Discover Munich

A taste of Munich

Munich is the Bavarian capital and Germany's most cheerfully conservative big city — a place where suits and lederhosen genuinely both turn up at lunchtime, where the locals are devoted to their beer (the famous purity law, the Reinheitsgebot of 1516, originated here), and where Alps-on-the-horizon is a literal Monday-morning office view. The Marienplatz square anchors the historic centre, dominated by the gothic New Town Hall and its famous Glockenspiel that performs at 11am and noon (and 5pm in summer). A few minutes' walk away, the twin onion-domed Frauenkirche (the Cathedral of Our Lady), the central Viktualienmarkt food market, and the Hofbräuhaus, the most famous beer hall in the world, complete the postcard cluster. Beyond, the Nymphenburg Palace and its 200 hectares of canals and parkland make a great half-day; the BMW Museum and Welt next to the 1972 Olympic Park are visually striking; the Kunstareal museum quarter holds the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek, and Pinakothek der Moderne. From late September to early October, Oktoberfest takes over the Theresienwiese fairground — six million visitors, 7 million litres of beer poured, and Bavaria's biggest party of the year.