Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [252]
JÜDISCHES MUSEUM MÜNCHEN
Many decades in the planning, the Jüdisches Museum München (Munich Jewish Museum; Map; 2339 6096; www.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de; St Jakobs-Platz 16; adult/concession €6/3; 10am-6pm, closed Mon) is a major undertaking that attempts to come to terms with one of the most sinister chapters in the city’s history. Contained within a modernist glass cube, the exhibits aim to show in a balanced, sensitive fashion the Jewish place in Munich’s cultural landscape over the ages, from medieval times through to the horrors of the Third Reich and today’s slow regeneration. Next door stands the quite forbidding, stone-clad new synagogue, built to finally replace the Romanesque synagogue that was razed by the Nazis in 1938.
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MY PERFECT DAY
We asked Gaby Holder, founder and owner of Radius Tours/Original Munich Walks for the past 21 years, how she would spend a day unwinding in the Bavarian capital:
‘My perfect day would begin with breakfast at Café Rischart, overlooking Marienplatz and the Glockenspiel (opposite) tower of the town hall.
Then it’s off to spend the morning relaxing at the Englischer Garten, maybe pausing to watch the surfers riding the permanent wave.
My favourite lunch spot is the Viktualienmarkt (opposite), Munich’s 200-year-old food market. I’d buy some cheese, olives and bread from the various stands, order an ale at the market beer garden and just sit and watch the world go by. Afterwards, I might find the energy to climb the tower of the nearby St Peterskirche (opposite) for the most stunning view of the city.
Suitably fortified, I’d head off on my bike in the afternoon to the vast grounds of Schloss Nymphenburg, and maybe relax with a book for an hour or two in the sprawling gardens.
The cosy little tavern beneath the Bier & Oktoberfestmuseum (below) is my choice for an evening meal of traditional Bavarian fare. Afterwards I’d hop aboard the S-Bahn to the cool Optimolwerke club near Ostbahnhof, where it’s party time until at least 3am.
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HOFBRÄUHAUS
No visit to Munich would be complete without a visit to the Hofbräuhaus (Click here), Bavaria’s (and possibly the world’s) most celebrated beer hall. The swigging hordes of tourists tend to eclipse the fabulous interior, where dainty twirled flowers adorn the medieval vaults. The ballroom upstairs was the site of the first large meeting of the National Socialist Party on 20 February 1920. The gift shop sells exorbitantly priced steins and pretzel-shaped postcards.
BIER & OKTOBERFESTMUSEUM
In a 14th-century timber-framed house is the cute little Bier & Oktoberfestmuseum (Map; 2423 1607; www.bier-und-oktoberfestmuseum.de; Sterneckerstrasse 2; adult/concession €4/2.50; 1-5pm Tue-Sat), providing a potted history of Germany’s national tipple. Pore over old brewing vats, historic photos and some of the earliest Oktoberfest regalia. The earthy tavern is open 6pm to midnight (closed Monday).
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Max-Joseph-Platz
Munich’s glitziest high-end shopping boulevard, Maximilianstrasse, begins at Max-Joseph-Platz (Map), home to some of the city’s most beloved edifices. Among them is the grandiose Nationaltheater (Click here), home to the Bavarian State Opera, and the granddaddy of them all – the Residenz. The square centres on a statue of Max I Joseph, the Bavarian king who proclaimed Germany’s first constitution in 1818.
RESIDENZ
On the north side of Max-Joseph-Platz looms the oldest section of the Residenz (Map), the huge palace that housed Bavarian rulers from 1385 to 1918. Statues of two lions guard the gates to the palace on Residenzstrasse; rubbing one of their shields is said to bring you wealth. The northern wings open into several interior courtyards – the Emperor, the Apothecary and the Fountain – as well as two smaller ones, Chapel and King’s Tract.
Residenzmuseum
The Wittelsbachs’ amazing treasures, as well as the trappings of their lifestyles,