Boutique hotels in Munich

Anna Hotel

Style
Post-modern München

Setting
Just off Karlsplatz

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Munich Overview

Germany

Cityscape: Bavarian brouhaha
City life: Fest and wurst

Munich is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, filled with stately Florentine, Gothic and baroque symbols of wealth and power set against an Alpine backdrop.

The Bavarian capital offers up a host of Teutonic traditions, from Weisswurst and beerhalls to Lederhosen and oompah-oompah bands, culminating in the excesses of Oktoberfest, but there’s much more to this dynamic city than a thigh-slapping knees-up. Modernist architecture and high-design restaurants, bars and shopping, creative neighbourhoods and a strong cultural scene make Munich a fascinating destination. The Muncheners are a friendly bunch and proud of their quality of life; no wonder a quarter of all Germans say they would like to live here.

Marvellously Munich

Munich wouldn't be Munich without beer and a visit to its perennial home, the hofbräuhaus, is a must in spite of the tourists. Expect lots of Lederhosen, oompah oompah bands and, of course, beer.

Local knowledge

Taxis: The best place to find a cab is at one of the many taxi ranks but if you do see one for hire, just hail it down; they should stop unless they’re a stone’s throw from a rank. There is an extra charge for luggage but prices are reasonable.
Tipping culture: Service is included in restaurant bills so tipping is not expected, particularly in the more traditional places. Most Muncheners just round things up to the nearest euro, but we suggest a more generous ten per cent is the norm for good service.
Siesta and Fiesta: Shops close at 18h during the week; banks close at 16h. Most shops, particularly boutiques, shut at 14h on Saturdays, and all shops are closed on a Sunday. Muncheners tend to eat pretty early and restaurants are busy around 19h30, but kitchens are usually still serving until 23h00. With no fixed licensing times the bars and pubs go on until late but biergartens and outdoor venues close at 23h to allow the neighbours some peace.
Packing tips: Bring plenty of cash; surprisingly few places accept credit cards. Pack something smart to wear as Muncheners like to show off a little when they are out.
Recommended reads: The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943 by Inge Scholl & Dorothee Soelle.
Cuisine: Munich is justly proud of its wurst and bier culture. A traditional Bavarian meal is weisswurst und brez’n, white veal sausages served with a pretzel and sweet grain mustard. Local menus are packed with all manner of pork dishes served with dumplings and sauerkraut, followed by countless variations of strudels, and weissbier (wheat beer). There are plenty of less weighty international influences, too. Muncheners like to think of themselves as living in the most northerly of Italian cities. Local dry Riesling and Spätburgunder wines are eminently quaffable as well.
Currency: Euro.
Dialling codes: Country code for Germany: 49. Munich: 89.
Do go/don't go: Winters can be long and hard but whilst it is definitely busy in the summer, nothing beats a cold bier in the shade of a chestnut tree under the blue and white Bavarian sky. The Oktoberfest is hectic with hotels and flights overpriced and fully-booked, but it’s still a memorable (or perhaps slightly hazy) event (www.oktoberfest.de).

Munich Hotels

€ £ $

Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Munich

Anna Hotel

Munich, Germany

Style: Post-modern München
Setting: Just off Karlsplatz

Anna Hotel's teak floors combine with white walls and black granite to create a warmly lit background for the cherry-picked furniture.

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Boutique hotels in Munich

Anna Hotel

Style
Post-modern München

Setting
Just off Karlsplatz

View hotel details

Munich Activities

Highlights the best Munich has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Worth getting out of bed for

Munich itinerary: More…
Viewpoint: On a clear day you can see the Alps from the Olympiapark tower. Alternatively, walk to the top of the nearby hill also in the Olympiapark for a similar view without the queues (www.olympiapark-muenchen.de). There’s a wonderful vista over the city centre from the Alter Peter tower in the Rindermarkt.
Arts and culture: Munich is a city that punches above its weight in terms of museums and galleries. The leading light is the Pinakothek gallery with exhibitions on architecture, works on paper (including sketches by Van Gogh) and modern art including Warhols and Picassos (www.pinakothek-der-moderne.de). An architectural tour of Munich should start with Herzog & Demueron’s UFO-like football stadium, the Allianz Arena – you could even take in a Bayern Munich match. A walk down the neo-Renaissance facades of Leopold Strasse leads you to the Gothic splendour of the Rathaus (City Hall).
Something for nothing: The bridge overlooking the Eisbach offers a grandstand view of the city’s surfers riding a ‘permanent’ wave on this fast flowing river. Even on a winter night these guys are out there, fully suited and booted in neoprene.
Shopping: Munich has its very own ‘Prada Street’, otherwise known as Maximilianstrasse. In Glockenbachviertel find one-off, hand-made men’s and women’s fashions by Clara Niggl or Michael Wagner and a great line in handbags by Florence Mucret. For everything from home wares to food stuffs and toiletries, Manufactum in the Fünf Höfe shopping centre sells top quality kit in modern surroundings (www.manufactum.com). Schumann’s Bar Am Hofgarten in the same complex is a stylish place for a shopping pit stop.
Daytripper: The Alps provide an enticing backdrop with skiing only a one and a half hour drive away. With an early start you can have sorted out all the ski hire and lift passes before the lifts open at Garmisch-Partenkirchen or a host of other German or Austrian resorts.
Perfect picnic: The Viktualienmarkt is the oldest food market in Munich where you’ll find everything you need for a tasty brotzeit (picnic) and more. Pack your hamper and head for the Englischer Garten. If you are south of Kleinhesselhoher See you’ll be amongst the football and frisbee players; a few minutes walk further north and you might even get a whole meadow to yourselves.
Activities: Close enough to be on Munich’s transport map are many lakes to the south of the city, with Starnbergersee and Tegernsee, being the closest. Boat hire, scenic lake tours and swimming in the clear waters are all available. The Isar river is very popular for swimming in the summer months. Hire a bike from Radius Tour and Bikes inside the main train station (+49 (0)89 59 61 13) and make the most of this city made for cyclists. Every Monday evening from May to September a huge crowd of rollerbladers meet in the Theresienwiese and take over the streets. Ice skating is very popular in the city squares from late November till the end of January, and the nearby Alps have excellent skiing.
And...: Stroll south along the grassy banks of the river Isar towards the zoo and watch the Muncheners at play. You might just pass a biergarten or two on the way.

Diary

1 May Many local communities run up a maypole as part of traditional festivities on the May Day. Mid June The Tollwood Festival at the Olympiapark focuses on food, music and local crafts (www.tollwood.de). July Mediaeval jousting is re-enacted at the Kaltenberg castle to the west of Munich. September Part of the cultural heritage of Bavaria, the Oktoberfest is worth experiencing, even if only once. December For Christmas novelties, tree decorations and anything and everything covered or made from chocolate, visit the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market). Most neighbourhoods have their own but the most popular is the one in Marienplatz in front of the city hall. Warm yourself with a gluwein as you wander.

Boutique hotels in Munich

Anna Hotel

Style
Post-modern München

Setting
Just off Karlsplatz

View hotel details

Munich
Eating, drinking and dancing

We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Munich.

Restaurants

(+49 (0)89 361 9590)

Tantris

Dress up for the glamorous Sixties kitsch and cool eastern promise interiors of this restaurant, Munich’s gourmet choice. The modern French-German menu is a gastronomic treat and there is a terrace and garden for warm weather.

Johann-Fichte-Strasse, 7

(+49 (0)89 452 2880)

Brenner

This restaurant is another for the elite and style-conscious, with slick arched interiors and a buzzy atmosphere, enhanced by open cooking stations where man-sized fillets of calamari sizzle.

Maximilianstrasse, 15

(+49 (0)89 44 81 400)

Wirtshaus in der Au

Despite the staff in traditional Bavarian costume serving the Wurst, Schnitzel, cabbage and Bier, this is not a themed restaurant. A live jazz band is on hand to entertain the locals and tourists who come here.

Lilienstrasse, 51

Bars and clubs

(+49 (0)89 22 16 76)

Hofbräuhaus am Platzl

No visit to Munich would be complete without a visit to a beer garden. It might be touristy, but a good time is to be had among 4,500 fellow beer-drinkers on three floors, to the accompaniment of a brass band which starts up at 11am Here at the state-owned Hofbräuhaus, it is Oktoberfest all year round.

Am Platzl 9

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