Munich (München)

Munich, München in German, is the home of beer. It is most famous for its Oktoberfest, the biggest beer bash on the planet, which draws over 5 million people each year. For more than 200 years, beginning in 1810, beer drinkers have gathered here to toast the ale, accompanied by oompah bands and an assortment of beer foods – Weisswürst (white sausage), pretzels, potato pancakes, Stekerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick). In Munich, beer is more than just a buzz word. Here it is part of the culture, drunk in one-liter steins known as Maßkrüge, with more than 7 million liters of it consumed during Oktoberfest alone – and that's only 16 days! In fact, Munich's beer halls and beer gardens are legendary.

[ Related page: Top 10 Beer Gardens and Beer Halls of Munich ]

Munich is at once a provincial city, profoundly German, and a worldly one. It is a city of tradition and technology, a city with perhaps the greatest ensemble of Baroque and Rococo architecture in western Europe, yet with a terrific profusion of high-powered industry and high-profile high-tech firms. Significantly, it has some of Europe's most splendid Baroque palaces – the Residenz, Schloss Nymphenberg and Schloss Schleißheim among them – and is also the home of such iconic corporations as BMW – Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). The futuristic BMW headquarters building, which rises in gigantic, silver, cylindrical piston-like towers, is actually among the highlights of any tour of the city, as are the palaces.

• What to See in Munich

• Where to Stay in Munich

• Where to Eat in Munich

Munich Highlights

Main Sights and Attractions

Munich's principal draws, in addition to its Baroque palaces and BMW building, include a string of world-class museums, led by the Deutsches Museum which is the largest science and technology museum in the world, and the three Pinakotheken galleries which together offer up one of the largest collections of art in Europe. The landmark twin-towered Frauenkirche and the 1972 Olympic arena with its tent-like glass roof are worth seeing too. And for beer drinkers, other than Oktoberfest, the Hofbräuhaus, though unabashedly touristy, is still a place almost of pilgrimage.

Munich Basics

Location

Munich is the capital of Bavaria, Germany's largest state. It is situated less than an hour's drive north of the Bavarian Alps on the River Isar in southern Germany.

• Nearby Destinations: Bavarian Alps, Augsburg, Innsbruck, Salzburg

Population

Munich has a population of approximately 1.35 million, which makes it the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg.

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