Nymphenburg Palace

Nymphenburg Palace is the Wittelsbach dynasty's baroque summer residence and one of the largest palace complexes in Germany. Begun in 1664 as an electoral gift to Electress Adelaide of Savoy, it was expanded over two generations by architects Enrico Zuccalli and Joseph Effner into a grand three-wing ensemble that traces the transition from baroque to rococo. The Great Hall ceiling bears an elaborate fresco by Johann Baptist Zimmermann, while King Ludwig I's Gallery of Beauties — 36 portraits of women chosen purely by his personal taste, ranging from noblewomen to commoners — remains one of Bavaria's most discussed royal oddities. The palace park layers formal baroque axes over an English landscape garden, threaded by navigable canals and linden avenues. Four independent museums occupy the outbuildings, including the Marstall coach museum and the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory, which has been operating on the grounds since 1761.

Wittelsbach summer residence with 500 acres of gardens, the Gallery of Beauties and the Marstall carriage museum.