BMW Museum

Munich, Germany, Germany

---

The BMW Museum is Munich’s premier automotive museum, located next to the iconic BMW headquarters and BMW Welt near the Olympiapark, and housed in a futuristic, bowl-shaped building affectionately nicknamed the “Weißwurstkessel” (white sausage pot) by locals. Opened in 1973 shortly after the Summer Olympics and renovated with an expanded exhibition space in 2008, the museum covers 5,000 square meters and displays around 125 exhibits—including historic and modern cars, motorcycles, engines, turbines, and small aircraft—that chronicle BMW’s 100-year journey from aircraft engine manufacturer to global leader in luxury vehicles and motorcycles. Key highlights include the original 1997 James Bond film car from Tomorrow Never Dies, the quirky 1950s BMW Isetta microcar, and the renowned BMW Art Car Collection featuring works by legendary artists like Andy Warhol and David Hockney, with at least one Art Car always on display. The museum’s permanent exhibition is organized thematically across four floors, taking visitors through BMW’s design evolution, technological innovations, sustainability efforts, and visions of future mobility, while the historic cylindrical building now hosts rotating special exhibitions. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm (closed Mondays) and costing €17 for adults, it attracts over half a million visitors annually and is considered a cultural landmark on par with Munich’s Deutsches Museum.