Although Oktoberfest and the beer gardens are a big part of Munich life, it's not the only thing this cosmopolitan city has to offer. You will also find interesting museums, the Residenz Royal Palace, the Bavarian State Opera, and even the BMW World among the various sites. And the nightlife - as well as the chic boutiques to dress you for the party - shouldn't be missed.
Munich, located on the River Isar, is the third-largest city in Germany and the capital of Bavaria region. The green city of around 1.35 million inhabitants was founded by monks of the Benedictine order and is one of the world's liveliest cities. Munich is a popular tourist destination, and here is a brief description of the main attractions.
The
Marienplatz in the heart of the city is Munich's main square with various sights, cathedrals and famous old buildings. Visit the famous
Mariensäule with a golden statue of the Virgin Mary and the city's New and Old Town Halls.
Dachau concentration camp memorial was the first Nazi Germany concentration camp. You can visit this historical site situated 16 kilometers northwest of Munich. Descend the "path of prisoner" and see the original prison gardens, barracks, crematoriums, and baths. Never miss the place where you can still hear the heartbeats and whispers of a gloomy era.
Another major attraction is the
Catholic Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady, the largest church in Munich. Enjoy this magnificent brick-constructed cathedral with Gothic architectural style and climb the two towers for a beautiful city view. Another well-visited place is the Residence Palace of Munich in the old town. The Bavarian rulers' former royal palace, built in 1385, consists of beautiful historic gardens and numerous interior courtyards. It is also home to a popular European museum with 130 rooms with works of art, furniture, ceramics and much more from different eras.
Near the
Munich Residenz is the city's largest park, the English Garden, which is larger than New York's Central Park. Stroll the beautiful trails, take a bike ride, tae a paddle-boat ride, or enjoy the popular beer gardens in this 3.7 km² park.
The
Hofbräuhaus is the most famous brewery in the world and a visit to the Hofbräuhaus, founded in 1589, is a must in Munich. The Hofbräuhaus offers many hot local specialties such as grilled pork, meat sausages, brewed goulash and beer in 1 liter of Stein, while Bavarian bands play traditional beats.
No trip to Munich would be complete without a visit to
Viktualienmarkt, the bustling outdoor farmer's market. The Viktualienmarkt started in the 19th century and offers everything you could want in terms of fresh and regional dishes, herbs, fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats and pastries. Walk past the 140 colorful stalls and taste the incredible flavors.
The Museum Ensemble is an interesting collection of 3 unique museums, each representing various stages of European art. The
Alte Pinakothek marks the Middle Ages up to Rococo and is one of the oldest galleries in the world with more than 800 famous works.
The Neue Pinakothek presents paintings and sculptures from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century.
The Pinakothek der Moderne is the largest museum of modern art in the country and has several works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Another museum worth visiting is the
Deutsches Museum on an island in the river Isar. This unique museum is the largest science and technology museum in the world.
Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Tour: Stories to RememberDachau Concentration Camp Memorial Tour is the best option for those who are really curious about something more than amazing and nothing less than breathtaking. In fact, Dachau was the first German concentration camp established in 1933 because of the prisons with people the government didn't like. Not having enough money to build the prisons or others, they simply relied on the Dachau concentration camps for executions and other trials.
The reason for using this camp was that they just didn't want to waste money on building the prisons because they had already spent a lot of money on the War on Drugs. It was the Nazi's who set up labor camps like Dachau, and they are mysterious because there was something here that Eichmann, Hess (SS employees) were trained to work in the camps like Auschwitz. The famous name of Pastor Martin Niemoller, initially supported by the Nazis, ended his life in this camp in 1938.
The terrain is very large and it takes almost an hour to continue exploring the camp. One thing to keep in mind before visiting this site is that you must have enough courage and patience to explore and see everything that has happened on the site before. You will undoubtedly feel quite sick because so many people in the camp committed suicide. Almost 30,000 prisoners, including 1,173 German prisoners, lived here after liberation in 1945.
The original barracks on the site dates back to 1965 when this camp was converted to a memorial and was very dilapidated. The headquarters of the camp is now used as a museum. If you go to Cantabrig, you will see the most famous figure of Dr. Siegmund Rascher. This is the person who performed some of the terrible medical experiments where people were frozen in cold water or air and then annoying to warm them in hot water. In addition, the man tortured people to high altitude simulations and continued until death. Well, all he did to get a doctorate.
Dachau Concentration Camp, established in 1933 was the first regular camp established by the Nazis in a country like Germany. The camp is located on the site of an abandoned weapons factory near the medieval town of Dachau. In fact, it is about 150 km northwest of Munich, in southern Germany from Bavaria. A visit to this area will give you a ton of information about what happened to the innocent earlier on this site.