Haidhausen & Lehel

Haidhausen is hip, eclectic and leagues away from its 19th-century working-class roots. Major gentrification since the late 1970s has made the district desirable for artsy professionals and urban types. It’s light on sights but a lovely place for aimless wandering. Lehel (lay-hl) has the second-highest concentration of museums after the art nexus in Maxvorstadt. It’s the oldest Munich suburb, having been absorbed into the city in 1724, and its charismatic warren of quiet streets is lined with late-19th-century buildings.

The place to start a day in Haidhausen and Lehel is the Deutsches Museum, by far the area’s main attraction. Half a day is just about enough to see most of the technical wonders on display here before grabbing lunch and heading to Villa Stuck, one of Europe’s finest art nouveau homes, and Sammlung Schack for a dose of Romantic art. In the evening take a wander through the atmospheric streets of Lehel before ending the day at Wirtshaus in der Au for a meat and dumpling combo washed down with a Munich beer or two.

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Getting There & Around

b For Lehel the U-Bahn station of the same name is the place to alight. Prinzregentenplatz and Max-Weber-Platz serve Haidhausen.

j The Deutsches Museum has its own tram stop. s 16 and 19 serve Lehel while trams 13, 15, 18 and 37 run through Haidhausen.

Top SightsDeutsches Museum

If you’re one of those people for whom science is an unfathomable turn-off, a visit to the Deutsches Museum might just show you that physics and engineering are more fun than you thought. Spending a few hours in this temple to technology is an eye-opening journey of discovery, and the exhibitions and demonstrations will be a hit with young, sponge-like minds. You could spend a whole day wandering the museum’s halls – many do.

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MAP GOOGLE MAP
%089-217 9333
www.deutsches-museum.de
Museumsinsel 1
adult/child €12/4
h9am-5pm
jDeutsches Museum

`y`Top Tips

AIf you want to visit all three branches of the Deutsches Museum, a combi ticket costs €19.

AGo online to view all the Deutsches Museum’s collections and archives at https://digital.deutsches-museum.de/ueber.

AThis is a favourite with visiting families: leave the Kinderreich until last, as it’s hard to get the little ones out of there!

ASave time by purchasing tickets online through the museum website.

ATours of the main building last two hours, leave at 11am and 2pm daily, and cost €3.

`5`Take a Break

Nearby Wirtshaus in der Au is one of Munich’s finest taverns.

Biergarten Muffatwerk serves meals all day.

Museum on an Island

Occupying the Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in the River Isar, this unrivalled museum could keep you occupied all day, especially with inquisitive kids in tow – the collections boast 100,000 items, either displayed or in storage. There are tons of interactive displays (including glass blowing and paper making), live demonstrations and experiments, model coal and salt mines, and engaging sections on cave paintings, geodesy, microelectronics and astronomy. In fact, it can be pretty overwhelming after a while, so it’s best to prioritise what you want to see.

Kinderreich

The place to entertain children aged three to eight is the fabulous Kinderreich, where 1000 activities await, from a kid-size mouse wheel to interactive water fun. Get the littlies to climb all over a fire engine, build things with giant Lego, construct a waterway with canals and locks, or bang on a drum all day in a (thankfully) soundproof instrument room.

Verkehrszentrum

The museum’s second branch, the Verkehrszentrum (Transport Museum; www.deutsches-museum.de/verkehrszentrum; Am Bavariapark 5; adult/child €7/3; h9am-5pm; XTheresienwiese), in the west of the city centre, is an ode to the Bavarian obsession with getting around. The collections explore the ingenious ways humans have devised to transport things, including each other. From the earliest automobiles to famous race cars and the high-speed ICE trains, a visit is a virtual trip through transport history.

The exhibit is spread over three historic trade-fair halls near Theresienwiese – each with its own theme: Public Transportation, Travel, and Mobility & Technology – and is a fun place even if you can’t tell a piston from a carburettor.

Walking TourA Stroll Through Haidhausen

The suburb of Haidhausen actually predates the Altstadt by a few hundred years and was for centuries a poor area where labourers and fresh arrivals from Bavaria’s hinterland would set up shop. Today it is a tranquil area of residential streets, neighbourhood businesses and dog-walking locals, but some reminders of the grittier past remain.

Walk Facts

Start Mariahilfplatz; j18

End Wiener Platz; XMaz-Weber-Platz

`1Mariahilfplatz`

Tram 18 drops you off at Mariahilfplatz, the venue for some of Munich’s dult festivals (traditional fairs with rides and food). Passing by the red-brick Mariahilfkirche you’ll come to the Auer Mühlbach, a fast-moving stream that once powered mills. You can follow it to the next stop through leafy residential areas, one on an island.

`2Müller’sches Volksbad`

Munich’s most famous swimming pool (MAP; www.swm.de; Rosenheimer Strasse 1; adult/child €4.50/3.40; h7.30am-11pm; jAm Gasteig) is an exquisite art nouveau affair that first opened its doors in 1901. It’s one of Europe’s most attractive swimming baths and a dip here under the ornate stuccoed ceiling is a real treat. Despite the period look, it boasts 21st-century pool and sauna technology.

`3Muffatwerk`

The Biergarten Muffatwerk is a kind of cooler version of the traditional Munich beer garden: reggae instead of oompah, vegetarian plates instead of pig-knuckle platters. There’s regular live music in the evenings and a great vibe all day long.

`4Gasteig`

You cannot fail to notice the Gasteig, a mammoth building in brick and glass rising confidently over Am Gasteig and Rosenheimer Strasse. It’s one of southern Germany’s top concert venues attracting huge international acts. It’s also home to the Münchner Philharmoniker.

`5Herbergsmuseum & Kriechbaumhof`

In Preysingstrasse, the Herbergsmuseum is a tiny former worker’s cottage that has been done up as it would have been when it was inhabited by a labourer’s family in the 19th century. Opposite, the conspicuous all-timber Kriechbaumhof looks like it’s been teleported from the Alps.

`6Haidhausen Cemetery`

The austere, slender spire of the Church of John the Baptist rises above Kirchenstrasse and the adjoining and somewhat overgrown walled cemetery, one of Munich’s most attractive, with rows of tombs in different artistic styles. Its most famous resident is Austrian actor Kurt Zips.

`7Wiener Platz`

So called as it marked the start of the road to Vienna, busy Wiener Platz is known for its daily gourmet market, which has been held since 1901 under a supersize maypole. Tiny cafes and kiosks sell everything from fish mains to chocolate to sausages, and it’s a great place to lunch or snack.