MUNICH · GERMANY
Beer halls, fairytale castles, mountain air.
Marienplatz and the Hofbräuhaus, the fairytale castles south of the city, and the Alps within the hour. The standout tours and day trips across Munich and Bavaria, in one place.
Only here
The experiences that are Munich’s alone.
City walks and grand museums you can find in any capital. The royal fantasy of Neuschwanstein, a litre under the beer-hall vaults, and the Eagle’s Nest above Berchtesgaden belong to this city and these mountains.
The mad king's dream
Neuschwanstein
Ludwig II built his fairytale castle into a crag above Hohenschwangau and barely lived to sleep in it. The turreted silhouette that Walt Disney later borrowed for his own castle stands two hours south of the city, over a gorge and against the Alps. Most people make a day of it and pair it with Linderhof.
- 1 From Munich: Neuschwanstein & Linderhof Castle Full-Day Trip
- 2 Neuschwanstein & Linderhof Castle-Fairytale Day Tour from Munich
- 3 Neuschwanstein Castle Tour from Munich
A litre at a time
The Beer Hall
The Bavarian beer hall is the real thing here, not a theme. Under the vaulted ceilings of the Hofbräuhaus and in the cellars around the Platzl, the beer arrives by the litre Maß, the long benches are shared, and a brass band keeps time. It is the same culture that fills the Oktoberfest tents every autumn.
- 1 Bavarian Beer and Food Evening Tour in Munich
- 2 Classic Mike’s Bike Tour daily @ 11.30 incl Beer Garden & Surfers
- 3 Munich: Beer and Food Tour with Dinner & Oktoberfest Museum
History on the summit
The Eagle's Nest
Above Berchtesgaden, a brass-lined lift climbs through the rock to the Kehlsteinhaus, the mountain house built for Hitler’s fiftieth birthday and now a place to weigh both the view and what happened here. The Königssee and the whole Alpine south fill out the same day.
- 1 Berchtesgaden and Eagle’s Nest Day Tour from Munich
- 2 Berchtesgaden and Eagle’s Nest Day Trip from Munich
- 3 From Munich: Berchtesgaden Foothills and Obersalzberg
Start here
The one most people book first.
Out of every tour and day trip across Munich and Bavaria, this is the one the most travellers choose.
The classics
Munich's Most Popular Tours
Neuschwanstein, the Dachau memorial, the beer halls and the Third Reich walks. The tours at the top of almost every Munich itinerary.
Where to begin
The experiences a Munich trip is built around.
The fairytale castles, the beer halls, the Old Town, the markets, the Alpine south and the city by bike. The handful of days most trips are planned around, and the best way to do each.
The big day trip
How to see Neuschwanstein.
It is the castle most people come to Bavaria for, two hours south of the city. Three ways to do the day, depending on whether you want the second castle, the shortest queues, or the lowest price.
Gemütlichkeit
A litre under the vaulted ceilings.
The Hofbräuhaus has poured since 1589, and it is still only the loudest of dozens. Around the Platzl and out in the beer gardens under the chestnut trees, the beer comes by the Maß, strangers share the long benches, and a brass band keeps time whether or not anyone is listening. A tour gets you past the tourist tables to the cellars and the breweries behind them.
Read the guide: the best beer hall & brewery tours →The difficult past
Where the century’s darkest chapter began.
Munich was where the Nazi movement took root, and the city has chosen to mark that rather than hide it. Walking tours trace the Third Reich through the very squares and buildings where it rose; an hour north, the memorial at Dachau, the first concentration camp, is kept as a place of record. Sobering, essential, and part of understanding the city.
See the Third Reich & Dachau memorial tours →Two hours south
The castle that out-dreamed its king.
Ludwig II poured his fortune and the last years of his life into raising Neuschwanstein above the Pöllat gorge, a medieval fantasy with central heating and a throne room that never got a throne. He died before it was done. A century and a half later it draws well over a million visitors a year, and Walt Disney built his own castle in its image.
Day trips to Neuschwanstein →FC Bayern
The home of the record champions.
Bayern Munich have won more German titles than any club in the country, and the Allianz Arena glows red on match nights at the northern edge of the city. Stadium and museum tours take you down to the pitch, through the dressing rooms and past the trophies, on the days the team is not using them.
- 1 Munich: City Bus Tour & FC Bayern Munich Allianz Arena Tour
- 2 Munich: FC Bayern Museum + Arena View
- 3 Munich: FC Bayern Museum Entry Ticket
The Viktualienmarkt
Weisswurst, pretzels and the open-air market.
In the heart of the Old Town, the Viktualienmarkt has traded since 1807, sixteen rows of stalls around a maypole with its own permanent beer garden in the middle. A food tour works the market and the lanes around it, from the white-sausage breakfast that locals insist on finishing before noon to the cheese, the sweet mustard and the warm pretzels.
See all 14 food & market tours →By place
Munich, and a day’s reach of it.
The Old Town for the markets and the beer halls. Neuschwanstein for the castles. Berchtesgaden for the Königssee and the Eagle’s Nest. Dachau to remember. Zugspitze for the highest air in Germany. Salzburg for Mozart, over the border.
By activity
Or pick how to spend the day.
On foot if you want the Old Town. A beer hall if you want the city at its loudest. A coach if it’s the castles. The memorial if it’s the history. Two wheels, a market stall, or a night walk with a watchman.
Plan it
Three days in Munich.
Never been? Here is a long weekend that hits the essentials without a wasted hour.
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