Munich City Guide

This is your free Munich City Guide!  Munich is a green, attractive city, packed full of historic buildings and pleasant beer gardens.  Bavarian hospitality shines and the food portions are huge!  Here are our personal recommendations of what to see…

WHAT TO DO IN MUNICH

The Royal Residence (Residenz München) – This was the Munich home of the Bavarian royals for hundreds of years.  From the outside it looks a rather sober building, but the true magic is inside.  Each King left his mark on the Residence, added wings and courtyards to the building.  Don’t miss the amazing ‘Antiquarium’ – a long hall with statues on every surface and beautifully painted ceilings.  Some of the rooms were destroyed in the Second World War and have been restored, but there are still plenty of original rooms and features to see. You can also see the Monarch’s jewels in the Treasury (separate fee).  If you do take the tour, make sure you pick up your free audio guide.  The guide station is easy to miss and we got to the second room before we realised everyone else had one! The Munich Residence is in the city centre near Odeonplatz.  More info, pics, links & map...

The beautiful Hofgarten in Munich

The Court Gardens (Hofgarten) – This garden, directly outside the rear of the Residence and adjacent to Odeonplatz is a true oasis of peace and tranquillity.  The domed temple in the middle dates back to the 1600s and in summer, the flowers here are beautiful.  It’s a great place to escape to.  More info, pics, links & map...

Munich Cathedral (Frauenkirche) - The two enormous green-topped towers of the Frauenkirche, dominate the city centre skyline.  There’s a lovely public space near the doors of the cathedral with an ingenious water feature and from here, when you look up you get a real sense of how tall the towers actually are.  Few brick buildings are this attractive – the towers date back to 1488, although one was almost completely destroyed in the war.  Inside, the high vaulted ceiling emphasises the size of the building – it can hold 20,000 people.  Frauenkirche is just off the main shopping street in the city centre.  More info, pics, links & map...

Nymphenburg Palace (Schloss Nymphenburg) – This was the ‘out of town’ summer palace for the Bavarian royals.  The palace and its accompanying gardens are one of the most impressive sights of Munich.  The palace has been extended over the years but the tour covers most of the significant rooms including the centrepiece Great Hall.  Make sure you allow enough time to explore the palace grounds too and in the stables there is a collection of antique carriages.  Nymphenburg Park is in the west part of Munich around 15 minutes from the city centre and is easy to reach by public transport.  All S-Bahn lines except no. 7 to “Laim”, then bus no. 51 to the “Schloss Nymphenburg” stop or underground line U1 to “Rotkreuzplatz”, then tram no. 12 or 17 to the “Schloss Nymphenburg” stop.  The 2 hour Munich open top bus tour stops here too.

The Munich skyline from the English Garden

The English Garden (Englischer Garten) – This park is absolutely huge and stretches from the city centre, right to the outer limits of Munich.  Some of it is formally arranged with footpaths, lakes, flowerbeds and garden buildings but the further you go out of Munich, the more it becomes general informal parkland.  The English Garden is a beautiful place to spend time and there’s so much to see.  One of the centrepieces is the huge beer garden surrounding the Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm) where a traditional Bavarian band plays background music in the summer months.  Order a litre of beer, sit back and relax, then when you’ve finished you can keep the glass as a souvenir rather than claim the deposit back!  More info, pics, links & map...

Munich Olympic Park

The Olympic Park – Munich held the Olympic Games in 1972 and the resulting Olympic Park is beautiful.  The green hills with their walkways surround a pretty lake area with the huge Olympic Tower visible wherever you are.  You can take a trip up the lift in the tower for a distant view of Munich’s skyline. The highlight for us though, was the Olympic Stadium with its incredible undulating glass roof.  The design is every bit as contemporary today as it was when it was built.  Admission is just 2 Euros and you can wander pretty much everywhere.  For an extra thrill, pay for one of the guided walks along the roof top!  Sadly, the stadium is no longer used regularly with the two Munich teams now playing at the Allianz Arena, but it is still a home for concerts and other sports.  Also in the Olympic Park, don’t miss the ‘walk of fame’ by the lake with the hand prints of the some of the world’s best known performers.  U-Bahn line U3 takes you to the Olympic park.  More info, pics links & map...

BMW – There are three experiences for visitors at the BMW factory at the edge of the Olympic Park. BMW World, the BMW Museum and tours of the plant.  BMW World (BMW Welt) is housed in one of the most impressive contemporary buildings in western Europe with a tornado style swirl outside.  Inside it’s a glorified car showroom with eating places, but it’s free to enter. Open 9am-6pm daily. The BMW Museum is a history of BMW cars with many exhibits from over the years on display.  It’s right next to the factory and costs 12 Euros (6 Euros concessions) Closed Mondays.  The BMW Plant tours run from 8.30am to 10pm Monday to Friday and cost 6 Euros (3 Euros concessions).   

Marienplatz – This attractive paved square is the hub of Munich’s café culture.  The City Hall (Rathaus) dominates one side of the square and houses the famous Munich Glockenspiel.  This ‘performs’ every day at 11am and also in the summer at 12pm and 5pm acting out two stories with bells and characters.  If you happen to be near Marienplatz at one of these times, it’s worth watching but we didn’t think it was worth making a special journey for.  Also in the Marienplatz area is Munich’s huge produce market.  Even if you’re not planning to buy anything, it’s a lovely place to stroll around to take in the sights and smells of cheeses, sausages, fruit and olives.  There’s also a popular beer garden in the centre of the market.  More info, pics, links & map... 

St Peter’s Church Tower – We think this is the best option for seeing Munich’s skyline, but it is quite a climb and there is no lift.  At the top of the tower though, you get the famous view of the Frauenkirche with the Olympic park and Olympic tower behind and the Rathaus to the right.  You’ll also see just how red the rooftops of Munich are.  Admission is EUR 1.50.  The church is also known as Alter Peter.  More info, pics, links & map... 

The view from the tower at St Peter's Church (Alter Peter)

Allianz Arena – Built for the 2006 World Cup, the arena looks like a huge white tyre lying on its side.  The stadium is home to FC Bayern München and TSV 1860 München who previously played their games at the Olympic stadium.  The stadium holds up to 70,000 people and at night it can be lit up in different colours, depending on which team is playing.  The nearest U-Bahn station is Fröttmaning on the U6 line.  English language tours take place daily at 1pm at a price of 10 Euros.

Bavarian Beer - Everyone knows Munich for Oktoberfest, but you’ll still find beer gardens and beer halls at your disposal at most times of the year.  We’ve never been during Oktoberfest, but we’re told that while the atmosphere is fantastic, it’s absolutely packed with tourists.  So, if you’re going to Munich to enjoy the beer, don’t think you can only go at Oktoberfest.  You might even find it a more pleasurable city to be in other times of the year when there’ll still be loads of great beers on offer and pleasant locations to drink it.  

OUR TOP TIP IN MUNICH

If you have a car, don’t miss out on Munich’s proximity to the Alps.  There are two trips we’d recommend…

Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein castles

Firstly a visit to two of Bavaria’s most stunning castles, Neuschwanstein Castle (Schloss Neuschwanstein) and Hohenschwangau Castle (Schloss Hohenschwangau) which overlook each other at the foot of the Alps.  Neuschwanstein is reputedly Germany’s most photographed building and was the inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.  It’s also been in a whole range of movies including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  Hohenschwangau is the older of the two castles and in our opinion its interior is more impressive.  You can get a joint ticket which gets you into both castles from the ticket centre at the foot of the hill but we’d recommend booking online in the summer months.  The trip from Munich will take around 2 hours, but it’s worth it!  More info, pics, links & map...

The other Alps highlight we’d recommend is the trip up Wendelstein Mountain.  There are two options – the cable car or the railway but whichever you choose, make sure you head here on a clear day for the best views.  You can check out the webcam before travelling.  We took the cable car option, which is quite expensive at 18 Euros, but the panoramic views are fantastic.  Also at the top, a restaurant, café, small church, caves, mountain walks and the option to walk for a further 20 minutes right to the top of the mountain. The journey takes around an hour from Munich.

MORE THINGS TO DO IN MUNICH

A great way to get the most out of Munich is to take one of the organised tours on offer.  These range from day trips out to Salzburg to themed walking tours around the city like the one based on locations significant to Hitler and the Third Reich.  You can see all the tours and trips available on our Munich Tours & Activities pages. 

GETTING AROUND MUNICH

The city centre is small enough to walk around and for longer journeys, the U-Bahn (underground/metro system), S-Bahn (overground railway system) and trams are reliable and get you just about everywhere.  We found the ticket options on the U-Bahn were rather complicated at first, but you soon get the hang of it.  There’s a good S-Bahn route from Munich Airport too which takes you straight to the city centre.  Alternatively you see latest prices for a private airport transfer by clicking the Airport Transfers button.

Another option for getting around is the Hop on, Hop off Open Top Bus Tour .  The Grand Tour takes you to the two areas we’ve recommended that are slightly out of the city centre – Nymphenburg and the Olympic Park.  The downside with the open top tour is that you don’t see many of the city centre highlights as it’s all pedestrianised.  The narration is informative though and we enjoyed the experience.    

MUNICH WEATHER

Be prepared, the weather can change quickly in Munich and the temperatures can vary wildly even in the summer.  For example, during a meal one night the weather went from a pleasant summer’s evening to torrential rain, thunder, lightening, high winds and cold temperatures in the space of half an hour or so.

MUNICH ACCOMODATION

We stay with friends when we visit Munich, but the city does have a good range of places to stay from guest houses up to luxurious hotels.  Prices tend to be good when compared to places like London and Rome too.  Our advice would be to try to get a hotel near the English Garden but within easy walking  distance of the city centre.  There are more accommodation options here:  cheap hotels in Munich.

MORE ON MUNICH

Hotels in Munich – Great rates from Hotels.com
More Munich Hotels – Up to 30% off from Expedia.co.uk
More Things to Do in Munich – From our Munich Tours & Activities pages
Hitler and the Third Reich Tour - Highly rated history tour
Official Munich Tourism Website 
Munich Guide Books – Amazon.co.uk