Munich

Why Munich works

Marienplatz has been Munich's civic heart since the 12th century, and the Neo-Gothic New Town Hall's Glockenspiel still draws crowds twice daily as its bronze figures re-enact a 16th-century royal wedding and jousting tournament. The Frauenkirche's twin onion domes, visible across the old town's low rooftops, are protected by height restrictions on new buildings — nothing in central Munich is allowed to outgrow the cathedral. The Viktualienmarkt, a permanent open-air market since 1807, sells Bavarian specialities from Weisswurst to obatzda beneath its own maypole and a beer garden that locals treat as a daily ritual rather than a tourist stop. Munich's museum quarter holds the Alte and Neue Pinakothek for old masters and 19th-century painting, while the BMW Museum and futuristic BMW Welt cater to a very different crowd. Beer culture runs deep here — the Hofbräuhaus is the famous one, but neighbourhood beer gardens under chestnut trees are where Münchners actually spend their evenings. Beyond the city, Neuschwanstein Castle and the Alps are within a two-hour train ride, and late September brings Oktoberfest, when the Theresienwiese fills with tents, brass bands and seven million litres of beer.

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