Flight time
2h 00m
Best season
May–September & December
Budget
Mid-range
Best for
Beer gardens, museums, Alps, Oktoberfest
Overview
Why Munich for a city break?
Munich is Bavaria's elegant, self-confident capital — a city of magnificent museums, the English Garden (one of the largest urban parks in the world, bigger than Central Park), beer halls and beer gardens that are a genuine civic institution, and the Alps visible on clear days from the city's outskirts. The Deutsches Museum is the world's largest science and technology museum. The Alte Pinakothek houses one of the great collections of European old master painting. Oktoberfest, the world's largest folk festival, runs for 16 days in September and October and draws six million visitors to the Theresienwiese meadow.
From most UK airports it's two hours — direct flights from London, Manchester, Edinburgh and several regional airports. Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport is 29km from the centre (S-Bahn Line S1 or S8, 40 minutes, €13.40). The city is mid-range by German standards — more expensive than Berlin or Hamburg but excellent value compared with London or Paris. Go in summer for the beer gardens and the Alps; in December for the finest Christmas market in Germany (at the Marienplatz, running since the 14th century). Oktoberfest runs from late September to early October — extraordinary but book accommodation a year ahead.
Where to stay & explore
Munich's best neighbourhoods
Altstadt & Marienplatz
The historic centre — the Marienplatz with its Neues Rathaus and Glockenspiel, the Viktualienmarkt food market, the Frauenkirche twin towers and the finest shopping in Munich.
Maxvorstadt
Munich's museum quarter — the Alte, Neue and Moderne Pinakothek, the Brandhorst Museum, the Glyptothek and the finest concentration of museums in Germany outside Berlin.
Schwabing & the English Garden
The bohemian neighbourhood north of the city centre — the English Garden's 373 hectares, the surfers on the Eisbach wave, the best independent cafés and bars in Munich.
Things to do
What to see in Munich
1
Deutsches Museum
The world's largest science and technology museum — 73,000 objects across 80 departments covering mining, aviation, shipping, chemistry, physics, musical instruments and 25,000 years of human technological development. The original Wright Brothers Flyer, a full-size replica of a coal mine, the first diesel engine, and an extraordinary collection of historical musical instruments. On its own island in the Isar river; allow a full day. Book online.
2
Alte Pinakothek
One of the oldest and finest art galleries in the world — the Wittelsbach dynasty's collection of old masters, including the largest collection of Rubens in the world (23 paintings), Dürer's Self-Portrait (the first true self-portrait in Western art), Raphael, Titian, Leonardo and Rembrandt. The building (1836, by Leo von Klenze) is itself a masterpiece of neoclassical museum design. Book online; free on Sundays.
3
English Garden (Englischer Garten)
Larger than Central Park and Hyde Park combined — 373 hectares of parkland running through the heart of Munich, with beer gardens (the Chinese Tower biergarten seats 7,000 people), the Eisbach river surfing wave (where surfers ride an artificial standing wave beneath the Prinzregentenstraße bridge, year-round), Japanese tea houses and the Japanese garden. The Monopteros hill gives the finest view of Munich's skyline. Free, open 24 hours.
4
Marienplatz & the Viktualienmarkt
The Marienplatz is Munich's civic heart — the Neues Rathaus (the neo-Gothic city hall whose Glockenspiel carillon performs at 11am, noon and 5pm daily) and the Altes Rathaus anchor the square. The Viktualienmarkt directly south is the finest food market in Bavaria — 140 stalls of cheese, sausages, freshly squeezed juice, flowers and seasonal produce, with a beer garden at its centre. The Hofbräuhaus is five minutes east — the world's most famous beer hall, opened in 1589.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Munich
Tantris
Two Michelin stars / nouvelle cuisine
The most legendary restaurant in Munich — opened in 1971, the founding venue of German nouvelle cuisine, still Michelin-starred and still essential. The 1970s interior (orange, brutalist, extraordinary) is unchanged; the cooking is classical French-influenced with Bavarian produce. Book months ahead.
Augustiner Keller
Beer garden & beer hall
The finest beer garden in Munich — 5,000 seats under ancient chestnut trees, self-service beer from traditional wooden barrels (the Augustiner Edelstoff is the standard), and the bring-your-own-food tradition means locals bring elaborate picnics from the Viktualienmarkt. The indoor beer hall alongside serves Bavarian food of genuine quality. No booking for the garden; arrive early for a seat.
Wirtshaus in der Au
Traditional Bavarian / Au neighbourhood
The finest traditional Bavarian restaurant in Munich — the Steckerlfisch (a whole fish grilled on a stick over embers), the Schweinsbraten (slow-roasted pork with crackling and dumplings) and the Weisswurst (white veal sausage, eaten by 11am only by tradition) are all exemplary. In the Au neighbourhood across the Isar, away from the tourist centre. Book ahead.
Itinerary
3 days in Munich — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Marienplatz, Viktualienmarkt, Hofbräuhaus, English Garden
S-Bahn from the airport to Marienplatz (40 minutes). Marienplatz first — the Glockenspiel at 11am (arrive 10 minutes early), the Neues Rathaus tower for the city panorama. Walk south to the Viktualienmarkt: a Weisswurst with sweet mustard and a pretzel at one of the butcher stalls (traditional Bavarian breakfast), fresh juice, the beer garden at the market's centre. The Hofbräuhaus for a midday Mass (litre of beer) — touristy but historically authentic, and the vaulted interior is extraordinary. English Garden in the afternoon: the Eisbach surfing wave (extraordinary to watch), the Monopteros hill for the skyline view, the Chinese Tower biergarten for an afternoon beer under the chestnut trees. Wirtshaus in der Au for dinner.
Day 2
Alte Pinakothek, Nymphenburg Palace, beer garden evening
The Alte Pinakothek opens at 10am (free on Sundays) — the Rubens rooms, Dürer's Self-Portrait, the Raphael portraits. Allow three hours. Walk through Maxvorstadt — the Neue Pinakothek (19th-century painting, outstanding German Romanticism) and the Museum Brandhorst (Warhol, Twombly, Richter) are adjacent if you have appetite. Nymphenburg Palace in the afternoon (U-Bahn to Rotkreuzplatz then tram) — the Wittelsbach summer palace with its formal gardens, the Amalienburg hunting lodge within the park (the finest Rococo interior in Bavaria) and the porcelain museum. Augustiner Keller beer garden for the evening — self-service Edelstoff, bring provisions from the Viktualienmarkt.
Day 3
Deutsches Museum, the Alps day trip option, one last pretzel
Deutsches Museum on its Isar island — the Wright Brothers Flyer, the mining section, the musical instruments. Allow at least three hours; the breadth of the collection is extraordinary. Alternatively, and particularly in clear weather: the Alps are 60km south. Garmisch-Partenkirchen by train (90 minutes, hourly), then the Zugspitze cable car to the highest peak in Germany (2,962m) with views into four countries on clear days. Return to Munich by early evening. One last Schweinsbraten at Wirtshaus in der Au, one last Masskrug at the Hofbräuhaus, and the S-Bahn back to the airport.
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