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Overview
Sitting in southern Germany on the fringes of the snow-capped Bavarian Alps, multi-layered Munich is a city that revels in its contradictions. It’s the country’s most visited destination after Berlin, but presents two very different faces to the world. The first is that of a modern metropolis, driven by technology and innovation, somewhat characterised by the likes of BMW (whose high-tech HQ is a big visitor attraction) and FC Bayern Munich, the hyper-successful football team whose 21st-century stadium looms on the city outskirts like some gargantuan spacecraft.
The second is that of a deeply traditional town, best known for the beer-swilling rumpus of Oktoberfest but defined year-round by dirndl-wearing waitresses, gingerbread architecture, hearty pork and pretzel staples, and the defiantly German strain of warm hospitality known as Gemütlichkeit. The well-coined phrase “laptop und lederhosen” is never more aptly used than in reference to Munich and its home region of Bavaria.
Fittingly, among the flashy new boutiques and atmospheric old bierkellers (beer halls), the local citizens seem very much at ease with this mix of cosmopolitan consumerism and old-world customs. It’s not the only city in Europe with such ingrained contrasts, of course, but it’s arguably the most pronounced example. The immense new energy-efficient Siemens HQ is being built on a central square that still hosts a medieval Christmas market, which rather says it all.
The city’s blend of old and new spells good news for the average visitor, so finding yourself stuck for things to do isn’t likely. Munich’s history is a chequered thing, ranging from neoclassicism to Nazism, but the overall picture makes it a fascinating place to explore. There are modern art galleries and glitzy nightclubs (the city being one of the original homes of disco), medieval churches and dynastic palaces, riverside cafes and historic theatres.
Its museums play home to some genuinely world-class collections of art too, not least at the three superb Pinakothek galleries, set in neighbouring buildings and each showcasing different periods of art history. There are further through the ages attractions in the heart of the city centre: the open-air Viktualienmarkt has been serving up affordable food and drink for more than 200 years and remains a great place to sample the traditional Bavarian weisswurst sausage; then within a minute’s stroll you’ll also encounter the city’s oldest church, Alte Peter; its most famous tavern, the Hofbrauhaus; and one of Europe’s most striking synagogues, the bold new Ohel Jakob.
Nearby, the most famous part of the Munich skyline is still the 15th-century Frauenkirche, famous for its twin 100m-high (328ft) towers, and it’s possible to climb to the top for far-reaching views over the city. The Residenz, or royal palace, is another big draw, giving visitors a whole complex of different rooms and gardens to explore. In many ways, in fact, the palace provides a neat analogy for Munich as a whole: it’s somewhere to delve into year-round, it’s prominent in scale, and while it’s certainly not averse to opulence, it’s very much of its region.
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