NS-Dokumentationszentrum Munich: free entry, no tickets, and an English tour every Sunday

💡 The Short Version: Entry is free, and there are no tickets to buy or book. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 19:00, including public holidays that fall on a Monday, and it is closed on other Mondays. A free English tour runs every Sunday at 13:00, with no registration. The exhibition “Munich and National Socialism” stands on the site of the Nazi Party’s former headquarters, and some of it may disturb. The free media guide runs on your own phone, so bring headphones. Take the U2 or U8 to Königsplatz. Or book a tour: the Third Reich and WWII walking tourad is from €29 (GetYourGuide), and the centre itself is free to visit before or after.

Visiting

The Munich Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism is run by the City of Munich. Its address is Max-Mannheimer-Platz 1, 80333 Munich.

• The media guide runs on your smartphone over the centre’s Wi-Fi, so bring headphones. Devices can be borrowed free of charge on the first basement floor.
• Groups of more than 20 register in advance, and the centre recommends visiting between 14:30 and 19:00, when there are fewer visitors.
• Photographs are allowed for personal use. Commercial photography and filming need written permission.
• Dogs: assistance dogs are permitted. Other dogs are not officially allowed.
• The CafeBar Max serves drinks, lunch dishes and cakes from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00.

What the exhibition covers

The centre stands where the “Brown House”, the Nazi Party’s headquarters, once stood. Its permanent exhibition, “Munich and National Socialism”, asks where National Socialism and its ideology came from, how Adolf Hitler came to power, why democracy failed, and what led to exclusion, war and mass murder. It examines the origins and rise of National Socialism in Munich and the city’s role in the Nazi regime of terror. It also covers the city’s difficulty in dealing with this history since 1945.

The NS-Dokumentationszentrum on Brienner Straße. Photo: Guido Radig, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

Some sections address war and violence and show images that may be disturbing. The free media guide for young people starts at age 14, and a family guide for parents visiting with children over 10 omits the sections with the most disturbing images. The library holds two interactive media tables and twenty-two research terminals. The centre is not an archive and holds no family files or original documents.

The centre’s app takes you to 118 places in Munich and the surrounding area that have a connection with Nazi history.

Tours worth paying for

The centre’s Sunday tour is free. A paid walking tour is the way to see the places around it, and the prices are the lowest “from” prices, per person. For the camp memorial outside the city, see the Dachau Memorial Site.

Third Reich and WWII walking tour

From €29 · 2.5 hours · 4.6 stars from 7,686 reviews

Munich: Third Reich & WWII Walking Tourad is run by Munich Walk Tours in English and German. It meets in front of the Tourist Information in the Gothic Town Hall at Marienplatz and follows the start of Nazism from the first mass meeting at the Hofbräuhaus to the Feldherrnhalle, then Königsplatz, where it ends, with a stop in the Hofgarten for the White Rose resistance. Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. Third Reich tours in Munich compares the operators.

Birthplace of the Third Reich walking tour

From €24.70 · 2.5 hours · 4.7 stars from 885 reviews

Munich: Birthplace of the Third Reich Guided Walking Tourad is run by Radius Tours in English. It visits the sites that played a role in Hitler’s rise to power, for less.

What to see

1. The exhibition. The permanent exhibition is the visit. The centre’s own free English tour on Sundays at 13:00 is the guided route through it.
2. The site. The building stands on the site of the Brown House, with Königsplatz beside it.
3. The city’s tour. München Tourismus sells a Third Reich tour, run by Munich Walk Tours, that goes from Marienplatz past Odeonsplatz, the Feldherrnhalle, Karolinenplatz and Brienner Straße to Königsplatz.

The order that works: the centre first, on a Sunday for the English tour, then a walking tour if you want the streets.

Practical information

• Getting there: the U2 and U8 stop at Königsplatz, with exit B by stairs and exit C by lift. Trams 27 and 28 stop at Karolinenplatz, and buses 100 (the museum line), 58 and 68 at Königsplatz or Pinakotheken. From Hauptbahnhof or Karlsplatz (Stachus) it is a 10-minute walk.
• Parking: none for visitors or coaches. Coaches may stop on Königsplatz to let passengers on or off.
• Access: all areas are accessible to wheelchair users, and tours in German Sign Language are offered.
• The one thing that ruins a visit: going on a Monday that is not a public holiday.

The Alte Pinakothek and the other art museums are a short walk away at Königsplatz and on Barer Straße, and best museums in Munich sets the centre beside them. Free things to do in Munich lists what else costs nothing. Third Reich tours in Munich compares the guided options, and the Dachau Memorial Site is the camp memorial outside the city. What to book in Munich has the closed days for every sight, and 3 days in Munich places the centre on a Sunday. For a bed nearby, see where to stay in Munich, and Munich public transport has the fares for the U2.