Munich

What to see

Marienplatz

Marienplatz is the floor of the old town, with the New Town Hall’s Glockenspiel performing late in the morning and again later in the day. Watch it once. Then use the square as a crossing, not as the whole visit. The lanes off it, and the market to the south, are where the city loosens.

Marienplatz, München

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Frauenkirche

The Frauenkirche’s two onion domes are the skyline you use to navigate, a late-Gothic brick hall a minute from Marienplatz. The interior is plainer than the towers suggest. Climb if the tower is open; even from the square the domes tell you where the centre is.

Frauenplatz 1, München

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English Garden

The English Garden is a huge park north of the centre, with the Chinese Tower beer garden, a stream people surf, and lawns that in summer are the city’s living room. Enter from the Hofgarten if you are already at the Residenz. It is not a formal garden with a ticket. It is where Munich sits down.

Englischer Garten, München

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Nymphenburg Palace

Nymphenburg is the summer palace west of the centre, a long baroque front on a canal, with a park that is the larger pleasure and rooms that are ticketed. It is a tram ride, not a stroll from Marienplatz. Go for the park even if the state rooms are full. The porcelain museum in the side wing is the quieter extra.

Schloss Nymphenburg 1, München

Photo: Richard Bartz , Munich aka Makro Freak · CC BY-SA 2.5

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Deutsches Museum

The Deutsches Museum, on an island in the Isar, is one of the great science and technology museums, large enough to waste a vague afternoon and good enough to deserve a focused one. Pick two halls. It is south of the old town, a pleasant walk along the river or a short tram.

Museumsinsel 1, München

Photo: Jorge Royan · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Food and restaurants

Restaurants and hotels change hands. These listings were last checked on 26 October 2026.

Hofbräuhaus

The Hofbräuhaus on Platzl is the state beer hall, loud, tourist-filled, and still a real Munich institution rather than a copy. Go once, for the hall and a litre, not for a quiet meal. A bench will be shared. If you want the same beer with more air, the beer gardens do that work better.

Platzl 9, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Augustiner Stammhaus

The Augustiner Stammhaus on Neuhauser Straße is the brewery’s old-town hall, a step off the pedestrian shopping and a more local beer room than the Hofbräuhaus. The beer is the point. Food is hearty and unsurprising. It fills at lunch; a late afternoon is kinder.

Neuhauser Straße 27, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Schneider Bräuhaus

Schneider Bräuhaus on Tal serves wheat beer from its own brewing tradition in a panelled house just off Marienplatz. It is smaller in reputation than the Hofbräuhaus and often the better hour because of that. Book if you want a table rather than a stand at the bar.

Tal 7, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Café Luitpold

Café Luitpold, on Brienner Straße toward the Hofgarten, is a classic Munich coffee house with a long pastry case and a room that takes the afternoon seriously. It is the pause between the Residenz and the English Garden. You are here for cake and coffee, not for a beer-hall story.

Brienner Straße 11, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Bratwurstglöckl

The Bratwurstglöckl sits in the shadow of the Frauenkirche and has grilled Nuremberg sausages as its whole idea, in a small old room. It is a specific meal, not a tour of Bavaria. Go when you want that and a short walk back to the square. It is popular at lunch.

Frauenplatz 9, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Where to stay

Restaurants and hotels change hands. These listings were last checked on 26 October 2026.

Hotel Bayerischer Hof

The Bayerischer Hof on Promenadeplatz is the grand hotel of the centre, a large, long-running house a few minutes from Marienplatz and the opera. It is formal. The location is why you pay. Ask for a room off the courtyard if the square’s events are in your dates.

Promenadeplatz 2–6, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten

The Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski lines Maximilianstraße, the formal shopping avenue east of the old town. It is the ceremonial stay, with the opera and the Residenz within a walk. The street outside is elegant and not quiet on a Saturday. The house has been a hotel address for generations.

Maximilianstraße 17, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Hotel Torbräu

The Torbräu on Tal claims to be the oldest hotel in Munich and has, in any case, stood by the Isartor for a very long time. It is smaller and more central-to-the-gate than the grand houses on Maximilianstraße. You step out toward the old town or the river. It is a practical historic stay, not a palace.

Tal 41, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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Shopping

Viktualienmarkt

The Viktualienmarkt, just south of Marienplatz, is the city’s food market: cheese, bread, produce, and beer gardens tucked between the stalls. Morning is for shopping. The beer garden in the middle is for when the shopping is done. It is the best hour in the centre that is not a church or a hall.

Viktualienmarkt 3, München

Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Kaufingerstraße

Kaufingerstraße and Neuhauser Straße are the pedestrian shopping run from Marienplatz to the Karlstor, chains and department stores in a handsome street. It is useful and it is crowded. The market and the side lanes are the more particular shops. Walk this one to get somewhere, and stop only if a window insists.

Kaufingerstraße, München

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Fünf Höfe

The Fünf Höfe are a set of linked passages between Theatinerstraße and Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße, designed courtyards of shops rather than a closed mall. They are the elegant indoor-outdoor walk north of the Frauenkirche. Duck in when it rains. The architecture of the courts is the reason, more than any one brand.

Theatinerstraße, München

Photo: Tiia Monto · CC BY-SA 4.0

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How to get there

Munich Airport

Munich Airport is north-east of the city, and the S-Bahn S8 and S1 are the reliable way in, about forty minutes to the centre. A taxi is for luggage and odd hours, not for speed in traffic. The airport is a long way out. Do not plan a tight connection to a train at the Hauptbahnhof without the airport timetable in front of you.

München Flughafen, Freising

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Munich Hauptbahnhof

The Hauptbahnhof is at the west end of the pedestrian streets, so you can walk into the old town without a transfer. Long-distance trains, the S-Bahn, and the U-Bahn meet here in a large, practical hall. It is not a beautiful station. It is the right one. Follow signs for the Starnberger or the Holzkirchner wing if your train says so.

Bahnhofplatz 2, München

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Munich ZOB

The central coach station is at the Hackerbrücke, just west of the Hauptbahnhof, a separate hall for long-distance buses. It is an easy miss if you wait at the train platforms. The S-Bahn stop Hackerbrücke is the name to say. Allow ten minutes on foot from the main railway hall, with bags.

Hackerbrücke, München

Illustration: Pasaulis · CC0 1.0

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