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The Academy of Fine Arts was built between 1808 and 1886 in the Italian Neo-Renaissance style. The list of students around 1900 is a who’s who of modern art – Kandinsky, Klee, Kubin, Marc.

Munich owes its Royal Square, or Königsplatz, to Ludwig I and the vision of architect Leo von Klenze. The Propyläen (Doric) and the Glyptothek (Ionic), housing a magnificent sculpture collection, and the Antikensamm-lung (Corinthian), a collection of antiquities, were all built between 1816 and 1862 (see Glyptothek and Staatliche Antikensammlungen). Directly behind the Propyläen lies the Lenbachhaus (see Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus); and one block farther down, the Paläontologisches Museum. On the east side, the Königsplatz merges with the Karolinenplatz. The obelisk at its centre is a memorial to Bavarian soldiers who died in Napoleon’s Russian campaign. During the Nazi era, Königsplatz was used for rallies and parades. Another relic of that era is today’s Academy of Music and Theatre, then the so-called Führer-Bau, in which the infamous Munich Agreement was ratified in 1938. Today, this magnificent square is used for open-air events in summer.

The Bavarian State library is the second-largest municipal library in Germany, with more than 6 million volumes, 70,000 manuscripts, and valuable handwritten documents and prints. It has as its nucleus the 16th-century collections of Albrecht V and Wilhelm V. Today’s building is the work of F von Gärtner (1832–43) in the style of Italian Renaissance palaces.

Schwabing’s “backyard” is Germany’s largest urban park, offering a host of leisure opportunities – walks, beer gardens (Seehaus, Chinesischer Turm, Hirschau), jogging, boating, and – for the adventurous – surfing in the Eisbach, a small rocky stream with icy waters. The streets to the south of Münchner Freiheit lead almost directly to the Kleinhesseloher See and the Seehaus beer garden in the park.

Passing beneath the Siegestor, you will enter Schwabing and the district’s principal promenade, the Leopoldstraße. Flanked by shops, pavement cafés, and fast-food outlets, the boulevard has lost some of its 1960s and ′70s air, when a new generation of film-makers, students, and bohemians set the tone, but there are still some interesting pockets. One of the route’s highlights is the Walking Man (1995), a 17-m- (55-ft-) high sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky at Ainmillerstraße 36. On the northern end of the Münchner Freiheit, in a café of the same name, tables are set out in summer beneath a larger-than-life statue of actor Helmut Fischer. Beautifully preserved Art Nouveau houses are to be found on several side streets off Leopold-straße, notably Georgenstraße (Nos. 8–10) and Ainmillerstraße (Nos. 20, 22, 33, 34, 35, and 37). Take a detour onto Kaiserstraße for a glimpse of a pretty ensemble from the Foundation Period. Hohenzollernstraße and the section of Maxvorstadt bounded by Schelling-, Türken-, and Barer-straße, are packed with fun and eccentric boutiques (see Boutiques & Shops). Nearly all side streets off the south side of Leopoldstaße lead to the Englischer Garten.

Ludwig I transferred the 15th-century university from Ingolstadt to Munich. The main assembly hall fronts on Geschwister-Scholl-Platz and is surrounded by faculty buildings.

Designed in the Italian Romanesque style, St Ludwig’s Church (1829–43) is home to the second-largest church fresco in the world.

After the old town wall was pulled down, Ludwig I commissioned a monumental boulevard in the Italian Renaissance style – the Ludwigstraße (1815–50). This splendid street is bounded by the Feldherrnhalle to the south (see Odeonsplatz, Theatinerkirche & Feldherrnhalle) and the Siegestor (Victory Gate) to the north. Based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome, the Siegestor is crowned by the figure of Bavaria riding a chariot drawn by four lions. Designed for victory parades in honour of the Bavarian army, the gate, damaged in World War II, has been restored. The 1958 inscription reads “Dedicated to victory, destroyed in war, an entreaty for peace.”

Near Königsplatz on Barerstraße are the three large Pinakotheken (see Museum District – Alte Pinakothek). Additional museums are planned for this district.

Completed for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games, this vast park and complex to the north has become Munich’s main sports and amusement park complex.