Alright, so I may not have travelled to Munich on the weekend, but I did spend a weekendโs worth of time there, which means I have the low down on exactly what you need to do for your weekend in Munich.
Munich has to be one of the most surprising places Iโve been to. To be honest with you, I went with minimal expectations. We booked our Munich trip on a whim after realizing we had 24 hours left to use up some airline miles before they would expire.
Cue us quickly researching where we could go from London using our points. Munich it was! Iโve only been to Germany once before, Hamburg. And that was for an afternoon following a cruise weโd taken across from Southampton. It wasnโt quite enough time to get a feel for Germany. And given that I have German heritage, exploring this country has always been something I wanted to do.
How to get there
If youโre arriving from another country (or even a far distance in Germany), Iโd recommend flying into Munich Airport. It is one of the nicest airports Iโve been to. After clearing customs, we headed to catch the train into Munich city centre.
Youโll be looking for either the S1 or S8 S-Bahn trains to take you central to the Hauptbahnhof. A look on Google Maps will do the trick so you know which one is arriving first if youโre feeling confused by the boards. The train takes a good hour to get into the centre. Keep this in mind if you have booked plans upon your arrival and especially on your way back to the airport when you leave.
Also! I know in some European countries you can easily get away using public transport without purchasing a ticket (hello Milan)โฆ but here Iโd highly advise purchasing tickets before you board the train. There are police who will be walking throughout the train checking them. We had ours and were given a โsuper!โ by the guard. Which was lovely, but oh my goodness, I would have felt so intimated if we didnโt have them.
Where to stay
Cocoon Hotel – Near Hauptbahnhof
A super easy location is right nearby the central train station Mรผnchen Hauptbahnhof. Our hotel was a quick 5 minute walk from there, which was great considering we had our bags with us.
Upon recommendation from my friend Kim (Sweet Monday Blog) we stayed at the Cocoon Hotel. The hotel is Alpine themed and the staff couldnโt be lovelier. A fun thing they do is offer a โฌ5 bar tab if you forgo having your room cleaned. Each day you leave your room without housekeeping you get a โฌ5 tab.
Also, the rooms are incredibly affordable. We paid less than ยฃ100 per night for our stay which I personally thought was pretty reasonable.
Where to eat
While Germany is known for their pretzels and beer (and donโt worry, I have those recommendations. We focussed mainly on brunch during our stay – which I was more than happy to research.
Maryโs Coffee Club
The perfect place for you to go for brunch with your gal pals. Or if youโre like me, you take your husband along. Itโs a place that is โInstagram goalsโ from the pink walls to the neon signs through to the marble tables. Equally, the brunch measures up. We had avocado on toast with oat milk lattes. Yum.
LAX Eatery
If you didnโt know any better, you could say Iโm standing on a street corner in Lost Angeles right here. Iโm not, Iโm in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich.
Itโs actually a wildly popular foodie area of the city, Iโd say itโs a little like Shoreditch in London or Brooklyn in New York. A little hipster, but where isnโt these days, right?
We actually skipped out on big breakfasts and I had a taco salad (I know) and Joe had a sort of eggs/burrito combo. We also ordered coconut iced lattes because they looked SO good. Spoiler alert, they are delicious. If you order anything at LAX Eatery, get the coconut iced lattes.
Schiller Brรคu
For dinner, I canโt recommend Schiller Brรคu enough. Our hotel was nearby and we were kind of desperate for food but of course, we hadnโt booked a thing. So we decided to try to get into Schiller Brรคu. Somehow, luck was on our side and after a few minutes of waiting they found us a table. This was the BEST place we went for dinner on the whole trip and the only one worth talking about.
I ordered the โGreetings from Allgรคuโ, a classic cheesy spaetzle with tasty alpine cheese and roasted onions. Spaetzle is essentially a better version of Mac and cheese. Oh it was so delicious. Joe went with a meaty classic, pork Schnitzel covered in Bavarian pretzel crumbs. This was hands down the best dinner we had the entire trip and Iโd recommend it over and over.
Oh, and of course, they happen to also be a functioning brewery so be sure to try their selection too!
Where to drink
The Original Hofbrauhaus
Hofbrauhaus of course! Yes itโs touristy, but that doesnโt mean it canโt be fun. We drank TWO of the giant steins (ahem, each) along with two giant pretzels.
If youโve ever been to a Hofbrauhaus in America before, visiting the original is going to surprise you. Itโs a little less โpartyโ and more plenty of tables and people drinking. Ah, same, same but different.
Victuals Market
The open market! We grabbed a table outside because the weather was so great and sat out having drinks in the sunshine. It barely matters where in this instance, itโs just wonderful to sit in the sun having a pint. Donโt you think?
Di Rosa 2 Bar
We found this small little bar when we were wandering around and decided to pop in for a drink. Three Aperol Spritzโs later, you could say we were having a grand oleโ time.
It took me ages to find the name of this place for this blog post – so itโs one of those hidden gems that doesnโt have a website, so Iโve popped in their Facebook page for you here. Iโd highly recommend the Aperol Spritz but thereโs plenty on offer during their happy hour too! This was such a fun spot to end up – we had a great time!
What to do
There is SO much to do in Munich! When I started researching, I knew I was going to have to limit our activities because there is so much to do in this beautiful city.
Church of St Peter
Oh my this is one beautiful church. I know that many people beeline for the top in order to get views of the town square below. But try to pause for a moment and go explore inside the church. It is one of the most beautiful churches Iโve ever been in. It feels bright, airy and being inside truly does feel a little uplifting.
After visiting inside, take the stairs up to the top. We paid โฌ3 each in order to access the staircase. Please note, there is no elevator. So youโll need to be in fairly decent health to get up to the top. It is not an easy climb. I felt pretty exhausted and was happy to have a water bottle in my bag.
But once youโre at the top, OH MY. If the staircase didnโt steal your breath away, these views sure will.
The Siegestor
Wow, this is an incredible set of structures. The arch sits between the two Munich districts of Maxvorstadt and Schwabing. Currently the structure has an art exhibit that resides right beside it, the Love/Hate exhibit. Created by Mia Florentine Weiss the sculptures stand for the multi-layered ambivalence of Goetheโs most famous drama. But they also found additional meaning as the 100th year anniversary of the end of the first World War. They represent the current peace in Germany, transforming former hatred into love.
The Mรผnchen Residenz
I canโt recommend a visit to the Munich Residenz enough. Itโs the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is also slightly challenging to find if youโre going off of Google Maps (my usual go-to) so please note that itโs located on Residenzstraรe Street at the point that intersects Viscardigasse Street. Itโs in the massive building, but itโs so difficult to spot.
The entrance is totally unassuming. Youโll spot heavy doors that lead through to a large courtyard where youโll find the official Residenz entrance. Once youโve found it, youโll be kicking yourself if you walked around for an hour trying to find it! Use my tips so you can spend more time exploring and less time going โWHERE IS THIS PLACE?!โ
Inside itโs so utterly grand. You can choose a variety of tour options, we went for the cheapest tickets which were โฌ7 each. These allow you access to most of the rooms. Youโll recognize the hallway, the Antiquarium. Itโs featured quite frequently in travel blogs and all over Instagram. And while itโs stunning – and well worth getting a photo – the rest of the Residenz deserves your attention too.
A pro-tip if you are looking for that perfect shot of the Antiquarium go as closely as possible to closing hours. We only had a wait a few minutes for a clear shot.
And thatโs a wrap!
Thereโs only so much you can manage in a few days, so I hope this inspires your future Munich adventures.
As always, if you have any questions about my travels feel free to drop me an email or slide into my Instagram DMs!
Thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this, feel free to share the love on your social channels too!
Lots of love,
Kelly xox