Maximilianstraße
On Gingerguide's self-guided Munich audio tour, Maximilianstraße is a stop worth about ~45 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type landmark
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Munich Munich guide
About Maximilianstraße
The boulevard a king invented as a work of art in the 1850s, in a brand-new style named after himself, now lined with the priciest luxury boutiques in Germany, ending at parliament.
Maximilianstraße is one of Munich's grand 19th-century royal avenues, laid out from the 1850s by King Maximilian II, who launched it through an architectural competition to create a wholly new style. The winning architect, Friedrich Bürklein, developed the "Maximilian style" (Maximilianstil), a blend of Neo-Gothic and Neo-Renaissance that was much debated in its day. The boulevard runs about 1,200 metres from Max-Joseph-Platz, by the National Theatre, south-east across the Isar, where its axis closes on the Maximilianeum (1857-1874), today the seat of the Bavarian state parliament. Its buildings include the government of Upper Bavaria and the Museum Fünf Kontinente. Since the 1970s the western section, nearest the opera, has been Munich's most exclusive shopping street, with the highest retail rents in Germany. It remains a showpiece of 19th-century royal town-planning.
Did you know? The "Maximilian style" the king commissioned never really caught on elsewhere, so this boulevard and a handful of nearby buildings are just about the only places in the world you will ever see it.
How much time do you need at Maximilianstraße?
Around ~45 min works well for Maximilianstraße — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Maximilianstraße?
Yes — Maximilianstraße made the cut as one of 26 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Munich. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Munich
Hear the story of Maximilianstraße
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