Kay

My husband and I are visiting Munich for two days the end of June. I have not seen many restaurant suggestions on the forum. Any suggestions for these and other must see's? Thank you.

paige

Hello! I live in Munich so maybe I can help. A good restaurant is the Ratskeller, underneath the Neues Rathaus in Marienplatz. It has all the standard German food plus other stuff, and good vegetarian options. The salmon there is always really good. There are loads of good Italian and Greek places around town. As for stuff to see, Munich is good to just walk around. Wander through Marienplatz, down the pedestrian zone (Neuhauser Strasse) and the Viktualienmarkt (the big food market). You can climb the tower at St. Peter's church for a good view of the city, or take the elevator up Frauenkirche (the big church with the 2 domes). There was a concentration camp in the town of Dachau which you can tour. It's 30-40 minutes away by train and bus. The nicest church in town is the Asamkirche on Sendlinger Strasse (SW of Marienplatz). It's really small but incredibly ornate. On a warm day it's sorta amusing to walk through the Englisher Garten and see all the nude folks. Have fun!

nickie

The italian restaurant Firenze at the Torbrau hotel is very good and moderately priced. I believe there is also a cafe located there that is supposed to be good. The Konigshof at Karlsplatz is fabulous, but quite expensive. Movenpick is usually a good bet, but I've forgotten which platz it is located in. And last and least - the Erstes Kartoffelhaus(first potato house) is really terrible. <BR>You might like to visit the Nymphenburg palace, which was a summer home to Bavarian royalty. There's also the alte pinakothek, with fabulous paintings. A fun place is the Deutsches Musuem, a hands on sort of Smithsonian, with a good mining exhibit.

rob

Yes, definitely got out to the Nymphenburg (UBahn to Rotkreuzplatz, then tram #12 to the palace). The palace itself is pretty good, but a villa/lodge/pavillion on the grounds called the Amalienburg is spectacular - art history book Rococo. A trip to the Nymphenburg is also woth it because there is a really charming kind of neighborhood restaurant right across the street in front of the palace, on the right side of the canal. No idea what the name of it is, but you can't miss it. I have never seen it listed in any guidebook - I stumbled upon it because it was convenient for lunch, and returned there on a subsequent trip to Munich and was just as pleased. <BR> <BR>Another place I like is the Nuernburger Bratwurst am Glockl, which is on the square (Domplatz?) with the cathedral in the middle. <BR> <BR>The food in Munich is really great. The only place I would avoid is the Hofbrauhaus. Horrifying. Maybe it's me - I live in Washington DC, and we have more than enough loud sweaty tourists here. <BR> <BR>I second the motion on Asamkirche. I would also add Theatinerkirche, which is convenient to the Residenz and the Hofgarten, and not too far from the Englischer Garten. <BR> <BR>Have a great time.

Monica

Paige, would you provide the names of the Italian and Greek restaurants you mentioned? My husband and I will be in Munich the last 4 days of our trip and we may want to try something other than German food by then. I do plan to head to the Ratskeller, which has been recommended by several others. <BR> <BR>Rob, if you are ever interested in getting together with fellow Fodorites from the DC/MD/VA area, please see my travel page for the next event. http://sites.netscape.net/monicapileggi/travel. I've have had several luncheons, mostly in Bethesda, which seems to be a good middle point to meet. And Bethesda has many great ethnic restaurants. I'll keep your suggestions in mind. I do plan to visit Nymphenburg. And we plan to visit the Deutsches museum. My husband is a pilot and he definitely wants to visit the aviation portion of the museum. <BR>

paige

Hey Monica! <BR>There's a good, little Greek place at Sebastiansplatz but I can't remember the name. It's something Taverna. This platz is right next to St. Jakobs Platz. It's at the far, SW edge of the Viktualienmarkt and then maybe 1/2 block further in the same direction. There's a really good vegetarian place called Prinz Myshkin on Färbergraben. From Marienplatz, head SW to Sendlinger Strasse and the street is on your right. <BR>If you want to try a neighborhood bar/restaurant, go to Leo's Lounge on the corner of Rosenheimer Strasse and Bazelles Str. It's about a 20 minute walk from Marienplatz or you can take the S-bahn to Rosenheimer Platz. They serve a wide range of stuff and it's always good. <BR>At Rosenheimer Platz is our favorite pizza joint called Bella Italia. It's nothing fancy but if the weather's nice you can sit outside and they have good food at really good prices. <BR>The Haidhausen neighborhood has lots of interesting choices. You can take the S-bahn to Ostbahnhof, then walk NW thru Bordeauxplatz. There are several Italian places and a few Spanish restaurants in the area. <BR>The Schwabing neighborhood also has tons of restaurants. Start at the Universität U-bahn and head west towards Amalienstrasse and Türkenstrasse. If you want to get together while you're here, drop me an e-mail! Happy travels!

Maria

Paige or any Fodorite,Maybe you could help us. We are looking for a place to stay during Oktoberfest (9/15 and 9/16)which is between the city limits and the Franz Josef airport but also near a train station. We have a very early flight on 9/17 and would like a convenient and quick train ride out there, but would also like to ride back and forth to the center of Munich for sightseeing. Many of the Munich guidebooks only list places within the city limits. We would like a stay at a moderate hotel or B&B (90-150DM). Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for everyone's help! <BR>

Alyssa

I thought Hofbrauhaus was fun... they have a band that plays, we got several good pictures of us pretending to play with the band. The food was very good and it was just what we were expecting when we thought of an old German pub, right down to their outfits. I would go in the early evening for dinner or maybe for lunch, because it was a little crazy at late night, crowded with lots of college kids. Also I liked our visit to Frauenkirche. At the entrance they have a devil's footprint... my brother-in-law's foot fit exactly inside which we thought was pretty funny... and it was very beautiful and bright inside. We also rented a car and drove to the castles of Ludwig in the Alps near Munich. We saw Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. They were very beautiful and we really enjoyed seeing them, and got amazing pictures, but it would take a whole day to see them, and you can still enjoy the night in Munich. We also ate at the Ratskeller. It was very good, like Paige suggested, but I guess the menu changes at late night so to get the full menu go earlier and there was no English translation, so if you don't know German it may be a little difficult for you. We asked the waitress what several things meant... but we also ordered them too I guess, because we had tons of food and thought we got a wrong order, but the waitress had thought we wanted everything that we were asking about, needless to say we were stuffed and a little sick the next day from eating it all... but it was good!!!

Bill Irving

I too liked the Hofbrau House, for both food & atmoshpere (& very large stein of beer)but to enjoy it, I think you have to be prepared to be in the mood. <BR>1 of my favorite restaurants was the Augistiner(SP) excellent food, beer, Pretzels & mustard. If you like asperagus(SP?) you will love some of the dishes they make with it in Munich, especially the soup. They use a white asperagus - I don't know the correct spelling, but something like Sparfarkel. We also found out that, at some places, if you can decipher the German menus rather than ask for English menus, you could actually get alittle bit better quality German food rather than a somewhat Americanized version of it. Beer, pretzels & mustard are fantastic in Munich.

Tom

I work for Siemens so I get to Munich often. The Hofbrauhaus is very, very touristy. Go where the locals go and visit the Augustinerbrau beer garden which is located up the street from the hauptbahnhof. You can drink liter mugs of beer and eat great German food under the stars on picnic tables in a relaxed woodsy environment. You will however, have to do without numerous loud, drunk American tourists who have been known to give Americans a bad name . <BR> <BR>Also, go to the Seehouse in the Englisher Gartens. Very nice, relaxing place to drink a beer and eat. Great scenery including fighting ducks and swans on the lake. <BR>

Naupaka

I have to agree with everyone who didn't like the Hofbrauhaus. So many people told me I "HAD" to go there.....but I really wish that I didn't waste my time there and had gone to a real German restaurant instead! Unless you have a lot of time and want to do something truly cheesy, I don't think you need to go there.

Paige

Just fyi, the Ratskeller has English menus, you just have to ask. Asparagus is Spargel.