I am going to Munich on September 9th and I'm spending 7 full days there (coming back home on the 17th).

What should I absolutely not miss while I'm there?

Any suggestions of places I should go on a day trip/weekend?

Any other hints/suggestions welcome

Thanks a lot!

Within the Munich city, you can check out the cathedrals, English Gardens ( a few beer gardens in it and nude sunbathers),the Royal beer hall (hofbrauhaus), state opera etc.

As for day trips, I would recommend a visit to the 'fairy tale castle' - Neuschwanstein Palace

http://www.neuschwanstein.de/

you can book a bus tour to the castle from the tourist office. The palace is located in Fuessen, approximately 1-2 hours drive from Munich.

As for typical Munich (Bavarian) food, my personal favourite :
Schweinshaxe (german pork leg)
Weiswurste (white sausages with pretzel, usually for breakfast)

Have a nice trip.

Check out the Marienplatz - ground zero for tourists. When I was there in May, the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) was covered with netting and scaffolding. Maybe some of our other posters know if this is still the case.

Dachau concentration camp is a must visit to get some idea of man's inhumanity to man..many tours operate to there or you can get info to do it yourself...you can also get some day tours that take you to Salzburg and Sound of Music country and be back in time to spend an evening in the hofbrahaus or take an evening brewer tour....also there possibly one of the best science and technical museums the Deutsch Museum...unfortunately for me while the exhibitions have explanations in both English and German all the demonstrations are done only in German (too bad)...behind the city hall there's an interesting fun market where you can get white sausage and sit in a beer garden guzzling down your favorite brew.

We were there the first week of August and the Altes Rathaus was still wrapped up. You can see the Glockenspiel but it is not playing the complete "show" - just the bottom level of characters going around a bit.
What everybody else said and go to the Viktualmarket and buy some food and have a picnic. We also enjoyed the Hofgarten. There are some really terrific street musicians who played just off the Marianplatz every night we were there - a classical quartet.
Weiswurst and pretzels for breakfast - doesn't get much better than that!

I agree with the other posts of sights to see but it sort of depends on what you are interested in.... museums (there are several good ones in Munich) Opera, beer halls, Nazi sites, Dachau, Bavarian folk evening (at the hofbrauhaus at 7pm, make reservations).

Hi fleur -

Wow. Lucky you.

In Munich, be sure to see the crown jewels at the Residenz (technically the Schatzkammer, I guess). Watch the surfers on the Eisbach from the bridge at the far southest end of the Englischer Garten. If you like engineering, the Deutsches Museum may be the best of its kind in Europe. West of downtown, definitely see the Nymphenburg Palace. The Palace is interesting and a bit different. The Coach Museum there is excellent - Ludwig II's weird sleigh is there. And probably my single favorite sight in Munich is in the grounds of the Nymphenburg - the little hunting lodge called the Amalienburg, perfect rococo, with a central hall in pale blue, mirrors, and silver gilt. There's also a great local restaurant in front of the Nymphenburg, on the right corner as you're facing the Palace.

If you feel like getting away from tourists, the Lehel neighborhood between the Residenz and the river is a nice place for a stroll and has good restaurants.

Definitely go to the beer garden in the Englischer Garten. The one near the Chinese Tower. The Hirschgarten next to the Nymphenburg is also supposed to be very good. For inside beer, I really like the Augustinerkeller on the main pedestrian street across from St. Michael's Church. The Weisses Brauehaus on Tal is really good too - very atmospheric. What you really don't want to bother with IMO is the Hofbrauehaus.

The food in Munich is great. Yes, definitely get the Schweinshaxe.

Ideas for day trips would be Neuschwanstein, Weiskirche, Linderhof (easy to see all three in a day if you have a car), the Zugspitze, Oberammergau, Berchtesgaden. For a weekend, I would definitely rent a car, drive south via Wieskirche to Fuessen, stay in Fuessen (the Hirsch is very nice), see Neuschwanstein first thing in the morning before the crowds, then contiue via Linderhof to Garmisch and take the cable car up to the top of the Zugspitze. Return to Munich by Autobahn or a slower but very beautiful road past Walchensee and Kochelsee.

Or maybe just an overnight in Berchtesgaden.

Where are you staying in Munich?

If you haven't been there Salzburg is close so you can go for an overnight or even a daytrip. It is included in the Bayern ticket for the trains so if you go after 9am it ie 27 euros for up to 5 people.

Another vote for Salzburg. I also enjoy just hitting a bus or train and going to small, non-tourist towns for a feel of "real life".

"Weiswurst and pretzels for breakfast - doesn't get much better than that!"

It can be a lil better.....
Weisswurst, pretzels and BEER for breakfast

I would put in a vote for Berchetesgaden as well. Eagle's Nest, Lake Konigssee, Jenner and even the salt mines. I love it out there.

I disagree about the Hofbrauhaus. As touristy as it is, I think its a must for first timers. Even if you dont stay at least take a walk thru. Its a couple blocks from the Marienplatz and easy to get to.

It's one beer, one Weißwurst and one pretzel for breakfast. However even to a local the one beer isn't a thing you do every morning. ;-).

bookmarking

In Munich I don't think anyone has listed the Alte and Neue Pinakothek art museums, which both have excellent collections.
I also recommend the Asamkirche which is on Sendlinger Strasse a few blocks south of the Marienplatz--amazing
Baroque interior.

For excursions outside the city you might consider
1. kloster Andechs on the Ammersee, a Benedictine abbey with great views and great beer. There are also boat trips on the Ammersee
http://www.andechs.de/index.asp?lng=en
2. Landshut, a smaller city on the Isar River with an impressive medieval city center.
http://www.landshut.de/landshut_english/

both are easy to reach with public transit. I wasn't sure whether you will have a car?

Hi,

- A day trip to Salzburg or Nuremberg is a must. If you travel by rail (2hrs) buy the Bayern Ticket (mentioned in previous post), which is a day travel pass for the entire Bavaria (Bayern in German) region.

- Tegernsee is a nice lake amongst the mountains sth. of Munich. Takes about 1hr in the train (Bayerische Oberland Bahn...or BOB). Day or wknd travel pass also available.

- Mittenwald is not bad for a day visit to the alps (2hrs on train)

- Bad Tölz (1hr on train) is a beautiful bavarian town, again sth. of Munich

- Munich, well you can't go wrong by just walking around.

Here are some photo links to give you some ideas:

http://www.travellingbazaar.com/travel%20germany.html

Have fun where ever you end up,

Bob.

We took a half day bike tour with Mike's Bikes and had a terrific time.

A couple favorites for food and beer are the Hirschgarten beer garden near Nymphenberg Palace (easily accessible with the S-Bahn or a tram, I think #16 or 17) and the Andecher am Dom restaurant about a block of the Marienplatz, behind the Frauenkirche, which is the famous church with the twin onion domes.

And speaking of the Frauenkirche, you can take a combination of stairs and elevator up to the top of one dome for a few euro. Very nice view. And at Alte St. Peter church, just south of the Marienplatz, you can climbe to the top of the tower and have a wonderful view from there too.

We loved the Deutches Museum too, just wandering around, as already mentioned. The Englischer garden is really great - it was hot when we were there, so we spent a nice afternoon hanging out in the river that runs through there - very popular hot day activity.

For a quick side trip, the town of Friesen is about a 30 minute ride on the S-Bahn from the center of Munich. It is a nice little town and you can tour the brewery there.