donnae_b

This is our first time to Munich, we will be there for five days.

We want to see the major tourist sites, cafes, concert halls.

Any suggestions in organizing our stay to get the most out of our time would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Mthomp77

Hi,

See you all are going to Vienna and Munich. We visited those cities in April/May as well as several other cities. Where will you stay and what are your interests?

We enjoyed St. Stephens and the view of Vienna from the tower, walking along the Danube, seeing the famous clock at Hoher Markt, seeing Maria Am Gerstade, St. Ruprecht's church, Hofburg castle, and Schonbrunn castle. (one of our favorites in Europe) Also went to the wine country just outside of town in Heilegenstadt, and ate/shopped in the Naschmarkt. We really enjoyed our 4+ hours wandering through the National Art History Museum.

Some of the highlights of our Munich visit were the Olympic Stadium, visits to the BMW HQ/Museum and Mercedes factory showroom (I'm a car buff), a climb us Alte Peter to get a great view of the city, visits to museums/churches, meals/fun at the Hofbrauhaus, shopping and people watching. We stayed at the Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons) so we were very close to most everything in the main part of the city.

Hope this helps.

Michael

bob_brown

There are a few attractions in Munich that I like a lot. The refurbished opera house puts on world class productions, but tickets are often hard to get.

Of course any major city like Munich has its collection of museums. Munich is loaded with small ones and a few big ones.

We found the Glyptothek to be fascinating. It has sculptures from Greece and Rome in one building and pottery, jewelery, and coins in another build accross the street. If you like that sort of thing, it is interesting.
If you don't, well, I guess you don't go.

If you are interested in art, there are at least two big museums. Der Alte Pinakothek is where the Ruebens, Titans, and similar works are housed.
The modern art place turned me off.
I just don't envisage old radios as being works of modern art; kitchen power mixers affect me the same way!
There was one piece of sculpture there by an American that summed my opinion quite succinctly. It was a work that was made up of car bumpers and fenders welded together. The name of the work was, and I am not joking, Horse Pucky.

The Residenz, home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, has been restored. It is the usual lavish monarchical house, full of tapestry, regal looking furnature and cabinets, and silver.

The Museum of Science and Industry, Deutsches Museum, is interesting to a point. However, unless you have a keen interest in mining engineering, keep out of the basement. We got down in there and wandered about for an eternity trying to get out. The exhibits are very well done. If you have an interest in mining and the life and work of miners, it is perhaps the best part.

There are also some aircraft from the "olden days". One that surprised me was a fighter aircraft that was a jet. The Germans never perfected it before the end of the war. But I have often thought that the guidance system onthe V2 rockets and if the controls of that jet fighter plane has been perfected, the outcome of the war would have been different. Perhaps not, the Russians were pouring millions of troops against a badly battered enemy.
Of course, if the jet had been combat ready in 1944, who knows???

It wasn't, and here we are today.

DavidD

donnae,

Munich is a colorful, progressive-minded city, with much on offer. Ditch the car and enjoy its pedestrian-friendly areas and cultural attractions.

A great place to begin your tour of the city is Marienplatz. It's a pedestrians-only gem of a location, featuring much distinctive (albeit highly restored) architecture as well as fine people-watching. Enjoy the many street performers, quality shopping, street-side cafes, and take the time to tour at least a couple area churches. The onion-domed Frauenkirche is noteworthy, and you will no doubt enjoy the inspiring views from atop St. Peter's church. Also, before leaving Marienplatz, make a point of viewing the most touristy yet fun glockenspiel show from the New Town Hall.

Other city attractions include:

Deutsches Museum (you can spend the better part of a day here, especially if your interests are technology-oriented);

Alte Pinakothek, a fine venue to see many great European artworks from the 14th to 19th century;

Residenz and Nymphenburg Palace, the former is often frustrating due to a confusing lay-out, but offers many noteworthy attractions, and the latter is located on the outskirts of the city;

Viktualien Market, an fun, colorful open-air market, located just beyond Marienplatz;

lastly, have a few beers and a picnic dinner at the Chinese Pagoda, located in the huge English Garden.

Best of luck.

donnae_b

We are staying at the Olympic Park Sheraton.

Thank you ALL for your comments!!

Michael, Thank you for mentioning walking along the Danube, I forgot how much we enjoyed walking the Thames and the Seine. We didn't know about the Clock at Hoher Market. The castles you mentioned are on our list. Can you drive the BMW's?
Bob, the Glypothek sounds like a great place to go. We love scuptures.
David, no cars for us, it is all public transportation and walking. A great way to see a city!
How?
"make a point of viewing the most touristy yet fun glockenspiel show from the New Town Hall."

MaureenB

We also visited Munich and Vienna this past June. Our weather was beautiful, so we opted for more outdoor sightseeing than indoor museums, thinking that the cities themselves are such beautiful outdoor museums. We took our guidebooks in hand and strolled around, looking in just about every church and cathedral we saw (and there are lots!).
In Vienna, we stayed at the very nice Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth, right in the center of town within a block or two of Stephansdom. We really enjoyed the Hapsburg's Imperial apartments, the Stephandsom catacombs, and Schonnbrun Palace. If you like horses, the Lipizzaners performing or exercising in the fabulous Winter Riding School is not to be missed.
For day trips, we highly recommend the train/boat ride to Melk and Krems from Vienna. You can get a "combi-pass" at the train station, for 39 Euro/apiece which covers the train to Melk, a tour of the gorgeous monastery there, boat ride to Krems and train ride back to Vienna. It makes a beautiful day. There's a pretty garden at the monastery where you can grab a light lunch. The Danube and the wine country you pass through are both lovely.
From Munich, we bought the Bayern Pass for two train day-trips. One day to Fussen to see the Neuschwanstein castle, another day to Salzburg. Each day pass covered up to five people round-trip, and it was only about 25 Euros-- a bargain we couldn't believe. That pass price even covered some buses and U-Bahn, too, I think. You can get it right before boarding at the train depot, no need to buy in advance. Some days it's for after 9 a.m. rush hour only, so check that out first.
Also, in Munich, our wonderful Hotel Uhland had bikes to borrow, and we took a nice bike ride around that end of town, by the Oktoberfest park.
You will love both cities. So much to do, you can't go wrong.

bob_brown

The English Garden is extensive and pretty if you like that sort of attraction. One can wander quite a distance around the woods, lakes and fields of this extensive green area.

The Rathaus clock display is worth at least one watching while the mechanical figures cycle around the clock when it strikes the hour.

Also, in my earlier post, I mistyped furniture. One would think I could spell better, but I often don't.

mike_b12

Thanks, any last minute tips on cafes,
Local hangouts, clubs with rock music?
thanks

RufusTFirefly

Actually, the Germans did use jet fighters at the end of the war. It was too much towards the end and there were to few fighters manufactured to change the outcome.

There's a memorial wood in Walldorf next to Frankfurt airport where a camp for Hungarian Jewish women was established--these women were assigned to upgrade the runways for jet aircraft use. The entrance to the memorial wood is near the corner of Nordendstrasse and Farmstrasse.

Some of the aircraft:

http://www.ww2guide.com/jetrock.shtml#262

http://www.ww2guide.com/jetrock.shtml#komet

http://www.ww2guide.com/jetrock.shtml#he162

http://www.ww2guide.com/jetrock.shtml#gotha

cmeyer54

This is basically what we did in 4-5 days in Munich. 1)go to Marienplatz, walk around the pedestrian areas, see the two or three major churches, watch the glockenspeil do its thing 2)take a 1/2 or full day of Munich with a bus/group. sounds hokey but its a good way to get oriented with explanations that you aren't searching for as you walk - go to Nymphenbourg Schloss on this trip 3)go to the olympic park; depending on the time of year, there may be outdoor events to see (we were there when they were hosting the european track and field championships), BMW museum if you have time 4)take a tour to Dachau - this was horrifying and a 'must see' all at once. our young teen children were very touched 5)take a day trip to Berteschgarten or Neuschwantstein - depending on your interests. 6)wander through the outdoor markets in Munich, sit and drink a beer in the square, go to alois dalmeyer and wish you had one of these at home! We didn't get to see the english garden except while on a morning jog - that would have been another site if time permitted. I really like Munich!