A weekend in Munich

The capital of Bavaria is famous for its beautiful architecture, fine culture and annual Oktoberfest beer celebration. Jodie Guichard pays a visit.

It may not have been Oktoberfest when I visited Munich, but I still drank more beer than I have in my entire life, in a city that you can be in for dinner if you leave in the late afternoon from Bristol Airport.

As I was only staying for a couple of days, I had booked myself into a Maritim Hotel, which are renowned for always being in a central location and close to a train station. That meant that once again I went from A to B really easily and before I knew it, I had checked into the hotel and was already heading out for my first adventure.

Unlike Berlin, it’s clear that Munich is not trying to keep up with the latest trends in nightlife and music. Instead, the country’s third-largest city has recently experienced a fair bit of gentrification while still keeping its local charm. 

Gastronomy has become a big part of Munich. There are so many lovely new restaurants frequented by a real mix of both locals and tourists. It also feels like a really safe city. The streets are immaculately clean and easy to navigate yourself around the different districts. 

There remains a longstanding LGBT district in which Freddie Mercury once lived for a bit, and a world-renowned club, Call Me Drella. The club is supposedly a nickname for Andy Warhol, and completely abducts you into a vampire’s living room and a dollhouse-esque interior. 

The next morning I woke up and enjoyed one of the Maritim Hotel’s lavish all-you-can-eat breakfasts, featuring salmon, cheese, bacon, fruit, bread and lots of red meat. It also included the weißwurst (white sausage) which I learnt that locals eat by cutting down the centre of the sausage, then pulling off the skin so they can dip the inners into a sweet chili sauce.

You can really fit a lot in to one day. The Glockenspiel is a famous tourist attraction located at the City Hall. Every day, starting from 11am it chimes a couple of times a day and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of a local duke, with the happy couple honoured by a joust with life-sized knights on horseback. A Bavarian knight has won every time of course for more than 600 years.

Another historic sight to see is Dodger’s Alley. When the Nazis came to power, they erected a memorial in Odeonsplatz to commemorate the failed Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923. All citizens were required to give a Nazi salute to the memorial as they passed. However, many refused to do so, and avoided it by turning down Viscardigasse. The alley is now paved with gold and is a memorial to all the men and women who refused to bow down. Very close by are the Lucky Lions. They are famous for bringing luck if you stroke their nose, and it’s quite nice watching all the locals rush past ensuring to have a stroke of the lions face on their way through. 

After having a look around some beautiful churches and walking around the pedestrian district I suddenly got to the shops. The unemployment rate in Munich is just five per cent and it really reflects in its choice of luxury brands and the number of shops it contains.

Then of course, you have to check out the beer gardens; a great place to socialise, people watch and enjoy a beer or gluhwein. The beer halls are huge. I couldn’t believe the sheer size of them. The rooms each hosting around 100 guests seemed to be never ending and you’ll eat and drink like you’ve never eaten or drunk before.

One-way flights from Bristol to Munich with bmi regional start from £98. As with all bmi regional fares, the price includes 23kg of hold luggage, allocated seating, complimentary in-flight drinks and snacks and speedy 30 minute check-ins. www.flybmi.com. For more information on Munich, visit www.muenchen.de/int/en.html. Located in the heart of the city, the newly refurbished First Class Deluxe Maritim Munich has 347 elegantly furnished rooms and suites as well a panorama rooftop indoor swimming pool. International specialties are served in the Wintergarten Restaurant and the Rôtisserie Restaurant serves Maritim’s signature breakfast buffet. For more information, visit www.maritim.com