I was fortunate to recently visit Munich on a work trip to a trade show named IFAT, just outside of Munich. So fo course I extended the trip for a couple of days to also explore the city a little more.
Things to do in Munich
Marienplatz Central
Square is a really pretty square to visit. There’s even a glockenspiel on view within
the town hall. Pretty for a quick look.
For the best view of Marienplatz Central Square, head to St. Peter's Church (Peterskirche) just around the corner (also, check out the inside because it’s really pretty). Around the outside (to the right of the main door), you can go up the bell tower for a fee. There’s a lot of stairs but they’re worth it for the fantastic view. I went at opening time and there was only one other person up there. Highly recommended.
From St. Peter's
Church you can also see Frauenkirche, the massive cathedral you can see almost
everywhere in Munich. It’s worth the short walk over to it to have a look up
close.
Viktualienmarkt is a
nice food market to visit. There’s also a central area where they serve beer outside.
While the Royal
Residenz (a beautiful museum) was shut when I visited, it is still an
impressive area to wander around.
I really recommend visiting
Hofbräuhaus Münche for 1l of beer and a bit of background music from an oompah
band. Even as a solo traveller, you’ll be seated next to someone and still have
a great time!
I went to Müllersches
Volksbad for a visit, an art nouveau–style public swimming pool which has been
open since 1901. I found it quite confusing inside, not knowing a great deal of
German! But asked the kind staff for help. If you want to go in the spa area,
you have to be nude- no costumes allowed. If you want to go in the swimming
pool you have to be clothed. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this in advanced! So
I brought a bikini to wear in the spa. So I didn’t visit the spa and instead
went for a swim in the pool. I was very out of place in a bikini- it was not a
normal thing to wear in the pool! The pool was also very cold so I couldn’t
stay long at all. The smaller pool was not open on the day of my visit. Overall,
it was an OK experience but I wouldn’t really recommend a visit while on holiday.
I had a bit of spare
time so decided to go to Hi-Sky München, a big wheel like the London Eye for
some more views over the city. It was really cool! It was a bit out of the way
but very much worth it. I was literally the only person on the whole wheel. You
have excellent views across the city but far more industrial than those at St.
Peter's Church. A cool little extra to go and do.
Next time I’d be
interested in doing a free walking tour of Munich (e.g. the one done by
Sandemans NewEurope for 2-2.5 hours) and the biggest science and technology
museum in the world, the Deutsches Museum. I’ve also heard the BMW Museum is
worth a visit.
Things to eat in Munich
The first thing on
my list to do in Munich was to eat plenty of pretzels! On arrival at Munich Hbf
(Hauptbahnhof = Central Train Station) I went straight over to Backwerk, like
the McDonalds of pretzels in Germany. Super cheap, very tasty and filling.
One thing I don’t
recommend is getting a pretzel while at Hofbräuhaus Münche. They’re super super
salty! But they are massive so great for photos!
