Congratulations! You have chosen a fantastic destination. You have arrived in the cleanest, safest, most beautiful and, by the way, the most visited city in Germany.
Munich & beyond is pleased to welcome you.
You have no doubt done your homework and read a book or two about the area. This online guide will attempt to pick up where other guidebooks left off. Every effort has been made to ease you through the first few hours of the inevitable culture shock by providing you with practical information on how to get by in a “strange” city.
A few facts on the city
“Northern Most Italian City”, “Metropolis with a Heart”, “Village of 1.3 million” are but a few terms affectionately assigned to the city at the foot of the Alps. It was voted “the city most Germans would prefer to live in”.
Munich got its name from a small band of monks who founded the city in the year 1050. München (originally “zu den Mönchen”) means “by the monks”.
It received official status as a town in 1158 and in 1255 became the seat of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled for almost 750 years.
Munich is comparatively small, but don’t be fooled by its size! It is a bustling metropolis and one of Europe’s leading regions of art, culture and economic activity. It boasts 58 theatres, 45 museums, 82 cinemas and 130 public libraries and owes its economic acclaim to a thriving banking, film, and IT industry.
Practical Tips
A word about weather
Because of Munich’s proximity to the Alps the weather can be unpredictable. Summer isn’t always warm, winter isn’t always cold and rain can happen any time. There is also an interesting phenomenon known as “Föhn”, a warm, dry wind out of Italy, blowing across the Alps and resulting in clear skies but also causing headaches and short tempers to weather-sensitive persons.
If you are confused with metric system, here is a simple formula to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit: Double the Celsius and add 30 (this will get you pretty close), e.g. 15°C x 2 = 30 + 30 = 60°F
Getting around the city
Munich has an extensive public transportation system. It is clean, safe and reliable. It consists of a network of underground (U-Bahn), suburban trains (S-Bahn), trams and buses. Tickets are valid on all these. For easy reference we have included Munichs official public transportation map further on in this guide. We recommend stopping by the Tourist offices at the Main Railway Station or in the city hall at Marienplatz. There you can purchase the “Welcome Card”, the most economical way to get around.
