Germany · Bavaria
Munich
The one German city where a river wave, a chestnut-shaded beer garden and the Alps all fit inside the same afternoon.
Bavaria's capital is Germany's most comfortable big city: a rebuilt old town around Marienplatz, a fast green river running through the middle of it, parkland the size of a district, and the Alps an hour south by train. It is the home of Oktoberfest and of the beer-garden habit the rest of the world copies, but it is also a serious museum city, an engineering town, and the richest and most conservative place in the country. Munich takes itself seriously and enjoys itself thoroughly, usually at the same table.
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Language
German
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+2
Why you'll love Munich
Beer gardens self-service tables under chestnut trees where bringing your own food is a protected right, from a lakeside kiosk in the park to a monastery hill outside town.
The Englischer Garten larger than Central Park, with a standing river wave surfed all year, sunbathing lawns, a Chinese tower and the Isar running on past it.
Museums three Pinakotheken within a block of each other, an enormous science and technology collection on its own island, and Wittelsbach palaces at both ends of the city.
The Alps trains south reach lakes, gorges and Germany's highest summit in about an hour, so this is a city with mountains attached rather than mountains nearby.
Best time to visit
Apr, Sep-Oct
15-20° days
48.137° N, 11.575° E
UTC+2 · Europe/Berlin
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Weather & when to go to Munich
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Apr, Sep-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Munich
From late September into early October the city is handed over to Oktoberfest: rooms are scarce and dear, and the centre is loud. January and February are cold, grey and slushy, though a raw December buys you the Christmas markets and the ski trains run south all winter. April can still throw snow.
Top things to do in Munich
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Marienplatz and the Neues Rathaus - the Glockenspiel and the tower
history culture arts 👍 PopularThe old town's stage, ringed by a neo-Gothic town hall so convincingly medieval that most visitors assume it is. Its clock figures joust and dance twice or three times a day to a large upturned crowd, and a lift runs to the tower gallery for a look over the tiled roofs to the Alps.
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Englischer Garten and the Eisbach wave - the park at the middle of everything
nature wildlife scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedA park that runs for kilometres from the old town to the northern edge, with a standing wave under a bridge at the southern entrance where wetsuited surfers queue in every season. Beyond it are meadows, the Kleinhesseloher lake, a Greek temple on a rise and a beer garden under a Chinese pagoda.
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Hofbraeuhaus and the beer halls - the drinking institution
food nightlife music 👍 PopularThe state brewery's cavernous hall with a brass band and long shared benches is the tourist one, and worth an hour for the sheer spectacle. The Augustiner halls and the cellars along the Isar are where Munich actually drinks, with a litre glass, a brass tap and no hurry about any of it.
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Deutsches Museum - the giant science and technology collection
culture arts history 👍 PopularOne of the largest technical museums anywhere, on an island in the Isar: mining tunnels dug under the building, a U-boat cut open, aircraft hung overhead and daily high-voltage demonstrations. It is far too big for one visit, so pick two or three halls and accept defeat on the rest.
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Alte Pinakothek and the Kunstareal - three galleries in one block
culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedThe Alte holds Duerer, Rubens and Altdorfer in one of Europe's great old-master collections; the Neue covers the nineteenth century and the Moderne runs from Picasso to car design. The Lenbachhaus nearby has the Blue Rider painters. All within a few minutes' walk of each other.
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Nymphenburg Palace - the Wittelsbach summer seat
history culture artsA long baroque front reflected in a canal, with a hall of frescoes, Ludwig I's gallery of beauties and the state coach collection in the old stables. The park behind is the real reward: formal gardens giving way to woodland, streams and four hidden pavilions, free to wander.
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Residenz and the Cuvillies Theatre - the city palace
history culture artsThe Wittelsbachs' town residence grew over four centuries into a maze of courtyards and state rooms, including a barrel-vaulted antiquarium and a treasury of crowns and reliquaries. The rococo court theatre beside it, rebuilt from panels stored away during the war, is the prettiest room in the city.
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Viktualienmarkt - the market and the Weisswurst breakfast
foodA permanent open-air food market a block off Marienplatz, with a maypole, cheese and game stalls and a beer garden in the middle that rotates its brewery through the year. Come mid-morning for white veal sausages, sweet mustard and a pretzel, traditionally eaten before noon.
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BMW Welt and BMW Museum - the four-cylinder tower
culture artsThe company's home ground: a swooping glass delivery hall free to walk into, a museum in the silver bowl opposite tracing motorcycles, roundels and racing, and the 1970s headquarters tower shaped like four engine cylinders. Factory tours run on weekdays and book out well ahead.
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Olympiapark - the 1972 grounds under Frei Otto's tent roofs
history scenicThe sweeping acrylic canopy over the stadium and pool still looks like the future it was meant to be. The park around it is built on wartime rubble, with a hill to climb, a lake, a summer concert lawn and a quiet memorial to the Israeli team members murdered at the Games.
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Frauenkirche and the Asamkirche - two very different churches
history culture artsThe brick Frauenkirche and its twin onion domes are the city's silhouette, and no building in the old centre is allowed to rise above them. Ten minutes south, two brothers built the Asamkirche as their private chapel and packed every surface with gilded, writhing late baroque.
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Allianz Arena - Bayern Munich under the inflated skin
culture artsA stadium clad in air-filled plastic cushions that glow red on match nights and are visible from the motorway. Bayern are the dominant force in German football and tickets are hard won, but the arena tour and club museum run most days and reach the pitch and dressing rooms.
Best areas to stay in Munich
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Altstadt and Lehel
First-time visitors $$$Central, ornate and expensive
Explore hotels in Altstadt and Lehel →
Maxvorstadt
Museum-goers $$University quarter, galleries and cheap eating
Explore hotels in Maxvorstadt →
Schwabing
Couples and families $$$Leafy, bourgeois, park-side former bohemia
Explore hotels in Schwabing →
Glockenbachviertel
Nightlife and food $$Bars, boutiques and the gay quarter
Explore hotels in Glockenbachviertel →
Haidhausen
Quiet local base $$Riverside, residential and understated
Explore hotels in Haidhausen →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Munich
Getting to & around Munich
Getting there
Fly into MUC, then about 45 min on the S1 or S8 into the centre.
Flight
Munich Airport Franz Josef Strauss (MUC)
About 35 km northeast of the city, with S-Bahn platforms directly beneath the terminals. The S8 and S1 both reach the Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz in roughly 40-45 minutes, the S8 the more direct of the pair, and an airport coach runs to the main station. The airport sits outside the inner fare zone.
Train
Muenchen Hauptbahnhof
ICE services from Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne, Railjet from Salzburg and Vienna, and direct trains south to Innsbruck, Verona and Zurich.
Coach
ZOB Hackerbruecke
Long-distance buses use the central bus station one stop west of the Hauptbahnhof, on the S-Bahn trunk line.
Drive
Autobahns arrive from Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Salzburg and the Alps. The centre is a low-emission zone requiring a windscreen sticker, and parking is scarce.
Getting around
U-Bahn
Eight lines, clean and frequent, covering almost everything a visitor wants. The quickest way across the centre.
TBC
S-Bahn
Suburban rail funnelling through one central tunnel, and the link to the airport, the lakes and Dachau.
TBC
Tram
Slower than the U-Bahn but above ground; the ring routes past the Residenz and the parks are a sightseeing trip in themselves.
TBC
Bus
Fills the gaps between rail lines, including the run out to Nymphenburg and the northern suburbs.
TBC
Cycling
Flat, lane-equipped and genuinely fast, with hire and share bikes everywhere. Locals ride in all weather.
TBC
Walking
The old town is compact and largely pedestrianised; most central sights are within twenty minutes of each other.
Free
Day trips from Munich
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau
Full dayFairytale castles
Ludwig II's unfinished hilltop fantasy above a gorge, the model for a great many cartoon castles, with his father's ochre childhood castle below it. Entry is by timed tour only and slots sell out, so book before you travel. The bridge view over the ravine can shut in winter.
Getting there
train | bus | tour
About 2 hr by train to Fuessen then a bus, or by coach tour
Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial
Half dayCamp memorial site
The first Nazi camp, opened in 1933, and the model the rest of the system was built on. The gatehouse, roll-call ground, a reconstructed barrack and the crematorium survive, with a long and unflinching documentation exhibition. Sober, demanding and among the most worthwhile half-days in Bavaria.
Getting there
train | bus
25 min on the S2, then a short bus to the gate
Salzburg
Full dayBaroque city over the border
Austria's prince-archbishops built a compact baroque old town under a cliff-top fortress, threaded with courtyards and a cathedral square. Mozart was born on the Getreidegasse and the tourist industry has never let anyone forget it. The funicular up to the castle is the view worth queueing for.
Getting there
train
About 1 hr 30 each way by fast train
Zugspitze and Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Full dayHighest summit
Germany's highest point, reached by a rack railway through a tunnel or a cable car straight up a rock face, with a glacier plateau and an Austrian border running across the summit terrace. The town below adds the Partnach Gorge and Olympic ski jumps. Check the summit forecast before committing.
Getting there
train
About 1 hr 20 by train to Garmisch, then cog railway or cable car
Tegernsee and the Bavarian lakes
Half dayAlpine lake country
Green water under wooded ridges, with lake steamers, a monastery brewery with a beer hall attached and shore paths that suit an easy afternoon. Starnberger See is closer and busier at weekends, Tegernsee prettier and more moneyed. Swimming is bracing even at the height of summer.
Getting there
train | ferry
About 1 hr by regional train or S-Bahn
Nuremberg
Full dayFranconian old town
A walled sandstone town under an imperial castle, rebuilt after near-total destruction, famous for small grilled sausages and gingerbread. On the outskirts stand the unfinished Nazi rally grounds and the courtroom where the trials were held, both now documentation centres.
Getting there
train
About 1 hr each way by fast train
A little history of Munich
Munich began as a toll point on the salt road, when Henry the Lion burned a rival bridge and forced the trade across his own in 1158. The name comes from the monks settled there, and the little monk still stands on the city arms. From 1255 it was the residence of the Wittelsbachs, who held Bavaria for well over six centuries and spent much of that time building.
The nineteenth century made it a capital: Ludwig I laid out boulevards, museums and a Greek revival square, and his grandson Ludwig II drained the treasury on castles and Wagner. The twentieth century made it notorious. The Nazi party was founded and grew here, and the Allies bombed the centre flat. Munich chose to rebuild to its medieval street plan rather than start again, then grew rich on engineering and insurance.
Henry the Lion founds a market at the Isar crossing, the city's official birth.
The Wittelsbachs make Munich their residence and rule Bavaria from it.
Munich becomes capital of the new Kingdom of Bavaria under Napoleon's settlement.
A royal wedding party on the meadow outside town becomes the first Oktoberfest.
Hitler's putsch begins in a beer hall and is stopped by police at the Feldherrnhalle.
The Munich Agreement is signed in the city, ceding the Sudetenland to Germany.
The White Rose students are arrested at the university and executed within days.
The bombed centre is rebuilt on its old plan rather than replaced with modern blocks.
The Olympic Games are held here and eleven Israeli team members are murdered.
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+49
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
Mobile network & SIM card
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FAQs about Munich
▸ When is the best time to visit Munich?
April, September and October are the pick, with mild days, open beer gardens and the Alps still reachable. Midsummer is warm and busy. Late September into early October means Oktoberfest, which is either the reason you came or the fortnight to dodge. January and February are cold and grey.
▸ How many days do you need in Munich?
Three covers the old town, one big museum, a beer garden afternoon and a palace. Five lets you add Dachau or Neuschwanstein, a second gallery day and a lake or a mountain, which is what most people wish they had left time for.
▸ Is Oktoberfest worth going to?
If you like crowds and singing, very much so. It runs from the second half of September to the first Sunday in October on a meadow near the centre, is free to enter, and fills enormous tents by mid-morning at weekends. Beds across the city are scarce and expensive throughout.
▸ Is Munich worth visiting in winter?
Yes, with clear eyes. December is cold and dark, and it is also when the Christmas markets fill Marienplatz and half the smaller squares. Trains run south to the ski resorts all winter, and the museums, palaces and beer halls do not care what the sky is doing.
▸ Can you get into the mountains from Munich?
Easily, and that is a large part of the appeal. Regional trains reach the lakes in about an hour and Garmisch or the Bavarian Alps in not much more, so a summit, a gorge or a lake swim is a day trip rather than a separate trip.
▸ Is Munich expensive?
It is the most expensive city in Germany, and accommodation is where you feel it, especially during Oktoberfest and the big trade fairs. Eating and drinking are more reasonable: beer halls, markets and the university quarter all stay affordable, and the beer gardens let you bring your own food.
▸ Do you need cash in Munich?
Carry some. Card acceptance has improved but plenty of beer gardens, market stalls, bakeries and older restaurants still prefer cash, and Oktoberfest tents are notoriously cash-first. Do not assume you can tap everywhere.
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