Introduction
Munich, the capital of Bavaria, the centre of intelligentsia, the cultural hub of Europe, and an industrial centre. These are some of the introductory remarks used to describe Munich. Situated on the gate of Bavarian Alps, the city of Munich which at one time gave shelter to Nobel prize winners Thomas Mann and Albert Einstein and still lives on its cutting age industries, BMW being just a part of this famed expertise. Every autumn, the city becomes a place of smiling faces, sunshine, oomph bands, platters of sausages, tasty beer. This is a thriving cultural centre with lot of work going on in the fields of art and theatre. The sights in Munich are a feast for the eyes and innumerable museums gives a glimpse in the past of the city.

What to do
Enjoy, have as much fun as possible, drink gallons of beer, and dance through the wee hours. The fun capital of Munich gives you opportunity to enjoy all the sensual pleasures at one place. Sightseeing, day trips, and river cruising are some of the regular choices that nobody would be missing and even these options would take a whole lot of time.

City at a Glance

Latitude 48º8'23"N Longitude 11º34'28"E Area 310.80 Sq Km Population 1,298,537 Language German Religion Christianity Telephone Codes 089

History
Munich was founded in the year 1158 by Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony near a settlement called Munichen in Carolingian times. The Wittelsbach family, the duke of Bavaria selected it as their residence in 1255. The settlement became capital of Dukedom of Bavaria in 1506. The city was occupied by Gustavus II of Sweden in 1632 and in 1806 it was made capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria. In the next few decades, Munich became a centre of higher learning and cultural and artistic exploration. The First World War created ripples in the political front of Germany and Munich was in the centre of most activities. National Socialism (Nazism) was founded here and Hitler made Munich the headquarters of his Nazi party. The city was badly damaged during the World War II, but extensive rebuilding and reconstruction saw it through after 1945.

Weather and Best Season to Visit
Winter can be severely cold sometimes especially in January while Summers can be equally warm. There are cool, rainy days during the summers also especially in August. The best time to visit this place is from May to October, traditionally a high season when accommodation is highly in demand. Shoulder seasons are another option that you might consider to have the best of both the worlds, low season and not so extreme season.

Attractions
Marienplatz
The centre of Munich is lively with cafes lined up, street performances, and daily bustle of the city life. The main attraction here includes Neues Rathaus, 19th century bulding in neo-gothic style with clock equiped with glockenspiel, the fourth largest in Europe. Other attraction is St. Peter Church, whose 300-foot tower gives excellent views of the city.

Residenz Palace
This is the official residence of Bavarian royalty whose construction started in 1385 and new additions continued till World War I. Major attractions in the palace are Residenz Museum, the Treasure House, and the Cuvilliés Theatre. It is better if you can give sufficient time to explore each of these attractions as they have very extensive collections.

Alte Pinakothek/Neue Pinakothek (Old & New Art Museums)
Though they have a huge collection of art objects, space constraints have forced the museums to showcase only the masterpieces. In the Alte Pinakothek (Old Art Museum), there are works of Giotto, Fra Filippo, Lippi, Botticelli, Perugino, Signoreli, Leonardo da Vince (Madonna and Child), Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Ribera, Murillo, Roger van de Weyden, and Rembrandt. The most famous work displayed here is the Self Portrait by Albrecht Dürer.

The Neue Pinakothek covers the 19th and 20th century works of masters such as Gainsborough, Goya, Delacroix, Manet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, Max Beckmann, and Edvard Munch.

Bayerishes Nationalmuseum (Bavarian National Museum)
There is an impressive collection of medieval church art including vibrant altarpieces, carved ivories, and statuary.

Schloss Nymphenburg
This is the countryside palace of Wittelsbachs and named after the nymphs frescoed in its main entrance hall. This is a network of pavilions, most important of which is South Pavilion where you can see the gallery of Beauties of Ludwig I's.

Deutsches Museum (German Museum of Science and Technology)
One of the most wonderful museums in the town, it touches in depth diverse subjects related to science and technology. There are High Voltage demonstrations that actually produce light. There is a hangar filled historic aircraft, collection of venerable cars, including the first automobile in the world.

IMPORTANT FESTIVALS AND EXHIBITIONS
The Munich Oktoberfest
Know as Wiesn by the locals, this festival is the biggest public festival in the world attended by 6 million visitors every year in October. They drink around 5 million litres of beer and consume over 200,000 pairs of pork sausages. A lot of events are organised during the festival such as the Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries, the Costume and Riflemen's Procession, and a concert involving all the brass bands represented at the "Wies'n".

Other Festivals
Munich Fashing or Carnival is celebrated in February, Ballet Festival Week in April, International Film Festival in July, Opera Festival in June, Summer Festival in August, International Music Competition in September, Munich Book Show in November, Theatre Festival in November, and Christmas Market in December.

PLACES NEARBY Lake Starnberg
This 20 km long and 5 km wide lake is very near to Munich and used extensively for sailing and other recreational purposes.

Neuschwanstein
Situated at two-hours drive by car from Munich, this is the world-famous fairy-tale castle built by King Ludwig II. In the vicinity are Hohenschwangau castle and the crystal clear Alpsee lake.

Glentleitn
This open-air museum displays farm buildings and local handicrafts with potters and other craftsmen on work. It is situated near Lake Kochelsee in the south of Munich. By car you may take about one and half hours to reach this place.

River rafting on the Isar
From Wolfratshausen, a small town situated at a distance of around 30 km from Munich, you can go for a romantic trip on traditional wooden river rafts through the beautiful Isar valley.

AFTER HOURS
Drink beer say cheer and taste wurstel (sausage), this is the essence of Munich dining. Night life is full of energy and vitality and quite hectic. The city transport system runs almost through the night putting you up in your room whenever you want. Bars, dance clubs, and pubs are in plenty and you should not have any difficulty in picking one as per your choice.

SHOPPING
Most of the visitors to Munich come for a lot of fun, beer, and sightseeing and shopping is always low on their priorities. Though there are some elegant shopping plazas in the city, they do not sell anything different that you can not get in other cities on a price lower than Munich.

WHERE TO STAY
TMunich has enough rooms to satisfy its visitors, but prices remain high due to demand round the year. During Oktoberfest, prices touch sky high and if you don't book quite well in advance, you will miss the big party. If you do not want to pay by your nose, stay at a distance from the city centre.

WHERE TO EAT
Sausage, beer, salted white radishes, and pretzels forms the primary food groups in Munich. The most famous sausages among the locals are bratwurst, frankfurter, blütwurst, leberwurst, and weisswurst. The best place to savour the local delicacies are beer hall taverns and outdoor biergarten. Munich is also one of the beer capitals of the world and they come in giant liter-sized mug called Mass.

TRAVEL INFORMATION
Air Travel Resources
There are flights to almost all parts of the world to the Bavarian capital. Plane fares differ depending on the season. Promotional fares are also offered but with stringent requirements. Lufthansa, the national carrier of Germany is the main flier along with American Airlines, Continental Airlines, KLM, British Airways, and United Airlines.

Land and Water
Neighbouring destinations like London, Brussels, Cologne, Innsbruck, and Paris are connected to the City by long-distance buses and personal cars. From London, you will have to cross through the Chunnel on Le Chunnel that would take almost one hour. Euroline, the largest bus operator in Europe has direct services from London and other cities of Europe to Munich. Orient Express from Paris takes almost 10 hours to reach Munich. There are regular train connections to London, Brussels, Rome, Zurich, and Florence.

Local Transport
Munich was one of the first cities to pedestrianise its streets and walking is easy and enjoyable. Otherwise there are buses, trams, and light-rail systems (U-Bahn and S-Bahn) to move you around in the city.

TRAVEL RESOURCES
Tourist Office
Postal Address Munich Tourist Office
Sendlinger Str. 1, D-80331 Munich
Phone:++49 / 89 / 233 03 00
Fax: ++49 / 89 / 233 30 233

Information Centres
Main Train Station
Bahnhofsplatz 2

Marienplatz
im Neuen Rathaus

Medical Care
City Hospital "Schwabing"
Kölner Platz 1, U-Bahn 3 and 2 "Scheidplatz"
Tel: 30681
Emergency: 19222

Bank and Money Exchange
American Express
Promenadeplatz6
Tel: 089/290-9000