Deutsches Museum

The Deutsches Museum, founded in 1903 by the engineer Oskar von Miller, is one of the largest and most famous museums of science and technology in the world, housed in a monumental building on an island in the Isar, the Museumsinsel, a short walk from the old town. For generations it has been the place where German children, and plenty of adults, first saw a real aircraft, pressed buttons that made machines move and learned how the world works. Since 2015 the museum has been in the middle of the most comprehensive modernisation in its history, carried out in two phases so that it can stay open throughout. The first half reopened in July 2022 with completely new exhibitions, and that is what you visit today: around twenty permanent exhibitions over four levels and some 20,000 square metres, covering subjects such as aviation, robotics, health, music, chemistry, physics, space, photography and film, and much more. Among the favourites are All Aboard!, a model railway at the scale of 1:87 that runs several times a day; Flight Simulator in Action, where the aviation team demonstrates how pilots train; and the Kids' Kingdom, an interactive play area for children from three to eight. The second half of the building is closed while its exhibitions are rebuilt, with a further 25,000 square metres of exhibition space due to open in 2028, in time for the museum's 125th anniversary. The museum opens daily from 9am to 5pm, with last admission at 4:30pm. A day ticket cost sixteen euros until the end of October 2026, and prices rise by one to two euros for visits from 2 November, with reduced and family tickets available and free entry for children under six; buying online in advance is recommended.

How to plan your visit: the museum is huge even at half its size, and the best visits focus on a few subjects rather than trying to cover everything. Pick up a plan at the entrance and choose three or four exhibitions that interest you; check the day's demonstration times as soon as you arrive, because the live shows, from the model railway to the flight simulator, are highlights and run only at set times. Families with young children should head straight for the Kids' Kingdom, which can easily fill an hour or two. There are cafes inside the museum, and the island setting makes it easy to take a break by the river.

What to expect from the rebuild: some famous old exhibits and spaces, such as the historic mine and the high-voltage show of the old museum, belong to the pre-modernisation era or to the second phase, so do not expect to see everything you may remember from a past visit or from older guidebooks. What is open is modern, bright, bilingual and very hands-on, and in many ways a better museum than before. If you are a returning visitor, the new exhibitions are a reason to come back, and the full reopening in 2028 will be another.

Getting there and around: the museum is a ten-minute walk from Marienplatz via the Isartor, or take the S-Bahn to Isartor or tram 16 to the Deutsches Museum stop. The neighbourhood across the river, Haidhausen, with its cafes and the Gasteig cultural centre, is a pleasant place for lunch, and the Isar riverbanks below the museum are a favourite spot for locals on sunny days. On a rainy day with children, the Deutsches Museum is the best choice in the city.