One Day in Munich

Our Local Expert Says:

This is something you wouldn't expect to see in a city! One warm days make your way to the Southern tip of the park to watch surfers manage the river Isar.

Description:

One of the oldest English-style landscape gardens and one of the largest municipal parks in Europe, the Englischer Garten (English Garden) is Munich's crowning glory. Although perhaps best known for its nudists, the park is popular with all types of people all year round. Other features include a Chinese pagoda with adjoining beer garden, the Monopteros Greek temple, a river and a boating lake. Visitors can also attend a traditional tea ceremony in the Japanese tea house.

Description:

Marienplatz has been the central sqaure of Munich since its founding by Henry the Lion in 1158. It was originally named Schrannenplatz and once held the salt and grain market, but it is now used by the city for various concerts and events, but mainly by tourists trying to get photos of the old and new town halls. After the market was moved around the corner starting in 1807, the square was renamed Marienplatz. The statue of Mary has stood in the center of Marienplatz since 1638 and is the reason of the new name of the square.

Description:

Another of the numerous cafés in Munich's university district, News Bar is bright and comfortable, and offers the usual choice of meals, coffee and cakes. One slightly unusual feature is the enormous selection of newspapers and magazines. It's a pity that you have to buy them, but at least this place is quiet enough to read in peace. The staff are very new-Munich and slightly arrogant, just right for the high-powered student clientele who can take the opportunity to practice the assertiveness they will need later in life.

Description:

Augustiner, Munich's best selling beer, has its main beer hall right on the main pedestrian street between the train station and Marienplatz. The restaurant is located where the brewery used to be from 1817 until 1885, when it again moved further from the center of town to where it is now, just north of the Oktoberfest grounds. After 1885 it was completely renovated and turned into a beer hall, designed by Emanuel von Seidl, and has remained as such to the present day. Today, the prices are reasonable, portions are large, and the location couldn't be better for tourists. This is one of Munich's greatest and most historic beer halls with its main competition being the Hofbräuhaus, the Löwenbräu Keller, and Paulaner am Nockherberg.

Description:

Radius Tours & Bikes and its subsiduary "The Original Munich Walks" specialises in providing high quality sightseeing services for the English speaking visitor. Established in 1988 by the Brit Patrick Holder and his German wife, Gaby, Radius was the first company in Munich to specialise in providing sightseeing tours only for the English-speaking market and it is still the market leader. With offices directly inside Munichs main train station (Hauptbahnhof) Radius is ideally located to provide the visitor the best service for sightseeing.

Our Local Expert Says:

Make sure to have your picture with the two cars that were in James Bond movies! Also, make sure to have a look at BMW's hydrogen car.

Description:

The new and modern BMW museum is just across the street from the Olympic park and if you are at all interested in BMW or cars, then this is a must visit while in Munich. This multilevel museum shows you the history of BMW from its airplane engines to its motorcycles to its race cars. This is all done with amazingly well done multimedia and hands on techniques which make this museum fun for all ages and keeps the interest of even the not so museum loving crowd. All staff at the BMW museum speak English and are literally all over the museum to help you with any questions you have ever wanted to ask about BMW.

The museum has examples of nearly everything they have ever produced including prototypes.

Our Local Expert Says:

Here you can by the freshest fruit and vegetables in the whole city. The market has a reputation of having higher prices than your average supermarket but in actual fact many goods here are cheaper than elsewhere. Vikualienmarkt also has a beer garden that is more calm than those at Marienplatz.

Description:

Unless you happen to be staying in a place where you have access to a kitchen, it's doubtful that you'll want to be hauling groceries back to your hotel room during your stay in Munich. That doesn't detract, however, from the allure of wandering through the open-air stalls of the city's most prominent food market, a few minutes' walk south of the Marienplatz (there is no specific address, but the market sprawls over a wide area and can't be missed). It's composed of hundreds of independently operated merchants who maintain whatever hours they want, often closing up their cramped premises whenever the day's inventory is sold out. Most economy-minded shoppers, however, show up, shopping basket in hand, around 8am, to stock their larders before noon. By 5pm, only the hardiest of merchants remain in place, and by early evening, the kiosks are locked up tight. On the premises is a worthy collection of wine, meats, cheeses, and all the other bounty of the Bavarian agrarian world.

Our Local Expert Says:

If Christmas cribs isn't your thing, skip through that section quickly, there are over 180,000 things to see so there is no use in wasting your time!

Description:

The Bavarian National Museum is for those that think they have seen everything that is Bavarian, but want to see and experience more. It is more for the experienced Münchner than for the average tourist, although can be enjoyed by all. Its collection is includes everything from sculptures from the middle ages to religious objects to armor. This massive museum has something from every period in Bavaria's history, yet what most people remember is its absolutely impressive collection of Christmas cribs, the largest of its kind in Germany, if not anywhere.

Located just north of the Residenz, the closest U-bahn is Odeonsplatz.

Description:

The first and last of Munich's city gates for Munich's second set of city walls, the Isartor, was built in 1337. Kaiser Ludwig IV the Bavarian had second city wall built to protect the expanding city and the wall remained until the late 1700's. All of the other city gates were eventually torn down or dramatically modified, but the Isartor remains quite close to its original look. It was restored between 1833 and 1835 by Friedrich von Gärtner. The murals were painted in 1835 and depict the victorious return of Ludwig IV the Bavarian to Munich after the battle of Ampfing in 1322. The Isartor is today used as part of the Valentin Museum as well as a cafe.

Description:

Alter Peter (Old Peter) is the tower of the oldest parish church in Munich, St Peter's Church. The valiant visitor who manages to climb the 302 steps to the top will have an incomparable view of Munich and, on a clear day, the Alps look close enough to touch. St. Peter's was named after the old hill on which it stands, the Petersbergl. There was apparently a chapel on the site before Munich was founded, which was then replaced with a Romanesque structure in the 11th century and later a Gothic building. In the 14th century, the double-tower was redeveloped to form the single tower facade of the church which remains today. Over the centuries, St. Peter's underwent even more changes, mainly in the Baroque and Rococo periods.

Our Local Expert Says:

At Hotel Acanthus the staff goes the extra mile to make your stay comfortable. Prepare to make yourself feel at home. The rooms vary, but each has a distinct character of its own.

Description:

A small bed and breakfast establishment in the centre of Munich, Hotel Acanthus is not far from Sendlinger Tor, with the city centre also easily accessible on foot. Good transport facilities enable guests to reach other parts of Munich with ease. The rooms are decorated in 'English style' with pastel shades and plenty of dark wooden furniture. The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable. Rooms are equipped with TV, telephone, minibar and en suite bathrooms.

Our Local Expert Says:

Don't be misled by any map that shows Theresienwiese as a green lawn or a meadow! It is actually a large cement field.

Description:

Theresienwiese, conveniently near the city center, is home to some of Munich's most well known events like the Munich Oktoberfest. In 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig I married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen at the location. The spacious outdoor area is a perfect site for a variety of large-scale events.