Bavaria's easygoing capital: beer gardens and Marienplatz in the centre, the Alps and Neuschwanstein an hour past the city limits.
Munich works best as a 3-day city break. Munich packs a walkable old town around Marienplatz, where the New Town Hall glockenspiel still chimes for the crowds below and the Viktualienmarkt sells cheese and beer a few lanes on. North of the centre the Kunstareal quarter lines up three world-class Pinakothek galleries and the vast English Garden runs green through the middle of the city, complete with river surfers on the Eisbach. It is also the best base in Germany for the Alps: fairytale Neuschwanstein and the mountains are day-trip close, and the sobering Dachau memorial sits just a short train ride out. Come in late spring or early autumn for beer-garden weather, and if you want Oktoberfest, book your room close to a year ahead.
Ideal stay
3 days
Best months
May · Jun · Jul
Mid budget
150 EUR/day
Airport
Munich Airport sits about 40km northeast of the centre
Four picks that cover the realistic range, from splurge to budget. Prices are low-season starting points; check live rates for your dates.
Special occasions€€€Grand old dame · Altstadt
Munich's grand hotel since 1841, a few steps from Marienplatz, with a rooftop spa and pool under a glass dome and the Night Club jazz bar in the cellar. It stays family-owned, and the Blue Spa terrace looks over the old town rooftops to the Alps on a clear day.
from ~380 EUR/night
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Couples€€Schwabing boutique · Schwabing
A calm, design-led boutique on a quiet street in bohemian Schwabing, a short walk from the English Garden and the Kunstareal museums. The U-Bahn at Munchner Freiheit puts Marienplatz about five minutes away.
from ~155 EUR/night
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First visit€€Alpine design · Glockenbachviertel
A cheerful design hotel at Sendlinger Tor with a tongue-in-cheek Alpine look, on the edge of the Glockenbach nightlife quarter and one U-Bahn stop from Marienplatz. Rooms are compact but well priced for how central they are.
from ~120 EUR/night
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Budget€Design hostel · Ludwigsvorstadt
A big, well-run design hostel a couple of minutes from the Hauptbahnhof, with private rooms as well as dorms, a bar and a glass-roofed courtyard. It is walkable to the Theresienwiese, which makes it a favourite base during Oktoberfest.
from ~35 EUR/night
Check pricesReal hotel photos · prices are indicative from-rates, not live quotes · booking links support the site at no extra cost
A little history
Munich grew up in 1158 around a settlement of monks, which is where its name, from Munichen, and the little monk on its coat of arms both come from. It became the seat of the Wittelsbach dynasty, who ruled Bavaria for more than 700 years and filled the city with palaces like the Residenz and Nymphenburg while making it a capital of art and music. It was also where the Nazi movement was born in the 1920s and where the 1938 Munich Agreement was signed, though the White Rose students who resisted from the university are remembered across the city. Rebuilt carefully after wartime bombing, Munich reinvented itself as prosperous, green and famously fond of tradition, known now for BMW, FC Bayern, the beer halls and Oktoberfest, first held in 1810 to celebrate a royal wedding.
Munich is known for
Pick the itinerary that matches your trip. Each one is a full day-by-day plan, not a list of 30 things to squeeze in.
2
days
Two full days is enough for the heart of Munich if you keep the old town and one museum cluster in focus and leave the big Alpine day trips for a longer stay. The centre is compact and walkable, so Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt, the Frauenkirche, the Residenz and a beer hall all fit on foot, with the English Garden and the Kunstareal galleries a short tram or U-Bahn ride north.
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3
days
Three days is the comfortable amount for Munich: enough for the old-town core and the museums plus one big day out to the Alps or the Dachau memorial that a two-day trip has to skip. The extra day is what makes the city sing, since Munich's real trump card is being the best base in Germany for Neuschwanstein and the mountains.
See the itinerary →
Munich has a walkable center, so the neighborhood you pick sets the tone of the whole trip.
Altstadt
First visit
The pedestrian old town wraps Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, the Viktualienmarkt and the Hofbräuhaus into a compact core you can cross on foot in fifteen minutes.
Maxvorstadt
First visit
Munich's museum and university quarter holds the three Pinakothek galleries, the Kunstareal art district and a big student population from the LMU and TU campuses.
Schwabing
Romantic
The leafy former bohemian quarter runs north along the edge of the English Garden, with tree-lined avenues, art nouveau facades and cafes that spill onto the pavement.
Colored months are the sweet spot. Struck-through months come with a warning. Each page covers weather, crowds, prices and what to pack.
Tight budget?
Munich on a budget: same trip, around 75 EUR a day
Read the budget guide →
Pairs well with
3 days is the sweet spot for Munich. The extra day is what makes the city sing, since Munich's real trump card is being the best base in Germany for Neuschwanstein and the mountains
The best months are May, June, July, September. Think twice about November: The greyest month: cold, damp and often foggy at around 7C with short days and little on, which is why it is the one to avoid unless you want quiet museums and low prices. The Christmas markets have not opened yet, so the city can feel flat after the autumn colour has gone.
Munich sits above the European average. Plan roughly 75 EUR per day on a tight budget, 150 EUR for a comfortable mid-range trip, and 300 EUR and up if you want top hotels and restaurants.
Altstadt is the safest first-visit base. The pedestrian old town wraps Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, the Viktualienmarkt and the Hofbräuhaus into a compact core you can cross on foot in fifteen minutes. Staying here puts every headline sight and the main U-Bahn and S-Bahn hub at your door, which suits a first short trip or a family that wants to walk everywhere. The trade-off is tourist-priced hotels and restaurants and streets that fill with day crowds and shoppers by mid-morning.
Yes. Munich has a walkable center, so most of a short trip is done on foot. Munich Airport sits about 40km northeast of the centre, so the transfer is a real leg of the trip. The S-Bahn is the easy default: both the S1 and the S8 run from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz in about 40 to 45 minutes, and a single MVV day ticket covering all zones lets you keep using trains and trams once you arrive. The Lufthansa Express Bus is a comfortable alternative straight to the Hauptbahnhof in roughly 45 minutes, while a taxi runs about 70 to 90 EUR and is only worth it late at night or with heavy luggage.
Munich Airport sits about 40km northeast of the centre, so the transfer is a real leg of the trip. The S-Bahn is the easy default: both the S1 and the S8 run from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz in about 40 to 45 minutes, and a single MVV day ticket covering all zones lets you keep using trains and trams once you arrive. The Lufthansa Express Bus is a comfortable alternative straight to the Hauptbahnhof in roughly 45 minutes, while a taxi runs about 70 to 90 EUR and is only worth it late at night or with heavy luggage. It is the cheapest and usually the fastest option.
Munich is best known for Marienplatz, Oktoberfest, Beer gardens, The English Garden, Neuschwanstein day trip, BMW and FC Bayern. Munich grew up in 1158 around a settlement of monks, which is where its name, from Munichen, and the little monk on its coat of arms both come from.