Bavaria’s capital city Munich is thought to be founded around 1,158 meaning that there is plenty of History to explore. Stepping outside of the city can provide some amazing scenery, as it is just north of the Bavarian Alps.
Getting there
If you want to travel at a weekend a return flight with Easy Jet will be around £80 or if you fancy going during the week to save some cash it will be around £75, if you book roughly two months in advance. Flights depart from Manchester airport and a train ticket from Lancaster is £11.30 with a 16-25 railcard, this will take you straight to the station. Once in Munich you can choose to catch a train or a bus into the city centre.
Accommodation
Everyone has their own views when it comes to what makes a good hotel but one in Munich city centre will be around £52 a night with a 6/10 hotels.com rating. Fancy something cheaper? Hostels near the centre begin at around £21 a night. As always sharing with a friend will save you some cash as well as booking a month or more in advance.
Getting around
The city centre is great to walk around and absorb the sights but if you want to journey to the outskirts or just get around quicker, Munich runs an extensive public transport network made up of buses, trams and underground. A day ticket costs 5.20 € and lasts from the moment of validation until 6am the next day. If you are staying a bit longer a three day ticket is 12.80 € and is valid until 6am on the fourth day.
What to do there
Marienplatz is the central square in Munich; the square is surrounded by the Old and the New town halls. The Rathaus-Glockenspiel is situated on the front of the New town hall and is well worth a watch. Every day at 11am (also at 12pm and 5pm during the summer) the Glockenspiel chimes, the top half re-enacts the story of the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V, the bottom depicts the dance of the barrel makers who were first to enter the city after the plague in the 16th century. The show lasts between 12 and 15 minutes depending on which one plays that day and the end is signalled when the golden bird at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps three times.
One thing that gives Munich its fame is beer. Whatever time of the year you visit there is always one beer festival going on somewhere. Oktoberfest takes place in Munich every year from late September to early October and has become famous throughout the world. However if you are going to Munich in the summer, the city is an arrangement of beer gardens and tents filled with traditional food and drink.
If you are staying in Munich for a while and would like a day to see the area surrounding the city then i strongly recommend a visit to Neuschwanstein. It was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria, but he never had a chance to live in it and the castle was opened to the public immediately after his death in 1886. Built upon the top of a rugged hill overlooking the village of Hohenschwangau the architecture was the inspiration of Sleeping beauty’s castle and appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The castle is something of fairy-tales; the view of the surrounding area is something of dreams.
Top tips
- If you are intending to visit Neuschwanstein then I recommend you book with a tour group. Travelling on your own can mean extensive queues and unless you arrive early the likely hood of entry is slim.
- Walk around the centre of the city and absorb the sights for yourself.
- Seize the Bavarian spirit. You will see a lot of shops which sell traditional dress as well as people who still follow the tradition to this day.
