Ten Things to do in Munich!

 

1.    Stay in a good area of Munich so you can walk to all the Tourist areas. For budget travelers, I would recommend Hotel Jedermann. It’s a 5 min walk from the train station. Newly redone, minimal, yet modern, and nice rooms. The staff is lovely, and you can easily walk into town in 15 mins. This hotel has what you would need for a nice stay. If you’re looking to splurge and get all the luxurious amenities one would want on a luxury city trip, I would highly suggest staying at The Sofitel Bayer Post. It’s stunning. One of my favorite Sofitel properties and hosts a beautiful spa and delicious restaurant. It’s also right next to the train station and a quick walk into town. The rooms are very spacious, great views, and very funky and colorful. Ash and I loved our stay here. Sofitel has always been a hotel brand I really connect with and love staying at. They just get it when it comes to hospitality and good taste in luxury. I have no complaints about this hotel as everything including the food was amazing! 

“Sofitel has always been a hotel brand that I really connect with, and love staying at.”

“ The Glokenspiel on the Neues Rathaus, is a tourist attraction. Every day at 11am and 5pm, it chimes and re-enacts two different stories from the 16th century.”

2.    Take a stroll from your hotel to Marienplatz Square. It’s the most vibrant area in the square full of tourists, cafes, and the beautiful Neues Rathaus or “city hall”. It’s so huge and stunning. You look at it and your jaw drops in awe. It’s gothic style and so cool to see. The Glokenspiel on the Neues Rathaus is a tourist attraction, as every day at 11am and 5pm it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century. The top tells one of the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V, with he, his bride and knights on horseback moving about. The second tier, tells of Schäfflertanz (The Coopers dance). The Coopers are said to have danced through the streets during the plague of the 1500’s to bring fresh vitality to the fearful.  The Coopers remained loyal to the Duke, and this dance came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty. The whole show lasts about 15 mins and is cute to watch. At the end a golden rooster comes out and chirps 3 times letting you know that the adorable show is finishing until the next time. Take a nice photo of The Mariensäule as well. It’s a beautiful statue or column of Mary, who was revered as the protector of Bavaria. In the 1600’s, it was to symbolize the end of the Swedish occupation of the thirty years’ war.

At Christmas time, there is some really beautiful and fun Christmas markets all over Munich and Germany but the one in Marienplatz is the most famous and so very festive for the holidays. A German Christmas market should be on anyone’s bucket list. I know I spent Christmas in Berlin a few years ago, and it was the most festive I’ve ever felt over Christmas, visiting all the markets. 

“You can really get a feel for the beer drinking culture here. This is also where the Oktoberfest is held. ”

3.    Check out the very famous Hofbräuhaus am platz. A 3-floor beer hall very popular with tourists to experience Bavarian culture and drink German beers. This is as German of an experience as you can get. There is a cute Bavarian band in traditional outfits playing instruments and singing Bavarian tunes. Germany used to be Bavaria if you’re confused. You can get food here; a popular German dish is the Weiner schnitzel. I don’t eat this as I don’t eat meat, but I was told by a friend it’s very good. You may find better at less of a tourist spot, but this truly is a spot that you should stop in for at least one beer. You can really get a feel for the beer drinking culture here. This is also where the Oktoberfest is held. 

4.    Take a walk through The English Garden. There is lush greenery. Beautiful flowers, a nice lake, walking paths, some lovely German monuments and a few popular biergartens or (beer gardens). You can have a lovely picnic here and I would suggest getting a bike or taking a little row boat around the lake. Munich is lovely in the summer and having a picnic in the park with some beer or wine is always nice in any beautiful European city. 

5.    Visit and have a walk inside Church of our Lady. (Frauenkirche). You will see this right from Marianplatz with its two domed towers. It’s free to go inside and for a small donation you can visit the observation platform which gives you excellent views over Munich. It was built in the 1400s and then renovated in the 1900’s after damage from bombing. The two domes are said to resemble a pair of beer steins bubbling over. The inside of the church is just stunning. 

6.    If you’re into cars or you just want to keep your man happy while you pull him around all the sites like I used to do with my ex then stop by the BMW museum. He will love the collection of cars and the unique and contemporary architecture. The main attraction here is that there is a vending machine where prospective owners can come in and use to pick up their cars! How insane is that? It’s worth a watch! Maybe one day I’ll be able to choose my car like that. This museum is even free so it’s worth taking an Uber and stopping by. 

7.    Check out the beautiful Nymphenburg Palace, a stunning palace from the 18thcentury. It means “castle of the Nymph, and was a summer palace to the former rulers of Bavaria and the House of Wittelsbach. It’s one of the most famous sites in Munich and truly stunning. The inside is captivating and the details on the ceilings and wall are exquisite. It’s nice to see how royalty here lived. I wish I could live in a summer palace like this, or any palace for that matter. Oh, to be Royalty. 

“The inside is captivating and the details on the ceilings and wall are exquisite. It’s nice to see how royalty here lived.”

8.    Shop! There is so much good shopping in Munich. There are some great markets where you can really get anything you want and then there is amazing department stores and boutiques with all sorts of fashion. I really loved the shopping in Munich as it has everything and more. There are so many women’s fashion stories that we don’t have in the USA I liked. You can also find markets and fresh flowers for sale.

“I always say the best way to get to know a city and see everything is just to walk all around it all day. ”

9.    Just really walk around the city. There are so many adorable churches, sites, and monuments to note. There is Karlsplatz historical square with shopping and fountains. There is the Odeonsplatz. Theatine Church, which is stunning on the inside, and Konigsplatz to mention a few. There’s a lot of cute restaurants and cafés, and loads of bars for a night out. I had a fun time in Munich going out to the bars, maybe too much fun some of the locals perhaps thought. Haha. I got kicked out of two different bars for being loud! I don’t think I have ever been kicked out of anywhere before, but it was funny. They aren’t used to annoying Americans I guess, or maybe they’re too used to it. I always say the best way to get to know a city and see everything is just to walk all around it all day. 

“It’s truly a fairytale and was my favorite part of my time in Munich and Germany.”

10.  Take a day trip easily on the train to Neuschwanstein Castle or also called by some, Cinderella’s castle, as it inspired the Disney princess’s castle in the movie and at Disneyworld. It’s truly a fairytale and was my favorite part of my time in Munich and Germany. There is also another castle nearby it you will see when hiking up to the castle view points. The train takes about 2 hours, so we took the earliest one and then we came back around 4pm and that was plenty of time to hike to get the best view of the castle. We didn’t go inside, because we heard it was a bit underwhelming and like many castles, the inside is a lot less grand, than their exteriors. You also weren’t allowed photos inside and man, no photos? What’s the point? Haha. The best view is to hike up to the bridge and there are some little foot paths, it’s about a 30 min hike up, but you get awesome views. Like I said, this is truly a must do and an easy day trip! Enjoy 

 Munich is truly a stunning city filled with so much culture. It’s not the biggest city in Germany, but is one of my favorites. Don’t forget to try the amazing German cuisine, especially if you’re a meat eater, you’ll be in serious food heaven. There are also amazing pastries and sweets here to enjoy.

 

Munich is rather easy to get to, there is an international airport with flights to all over Europe and America. There is also a huge train station that I used to come and go as well. They use the euro. The language is German, but many speak English. Some German people can seem a bit cold, but this isn’t because they are trying to be rude or disinterested, it’s just their personalities and they truly do warm up. I mean the locals, not the people in hospitality of course. All in all, my stay was awesome and I will for sure come back to this stunning city! Thanks to both hotels for the lovely stays. I really lucked out in my accommodation choices, as both were great and perfectly located.