Munich Oktoberfest
Something like five million litres of beer are consumed over just 15 days at the festival. Munich just isn’t the same if you don’t see it through the beer goggles of an Oktoberfest stein.
Beer halls and beer gardens
Didn’t make it to Oktoberfest? Then Munich’s beer halls and gardens are the next best thing. The Hofbräuhaus is the most famous, and as a result it’s crawling with tourists. But then so is Oktoberfest and it’s awesome.
Museums
Not a big drinker? Then drink in some of Munich’s non-alcoholic culture. Munich has dozens of museums, with most of the main ones around the Altstadt. The Residenz Museums within the Residenz Palace and the Königsplatz museums are good places to start for arts and antiquities, while revheads shouldn’t miss the BMW museum. Also worth a look is the Deutsches Museum, reputedly the largest science and technology museum in the world.
Residenz Museums
Open: 9am-6pm seven days a week March (28) to October (18), 10am-5pm seven days a week October (19) to March (27)
Closed: January 1st, Shrove Tuesday, December 24th, 25th & 31st
Tickets: Adult €7 Residenz Museum, Adult €7 Treasury, Adult £3.50 Cuvilliés-Theater, €11 Residenz Museum & Treasury, €13 Residenz Museum, Treasury & Cuvilliés-Theater
Königsplatz museums
State Collections of Antiquities
Open: 10am-5pm Tuesday, Thursday to Sunday, 10am-8pm Wednesdays
Glyptothek
Open: 10am-5pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday to Sunday, 10am-8pm Thursday
Tickets: Adult €6 State Collections of Antiquities & Glyptothek Note: each museum is €1 on Sundays
Deutsches Museum
Open: 9am-5pm seven days a week
Tickets: Adult €11
Dachau
Not far from Munich is Dachau concentration camp which was the first opened in Nazi Germany and was used as a prototype for more camps. While many of the original buildings were destroyed, this is a unique memorial which reveals the horrors of Hitler’s regime.
Open: 9am-5pm seven days a week
Closed: December 24th
Tickets: Free
Go surfing
It might not be on the coast but it’s still possible to surf in Munich. At the south end of Englischer Garden there is a bridge over the Isar River where surfers throw on their wetsuits and surf. The wave is caused submerged rocks and surfers can be found their most days of the year.
Munich old town
The Altstadt (old town), at the heart of which is grand square Marienplatz, is home to everything in Munich, from museums and theatres at the Residenz, to the pubs of the Platzl quarter and the bars of the Gartnerplatz.
