🍺 Munich beyond Oktoberfest: 15 unobvious places
The Bavarian capital, home of Oktoberfest and BMW – all this is about Munich, a colorful and pleasant city in southern Germany. There you can either retire to one of the many parks, merge with nature and meditate, or literally become deaf from the noise of tourists on the central streets on a hot day.
I advise you to combine a visit to the city with a trip to the nearby castles, but there are also many gorgeous places in Munich itself, and I’ll tell you about them. Even if you have already been to the city, you will still be drawn to the center of Munich over and over again.
Marienplatz
The central square is luxurious and majestic, and it is also the busiest part of the city. They named it in honor of the Virgin Mary, whose gilded statue rises on an 11-meter column. Since the city's founding by Benedictine monks in the 12th century, Marienplatz has been the site of fairs, tournaments and even public executions. Today everything is a little more peaceful, although there are occasional clashes between football fans. Holidays and festivals are often held on the square. The Old and New Town Halls are also located here, the latter now houses the city council.
The square also attracts a lot of tourists because every day (at 12:00 for sure) a theatrical knight show is played on the chimes of one of the towers. Be sure to check it out! At the top of the tower there is an observation deck, one of the best in the city, but it does not show the entire Marienplatz. It's like climbing the Eiffel Tower. The view is beautiful, but something significant is missing.
St. Peter's Church
The oldest basilica in Munich, 12th century. Interestingly, until the mid-20th century, its bell tower (91 m) served as a fire observation post, and now it houses the best observation deck in the city. Be sure to go up there. You will have to climb 304 steps, but your efforts will pay off in full.
Frauenkirche
Also a calling card of the city, a temple of two bell towers, the tallest building in Munich – the height of the Frauenkirche Cathedral – 99 meters. By the way, the city administration does not allow buildings higher than 100 meters to be built in the center of Munich. Therefore, nothing obscures the Frauenkirche towers; they are visible from afar and define the panorama of modern Munich – the same view from every second postcard.
The inside of the cathedral looks quite ascetic. Its main decoration is snow-white columns and bright stained glass windows. Members of the dynasty of Bavarian rulers – the Wittelsbachs – rest in the crypt.
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Bronze boar
Walking around the center, you will most likely come across a wild boar. He “lives” opposite the hunting and fishing museum, where the Church of St. Augustine used to be. She performed an extremely responsible function – she contributed to the financial well-being of the townspeople. Therefore, now there is a belief that if you pet a boar’s snout, you can quickly get rich, become happy and return to Munich more than once. Agree, this is a worthy argument for polishing a bronze penny.
Beer restaurant “Hofbräuhaus”
Of course, Munich is associated with beer. I'm not a fan of this drink, but I can't help but pay tribute to tradition. Therefore, I advise you to drop into the first court brewery in the city from the 16th century. There you can try different flavors of beer, buy something as a gift, listen about the history and traditions of brewing, and eat something from classic German cuisine.
BMW Museum
If you are a car enthusiast at heart, or at least like to occasionally look at beautiful cars, you will definitely enjoy the museum. The exposition is unique, and there are not only cars, but also motorcycles, engines, propellers from the concern’s almost century-long history. In some places you can even take photographs in “cars”, the shots will be fiery, I promise.
Even the architecture of the building itself is impressive: it is a 22-story building in the form of a 4-cylinder engine. A very popular museum, a quarter of a million people visit it every year.
Bayern Statue
Not the most popular attraction, according to my personal observation, but I liked it there, so I added it to the selection. This is a monumental bronze statue that represents the glory, strength and power of the entire region. The first statue since antiquity to be made entirely of cast bronze. To some extent, it is a technological masterpiece of its time. The height of “Bavaria” is about 19 meters, inside there is a spiral staircase and a kind of observation deck at the top, as if in the head of a statue.
I can’t say that the view from there is incredible, but you will definitely remember the climb up the steep stairs. The observation point is open only during the warm season. Only six people can be on the roof at a time.
Hall of Fame
Next to Bayern there is a hall of fame – a place where they pay respect to the memory of prominent people in the region. In essence, this is a gallery, only instead of paintings there are busts of famous Bavarians, for example, the artist Albrecht Durer. The roof of the building is supported by 48 front columns. If you have time, I advise you to take a leisurely stroll there.
Allianz arena
I admit, I went to the famous football arena for company, but it’s surprising that I even liked it there. Cool excursion in English, the very shape of the structure, similar to a white tire, and the scale.
In the evening, the building is illuminated in different colors, so the structure is visible from many observation platforms, although it is located far from the center.
There are several restaurants on the stadium grounds. The food there is good, there is a bookstore and the country's largest museum of the Bayern football club.
Nymphenburg Palace
Where would we be without palaces? Although this one captivated me rather than the park around the castle with ponds and swans. In summer you can even ride a gondola there. The Munich palace was built in the Baroque style in the 17th century. It’s worth setting aside at least three hours to explore the palace, the park area and the buildings around it, like the hunting lodge; it’s a great place for a walk and a picnic.
Munich is an amazing and multifaceted city. You can go there and go there. Delicious hearty German cuisine, rivers of beer, endless palaces, cathedrals, parks. One of which, for a moment, is larger than the famous Central Park in New York – the Munich English Garden.
I will probably return there again, I really want to celebrate Oktoberfest there, and also drop into the potato museum (and don’t say that you didn’t want to go there either!). But seriously, the choice of entertainment there is huge. You will definitely find something to your liking: be it even an extreme holiday or luxury shopping. Have an exciting adventure in Munich!