Munich
The Bavarian capital, behaving as if the rest of Germany were abroad
- When to go
- September 15° · 13 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€€€price 5 of 5
- How many days
- 2–3days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 29 km Munich
- Right now
Munich is Germany's most expensive city and the capital of a state that officially calls itself the Free State of Bavaria. It's compact, walkable and tidy to a degree that irritates Berliners, and the Alpine ridge is close enough to be visible from several points in the centre on a clear day.
The museums here are the best arithmetic in the city. On Sundays the Alte Pinakothek, the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Brandhorst charge €1 per museum for the permanent collection; on other days a single ticket runs from €7 to €10, and a combined day ticket for all three is €12, so on a weekday the combined ticket already wins at two houses. Special exhibitions are charged separately and none of these tickets covers them. The Neue Pinakothek is closed for renovation until 2029, and its nineteenth century is temporarily in the east wing of the Alte Pinakothek and in the Sammlung Schack.
The city itself adds nothing to the hotel bill: there is no tourist tax, because Bavaria banned its municipalities from introducing one, and the state constitutional court upheld the ban in 2025 despite a challenge from Munich. Transport is simple: a ride in zone M is €4.20, a day ticket €10.10, so the day ticket pays off from the third ride. A Bayern-Ticket at €34 covers regional trains across Bavaria, from nine in the morning on weekdays, and each additional traveller, up to five, pays €10. The airport lies outside zone M, about forty minutes by S-Bahn, and is charged separately.
Guides for Munich
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Munich in 2 days
→The market on Saturday, the galleries on Sunday, a Monday without the Pinakotheken — two days in Munich ordered by the…
What to see in Munich
Marienplatz and the Glockenspiel
The New Town Hall carillon plays daily at 11 and 12, and from March to October at 5pm as well. Forty-three bells accompany two scenes: the 1568 wedding of Wilhelm V and Renata of Lorraine, and the coopers' dance. It runs about fifteen minutes, you watch from the square, and it costs nothing.
The English Garden and the Eisbach wave
A park larger than New York's Central Park, with surfers on a river wave right by Prinzregentenstrasse. The wave was closed after a fatal accident in April 2025 and reopened on 8 May 2026, with a self-releasing leash now mandatory and no surfing after 10pm. You watch from the bridge; you don't get in.
The Pinakotheken
Three galleries in one quarter, a few minutes apart on foot: the Alte Pinakothek for the old masters, the Pinakothek der Moderne for modern art, design and architecture, the Brandhorst for contemporary art, with a room of its own for Twombly's Lepanto cycle. Under-eighteens go in free every day. The Alte stays open until eight on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the Moderne and the Brandhorst on Thursdays, so two can be done after a working day.
Neuschwanstein as a day trip
Entry is by guided tour only, for a set time slot. The ticket is €21, free under eighteen, and booking online costs €2.50 per ticket. The ticket centre in Hohenschwangau sells a limited number of same-day tickets, which are usually gone by late morning. The train to Füssen takes a little over two hours, then bus 73 or 78 for another ten minutes. UNESCO-listed since 2025, together with three more of Ludwig II's palaces.
Oktoberfest
On the Theresienwiese, sixteen to eighteen days; it ends on the first Sunday of October, or on 3 October if that Sunday falls earlier. Tables are booked only whole, for eight to ten people, with food and drink vouchers. On weekdays a quarter of the seats stay unreserved, and at weekends and on holidays 40 per cent until 3pm, so without a booking the easiest way in is early.
The beer garden, by law
The Bavarian beer garden ordinance defines the thing through a guest's right to bring their own food and eat it free of charge. Drinks are bought on the spot and that part isn't negotiable. The self-service section with bare long tables is where the rule applies.
Stories from Munich
How it actually was when we were there, and what was worth it.
Oktoberfest without the romance: the beer, the tent, the bed
→Getting onto the ground costs nothing; everything after it costs more than expected. This is how the system works, with dates, per-tent prices and the booking rules.
Two things you probably did not know
The beer purity law of 1516 lays down that beer may contain only barley, hops and water. It was passed in Bavaria and is the oldest food regulation still in force in some form.
People surf a river in the Englischer Garten. The wave on the Eisbach forms where the water passes over a concrete step; it is permanent and is surfed all year, winter included.
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