The WWII walking tour reviewed: 7,257 ratings, eight times the whole Residenz catalogue, and ten reviews that all name the same guide
The number, and what it does to everything else on this site
7,257 ratings. Divide that by the 908 held between all eleven Residenz listings and the answer is 7.99 — eight times over, on a single walking tour that never buys a ticket to anything. Only one listing in this catalogue is bigger, and that is a full-day coach to two castles a hundred kilometres away with 16,428.
This is the comparison that ought to shape how you read every score on this site. A 4.6 from 7,257 people is a measurement. A 4.9 from sixteen is a hopeful sign. They look like neighbours on a five-point scale and they are not the same kind of statement at all.
Ten written reviews, and every one of them is about Josh
Here is the strangest thing in the whole review file. The ten most recent written reviews on this listing were all left within five days of each other in August 2026, and every single one names the same guide.
“Interesting tour with Josh, looking at some of the grimmer historical aspects of Munich. Josh showed us many sites about whose history one would have no idea and demonstrates just how instrumental Munich was to the early formation of the NSDAP. I would recommend this tour to anybody looking to understand Munich's early 20th Century history. It was well worth the 2 1/2 hours and the money spent.”
“Josh was AMAZING. He made history relatable to the modern day and easy to understand. He weaved history piece by piece into one cohesive story, so you didn’t just know what took place but how and why. He ran a tight ship, in a fun way, where everyone got to hear and see and have a great experience - a challenge for a large group of strangers. You must take this tour with Josh.”
“Josh was able to inspire us, really took us back in time. We were able to see Munich from a historical perspective in places where that is no longer visible today. Very educational and definitely worth it.”
“Josh was a very engaging and informative tour guide. We learned a lot, and especially appreciated that he created a respectful environment with room for questions. He was not only knowledgeable, but a true storyteller!”
“Josh is a great guy. He knows what he is doing and what he is teaching. He also sets the expectations of his customers and what he expects in return such as respect and participation in the tour. I would recommend him to my fellow Filipinos who love history who are visiting Munich.”
“Josh was just superb. So passionate and knowledgeable. The tour lasted over 3 hours and I suspect that Josh would have been happy to continue longer!! I would hugely recommend him and this tour.”
“Josh was absolutely brilliant. Such an interesting tour handled with such compassion. Truly great and would 100% recommend it and Josh in particular!”
“Josh was a fantastic guide,I learned so much about that time period,the beginnings of the Nazi in Munich”
“Josh was fantastic! One of the best tours I’ve ever taken in Europe. Highly recommend.”
“Tour was fantastic and very informative. Josh was very knowledgeable and courteous.”
Ten reviews out of 7,257 ratings, all left in the same week, all about one guide. That is not a sample of this tour. It is a snapshot of one person’s week, and it is printed here rather than presented as though it summarised seven thousand people. What everybody else thought is in the 4.6 and nowhere else.
What the ten do tell you, which is not nothing
Bridget and Camille both describe crowd management rather than history: a tight ship run in a fun way, a large group of strangers where everybody still got to hear, expectations set about respect and participation. Two people independently noticing group discipline means the groups are big. Mark reports a walk that ran over three hours against a listed two and a half, and treats that as a bonus, which it will not be if you have booked something for the evening.
Elvira’s phrase is the one that matters most for what this tour is: a respectful environment with room for questions. This is a walk about the origins of the Nazi party in the city where it started, and the reviews that read as praise are mostly praising tone.
How it touches this palace, and how it does not
It does not go inside. No listing in this catalogue that walks the old town includes admission to the Residenz, and this one is explicit about being a walking tour. What it shares with this address is geography and one date: 18 March 1944, when the building housing the Cuvilliés Theatre was destroyed. The painted wood carvings and the tier fittings had been taken to safety in 1943 and are all that survives of the original theatre; they were handed to the palace administration in 1956, restored over the following two years, and reassembled in a new building inside this complex.
That story is told properly on the Cuvilliés Theatre, and it is the single strongest reason to do both things on the same trip: the walk explains the city that bombed itself into that state, and the theatre is the room that came back.
What works
- 7,257 ratings at 4.6, which is the second-deepest evidence in this catalogue and by far the deepest on anything Munich-specific
- Two and a half hours on foot in the old town, which is where this palace stands
- Reviewers consistently praise the tone as much as the content, which matters for this subject
- One guide is named ten times out of ten, so at least one person is doing it very well
- It is priced at under half what the flagship guided visit at the Residenz charges a head
Worth knowing
- It does not go inside the Residenz, or into any ticketed building on this site
- The ten written reviews all date from one week and all name one guide, so they say nothing about the other guides
- Two reviewers describe managing a large group of strangers, so do not expect an intimate walk
- One reviewer’s tour ran over three hours against a listed two and a half
- It is a walking tour in a city with real weather and no indoor fallback described
Doing both in one day
It works, and the clock is the only constraint. The museum and treasury run 9 am to 6 pm in the summer season and 10 am to 5 pm in the winter one, with last entry an hour before closing, and the theatre keeps its own shorter hours (both timetables). A two-and-a-half-hour walk in the morning and the palace in the afternoon fits either season; the reverse fits only if you start early. How long the three parts actually need is on how long you need, and the free garden that costs nothing to sit in afterwards is on the Hofgarten.
Transport, not entryMunich Hop-On Hop-Off Tour: 1-Day or 2-Day Ticket
In German onlyMunich: Old Town & Viktualienmarkt City Walk in German
The guided oneMunich: Residenz Palace and Hofgarten Skip-the-Line Tour
Frequently asked questions
Does the WWII walking tour go inside the Munich Residenz?
No. It is a walking tour of the old town and it includes admission to nothing. It is listed on this site because it is the second most-rated thing in the catalogue and because it covers the city this palace sits in the middle of. Getting into the Residenz itself is a separate ticket at the palace desk (the three tickets).
How many reviews does the Munich WWII tour have?
7,257 ratings at 4.6. Divided by the 908 ratings held between all eleven Residenz listings on this site, that is 7.99 — eight times over, on a tour that never goes inside. Ten of those ratings carry written text, all left in one week of August 2026 and all naming the same guide.
How long is the Third Reich and WWII walking tour?
Two and a half hours by the listing. One reviewer records a tour that ran over three hours and was pleased about it, so leave room afterwards rather than booking something immediately after.
Is it worth doing alongside the Residenz?
They fit together better than the itineraries suggest. The walk explains what happened to this city in the 1940s; the Cuvilliés Theatre inside the Residenz is the room that was destroyed in an air raid in March 1944 and rebuilt from carvings taken to safety the year before (the theatre).