Munich History Walk: Marienplatz to Nymphenburg

Munich's main square began as a medieval market and tournament ground, and the Glockenspiel in the New Town Hall tower, said to draw millions of tourists a year, nods to those tournaments. The square takes its name from Mary's Column, put up in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation in the Thirty Years' War. Four putti at its base fight a lion, a cockatrice, a dragon and a serpent: war, pestilence, famine and heresy.

Visitor guidance: The central square of the old town.

Munich's twin-domed cathedral went up in just 20 years under Jörg von Halsbach, from 1468, built in brick because there was no stone quarry nearby. Its two towers are just over 98 metres tall, and the domes added in 1525 made it a distinctive Munich landmark. It suffered severe damage in the later stages of World War II; restoration was only completed in 1994.

Visitor guidance: A few minutes' walk from Marienplatz.

When the grain market on Marienplatz grew too small, King Maximilian I decreed on 2 May 1807 that a new market be created nearby. Its name comes from the Latin word for food. Today stalls of produce, sausages and flowers share the square with memorial fountains for Munich comedians Karl Valentin, Weiß Ferdl and Liesl Karlstadt.

Visitor guidance: A food market in the old town; check stall hours.

The Wittelsbach dukes began building here in 1385, funded by the city as a penalty for a failed uprising. They wanted distance from their rebellious citizens, and the Silver Tower and the new fortress gave them a sheltered seat, easy to leave. After the revolution of 1918 the Residenz became a public museum. It was badly bombed in World War II and most rooms were reconstructed by the 1980s.

Visitor guidance: Museum open to visitors; entrance on Residenzstraße.

Theatinerkirche was begun on 29 April 1663 after the birth of crown prince Max Emanuel, with Rome's Sant'Andrea della Valle as the model. Its towers were finished by 1692, but the Rococo façade by François de Cuvilliés came only in 1765. When Ludwigstrasse was built, the church became a focal point at Odeonsplatz. It was severely damaged in World War II and rebuilt from 1946.

Visitor guidance: At Odeonsplatz, beside the Residenz.

The electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy commissioned the palace in 1664 after the birth of their son Max Emanuel; the central pavilion was done by 1675. Later rulers added wings and a ring of cavalier's lodges. The Porcelain Manufactory was founded here in 1747, King Ludwig II was born here in 1845, and the park opened to the public in 1792.

Visitor guidance: Palace and park are open to visitors; the porcelain manufactory is in one of the cavalier's lodges.