My wife and I are vacationing to Europe in a couple of weeks. A question to you experienced travlers, what is there to see and do in Munich. We will take the train, and boat when we can, but we like to bike, and walk...
Thanks for any help...
Rookie Travler (Doug:-)
How long do you have? I would suggest that you plan to be in Marienplatz at 11 AM the first morning to watch the Glockenspiel on the Rathaus. You can have lunch at the basement Ratskeller of the Rathaus or walk a few blocks to the Hofbräuhaus. While there, tour the Frauenkirche, the church with the rounded green cupolas, that is kind of a symbol of Munich. You might also want to climb the church tower at St. Peters for a magnificant view of Munich, particularly into Marienplatz, and, if the skies are clear, the Alps. A few minutes walk from Marienplatz is the Residenz, the in-town palace of the Wittelsbacher family. You can walk down the pedestrian (Fußganger) zone, past lots of quaint shops, to the Hauptbahnhof. From the Hauptbahnhof, you can take the streetcar (I wouldn't walk this) out to Nymphenburg Palace, or the S-Bahn out to Dachau. I think you could rent bikes at the Hauptbahnhof, but almost everything is so close, you can walk.
Doug, dont do what I did... arrive on Sunday. I had a 1 day stay to visit my friend Robert and didn't realize that Munich was dead on Sunday. The restaurants were opened but otherwise, nothing else.
Even though we didn't get to see much, the stuff we did see was great so I can only imagine what it would have been like if we came on a "livlier" day"
Doug, check out samantha brown's episode on the travel channel. I think the episodes can be downloaded on itunes, maybe even as a pod cast.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Munich
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Hi Doug,
... the above could help... Gute Reise! copy + paste the above link into your Internet address box, then touch ENTER ... P
Munich is a great city to bike around. When I visited a couple years ago I remember seeing places to rent bikes around Marienplatz, including the train station. A lot of the city is within walking distance, but with a bike, you can easily get out to the biergarden, if you like parks within cities.
We didn't do much research before going to Munich, so we took a bike tour with Mike's Bike Tours, http://www.mikesbiketours.com/1.html. We had a good time, although we went in the off-season (Oct). I hear in the summer the tour can get a bit college partyish, depending on who is on the tour.
If you are in Munich for multiple days, I also recommend you visit Neuchwanstein Castle. In addition to the castle, there is a gorge to walk through, and other hiking trails if you have time. It is a good day trip, and can get there easily by train.
Munich is a lot of fun. It's also pretty flat, so biking and walking are easy. The large English Garden is a great place to bike or walk. Enter just to the right of Haus der Kunst to see young people surfing in the stream. Viktualienmarkt (near Marienplatz) is fun for lunch - organize a picnic or buy from food booths and then grab spots at the biergarden (tables without tableclothes can be used if you buy a beer). Deutsche Museum or Alte Pinakothek are both nice if you want to include a museum. BMW museum and factory tour are a short subway ride from Marienplatz, with Olympic Park (another nice place to walk) just across the highway. Andechs is my favorite beer in Munich - restaurant and biergarden are in the square right behind the Frauenkirche. If you're in Munich long enough, a side trip to Salzburg is worthwhile - very cheap train fares on the weekend.
Yep, I agree..That Andechs beer is the best I've ever tasted.I went back to that same resturaunt (near the Fraunkirche) a second time just for the beer. Yum Yum.
Dean
I agree with Frank about the market.Its a great place for a meal under the trees and everyone can get what they want.Also good for people watching.
We got back from Munich just yesterday. Great city with terrific public transportation. If you understand the buses and trains you almost can't get lost. My wife and 25 year old son took Mike's bike tour Monday and had a fun time. 4 hours but it is all broken up with stops so it isn't at all strenuous. That and/or a walking tour will give you a feel for the old town area. We climbed to the top of St. Peter's tower (362 steps) and watched the 5:00 glockenspiel program from above instead of below. Hofbrauhouse is an experience but we also enjoyed the beer garden in the English garden. You get a token with your beer that is redeemed for 1€ when you bring the mug back. English garden is a good area to bike. also other parks around the city or explore a neighborhood. I think the BMW plant tour is only on Mondays, so you might want to check that out before your trip. Be adventurous with food, even fast food at the major underground stations. And check out grocery stores.
There are also a couple of really great museums in Munich as well.
The Deutsches Museum is one of my all-time favorites, it's kind of Germany's answer to the Smithsonian with respect to technology, transportation and industry.
Next up kind of depends on your tastes and interests: Alte Pinakothek has the older paintings, Neue Pinakothek houses 18 - 20th century art, and the Pinakothek der Moderne obviously has modern art.
If you still have room for one more, the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum is quintissential Bavaria.
And these five museums have just barely scratched the surface. I would do a bit of research to see where your interests lie. There is a LOT to see and do in Munich, if you would share a bit of your tastes and interests you might get some specific recommendations . . .
If you like to bike, Mike's Bike Tours is a good, entertaining overview of the city. Includes a beer gardern stop in the English Gardens, whoch is always fun.
If the weather is good, my first choice is the English Gardens. Enjoy the sun and get some food and drink at the beer garden.
If it's rainy. The Alte Pinokotek is my favorite inside activity.
My husband and I only had two days when we were in Munich. We loved going to the English Garden relaxing and watching the sites. If it's hot, come prepared to swim in the awesome water. We also loved the beer garden and eating there. Try a Radler...beer mixed with lemon soda. Yum.
The second day we took a day trip to the Castle. It was worth having a guide to not have to navigate the train or tickets or anything and for all the great history we got. We took Mike's bike tours. It was great.
