Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [276]
Radius Tours (Map; 089-5502 9374; www.radiustours.com; adult/concession €21/18; 9.15am & 12.30pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 11am Nov-Mar) Five-hour English-language tours leave from the end of tracks 32-34 at Munich’s Hauptbahnhof. They include public transport from Munich.
Self-guided Audio Tour (adult/child €3/2) Covers the history, key buildings and the exhibits (up to two hours). Available from the visitors centre.
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Getting There & Away
The westbound S2 makes the journey from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Dachau Hauptbahnhof in 21 minutes. From here change to local bus 726, which runs every 20 minutes. You’ll need a two-zone ticket (€4.60, or four strips of a Streifenkarte), including the bus connection.
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SCHLEISSHEIM
089 / pop 5700
The northern Munich suburb of Schleissheim is worth a visit for its three palaces and the aviation museum.
The crown jewel of the palatial trio is the Neues Schloss Schleissheim ( 315 8720; Max-Emanuel-Platz 1; adult/under 18yr/concession €4/free/3, combination ticket for all 3 palaces €6/free/5; 9am-6pm Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Oct-Mar, closed Mon). Modelled after Versailles, this pompous pile was dreamed up by prince-elector Max Emanuel in 1701. Inside, you’ll be treated to stylish period furniture, a gallery of oil paintings belonging to the Bavarian state art collection and a vaulted ceiling smothered in 3-D frescoes by the prolific Cosmas Damian Asam. The palace is surrounded by an impressive manicured park that’s ideal for picnics.
Nearby, the Altes Schloss Schleissheim ( 315 5272; Maximilianshof 1; adult/concession €2.50/1.50; 9am-6pm Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Oct-Mar, closed Mon) is only a shadow of its former Renaissance self. It houses exhibits on religious festivals and Prussian culture. On a little island at the eastern end of the Schlosspark stands Schloss Lustheim ( 315 8720; adult/concession €3/2; 9am-6pm Apr-Sep, 10am-4pm Oct-Mar, closed Mon), featuring the finest collection of Meissen porcelain after Dresden’s Zwinger museum.
Near the palaces you’ll find Flugwerft Schleissheim ( 315 7140; Effnerstrasse 18; adult/concession €6/3; 9am-5pm), the aviation branch of the Deutsches Museum. Displays are housed in three historical buildings – the command, the tower and the construction hall – as well as a new hall, and include about 60 planes and helicopters, plus hang-gliders, engines, rockets and flight simulators.
To reach Schleissheim take the S1 (towards Freising) to Oberschleissheim. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the station along Mittenheimer Strasse towards the palaces.
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STARNBERG
08151 / pop 23,000
Around 25km southwest of central Munich, glittering Lake Starnberg (Starnberger See) was once the haunt of Bavaria’s royal family, but now provides a bit of easily accessible R&R for anyone looking to escape the hurly burly of the Bavarian capital.
At the northern end of the lake the affluent town of Starnberg is the heart of the Fünf-Seen-Land (Five-Lakes-District). Besides Lake Starnberg the district comprises the Ammersee and the much smaller Pilsensee, Wörthsee and Wesslinger See. Swimming, yachting and windsurfing are popular activities on all lakes.
The district tourist office ( 906 00; www.sta5.de; Wittelsbacherstrasse 2c, Starnberg; 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat May–mid-Oct) has a room-finding service.
King Ludwig II famously (and mysteriously) drowned in Lake Starnberg (see boxed text, Click here). The spot where his body was found, in the town of Berg on the eastern shore, is now marked with a memorial cross in the shallows, near the Votivkapelle. To get there, take bus 961 from Starnberg.
From early May to mid-October, Bayerische-Seen-Schifffahrt ( 8061) runs boat services from Starnberg to the other lake towns, as well as one- and three-hour tours (€8.50/15.90 respectively). The longer tour, starting from the docks behind the S-Bahn station, takes in five palaces as well as the Ludwig II cross.