It may be best known for the Oktober fest, but Munich has more than beer on tap.
Mention you are going to Munich for the weekend, and you begin to sense the city has an image problem. This is the site of the Oktoberfest, held over a fortnight in late September (it ends on the first Sunday in October), when hundreds of thousands of backpackers descend to drink themselves stupid on an estimated five million litres of beer.
GETTING THERE
Lufthansa (0345 737747)
British Airways (0345 222111) both fly direct, but the cheapest option is GO (0845 605 4321) which flies from Stansted. Munich airport is connected to the city centre by the S-Bahn railway. Unless you are travelling alone, it's cheaper to buy a Partner-Tages-Karte from the machines on the platform. You'll need two - one for both the blue (inner) and green (outer) transport zones - but these will entitle you to unlimited transport all day on buses, the S-Bahn, the underground (U-Bahn) and trams for two adults, three children and a dog. The City Map (with S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram and bus maps), few pennies from the Tourist Office on Marienplatz, is invaluable. A useful guidebook is the Munich section of the green Michelin on Germany.
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
Weisses Brauhaus A series of pleasant, vaulted rooms with stained-glass windows. The wheat beer is delicious and the food, as long as you like wurst and sauerkraut, good. Just don't sit at a table marked Stammtisch (reserved for regulars), or you won't be served.
Augustiner Gaststatten Neuhauserstrasse 27 (00 49 89 23 18 32 57). The oldest brewery in Munich and serves good beer (but only adequate, rather stodgy food). Its best feature is the splendid domed Shell Room (echoes of Grottenhof), which has walls encrusted with seashells.
Prinz Myshkin Hackenstrasse 2 (00 49 89 265596). A bright, modern room, where we had some of the most inventive, intensively flavoured and beautifully presented vegetarian food I've tasted.
Anno 1551 Burgstrasse 5 (00 49 89 29 16 15 66). Opposite the house in which architect Francois Cuvillies lived, may be ancient but doesn't play toom much on its heritage: its whitewashed vaults are lit by candles and Moroccan lanterns, and its menu offers a mix of German (pork fillet with mushrooms; smoked salmon and rosti potato pancakes) and Italian dishes (pasta, salads) and wines (check out the indigenous Riesling of the day).
Ododo Buttermelcherstrasse 6 (00 49 89 260 7741). Serves international cuisine that has an Asian influence.
Tambosi Odeonsplatz 18, on the edge of the Hoftgarten, is a warren of rooms on two floors, some light and airy, with Italianate wall paintings and Venetian glass chandeliers, some cosy, dark and flock-wallpapered.
Cafe Kreutkamm Maffelstrasse 4. An archetypal mittel-European kaffe-und-kuchen house that has become an institution.
Wiener On the Maximillanstrasse, between the Nationaltheater and Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten. Its halb-und-halb (espresso topped up with hot chocolate and served with whipped cream) is a great way to warm up; it also sells its own brand of hand-rolled cigars. It's small, but there are tables on the pavement (rugs are provided when it's chilly).
Bar Centrale Ledererstrasse 23, is Munich's answer to London's Bar Italia. It;s close to the Hotel Rafael, and a good place for breakfast if you balk at paying the hotel's £15 charge.
Chinesischer Turm A ludicrious fake pagoda in the Englischer Garten, is vast (capacity 7,000) and often crowded, but the position is wonderful.
Koniglicher Hirschgarten Hirschgarten 1, near Nymphenburg on the border of yet another huge park (this one with deer), is a pleasant place for a drink, though the cooking is nothing special.
WHERE TO STAY
Vier Jahreszeiten Munchen Maximillianstrasse 17 (00 49 89 21250; fax; 2125 2777)
Bayerischer Hof Promenadeplatz 2-6 (00 49 89 2200; fax: 212 0906)
Hotel Rafael Neuturmstrasse 1 (00 49 89 290980; fax: 222539; but ask about weekend rates), which opened in 1990. Its 73 rooms are spacious; its bathrooms (with heated marble floors) palatial; and its bedding (Porthault linen and goose-down duvets) the softest and lightest I've slept in. There is a rooftop swimming pool (open in summer) with views across the city and, on a clear day, the Alps. And don't miss the Rafael Circles, an installation by Richard Long.
Hotel Splendid Maximillianstrasse 54 (00 49 89 296606; fax: 2913176)
Hotel an der Oper Falkenturmstrasse 10 (00 49 89 290 0270; fax: 2900 2729)
Gastehaus am Englisher Garten Liebergesellstrasse 8 (00 49 89 383 9410; fax: 3839 4133)
Mention Munich to most travellers and the images conjured up will almost certainly be of the Oktoberfest — the annual orgy and ode to the amber nectar that people flock to from all corners of the globe. On two previous visits to Munich I’d staggered the well worn route from the railway station to the beer tents and back only snatching a McDonalds on the way as a taster of the surrounding city. I recently travelled back to Munich for a third time, but this time I was on a mission — a mission to discover Munich beyond the Oktoberfest.
Venturing around the city streets Munich emerges as a city that has the feel of a great capital, replete with grandiose architecture and wide boulevards. Munich, however, has never been a national capital. Hitler had plans to make it the capital of Nazi Germany, but Munich has only ever been the capital of Bavaria.
Severely damaged by Allied bombing in World War II, Germany’s post-war economic miracle is evident throughout the city, especially in the futuristic BMW headquarters, and most of the war ravaged buildings have either been renovated or rebuilt to their former splendour.
Germany’s third largest city is ranked number one when it comes to domestic tourism. The Germans love Munich and it’s easy to see why. The city breaks from the conventional stereotype of Germany as a dull nation, confined by a ruthless efficiency that precludes them from having a good time. Munich is an effervescent city with a warmer climate than northern parts of the country and an ambience to match. It is perhaps the one German city that doesn’t take itself too seriously and surely the only one where you can squeeze between suitcase wielding businessmen happily sharing a table with lederhosen-clad farmers.
The best place to start any tour of Munich is on Marienplatz, a large plaza propped up in the middle by a gothic fountain and surrounded by stately buildings, including the impressive old town hall. In summer the square reverberates with the sounds of street entertainers, In winter it takes on the garb of an outdoor market with a decidedly Yuletide feel.
From Marienplatz follow any of the alleys heading west and you’ll end up at the Frauenkirche, Munich’s impressive twin domed cathedral. For many citizens this is the city’s main symbol.
The distinctive gothic structure took 20 years to complete and is more than 300 feet high. The cathedral was severely damaged by Allied bombing, but was painstakingly restored between 1947 and 1957.
For a stunning panorama of the city you can climb into one of the towers and snap photographs from an observation platform. Beware, it takes 86 steps to reach the platform — not something to attempt after one too many Lowenbraus.
After all that climbing you can head for a less physically demanding experience at the Deutsches Museum. Here you’ll find one of the finest science museums in Europe, which for a technophobe like myself, manages to achieve the seemingly impossible — making science stimulating.
The voluminous building stretches around 12 miles of corridors and spreads across six floors. You need at least a whole morning or afternoon to make any inroads into the museum. Top attractions include Europe’s most technically advanced planetarium and a massive six-storey cinema screen.
If you prefer escaping the hassles of big city life Munich will be your kind of city as not only is the city centre fleshed out with green spaces, but there are plenty of excellent parks to choose from. The Olympia Park, built for the terrorist blighted Olympics in 1972, is one of the largest sports parks of its kind in Europe. It’s great for a jog or for strolling through. There are boating ponds sprinkled around the park and the impressive Olympic stadium which is undergoing massive reconstruction.
Close to the city centre is the Englischer Garten — an impressive collage of tracks, paths and lakes that host one of the Bavarian people’s favourite pastimes. I’ve managed to avoid it for most of the story, but really there is no way to avoid that certain substance in Munich. The Englischer Garten may be a haven for joggers, but many visitors come here just for the frothy brews in the beer hall at the southern end of the park. Beer overflows from the gutters in Munich — you’ll find it in every bar, in all restaurants and on every corner, at any time of year.
For a more sobering experience take the S-Bahn train to the quaint town of Dachau, where on clear days you can snatch stunning views of the Alps and back towards Munich. Dachau isn’t best known for its views. It is the site of the notorious Nazi concentration camp. There have been attempts to turn it into a shopping centre, but for now it stands as a chilling testament to the brutality of the Nazis and the suffering of their victims, unearthing a darker side to the region of frivolous beer festivals.
If you are planning a trip out to Munich this year there’s a fair chance it will be to coincide with the Oktoberfest. It is well worth, though, breaking away from the drinking throng, even if it’s just for a day, and discovering the city Germans prize so highly.
And, after exploring the other sights and sounds of Munich, what better way to wind down than slipping back into the beer tent for one more sing-a-long with your favourite oom-pah band?
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