Munich

Munich combines the grandeur of a former royal capital with the relaxed outdoor pace of a town at the foot of the Alps. At its centre sits the Altstadt around Marienplatz, where the twin green onion domes of the Frauenkirche rise beside the Wittelsbach monarchs' sprawling Residenz palace and the open-air food stalls of the Viktualienmarkt.

Walk ten minutes north and you enter the Kunstareal museum district and the English Garden, one of the largest urban parks in the world, where surfers ride a standing wave on the Eisbach stream and thousands of locals gather under chestnut trees at beer garden tables. Whether you come for spring beer gardens, summer river swims along the Isar, autumn Oktoberfest tents or December Christmas markets, start with our first-timer guide.

Munich Airport (Franz Josef Strauß, MUC) sits 35 km north-east of the city and is linked directly to Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz by S-Bahn lines S1 and S8 every 10 minutes, as well as the Lufthansa Express Bus to Hauptbahnhof and Schwabing. Within the city and out to the Alpine lakes, a single MVV ticket covers U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses. Full details are in how to get to Munich.

Altstadt-Lehel puts you within a five-minute walk of Marienplatz and the opera, while Maxvorstadt, the Glockenbachviertel and Haidhausen (across the Isar around Wiener Platz) offer quieter nights, neighbourhood cafés and better value. Avoid the immediate south side of the Hauptbahnhof if you want a calm historic street. We compare all six areas in where to stay in Munich.

Tour the gilded rooms of the Munich Residenz and climb St Peter's tower, see Dürer and Rubens at the Alte Pinakothek before walking the English Garden, visit Nymphenburg Palace and BMW Welt, and spend an afternoon in a traditional Bavarian beer hall or beer garden. See all highlights in things to do in Munich.

Bavarian food is built around fresh baking, slow-roasted meats and lager brewed under the 1516 Reinheitsgebot purity law: a morning pair of poached white veal sausages (Weißwürste) with sweet mustard and a warm pretzel before noon, crispy pork knuckle (Schweinshaxe) or cheese noodles (Käsespätzle) for dinner, and giant salted pretzels with Obatzda cheese dip under the trees. Read where to eat in our beer gardens and food guide.

Ruled for over seven centuries by the House of Wittelsbach, first as dukes and electors and from 1806 to 1918 as kings of Bavaria, Munich was reshaped in the 19th century into an "Athens on the Isar" of neoclassical avenues, art galleries and opera houses, while keeping its Catholic Baroque churches, Alpine folk traditions and six historic city breweries intact.