out?
Yes, more than most visitors expect. It gets overshadowed by bigger-name European palaces, but the grounds alone justify the trip even on a €0 park-only visit, and the €10 palace ticket adds rooms that rival the Residenz for scale without the crowds.
Three days is exactly enough to add the palace and the museum without cutting a corner elsewhere, don’t try to squeeze in a fourth big sight just because you technically have the hours.