Marienplatz & Glockenspiel

The square and the Glockenspiel

Marienplatz has been Munich’s central square since 1158, and it is free and open around the clock — there is no gate and no ticket, because it is the working heart of the Altstadt. The building everyone photographs is the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall), a neo-Gothic pile finished in 1905 that looks centuries older than it is. In its tower sits the Glockenspiel: 43 bells and 32 near-life-size figures that turn on a balcony to re-enact the 1568 marriage of Duke Wilhelm V on the upper level, and the Schäfflertanz, the coopers’ dance, below.

The show runs daily at 11am and 12pm (noon) all year, with a third performance at 5pm from March to October, and lasts about 12-15 minutes. It is free to watch — the trick is simply being there. Arrive 10-15 minutes early and stand back from the front of the town hall rather than right under it, because the crowd packs the pavement directly below the tower. While you wait, find the Mariensäule, the gilded Marian column from 1638 in the middle of the square that gives the place its name, and the Fischbrunnen fountain on the corner.

The view, and how to see it all without the scrum

For the postcard shot looking straight down onto the square, skip the town hall’s own lift and climb St Peter’s church tower — “Alter Peter” — directly across Marienplatz. It is 306 steps with no lift, costs about €5 (roughly £4.30), and the head-on view of the Neues Rathaus, the red rooftops and, on a clear day, the Alps is the one locals send you to. The Neues Rathaus tower does have a lift (about €6.50) but faces away from the square, so it’s the weaker of the two unless the stairs put you off.

Our honest take: Marienplatz is a 30-to-45-minute stop, not a half-day, and you’ll cross it anyway on the way to everything else. Time your visit for a Glockenspiel show if the figures appeal, but don’t build the day around it — it’s a charming, slightly creaky bit of clockwork, not a spectacle. Come early morning or after dark to have the square to yourself, take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn to Marienplatz station right beneath it rather than fighting the pedestrian zone, and walk two minutes south to the Viktualienmarkt for a beer and a bite once you’ve watched the bells.