Germany’s third largest city, Munich is Bavaria’s capital and boasts a number of impressive sights. The city is known for its annual Oktoberfest, as well its iconic Neo-Gothic Rathaus. But that’s not all the city has to offer. Read on for my ultimate guide of what to see.
Planning your trip:
Munich has a subway which is incredibly convenient for visiting the different sights, so make sure you get a hotel/airbnb that is close to one of the underground stops (or within walking distance of the city).
There are various Munich cards that can give you discounts and free admission to some of the sights, including public transport. The two main ones are the Munich card and the Munich City Pass – so if you’re thinking of going to a lot of the sites it might be worth purchasing one of these!
DAY 1 in Munich:
Our first day in Munich, we decided to head to Marienplatz for a stroll of the area, looking at the Rathaus, the Mariensaeule which marked the end of the Swedish invasion, before heading to St Peter’s Church. This was a real highlight of the whole trip – St Peter’s Church isn’t just beautiful inside but boasts one of the best aerial view’s of Munich. Finally we headed to the Theatre Church before heading back to our airbnb.
DAY 2 in Munich:
Rathaus: We woke up and headed straight to the Rathaus to hear the clock strike at 11am (or rather 11:03) The glockenspiel show doesn’t just chime – it also re-enacts stories from the 16th century which is rather enchanting.
Asamkirche: We then headed to the Asamkirche (pictured below) which has the most amazing interior – complete with gold cherubs, mosaics, frescoes, sculptures and columns.
Englischer Garten: Next, we went to the Englisher Garten which looked beautiful coated in snow. It’s one of the largest parks in Europe and makes for a lovely walk – complete with lake, Greek temple and three little “islands”.
Hellabrunn zoo – After lunch we walked on to Hellabrunn zoo where we spent the rest of the afternoon. It’s quite an amazing zoo with elephants, giraffes and even a polar bear! It wasn’t crowded at all this time of year and we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves.
Cafe Zeitgeist: In the evening we met up with a friend from university (who was studying in Munich) for dinner at a quaint little restaurant called Cafe Zeitgeist. It had such a lovely studenty botanical atmosphere and lots of food options (pasta, burgers, quesadillas) so give it a go if it’s nearby to where you’re staying
DAY 3 in Munich:
Residenz: Our third day was spend at the Residenz, which is an impressive palace, featured in a number of films today. It’s a mixture of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassicism and actually the largest palace in any German city centre! It was rather difficult to find (although that might have just my hopeless navigation skills) but well worth the trouble when we got inside
DAY 4:
Nymphenburg Palace: We devoted our final day to visiting the Nymphenburg Palace which was the highlight of my visit and probably the most beautiful palace I’ve ever visited! The palace was the main summer residence for the rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach and it’s easy to see why! It’s truly one of the grandes royal palaces in Europe and surpasses even the Versailles Palace in terms of size. – must have been quite something to live there!
