Fünf Höfe

Fünf Höfe is an upscale shopping arcade on Theatinerstraße in Munich’s Old Town, where modern passages and five courtyards sit within a block of historic buildings. Come for the architecture as much as the shops: look for the hanging garden, artistic installations and glass-and-steel details. The complex has designer boutiques, cafés and restaurants, as well as Kunsthalle München, which hosts changing exhibitions. It’s a good stop if you want to browse, pause for coffee or combine shopping with an art visit.

A block reshaped into courtyards

Fünf Höfe occupies a block of buildings in Munich’s Old Town, between Theatinerstraße and Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße. Herzog & de Meuron transformed a once closed-off block into a complex of passages and courtyards. The design brings contemporary interiors into contact with historic buildings around them.

Glass roofs and steel structures give the arcades a different character from the older façades outside. As you move through the complex, the routes open into courtyards, each with its own arrangement of shops, cafés and artistic details.

Look up in the passages

The hanging garden is one of the details to seek out as you walk through Fünf Höfe. The courtyards also contain artistic installations, including a large floating sphere by sculptor Ólafur Elíasson. These works give the shopping passages a visual focus beyond the shopfronts.

The complex is a useful choice for an architecture-focused stop even if you do not plan to shop. Its appeal lies in the contrast between the contemporary arcades and the surrounding historic fabric, and in the way the passages connect the different courtyards.