Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt is the district of Munich immediately south and west of Altstadt ("Old town"), which is the historic centre. It's where most visitors arrive, as it's the transport hub, with trains from all parts of Germany, S-Bahn commuter lines from the airport and elsewhere in the city, and the central bus station. It's crowded with budget accommodation, and its Theresienwiese park is the site of Oktoberfest.

Schwanthalerhöhe, the next district to the west, has a few sights which it's convenient to describe here.

Understand

Deutsches Museum

In German, a Vorstadt is an area just outside the very centre – the Altstadt – but tightly connected to it and densely populated. You'll get scornful looks if you call it a suburb, a Vorort. However that is how they all got started: beyond Munich's medieval city walls were poor, scrappy neighbourhoods, whose denizens couldn't afford central prices, or were too lowlife and louse-ridden to be let into a city constantly in fear of plague, treachery, and vagabonds. These areas urbanised in the 17th century, when Munich demolished its walls and expanded, but their flowering was in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they became lined with stately boulevards and impressive public and private buildings. Lehel, just east of Altstadt, was the earliest to get this treatment, and became so fused to Altstadt that most travel guides, including Wikivoyage, regard them as one.

Isarvorstadt is the area south of Lehel flanked by the Isar. Until the 19th century, Isarvorstadt was a landscape of small market gardens and mills powered by the river. The area's top attraction is the Deutsches Museum of science and technology, which takes up an entire island in the river, helpfully called "Museum Island". (Prater, the other large island downriver, is described as part of Altstadt-Lehel.) Isarvorstadt is a high-end residential area with lots of bars, pubs, and clubs, centred on Gärtnerplatz, a popular spot for lazing and being seen on a summer evening. Isarvorstadt is also the focus of the city's gay and lesbian community.

Ludwigsvorstadt is bounded by the railway tracks leading into the Hauptbahnhof, the city's main railway station. No surprise that the area just south of the station is crowded with hotels, hostels, eating places, gambling joints, sex shops, and street-traders touting, um, herbal tobacco. This is the ideal district to seek out ethnic cuisines: it's sometimes called "Little Istanbul", but it could be the diminutive Asian city of your choice. Given the number of trad eating and drinking places, it could even be dubbed "Little Bavaria", except that it hosts the biggest of them all: Theresienwiese (or Wiesn) is the scene of the annual Oktoberfest. The area further south is also known as "Kliniken", as there's a large hospital complex, though these facilities are migrating to edge-of-city sites.

Schwanthalerhöhe or Westend starts west of Theresienwiese. It's densely populated and was a working-class quarter until late 20th century. By then its housing stock was in poor shape, so it was re-developed and prices soared. Augustiner brew their beer here, and the main sight is the Verkehrszentrum (transportation) branch of the Deutsches Museum.

Get in

1 Hauptbahnhof: The main railway station has connections across Germany and beyond. See Munich#Get in for services and station facilities.

Bahnhof München Süd, the south station, is still displayed on some older maps, but it closed to passengers in 1985 and is now just a freight yard.

S-Bahn suburban trains run east-west through Altstadt to Karlsplatz and Hauptbahnhof then along the northern boundary of this district. S1 and S8 are from the airport, the others are S2, S3, S4, S6, S7 and S20. Westbound from Hauptbahnhof the stations are Hackerbrücke (for main bus station) and Donnersbergerbrücke, then they fan out to various suburbs. S7 and S20 may be useful for the south of the district, stopping at Heimeranplatz and Harras on the way to Sendling.

U-Bahn underground trains mostly converge on Hauptbahnhof and are the way to go north-south. At Karlsplatz the U-Bahn station is called Stachus and is 100 m north of the S-Bahn station. All of this district is within the inner city fare zone, which stretches 5 km out.

•  U1 ,  U2  and  U7  run from the north to Hauptbahnhof, Sendlinger Tor and Fraunhoferstraße then diverge southeast.
•  U4  and  U5  run from the east across Altstadt to Stachus, Hauptbahnhof, Theresienwiese (for Oktoberfest), Schwanthalerhöhe, Heimeranplatz and Westendstraße.
•  U3  and  U6  start in the north and cross Altstadt via Odeonsplatz, Marienplatz and Sendlinger Tor, then follow the riverbank to Goetheplatz and Implerstraße then diverge southwest. These don't run via Hauptbahnhof.

Trams converge on Hauptbahnhof from all over the city, see below.

2 ZOB the central bus station is just north of this area, see Munich#Get in for services.

By car: You'll wish you hadn't. The arterial roads are Lindwurmstraße from A95 and A96 south, Landsberger Straße / Bayerstraße from A8 and A9 west, and Altstadtring from the east and north. These are reasonably free-flowing outside of rush hour, but trying to park?? Check ahead with your accommodation what the deal is with parking. There's a multi-story parking garage at Karlsplatz 6 (€3.50 per hour, €25 per day) and a more expensive one (but better suited for larger vehicles) down the street, but street parking is only available to residents by permit.

Get around

Walking is usually the best option, as most sights are in a compact area.

Bike lanes run along the riverbank and most main streets. Your biggest hazard is getting stuck in tram tracks, whereupon your options are 1) dismount promptly and thork the wheel out, like a vet assisting a beast in labour, 2) keep going until you tumble and get a pizza-face, 3) meet a tram, which will dislodge you and the bike one way or another.

Tram lines 18 (from Gondrellplatz) and 19 (from Pasing) traverse the western suburbs along Bayerstraße to Hauptbahnhof. Line 18 then circles Altstadtring south to Isartor then follows the riverbank north to Lehel and Effnerplatz. Line 19 plunges right through Altstadt to Ostbahnhof then away out to St Veit Straße.

Line 17 runs from the northwest via Nymphenburg Palace then is joined by line 16 to Hauptbahnhof, Karlsplatz (Stachus) and Sendlinger Tor. Line 16 continues northeast to Isartor, Deutsches Museum, Effnerplatz and St Emmeram. Line 17 branches southeast to Fraunhoferstraße then across Haidhausen to Giesing and Schwanseestraße.

See

Anti-Covid measures at Deutsches Museum

• Children's Museum (Kindermuseum), Hauptbahnhof (within main railway station). School term Th F 14:00-17:00, Sa Su 10:00-17:00; school holidays Tu-Su 10:00-17:00. It's perhaps a misnomer, it's more like a crafts & play space, but could save the family sanity one wet day. €5.50. (updated Oct 2022)
• 1 Deutsches Museum (German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology), Museumsinsel 1 (S-bahn: Isartor, or U-bahn: Fraunhoferstrasse, or Tram 16: Deutsches Museum), ☏ +49 89 2179333, information@deutsches-museum.de. Daily 09:00-17:00. Enormous museum of science and technology, needing a full day, and even then you need to prioritise which galleries to explore - though half the fun is discovering the secrets of technology you'd never considered. Themes include natural sciences (from atom physics to music), materials and energy (including robotics), transport including aerospace, environment, health, agriculture and food, IT, communications and photography. At any time, some galleries are closed for refurb (these are indicated by the ticket booths), some are fresh and exciting, and some are getting tired. The museum is very popular, buy online to avoid queuing in the rain. Verkehrszentrum is the branch museum for transport west edge of this district, Flugwerft Schliessheim exhibits aviation north of the city, and there are branch museums in Bonn and Nuremberg. Adult €15, conc €8 (child, senior or student). (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Vater-Rhein-Brunnen is the ornate fountain which is the focal point of the north tip of Museum Island. It's a pleasant park, where outdoor events are sometimes held in summer. A footbridge spans downriver to Prater Island in Lehel.
• 3 Gärtnerplatz (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße) is the small park circus at the centre of Gärtnerviertel, the suburb laid out in the 1860s. Lined by imposing buildings, it's a popular gathering spot in the evening and the Staatstheater is on its south side.
• 4 St Maxmilian Church, Auenstraße 1 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 2024070. M-Th 10:00-16:00. In a prominent position on the banks of the Isar, this Roman Catholic parish church was mostly complete by 1908, though the sacristry was only added in 1938. It was bombed during wartime but restored by 1953. It was again closed for restoration during 2021. The mighty organ and church bells will get your attention when they sound off, and the church sometimes hosts concerts. Since 1993 the pastor has been the flamboyant Rainer Maria Schießler (b 1960), who used to serve beer at Oktoberfest. No, not in a low-cut dirndl. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• 5 Sendlinger Tor is one of the three surviving (though much altered) gothic city gates: Isartor and Karlstor are the others. In the 13th century the city expanded and needed a new defensive wall and gates. Sendlinger Tor originally had a central tower over a triple gate, and two flanking towers were added in 1420. All this did an excellent job of impeding modern traffic, so in 1906 the central tower and triple gate were demolished and replaced by a single arch. It's now a pedestrian area and hosts a Christmas market. Step through it to enter Aldstadt.
• St Matthäus or Matthew's is the tall Lutheran church on Nußbaumstraße 100 m west of Sendlinger Tor. It was destroyed by wartime bombing, like so many especially near the railway station, and rebuilt in the 1950s in a style we might one day come to appreciate. It looks like a fire station tower.
• 6 Old South Cemetery (Alter Südfriedhof), Thalkirchner Straße 17 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U3, U6, U7: Sendlinger Tor), ☏ +49 89 231 99343. Daily 08:00-20:00. This was established in 1563 when plague overfilled the church graveyards, and bodies needed to be interred beyond city limits. St Stephan's church at its main north entrance was built at the same time. From 1788 to 1868 it was Munich's single collective burial ground, becoming non-denominational, so it's the last resting-place of some 14,000 citizens. The roll-call includes Josef von Fraunhofer, Friedrich von Gärtner, Leo von Klenze, Justus von Liebig, Georg Simon Ohm and Carl Spitzweg. Also here are many of the 1100 victims of "Sendling's Night of Murder" (Sendlinger Mordweihnacht), a peasant rebellion against Austrian rule in 1705. The cemetery is studded with elaborate gravestones and crypts, and you can find particular graves on the city cemetery website. It was gradually closed down during the early 20th century but is maintained as a cultural relic and green space. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• St Anton's is the RC church on Kapuzinerstraße just south of the cemetery. It was built in Romanesque style in 1893, replacing an 18th century Capuchin monastery church, and the monks still use it. It's open daily 08:30-18:30.

St Paul's by night

• 7 St Paul's church (Paulskirche), St-Pauls-Platz 10 (U-Bahn U4, U5: Theresienwiese), ☏ +49 89 531547. Daily 08:00-20:00. Massive Roman Catholic church in neo-Gothic style, completed in 1906. It was bombed out in 1944 but rebuilt, albeit with a simpler interior. Its best known feature is the 97 m main tower. In 1960 a Convair C-131 transport plane lost power on take-off, clipped the tower and crashed into the street, killing all 20 on board and 32 in a passing tram. The tower can be climbed to a viewing platform but only during Oktoberfest (donation, and weather dependent), commanding a view from the Wiesn festivities below to the Alps. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• 8 St Andreas' church, Zenettistraße 46 (U-Bahn U3, U6: Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 774184. Daily 09:00-18:00. Striking modern Roman Catholic church completed in 1953. Even more striking are the five bells, which are trying their best to be heard in Hamburg. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• 9 Bavaria statue and Hall of Fame, Theresienhöhe 16 (U-Bahn U4, U5: Theresienwiese), ☏ +49 89 290671. Apr-mid Oct daily 09:00-18:00; in Oktoberfest statue 09:00-20:00, hall closed. Early 19th century Bavaria was a pawn in conflicts between Austria and Napoleonic France, so when Ludwig I came to the throne in 1825, he sought an iconic statue to symbolise Bavaria's strength and independence, and a hall of fame to celebrate its heroes. There was a design competition, and since Ludwig was a great admirer of classical Greece, that was the style that won. The ensemble was completed in 1850, and casting the 18.5 m female statue in bronze was a huge engineering challenge. A stairway within ascends to a viewing platform in her head, so you can see what she sees. It's mobbed and claustrophobic during Oktoberfest (when it opens late), as it looks onto the nearby Wiesn grounds. The Hall of Fame was bombed out in the Second World War but re-opened by 1972. The display of famous Bavarians is not static but evolves to recognise new stars. The Hall of Fame is closed during Oktoberfest. Adult €5, concessions €4. (updated Oct 2022)
• 10 Verkehrszentrum, Am Bavariapark 5. Daily 09:00-17:00. This branch of Deutsches Museum is about transport of every kind. The main themes are urban transport, travel, and mobility and technology. The building was the halls of Münchner Messe, the trade fairs, until they moved out to the eastern suburbs. Adult €8, conc €5 (child, senior or student). (updated Oct 2022)

Do

Inside a tent at Oktoberfest

• 1 Oktoberfest (U-Bahn: U4, U5 Theresienwiese): In late September Munich resounds to this famous festival, the world's largest beer festival. It usually lasts 16 days, to end on the first Sunday in October - dates are set for ten years ahead. The festival is extended by a day or two whenever German National Unity Day on 3 Oct (a public holiday celebrating the merger of East and West Germany) falls just after the normal Sunday closing. That next happens in 2023 then 2028.

The first Oktoberfest was on 12 Oct 1810, to celebrate the marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. All citizens of Munich were invited to a meadow (Wiesn) situated in front of the city tower, subsequently renamed Theresienwiese in honour of the bride. In the early years of the fair, horse races were held, then as the event grew they added agricultural conventions, which still take place every fourth year. In 1896, businessmen working with the breweries in Munich built the first giant beer tents, and drinking beer has been the primary focus ever since. Although it's still called Oktoberfest, the festival was soon moved to start in September for better outdoor weather.

There are some 24 large tents (capacity circa 10,000, mostly but not all under cover) presided over by the major breweries, and a similar number of small tents seating a few hundred apiece. Each tent serves its brewery's own beer, with incredibly strong barmaids hoisting ten or more Maß one-litre glasses of beer - those glasses are heavy even when empty! Musicians lead the crowd in popular drinking songs, and there's food. And of course toilets, with hordes of drunken people jostling to get in. There's at least one wine tent, carnival games, amusement rides, and other entertainment. In 2019, Oktoberfest hosted 6.3 million visitors from 55 countries who drank 7.3 million litres of beer, so each visitor drank less than 1.2 litres. The all-time attendance record was 7.1 million visitors in 1985.

Sendlinger Tor: step through into Altstadt

What you need to know:

1. Book well ahead with accommodation, and even so, expect to pay double. Everything decent will sell out, even mid-week, and even in nearby towns such as Augsburg. Budget air tickets and Sparpreis rail tickets will also be hard to find.
2. If you know which brewery's product you prefer and which days you want to come, reserve a place online on that brewery tent's website.
3. Don't bring small children at weekends. Each Tuesday from 12:00 to 18:00 is family day with discounts on many rides. Children aren't allowed in beer tents after 20:00.
4. Don't bring a backpack, or any bag larger than 3 litres. All bags will be checked at the Wiesn entrance, and acceptable small bags tagged. You'll have to leave larger bags at the nearby left-luggage lockers, for a fee, and probably involving a queue.
5. Walk there if possible. The closest underground station "Theresienwiese" (lines U4 and U5) gets horribly crowded and is sometimes closed to avoid dangerous congestion. An alternative is "Goetheplatz" (lines U3 and U6) - also crowded, but at least you'll be able to breathe, and the exiting crowd will carry you willy-nilly to the Wiesn gates.
6. There's no entrance fee for the Wiesn site or the individual tents, but of course you'll be paying for drinks, food and amusement - reckon €13 for a litre of beer. You can buy beer tokens in advance.
7. Wiesn opens at 09:00. Individual beer tents open at 10:00 midweek and serve beer from noon. They open at 09:00 on weekends and serve all day (except the opening Saturday, the tapping day or "Anstich", with the first beer keg ceremonially broached at noon). They will only admit as many people as they have seating, then they're full. Midweek they're often full by early afternoon, weekends by late morning. If you leave the tent for any reason, you won't get back in.
8. Smoking is forbidden within the tents. Some tents have designated smoking areas outside.
9. The bar usually stops serving at 22:30. Make sure you finish your beer by 23:30, when the tent closes and security will briskly eject all stragglers.
10. Outside the tents, there's lots to eat, drink and do. You'll have a good time, but you won't get the full-on, oompah-oompah, wow-only-in-Munich experience.
11. You're welcome to buy a beer mug, don't try to nick one. Security at the exit will search for that very thing and each year they confiscate over 100,000. They'll probably just scowl and send you on your way, but being accused of theft is never a good place to be. Not in Germany.
12. In 2019, 3,800 items were turned into the Lost & Found office including 780 ID cards, 660 wallets, a set of dentures, a children’s pram, and a wedding ring.
13. After the Oktoberfest closes in the evening, a few venues offer special "After-Wiesn" parties. However, many nightclubs and bars refuse entry to people in traditional costume during Oktoberfest - they reckon you've had a skinfull of drink already. As if!

Tollwood Winter Festival

• Cinema: Mathäser is a multiplex on Bayerstraße between Stachus and Hauptbahnhof, which usually shows one or two movies in their original language.
• Climb St Paul's bell tower at Oktoberfest: see above for directions, but you can hardly fail to see this huge church just north of Wiesn. The twin west towers are 72 m, but the main tower is 97 m and this is the one you climb. By donation, weather dependent, and only during Oktoberfest.
• Oktoberfest Museum is a permanent display of the event's history, near Isartor in Lehel district.
• Tollwood Winter Festival is held on the Wiesn site from late November to Christmas, with music, food stalls and a Christmas Market. Their summer festival is mid-June to mid-July in Olympiapark, see Munich/North#Do.
• State Theater at Gärtnerplatz (Gärtnerplatztheater), Gärtnerplatz 3 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 218 51960. Opulent theatre-house opened in 1865 and mainly showing opera, with occasional operettas, musicals, and ballets. (updated Oct 2022)
• Deutsches Theater München, Schwanthalerstraße 13 (200 m south of Hauptbahnhof), ☏ +49 89 552 34444. Grand theatre opened in 1896, the style is called neo-baroque but in this upmarket district the building doesn't greatly stand out. Early fare was music hall, popular comedy and light theatre. Nowadays their programme is mostly musicals, with some theatre, ballet and operetta. The theatre was extensively refurbished 2008-2014. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Münchner Volkstheater, Tumblingerstraße 29 (U-Bahn: Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 523 4655. The theatre left its old venue on Brienner Straße in 2021 and now dwells down near the southside railway tracks. They offer an eclectic mix, often contemporary takes on the classics. (updated Oct 2022)
• Relax on the riverbank: there are footpaths and bike paths along the Isar. On the opposite riverbank in Haidhausen is the large park of Frühlingsanlagen.
• Pink Christmas is a gay / lesbian Christmas fair on Stephansplatz just south of Sendlinger Tor, from late Nov to Christmas Eve. The name is literal: everything is coloured pink. They put on a live show at 19:00.

Buy

Bavaria Statue and Hall of Fame

• Galeria (formerly Karlstadt), Bahnhofplatz 7 (opposite main railway station). M-Sa 09:30-20:00. This department store, built in 1904/05, fills the block between the railway station and Karlplatz S- and U-Bahn. It's got everything, and is very busy on Saturdays. (updated Oct 2022)
• 1 Optimal Records, Kolosseumstraße 6 (U-Bahn: U1,U2 Fraunhoferstraße Rosenheimer Platz, Tram: Lines 17, 18, 27 Müllerstraße; shop is 100 m south of Müllerstraße), ☏ +49 89 268185, info@optimal-records.de. M-F 11:00-20:00, Sa 11:00-18:00. Shops for vinyl records are everywhere disappearing but Optimal record store, founded in 1982, is still going. These are new records, they don't run an exchange, and they also stock CDs, mags, books and wine. So that's your nostalgic weekend sorted. The stock is mostly techno, house and electro vinyl, and famous names from the vinyl era are occasionally seen here. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Public Possession, Klenzestrasse 16 (S-Bahn: Isartor, U-Bahn: U1,U2 Fraunhoferstraße; 50 m northeast of Gärtnerplatz), ☏ +49 89 260 10425, info@publicpossession.com. Th-Sa 12:00-18:00. Record store dealing in electro, techno, house and disco vinyl and with artistic merchandise. (updated Oct 2022)

Eat

Budget

• 1 Bergwolf, Fraunhoferstraße 17 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 232 59858. M-Tu 12:00-15:00, 18:00-00:00,W- F 12:00-15:00, 18:00-02:00, Sa 12:00-04:00, Su 17:00-22:00. German fast-food, dishing up sausages, fries, beer and rock music late into the night. Reviewers continue to praise their Currywurst. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Haguruma, Baaderstraße 62 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 139 39926. Tu-F 12:00-14:00, 18:00-23:00, Sa 18:00-23:00. This Japanese restaurant continues to delight. (updated Oct 2022)
• Bistro Lavash, Goethestraße 7a (100 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 545 08663. M-Sa 09:00-22:00, Su 10:00-21:00. Reliable Turkish eatery with good menu selection. (updated Oct 2022)
• Middle Eastern places crowd along Schwanthalerstraße one block south of the station and Landwehrstraße the next south. Those with decent reviews include Servus Habibi, Altın Dilim, Hindu Kush, Sara, Nur and Derya.

Mid-range

"But does anybody know where this party is?"

• 3 Roecklplatz, Isartalstraße 26 (U-Bahn U3, U6: Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 452 17129. M-Sa 17:30-00:00. Traditional German food with modern flair, plus popular but un-touristy beer garden. (updated Oct 2022)
• Faun, Hans-Sachs-Straße 17 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße; 50 m west of Sushi + Soul), ☏ +49 89 263798. M-F 10:00-01:00, Sa Su 09:00-01:00. Bistro with affordable Bavarian and international cuisine. There's seating outside and the indoor area has an Art Nouveau ceiling; the sports bar is mobbed during big matches. (updated Oct 2022)
• Deutsche Eiche, Reichenbachstraße 13 (100 m north of Gärtnerplatz), ☏ +49 89 231 16661, info@deutsche-eiche.com. Daily 07:00-01:00. This hotel restaurant caters to non-residents and gets great reviews. Look for the row of flags, including an LGBT flag to mark the hotel's history in the gay community, and usually a platter of raw mushrooms outside the main entrance. Sometimes they display a poisonous mushroom saying that it's for the mother-in-law, that's how inclusive they are. (updated Oct 2022)
• 4 Fraunhofer, Fraunhoferstraße 9 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 266460. M-Sa 17:30-01:00. Trad Bavarian restaurant with a theatre and cinema in the backyard: this was film director Fassbinder's favorite restaurant. (updated Oct 2022)
• 5 München 72, Holzstraße 16 (U-Bahn & Tram: Sendlinger Tor), ☏ +49 89 973 43785. M-F 17:00-01:00, F 16:30-03:00, Sa 10:00-02:00, Su 10:00-22:00. Comfy café-bar with 70s decor in homage to Munich's 1972 Olympics. (updated Oct 2022)

Splurge

• 6 Sushi+Soul, Klenzestraße 71 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 201 0992. Daily 18:00-01:00. Japanese restaurant with a modern atmosphere and freshly prepared sushi and sashimi. They also have a large assortment of cocktails and Japanese whiskeys. Pricey, and some reviewers aren't convinced it's worth the extra. (updated Oct 2022)
• Münchner Stubn, Bayerstraße 35-37 (south side of main railway station; U- and S-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), ☏ +49 89 551 113330, servus@muenchner-stubn.de. Daily 11:30-23:00. Trad Bavarian fare, right by the station but doesn't feel tourist-trappy. (updated Oct 2022)

Drink

Beer gardens

• 1 Bavariapark beer garden, Theresienhöhe 15 (U-Bahn U4, U5: Schwanthalerhöhe), ☏ +49 89 45211691, info@wirtshaus-am-bavariapark.com. Daily 12:00-00:00. Beer garden and restaurant serving Augustiner with 1500 seats, on the park between Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum and the Bavaria Statue. It's also next to Theresienwiese the venue of Oktoberfest, but if you come out of there in need of a beer something's amiss. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Paulaner Bräuhaus, Kapuzinerplatz 5 (U-Bahn U3, U6: Goetheplatz), ☏ +49 89 5446110, info@paulaner-brauhaus.com. Su-Th 11:30-23:00, F Sa 11:30-00:00. Beer garden with 800 seats at the site of the original Paulaner brewery. Decent food and slick service, but some street noise from the busy intersection, so you can't imagine you've been hiking in the Bavarian forests. (updated Oct 2022)

Bars

Alte Utting: all aboard!

• 3 Alte Utting, Lagerhausstraße 5 (U-Bahn: U3, U6 Poccistraße or Implerstraße, Bus: 62,132 Lagerhausstraße), ☏ +49 89 707770, info@alte-utting.de. Tu-Th 16:00-00:00, F 16:00-02:00, Sa 11:00-01:00, Su 11:00-22:00. This ship was a steamer on a Bavarian lake until 2016. It now perches on a railway bridge, an offbeat venue undecided whether it's The Flying Dutchman or The Flying Scotsman. It has beer, grills, live music, cabaret and disco, a beer garden, and from the upper deck surely the most unusual view over Munich. (updated Oct 2022)
• 4 Zur Gruam, Thalkirchner Straße 114 (U-Bahn: U3,U6 Poccistraße or Implerstraße; beneath Alte Utting), ☏ +49 89 287 01881. Th 20:00-05:00, F Sa 22:00-06:00. Once a corner pub, this tiny venue has turned into a trendy bar and afterhours-club with disco feeling and live electro DJs. (updated Oct 2022)
• 5 Couch Club, Klenzestraße 89 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7, Tram 17: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 125 55778, info@couch-club.org. Closed. Guests sit in comfy couches or at the long bar in this cozy place. They have over 100 varieties of gin. The club remains closed in 2022. (updated Oct 2022)
• 6 Frau im Mond, Rooftop Deutsches Museum, Museumsinsel 1 (Tram 37: Deutsches Museum, S1,S2,S3,S4,S6,S7,S8: Isartor, U1,U2,U7,U8: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 89 058 457, info@frauimmond.bar. This rooftop bar on top of the Deutsches Museum, named after the science fiction silent movie by Fritz Lang from 1928, offers a view to the south over the Isar river and events with live DJs. (updated Sep 2023)
• 7 Kulturstrand, Isar balcony, Corneliusbrücke (Tram 37: Deutsches Museum, S1,S2,S3,S4,S6,S7,S8: Isartor, U1,U2,U7,U8: Fraunhoferstraße), info@die-urbanauten.de. Daily 12:00-00:00. Perched on the tip of Museum Island, this is a bar with various live events. It compares itself to the urban beach of Paris Plage, it's more like a terrace overlooking the sandbanks as the Isar divides. (updated Oct 2022)
• 8 Lola, Ickstattstraße 2a (Tram 16, 17, 18: Müllerstraße), ☏ +49 176 240 00083. W-Th 18:00-01:30, F Sa 18:00-03:00. Lively weekend late-night bar, refurbished in 2022. The place downstairs, Mucki & Floyd, is no longer a night club. (updated Oct 2022)
• Niederlassung, Buttermelcherstraße 6 (Tram 16, 18: Reichenbachstraße; 100 m northeast of Gärtnerplatz), ☏ +49 89 326 00307. Tu-Th 19:00-01:00, F Sa 19:00-03:00. A cozy bar specialising in gin. No food. (updated Oct 2022)
• Robinson's Bar, Corneliusstraße 14 (Tram 16, 18: Reichenbachplatz; on Gärtnerplatz). M 14:00-01:00, Tu-Th 14:00-03:00, F Su 12:00-03:00. They bill themseves as a New York cocktail bar, which won't wash if you know New York, but mostly they get good reviews. (updated Oct 2022)
• Zephyr Bar, Baaderstraße 68 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7 & Tram 17: Fraunhoferstraße; next to Hagurama restaurant), info@zephyr-bar.de. Tu-Su 20:00-01:00. Bland modern exterior, within is a very chic cocktail bar. No table reservations so get there early, and cash only. (updated Oct 2022)

Clubs

• 9 Bahnwärter Thiel, Tumblingerstraße 29 (U-Bahn U3, U6: Goetheplatz, Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 452 15063, info@bahnwaerterthiel.de. Techno club and alternative cultural centre that resides in graffiti-covered pile of ship containers. The inventory of the club includes many curiosities such as discarded subway cars, trams, construction cranes or carriages. The venue also has an outdoor rave area where the DJ resides within the cab of a decommissioned subway car. The operators also run the Alte Utting lake steamer which has somehow ended up on a railway bridge only a few minutes walk away and has become a bar. (updated Oct 2022)

DJ in the U-Bahn car at Bahnwärter Thiel

• 10 Blitz Club, Museumsinsel, Ludwigsbrücke (S1,S2,S3,S4,S6,S7,S8: Isartor, Rosenheimer Platz), ☏ +49 89 380 126561, kontakt@blitz.club. F Sa 23:00-08:00. Techno club in the former historic congress hall of the Deutsches Museum. One of the main venues for techno in Munich with a regular international DJ lineup. It also offers a series of gay events called Cruise. Note that the club has a strict ban on photography and filming. (updated Oct 2022)
• 11 Kauz Bar (formerly Cord), Sonnenstraße 18, 80336 München (Karlsplatz (Stachus)), ☏ +49 89 122 59079. F Sa 23:00-05:00. Live music club in city centre, mostly R&B. (updated Oct 2022)
• 12 Corleone-Neuland, Pettenkoferstraße (U1, U2, U3, U6, U7, U8: Sendlinger Tor), ☏ +49 178 7888220, mail@corleone.cc. Tu-Th 18:00-01:00, F 18:00-04:00, Sa 20:00-04:00. Tiny art bar turning into an electro club at night. (updated Oct 2022)
• 13 Legal Club, Thalkirchener Straße 2 (U1, U2, U3, U6, U7, U8: Sendlinger Tor). Techno and house club with a wooden dance floor at Sendlinger Tor. (updated Mar 2023)
• 14 Milla, Holzstraße 28 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7 & Tram 17: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 189 23101. Su-Th 20:30-02:00, F Sa 20:30-04:00. You're not drunk (yet), the dance floor really does careen at that angle. Clutch your drink firmly while balancing on worn out couches or wooden chairs in this long narrow music venue. (updated Oct 2022)
• 15 Strom, Lindwurmstraße 88 (U-Bahn: U3,U6 Poccistraße, Bus:62,N40,N42), ☏ +49 89 242 05711, office@strom-muc.com. Small club and live music venue in the basement of an old business house with a focus on indie rock and post-punk. (updated Oct 2022)
• 16 Substanz, Ruppertstraße 28 (U-Bahn U3, U6: Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 721 2749, info@substanz-club.de. Th-Sa 19:00-03:00. This club hosts indie bands. house or hip-hop music, and shows TV sport. (updated Oct 2022)
• 17 Wannda Circus, Völckerstraße 5 (U-Bahn U6: Studentenstadt). Venue that consists of several old circus tents and hosts techno club nights, indie rock concerts and wild fashion shows. (updated Oct 2022)

Sleep

Ludwigsvorstadt is the place to stay if you can't find affordable accommodation in Altstadt or want to be within staggering distance of Theresienwiese. Budget and mid-range places cluster just south of Hauptbahnhof - practically every other building there contains a hotel.

Budget

• 1 CVJM Youth Hostel, Landwehrstraße 13 (200 m south of main station), ☏ +49 89 552 1410. Clean hostel with good breakfast and friendly service. (updated Oct 2022)
• 4You Hostel, Hirtenstraße 18 (100 m northeast of main station), ☏ +49 89 552 1660. Clean friendly convenient place. Dorm €30 ppn. (updated Oct 2022)
• Pension am Hauptbahnhof, Schillerstraße 18 (100 m south of main station), ☏ +49 89 597673. Right by the station, cleaning erratic. B&B double €70. (updated Oct 2022)
• Hotel Jedermann, Bayerstraße 95 (100 m southwest of main station), ☏ +49 89 543240. Basic but acceptable place southeast of station. B&B double €130. (updated Oct 2022)
• A&O Hostel, Bayerstraße 75 (south flank of main station), ☏ +49 89 452 3575700. Right by the station, cleaning erratic. (updated Oct 2022)
• Euro Youth Hostel, Senefelderstraße 5 (100 m south of main station, next to Jaegers), ☏ +49 89 599 0880. Friendly lively central place. Dorm €23 ppn. (updated Oct 2022)
• Jaeger's, Senefelderstraße 3 (100 m south of main station, next to Wombats), ☏ +49 89 555281. Clean and comfortable lodgings, good place to meet other travellers. Dorm €30 ppn. (updated Oct 2022)
• Wombats City Hostel, Senefelderstraße 1 (south flank of main station), ☏ +49 89 599 89180. Buzzing hostel, great central location. They have another in Werksviertel. Dorm €26 ppn. (updated Oct 2022)

Mid-range

• Hotel Amba, Arnulfstraße 20 (north flank of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 545140. Basic central place, noise from station and street. B&B double €70. (updated Oct 2022)
• Hotel NH (formerly Deutscher Kaiser), Arnulfstraße 2 (100 m north of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 54530. Good location and service, the decor is chain-bland but you'll be too busy in town to notice. B&B double €170. (updated Oct 2022)
• Creatif Hotel Elephant, Lämmerstraße 6 (50 m north of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 555785. Great value for its location right by the station. B&B double €150. (updated Oct 2022)
• 2 Carathotel München, Lindwurmstraße 13 (U-Bahn & S-Bahn: Sendlinger Tor), ☏ +49 89 248 828710. Good mid-price place close to Old Town. B&B double €130. (updated Oct 2022)
• Arthotel ANA Astor, Schillerstraße 24 (100 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 54837. Now part of ANA chain, this is a decent mid-price place. B&B double €140. (updated Oct 2022)
• 3 Courtyard by Marriott Munich City Center, Schwanthalerstraße 37 (200 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 548 84880. A typical mid-range Courtyard property just south of Hauptbahnhof, good comfort and service. B&B double €150. (updated Oct 2022)
• Hotel Präsident, Schwanthalerstraße 20 (100 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 5490060. Good value simple hotel. B&B double €160. (updated Oct 2022)
• Hotel Royal, Schillerstraße 11 (100 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 599 88160. Ugly slab of a building but very central. Mixed reviews for comfort. Closed until Feb 2023. (updated Oct 2022)
• 4 Hotel Wallis, Schwanthalerstraße 8 (200 m southeast of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 5490290. Comfy central place, most rooms are small but they also have spacious family rooms. B&B double €200. (updated Oct 2022)
• 5 Mercure München City Center, Senefelderstraße 9 (200 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 551320. Above-average comfort for this chain, if you can live with the lurid orange-tiled bathrooms. B&B double €130. (updated Oct 2022)
• 6 Hotel München City Center (Meliá, formerly Tryp), Paul-Heyse-Strasse 24, ☏ +49 89 514900. Small convenient mid-price place. B&B double €100. (updated Oct 2022)

Splurge

Bayerpost is now a Sofitel

• Hotel Excelsior, Schützenstraße 11 (S-Bahn & U-Bahn: Karlsplatz (Stachus)), ☏ +49 89 551370. Friendly hotel 200 m east of main railway station. B&B double €170. (updated Oct 2022)
• Eden Hotel Wolff, Arnulfstraße 4 (north flank of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 551150. Welcoming hotel, great location. B&B double €200. (updated Oct 2022)
• Le Meridien Munich, Bayerstraße 41 (50 m south of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 24220. Marriott chain hotel, great location and comfy enough, but only mid-range quality for what you're paying. B&B double €250. (updated Oct 2022)
• Sofitel Munich Bayerpost, Bayerstrasse 12 (south flank of main railway station), ☏ +49 89 599480. This was the main post office, with a grand facade, but inside is modern and efficient, and it's now part of Accor chain. Some noise and disruption from nearby construction. B&B double £350. (updated Oct 2022)

Connect

As of Oct 2022, the entire city has 5G from all three German carriers. Wifi (in German WLAN) is widely available in public places and on transport.

Go next

• Altstadt the old city is walking distance, and centres on Marienplatz.
• Maxvorstadt just north is the university district and has big-name galleries and museums.
• Southwest Munich is a sprawling area, with the zoo and Blutenburg castle.
• Hauptbahhof the main railway station is the hub for U- and S-Bahn lines across the city and to the airport.