If you’re planning a trip to Munich and want to know what’s really worth adding to your itinerary, this video is for you! From the classic sights and unexpected gems to local food you can’t miss, here are the top 10 things to do, see, and eat in Munich.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- St. Peter’s Church & St. Peter’s Tower
- Dallmayr
- Best local food to try in Munich
- Frauenkirche
- Marienplatz
- Glockenspiel
- Café Kaiserschmarrn
- Munich Residence
- English Garden Munich (Englisch Garten)
- Lego Store (& Toy Museum)
- How to get around Munich by public transport
St. Peter’s Church & St. Peter’s Tower
St. Peter’s Church is the oldest church in Munich. It’s located right next to Marienplatz and has been part of the city for over 800 years.
The church has been rebuilt several times after fires and damage from WW2, which is why you’ll see a mix of different architectural styles. Inside, the church is more decorative than some of the others nearby, with detailed altars and artwork.
One of the main reasons people visit today is the tower. You can climb up for some of the best views of Munich, looking out over the old town and, on a clear day, all the way to the Alps.
It costs 5 euros and the way up is 306 steps. It’s not for the faint of heart or anyone with a fear of heights, I admit I was a bit apprehensive myself, but the views at the top are absolutely worth it.
Alois Dallmayr (or Dallmayr)
Dallmayr is a luxury store that was founded in Munich in 1700. While you can now find Dallmayr locations across Europe, the Middle East, and even South Africa, the main store in Munich is the most famous and attracts over two million visitors every year.
Dallmayr is best known for its high-end food market and its coffee and tea, which are some of the most well-known brands in Germany. The Munich location also includes a café-bistro, catering services, its own vending machines, and a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Dallmyar Headquarters in Munich
When you visit the Munich store, you first walk into the market section, where they sell cheeses, fresh produce, seafood, meat, and prepared meals. All of it looks incredible. Right next to this is the gourmet section, with a wide selection of teas displayed in beautiful porcelain canisters, along with their coffee beans, which you can also buy pre-packaged. They also sell chocolate bars with their own custom designs, jams, sweets, and plenty of great options for gifts or luxury souvenirs. Up the wooden stairs is the bistro and restaurant.
We went to the café-bistro and ordered the Christmas set lunch menu. It started with a tangy tomato soup, followed by a juicy duck breast served with creamy mashed potatoes, purple cabbage, and cooked plums. The plums really elevated the dish in our opinion. The boys ordered the lobster soup and they really liked it. The set menu cost 35 euros. We could have added dessert, but we were very full and decided to grab something sweet later from a bakery.
This is a great tip if you want to enjoy more luxurious experiences even if you don’t have a high budget. We also highly recommend visiting Dallmayr’s website and reading about their history. It is genuinely interesting and makes you appreciate how much work has gone into building such a well-known name.
Best Local Food to Try in Munich
Munich is the capital of Bavaria, and that means it’s one of the best places to try traditional Bavarian food.
A few classics to know. Münchner Weißwurst is a white sausage usually eaten in the morning with a soft pretzel (or Bretzel), typical in Bavaria, and sweet mustard. Bavarian Leberkäse literally means liver meatloaf, but it doesn’t actually contain liver. But beef and pork, often served in thick slices with mustard or in a bread roll. Knödels are bread-based dumplings, often served with gravy or brown butter. To us, they kind of taste like stuffing and are really good.
Other traditional dishes include Spätzle, soft egg noodles often served with cheese. Almost like a German version of mac n cheese, and Münchner Schnitzel, a breaded fried veal or pork, served with spätzel, potato and cucumber salad, or fries. In Munich, the meat is brushed with sweet mustard and horseradish.
For sweets, there’s Bavarian donuts, called Krapfen, traditionally filled with cream, but you can also find them filled with fruity jam, like plum. Apple Strudel, which is a staple dessert in Bavarian restaurants, and Kaiserschmarrn (keep reading to learn more about this incredible dessert). A unique dessert that we absolutely love is germknödel, a large, dome-shaped sweet yeast dumpling filled with spiced plum butter, popular in Southern Germany and Austria.
A great place to try many of these foods in one spot is Hofbräuhaus München. It’s a famous beer hall in the city center where you can taste sausages, Leberkäse, Knödels, schnitzel, and traditional desserts while enjoying the lively atmosphere. It’s touristy but also a real part of Bavarian culture, so it’s worth a visit.
Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady)
The Frauenkirche (Cathedral of Our Dear Lady) is Munich’s main cathedral and one of the most well-known buildings in the city. You can recognize it right away by its two tall brick towers with green domes, which have become a symbol of Munich.
The church was built in the late 1400s. For a long time, no buildings in the city were allowed to be taller than its towers, so it always stood out on the skyline.
Inside, the Frauenkirche is quite simple compared to many other European churches. It’s not very ornate or heavily decorated. The space feels open and calm, which makes it different from what you might expect.
One of the most striking features inside is the large statue of Jesus near the altar, suspended from the ceiling.
Marienplatz
Marienplatz is the main square in the center of Munich. It’s been the heart of the city for more than 800 years, and it’s still where everything comes together today.
This square has always been an important meeting point for Munich. Markets, like the main Christmas market, public events, and celebrations have taken place here for centuries, which is why it still feels so lively. We visited during Christmas and absolutely loved how it looked with the massive Xmas tree, plus it was snowing and our hair was full of the most beautiful and detailed snowflakes which we found quite entertaining.
Marienplatz is a must on any itinerary because it puts you right in the middle of the old town. Many of Munich’s top sights are within walking distance.
Several key landmarks are located directly on the square. The New Town Hall (Rathaus) is the most noticeable building, with its tall towers and detailed façade (more details). Across from it is the Old Town Hall, which has been part of the square since medieval times. Nearby, you’ll also find St. Peter’s Church, the oldest church in Munich, and one of the best viewpoints in the city which we’ll get into later.
And then there’s the one thing most people come here to see: the Glockenspiel.
Glockenspiel
The Glockenspiel is one of Munich’s most well-known landmarks and sits in the tower of the New Town Hall at Marienplatz. It was added in the early 1900s when the building was completed, making it just over a century old.
It’s made up of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures, and when it plays, the figures move to tell short stories from Munich’s history. The scenes are spread over two levels of the tower.
The top scene shows the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria in the 16th century. It includes a traditional jousting tournament, which was a common way to celebrate royal weddings at the time. The lower scene shows the Schäfflertanz, or Coopers’ Dance, a traditional dance in the Bavaria region, which is said to be dated back to 1517 and was performed to lift people’s spirits after a plague, although the true history is unclear.
At the very end of the show, a small golden bird appears at the top of the clock and chirps, which means the performance is over.
You can see the Glockenspiel play every day at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. From March through October, there’s an extra show at 5 p.m. However, there are no shows during the winter months, including Christmas. Each performance lasts around 12 to 15 minutes, and it’s completely free to watch from the square.
If you want a good view, it’s best to arrive a little early, especially during peak travel months, as Marienplatz fills up quickly when the bells start to ring.
Café Kaiserschmarrn
If you love pancakes but want to try a different way of eating it, try kaiserschmarrn, which are shredded pancake fried in butter and served with powdered sugar and jam or apple sauce, and we absolutely love it. In Munich, try Café Kaiserschmarrn, where they mainly serve Kaiserschmarrn and you can sit inside these cozy cable car-style huts.
Kaiserschmarrn is a popular meal or dessert in Austria, Bavaria, and many parts of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, e.g. Northern Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Northern Croatia and western Romania. We actually had delicious Kaiserschmarrn in Innsbruck, Austria, at a beautiful Christmas market, and in Budapest at a stunning restaurant. We have videos showing both, so definitely check them out after this one, links are in the description.
Munich Residence (Residenz)
The Munich Residence is a huge palace in the center of the city, one of the biggest palaces in Germany. It used to be the home of the Bavarian kings and rulers for hundreds of years.
The palace was built and expanded over many centuries, so you’ll see a mix of styles, from Renaissance to Baroque. Inside, there are beautifully decorated rooms, grand halls, and a treasure collection full of crowns, jewelry, and historic objects like John the Baptist’s alleged skull.
Tickets to the Munich Residence include the Residenz Museum, which costs 10 euros (children under 18 are free), and you can pay extra to see the Treasury and/or the Cuvilliés Theatre, famous for hosting the 1781 premiere of Mozart’s Idomeneo. There are also beautiful courtyards and gardens to walk around for free. Audio guides are available if you want more details about the rooms and history.
A few tips: although tickets don’t have a fixed admission time, arrive early if you want to avoid crowds. Wear comfortable shoes because you’re going to do a lot of walking, and take your time to enjoy the details.
English Garden (Englisch Garten)
The English Garden is a huge public park in the center of Munich. It’s one of the biggest city parks in the world and a great place to relax and be in nature.
The park is 78km of wide green spaces, walking paths, rivers, and small streams. You can also find traditional beer gardens, where you can stop for a drink or a snack.
There’s a lot you can do here. You can go for a walk, ride a bike, have a picnic, or just relax on the grass. People also surf on the waves in the river, which is a fun and unique activity when the weather is warmer.
A few highlights include the Chinese Tower, which has a large beer garden at its base, and the Monopteros, a small Greek-style temple with great views over the park.
Lego Store Munich
If you’re traveling with kids, or if you like Lego yourself, the Lego Store is worth visiting. Inside, you’ll find detailed Lego models of Munich’s famous landmarks like the Frauenkirche, along with traditional German scenes like market stalls filled with pretzels and sausages, characters wearing traditional outfits, and snowy village scenes.
There’s also a small Lego version of the Mona Lisa and an impressive Lego artwork of Neuschwanstein Castle. It’s fun to walk around, see what they’ve built, and see all the different sets you can buy. One thing that really stood out to us was the Christmas tree, which opens up to reveal Santa’s workshop inside.
How to Get Around Munich
In terms of getting around to these places. They are all walking distance from each other but if you’re staying a little further away or need to use public transport during your trip, Munich has a great public transport system.
The metro in Munich is easy and works with the same ticket across trains, trams and buses. It’s run by the MVV network and you see “U” signs for the U-Bahn (underground metro) and “S” for the S-Bahn (city/nearby trains).
The main metro lines you’ll use in the city centre are U1, U2, U3, U4, U5 and U6. U1 and U2 take you well through central spots like Hauptbahnhof and Sendlinger Tor. U3 and U6 are good for western and southern routes and also go near Marienplatz. U4 and U5 run east-west and are handy for places like the English Garden area.
Tickets are based on zones but for most places you only need the inner zone (M). A day ticket for this zone is around 9.70 € for one person and covers all trips that day. Always buy before you board because inspectors check tickets and fines are high. You can buy tickets from the machines at every station with card or cash, and in apps too. The main one is the MVV app for planning trips and buying tickets on your phone.
Where to Stay in Munich for Every Budget
Budget-friendly options…
Medium Budget Options…
Some luxury options…
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If you want to go even deeper with your planning, we’ve got a few posts that pair really well with this one. If you are interested in visiting the Bavaria region, read all about our 7-day trip in Bavaria and Austrian Alps (aka our favourite trip we’ve ever done…). You can check out the best apps you’ll actually use when visiting Europe and our favourite tips for travelling Europe on a budget. Each one will help you plan smarter, save time, and make your trip feel a little easier.
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