From
the main railroad station, head up Bayerstrasse to the Karlsplatz
(Stachus), then go down the escalator and through the underground passage to the
inner-city Fussgangerzone or pedestrian zone.
This is the main shopping
district of the city, and its most prominent landmark is the
Neues Rathaus
(new city hall; see inset photo) on the Marienplatz. Here, you can climb 85
meters or 279 feet to a viewing platform in the ornate building's tower. The
Neues Rathaus also has a Glockenspiel with mechanical dancers that perform at 11
a.m., 12 p.m., and (summer only) at 5 p.m.
The
Frauenkirche, a.k.a. the Church of Our Lady, is Munich's Roman Catholic
cathedral. It's just off the main pedestrian thoroughfarer; turn left on the
Augustinerstrasse as you walk up Kaufingerstrasse toward the Marienplatz. The
church's interior is longer than a football field, and the south tower (which is
open for visits much of the year) stands 99 meters or 325 feet above the
cobblestoned streets.
Munich
has a number of other churches in the city center that are worth visiting. The
most over-the-top, in terms of architecture, is the Asamkirche, with its
fairy-tale Bavarian Baroque interior. It's easy to reach from the Marienplatz:
from the U-Bahn station, follow Rosenstrasse one block to Sendlingerstrasse,
then walk a few minutes down the latter street to the church.
To
the north of the pedestrian zone, the Residenz and the
Nationaltheater
(which offers daily tours) are
popular with visitors. The Residenz
was the seat of Bavaria's Wittelsbach dynasty for 400 years, and its attractions
include the palace museum and royal treasury.
Farther
afield, parks such as the Englischer Garten and the
Olympiapark
offer pleasant recreation in the warmer months, and the
Theresienweise
comes alive with Oktoberfest in
late September and early October.
If
you're a sports fan, you'll probably want to tour the
Allianz Arena or (better yet) watch
a football match that features one of Munich's two home teams: FC Bayern and TSV
1860.
The trek to
Schloss Nymphenburg is worthwhile if you're a fan of Baroque palaces and
gardens such as the Munich Botanical Garden. You can reach Nymphenburg easily by tram or bus, and both the palace
and
park are open year-round.
Other local attractions for your to-do list, if you have time, are
Tierpark Hellabrunn (Munich's
zoo) and Bavaria Filmstadt,
Germany's answer to the Universal Studios tour in Hollywood.
Local tours and day trips
Viator,
our sightseeing-tour partner, offers a variety of
city tours and excursions that include "hop on, hop off" buses to major
tourist attractions, bike rentals, beer and nightlife tours, and day trips (or
even multi-day trips) to attractions such as the Hohenschwangau and
Neuschwanstein Castles, Salzburg, and
Rothenburg ob
der Tauber. You can book online with Viator and pay in euros, pounds
sterling, U.S. dollars, or Australian dollars.
Mike's Bike Tours
provides half- and full-day tours by bicycle. The Munich Tourist Office can give
you information on other tour providers, or you can plan self-guided tours (such
as an excursion to the Dachau Concentration
Camp Memorial; see inset photo) by public transportation.
When
you're traveling with friends, a
ConferenceBike tour
is a goofy but fun way to combine sightseeing with exercise. (The CoBi's
manufacturer describes the experience as "seven people sitting in a circle
around a table and riding a bike.")
Finally,
if
you have time, spend a day or--better yet, stay overnight--in
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where you can visit the
Partnach Gorge
and take a cogwheel train or aerial cablecar to the top of Germany's highest
mountain, the Zugspitze.
(Check the German Federal Railways
online timetable
for train departures; travel time is about an hour and a half.)
