Munich holidays

The Nymphenburg Palace (Schloss Nymphenburg) in Munich, Germany

Aerial view of the Olympic Park in Munich, Germany

Popular holidays

City breaks to Munich come with all the Bavarian trademarks, like traditional architecture and beer-centric nightlife.

Munich city breaks

Munich’s the capital of Germany’s Bavaria region, and as soon as you touch down in this city, you’ll see that it wears that title with pride. Not only is the nation’s flag flown left, right and centre, but tradition plays a big role in day-to-day life here – nightlife centres around casual Bavarian beer halls, restaurant menus are full of German staples, and the architecture’s a mish-mash of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles.

A small-town feel

Despite its size, Munich’s centre still has a small-town feel to it. The new town hall – known locally as the Rathaus – is one of the loftiest buildings around. And if you climb up to its observation deck, you’ll be met with sweeping vistas of terracotta rooftops – there’s barely a skyscraper in sight. In fact, the city’s been nicknamed ‘milliondorf’, which translates to ‘village of a million’.

Gardens galore

Another thing Munich’s well-known for is its green spaces – and there’s one that stands head and shoulders above the rest. The English Garden’s your go-to spot for riverside strolls. Its pea-green lawns are criss-crossed by streams and waterways where surfers make the most of the mini swells. And if you get thirsty from all that walking, you can make a pit stop at the Chinese Garden – a central beer garden with a tower that’s styled like a pagoda.

All aboard for Oktoberfest

As the home to the original Oktoberfest, Munich doesn’t shy away from a party. And every year, at the end of September, Theresienwiese transforms from an empty plot of land into the all-out-Bavarian festival, complete with beer tents, food stalls and fairground rides. If you’re coming to join the merriment, don’t forget to do as the locals do and pack lederhosen or a durndl dress so you look the part.

Popular hotels in Munich

Top things to see and do in Munich

Shopping

Bargain buys

If you want to nab yourself a bargain, Viktualienmarkt is your go-to. The market’s open all year round, and despite being best-known for its fresh produce stalls, it’s also a great place to pick up souvenirs and street food.

Mid-range buys

Stroll under Karlstor Gate, and you’ll end up in Munich’s main shopping district. You’ll find loads of household names here, like Zara and Foot Locker, alongside sports stores, shoe shops and boutiques.

Designer buys

Sometimes, only the best will do. And if you’re in the market for a new designer piece, make a beeline for Maximillianstrasse, which you’ll find just off Marienplatz. The street’s peppered with high-end shops like Chanel, Gucci and Ralph Lauren.

Nightlife

Laid-back evenings

If you’re looking for somewhere to kick back with a few beers and a bite to eat, head to one of the breweries in the Marienplatz and Karsplatz areas. The beer halls here are usually twinned with eateries, which means you can pace yourself with pretzels and bratwursts between tipples.

Lively evenings

The Schwabing area does big nights out best. It’s right by Munich’s university district, so you can party like the students do in buzzy bars and big, booming nightclubs.

Food & drink

Wurst

It wouldn’t be a trip to Germany if you didn’t have this staple snack at least once. Bratwursts and currywursts are on offer at street food stalls all over. And if you fancy trying a local delicacy, order a white sausage – a boiled option made from veal.

Beer

Beer’s probably one of the first things that springs to mind when you think of Munich – and not least because of the famous Oktoberfest. Drinks menus in bars, restaurants and pubs are filled with tipples from big-name brewers – and most of them have their own beer halls you can clink steins in, too.

Pretzels

Savoury snacks don’t get much better than pretzels – warm, bready twists sprinkled with salt. And in Munich, they’re served in a size XL, so one’s usually enough to share between two over a few beers.

Leberkase

This hearty snack’s made from a combination of bacon and pork, and it’s baked in a loaf tin until crispy on the outside. Then, it’s cut into thin slices and stuffed inside a floury bread roll, making it the ideal on-the-go snack to take with you on your sightseeing sessions.

Dampfnudel

If you fancy something sweet, grab one of these doughy, melt-in-the-mouth rolls. They’re baked in closed pots until the bottom goes crispy, and they usually come topped with lashings of vanilla custard, blobs of jam or slices of fruit.

Facts about Munich

Currency

Euro

(EUR)

Language

German

Time zone

GMT +1

Flight duration

2 hours 15 minutes from Dublin