Munich
A week would never be enough to see so many places to visit in Munich, the capital of Bavaria is a cocktail of beloved attractions, opulent baroque churches and top class museums. The Kunstareal in Munich is a group of art museums with so many masterpieces that it is difficult to know where to start. Their city palaces are two of the many glorious monuments you can visit and you will see the Alps from the top of the Rathaus and St. Peter's Church. Munich is also the city of German exports of world-renowned brands such as BMW, FC Bayern and the incomparable Oktoberfest, more than two weeks of beer-fueled merriment every autumn.
Let's explore the best places to visit in Munich:
Residence of Munich
What began as a 14th-century castle for the Wittelsbach monarchs on the northern edge of the city grew over several hundred years into a sublime palace complex of ten courtyards and 130 rooms. Successive dukes, emperors, princes and kings made grand statements in Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical styles. Considering the size of the palace and the richness of its art, the residence in Munich is a sight to be seen in several visits, if you can. But some essential elements to be ticked off are the courtyard of the Italian Renaissance grotto, the Antiquarium banquet hall, generously decorated and the gilded moldings in the Baroque Ancestral Gallery.
Marienplatz
In any season, Marienplatz in front of the Neues Rathaus will be full of locals and tourists shopping, sightseeing or just seeing the city. The square has been in the city center since the 12th century and is named after a Marian column that was erected here in the 17th century. The monument is from 1638 and celebrates the withdrawal of the Swedish troops from Munich during the 30 years war. The golden statue at the top is older, carved in 1590 and shows Mary on a crescent moon as the Queen of Heaven. This was the first Marian column north of the Alps and the forerunner of a series of similar monuments in Bavaria and Central Europe. Come in December, when the Christmas market is in full swing.
Neues Rathaus (The New City Hall)
A postcard favorite, Munich's town hall on Marienplatz is a Gothic Revival wonder, a monument worthy of the city. The facade is decorated with pinnacles, niches with small trefoil arches and statues of the first four Bavarian kings on the bay of the tower. The population of Munich doubled in less than 20 years between 1880 and 1900, and the Neues Rathaus, which was originally completed in 1874, had to be expanded only 20 years after completion. The said facade is 100 meters long and the building has been extended to 400 rooms and you can enter to climb 85 meters where you can see the Alps on cloudless days. Since 1908, the Glockenspiel has sounded every day at 11:00 and 12:00 and then at 17:00 (from March to October), with the machines playing episodes from the 1600s.
English Park
Scanning a map of the city, you will be surprised by the size of the English Garden. Created in the 18th century, the park starts on the left bank of the Isar in the north, behind the Residenz and seems to continue. At 370 hectares, this expanse of meadows, tree plantations, pastures, waterways and a lake is one of the largest urban parks in the world, larger than New York's Central Park. There are some wonderful attractions, such as a Japanese tea house added for the 1972 Olympics and the Chinese Tower based on the Kew Gardens pagoda and first erected in 1790. But something you might not expect to encounter is sailing: Yes Raul Eisbach , created by man, has a strong current, forming a static wave that experienced boarders travel for up to one minute in a row.