Munich first time--no idea what's there
 

Hi Fodorites!

So in order to get a cheaper flight for my trip through Europe in May, my aunt and I are flying in and out of Munich. At the end of our trip, we will be in Munich for about 1.5 days (we arrive around noon on Thur. and our flight leaves to go back to the U.S. on Sat. morning).

While I understand this is not enough time for ALL of Munich (so please refrain from responding "you barely have time!"), neither of us are very familiar with what the sights are, but want to see as much as we can.

Could anyone recommend 3 or 4 "do not miss these sights" that you think we could reasonably fit into a day and a half, how long it takes to visit each, and whether or not reservations are ever required?

To give an idea of what we are looking for, we like historical buildings/places of significant events having occurred there. We really have no interest in art museums, since this will take too much time to go through. We are looking at places that would take 1-3 hours to see. We DO want to go to a beer garden on Thur. evening so are there any in particular we should be sure to go to?

We are fast walkers and can cram in many sights (far more than a lot of other travelers I know), and we have the mind set of "I'd rather see 10 things briefly to be able to say that I saw them than to see only 5 things and miss others", so feel free to offer the "crammed" version of sightseeing in Munich if any of you have done it.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Carrie

DACHAU
Train from Mariaplatz to Dachau.

Marienplatz... walking around
English Garden.. (2 Beer gardens)
Residentz and the area around it.
hofbrauhaus
Walking around Munich
Dachau is very depressing and not a good way to end a vacation. We went there and left in less than an hour.

A couple of websites that may be of help:

http://www.muenchen.de/home/60093/Homepage.html

http://www.world66.com/europe/germany/bavaria/munich

gofer: I would not try to fit in Dachau in such a short time. I went and spent almost a full day there. I did not find it depressing so much as sad. If you had more time I would highly recommend it for the historical significance and rememberance of those that passed through those gates under very different circumstances. However, in the short amount of time you have available I would not try to fit it in as it will take most of the day when you consider the train ride out there.

For everything except the comments on Dachau I agree with the itinerary that Pinchme recommended. Have fun. Munich is a wonderful city.

I visited Munich last year and the highlight of my trip was a visit to the free BMW factory tour.

Now granted, I am a gear head, but the tour showed off quite a bit of the advanced technology that BMW has available.

I understand that the BMW Museum is now open, also.

The Deutsches Museum is also quite engaging.

Hi G,

Have you looked Munich up under "Destinations"?

Hi, thanks for the ideas. I have looked up various sites to see Munich's sites, but I wanted to ask those who have been there what they thought and about how much time it took them to visit the sights.

Personally, I would love to visit some of the camps since I am a history buff, however there is not time. I am planning a future trip where I will spend a longer period in Germany and will be sure to visit.

I like pinchme's suggestion so far, any other ideas are more than welcome.

One more thing, I always try to purchase something from each place the screams "Venice" (e.g. glass) "Salzburg" (e.g. puppets), etc to display in my house. Besides beer steins, are there any other items you would recommend?

Thanks again!
Carrie

You can easily spend a day simply walking around the historic center of Munich, stopping at various churches and other sights along the way. Any good guidebook should have a decent walking tour for you to follow. We spent one day in Munich doing just that. If you enjoy churches, Munich has a lion's share of beautiful structures. Be sure to climb a church spire or the Rathaus tower to get great views of the city.

Dachau is a moving experience and absolutely worth a visit, but I agree that you do not have time for it on this trip. We spent over 5 hours there, not including driving time.

Rather than beer steins (which IMHO are rather tacky, and no one actually uses them), and since you'll be at the end of your trip, consider buying a set of beer glasses from your favorite brewery. We bought Schneiderweisse glasses at the Weisses brewery where we had dinner one night (we just asked if they sold their glasses and they actually had a whole brochure of merchandise to choose from). They make a nice, useful souvenir and a fun conversation piece.

Marienplatz & the Residentz are very good suggestions. You could do the Residents on Thurs afternoon and end at the Marienplatz.

Friday might be a good day for the
Nymphenburg Palace and Park. It's a U-bahn or S-bahn ride outside of the city. I loved the Marstallmuseum (Museum of Carriages and Sleighs) on the same grounds.

The Museum of Porcelain sounded a little dull but as our ticket got us in we went and it proved interesting.

Whatever you do, Munich is a great city, it would be hard not to have a good time there.

When you go to the Residenz, make sure you talk to the black guy (he is kanda handicapped) on the second floor, you can't miss him. He is an American expat and has worked there for like 10 years. He knows everything about the place and some cool trivia too. My wife bought 3 Hummel pieces at a small shop near the Nymphenburg Palace for 70 Euros. We walked back to the Hauptbahnhof from there so I don't remember exactly where it was. I would guess about half way? It's a 3 mile walk. Nymphenburg Palace was a big let down. There was only 2 rooms/wings open and took maybe 30 minutes to see it all. We love Munich and have been twice for Oktoberfest. Last year it was sooo busy you couldn't move. You just had to go where everybody else went like cattle. It was still great!