The German word gemütlichkeit best describes munich. Its literal translation is difficult, but conforms most closely to “hospitality” or “conviviality.” If any German city epitomizes this characteristic of German culture, it’s this charming capital of Bavaria. Grandiose, glittering, gilded palaces from Bavaria’s era as an independent kingdom endow it with the hallmarks of a truly great metropolis.

Many associate this city with provincially minded locals whose enthusiasm for beer drinking peaks during Oktoberfest, when stein-swinging celebrants regale one another with lederhosen, lieder and beer. In addition to Munich’s status as one of Germany’s leading tourist magnets, it is also a high-tech hub, media, finance, biotech, pharmacological and publishing center and headquarters of bmw, Daimler-Chrysler Aerospace, mbb, Siemens and Germany’s leading genetic engineering research facilities. This cosmopolitan city of 1.3 million residents is one of Europe’s leading business centers. Its stunning postwar economic recovery and its status as the nation’s fashion capital add to Munich’s appeal. Students, drawn in ever-increasing numbers, jam universities while movers and shakers from the realm of literature, art, film and music all call Munich home. A leading choice among German professionals as a place to live and work, Munich also has enough expats to account for 20 percent of its total population.

In the face of otherwise bleak economic times, the city’s prosperity makes a move here irresistible. Microsoft’s Bill Gates christened Munich “Europe’s high-tech mecca” and this incomparably urbane metropolitan area has no match as Europe’s largest information technology center. Germany’s top news magazine, Focus, claimed “Munich is, to put it plainly and simply, Germany’s Internet capital” after publishing a recent study (globally, the city ranks among the most sought-after it locations, following Silicon Valley, Boston and Tel Aviv). Since the international airport opened in 1992, corporations have been relocating to Munich at breakneck speed. Cisco, sap, Cellway and Amazon led the pack of some 400 corporations that have set up operations here. The result? A quarter million high-tech employees from 18,000 companies lifted Munich’s gnp to a European record-setting high of 100 billion euros.

The city’s economic culture is refreshingly welcoming and supportive. In spite of explosive growth, Munich has proudly maintained its traditionally Bavarian flair.

Centrally located in the heart of Europe, near snow-dusted mountains and cerulean Alpine lakes, Munich’s setting is incomparable. Travel throughout Europe from here is simple and efficient. The airport is the departure point for 2,000 European and 200 intercontinental flights weekly.

Munich pulses with haute couture shopping, grand cathedrals, opulent palaces, vigorous music and art scenes and an abundance of gourmet restaurants, cafes, bistros, beer gardens and nightspots. Munich is small enough to be fully explored during a single visit and the optimal time to go is June to October. Whether visiting for business or pleasure, one is immersed in a pleasing, unforgettable amalgam of history, high-tech, culture, cuisine and Gemütlichkeit. Urbane, rural, charming, chic, art-filled and old-world, the Bavarian capital is exciting and alluring by anyone’s measure.

Lodging

Munich offers a wide variety of lodging, from luxury hotels to bed-and-breakfasts to hostels. Rates are higher midweek and peak in summer and fall (particularly during Oktoberfest). Travelers searching the Internet will find wide fluctuations from rack rates — and some incredible bargains — from site to site with reliable booking engines.

Kempinski Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons) Munich
This elegant grand hotel was built in 1858. Guests enjoy its central location among the exclusive shopping addresses, theaters and near the Opera House along the Maximilianstrasse. Service from experienced and friendly personnel pampers guests. The lobby is the most splendid “salon” in the city: “the place where Munich meets the world and the world meets Munich.” The hotel ambience is at its elegant, cosmopolitan zenith during the opera season. The business center offers everything from email to professional secretarial and translation services, Internet workstations and videoconferencing.
Kempinski Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons) Munich
Maximilianstrasse 17
Munich 80539, Germany
tel 89 2125 0, fax 89 2125 2000

Bayerischer Hof Munich Hotel

The luxurious 395-room Bayerischer Hof, the largest privately owned hotel in Germany, is near Promenadeplatz. The Volkhardt family’s fourth generation (owners since 1897), still run the hotel, which offers all modern amenities. Its central location affords easy access to major business centers, shopping and cultural sights. Guestrooms feature an ambience of tradition and harmony with variations of color tones, fine wood and floral decorations. There are 38 conference rooms, a garden restaurant, a winter garden and a summer terrace. The pool is undergoing renovations, but an alternative wellness suite is available with massages, solarium, sauna, cardio-fitness and sun terrace). A new spa will open in December.
Bayerischer Hof Munich Hotel
Promenadeplatz 2-6
Munich 80333, Germany
tel 089 21 20 0, fax 089 21 20 906
www.bayerischerhof.de

Maritim Hotel Munich

Maritim Hotel Munich is a first-class city center hotel near Deutsche Theater, Stachus, Theresienwiese and Hauptbahnhof. The hotel is 19 miles from the airport, near the Trade Fair Grounds and is connected by train to the adjacent railway station. Guest-rooms feature a range of modern amenities, including wireless Internet in public areas. The hotel has two restaurants, rotisserie and bistro, beer garden and piano bar. There’s an indoor heated pool, sauna and Turkish bath.
Maritim Hotel Munich
Goethestrasse 7
Munich 80336, Germany
tel 089 55235 0, fax 089 55235 900
www.maritim.de

Hotel Europäischer Hof

The hotel provides business and leisure travelers with an excellent choice of accommodations in three classes, as well as many business facilities. Located in the city center opposite the main train station, the hotel is near downtown businesses and the boutiques and stores of Neuhauser Strasse, Kaufingerstr, Theatinerstr and Maximillianstrasse. Marienplatz, which has the Viktualienmarkt (the colorful food market), is nearby.
Hotel Europäischer Hof
Bayerstrasse 31
Munich 80335, Germany
tel 089 55 15 10, fax 089 55 15 12 22
www.heh.de

Dining

Munich is known for those who relish eating and drinking. This grand city has a diverse and lively culinary scene and one can typically find eateries open 24/7. Most dining establishments are located in the Innenstadt (inner city): Altstadt, Schwabing, Maxvorstadt and Isarvorstadt. While this cosmopolitan city is renowned for cavernous beer halls, leafy beer gardens and rathskellers, ethnic eateries and a lively cafe-bar-bistro culture endure well into the wee hours. Visitors can usually eat heartily and inexpensively with generous portions of heavy food being the norm in restaurants featuring Bavarian fare.

Traditional Bavarian cooking, such as a meal of roast pork, dumplings, cabbage and white sausages, triumphs in Munich. For such foods the venerable Hofbräuhaus or upscale Wirtshaus zum Huterer are legendary. Diminutive posh Hunsinger Pacific features “fusion cooking” and Kay’s Bistro is a favorite of Munich’s hoi polloi. Generations-old Boettner’s and Kleinschmidtz are acclaimed. For American fare for homesick Yankees, try First Diner, Bobolovskys or Dillinger. The younger set congregates in such fashionable Tex-Mex bars as Enchilada, Tijuana and Zapata.

Butcher shops (especially the Vinzenz Murr chain) sell filled rolls for less than $2. Be certain to sample Munich Weisswurst, a Bavarian specialty, a tender, mild bratwurst made from veal and pork. This is usually eaten for breakfast along with a tall glass of Hefe Weiss beer (a cloudy, unfiltered wheat beer).

Boettner’s

Opened in 1901 as a tea and oyster shop, Boettner’s offers traditional Bavarian recipes with a decidedly French influence. Entrees with white truffles are outstanding. Desserts are delectable and are made on the premises. Entrees cost $21-$26
Boettner’s
Pfisterstrasse 9
Munich, Germany
tel 089 221 210

Tantris

Chef Hans Haas, voted Germany’s finest chef in 1994, serves the best nouvelle cuisine in all Munich. Set in one of the city’s less glamorous locales, one step inside reveals a posh interior. The service is impeccable. Soups are innovative, as are smoked fish terrines with green cucumber sauce. Classic roast duck in mustard-seed sauce or lobster medallions on black noodles are specialties. Five-course lunch costs $70; five-course dinner, $90; eight-course, $105; three-course business lunch, $50. Reservations suggested.
Tantris
Johann-Fichte-Strasse 7
Schwabing, Germany
tel 089 36 19 59 0, fax 089 36 19 59 22
www.tantris.de

Nürnberger Bratwurst Glöckl am Dom

This bastion of Bavarian cuisine is where those hungry for Nürnberger Schweinwurst mit Kraut are wont to visit. Opened in 1893 and rebuilt after World War II, this is the city’s coziest, most welcoming restaurant. Beautifully patinated wooden chairs embrace diners. The upstairs dining room (accessed through a hidden staircase) is decorated with reproduction Albrecht Dürer prints. Meals are served on tin plates and dinner partners are often strangers. Reservations suggested.
Nürnberger Bratwurst
Glöckl am Dom
Frauenplatz 9
Munich, Germany
tel 089 29 52 64
www.bratwurst-gloeckl.de

Pfalzer Weinprobierstube

This time-honored favorite serves German and Palatinate food. Dishes such as original Palatinate-styled grilled sausage, grilled pork belly and vintner’s spicy roast pork are favorites. (Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was a regular here and always ordered Saumagen, an herb-infused meatloaf baked in a pig’s stomach.) This time-honored favorite serves German and Palatinate food. Fresh soups, prepared daily, include such Bavarian specialties as liver dumpling Palatinate-style and goulash soup. Palatinate specialties such as liver sausage and baked ham can be ordered separately or on a farmhouse platter. There is also an impressive wine selection, and service is friendly and efficient. Entrees cost $3-$13. No reservations.
Pfalzer Weinprobierstube
Residenzstrasse 1
Munich, Germany
tel 089 22 56 28

Weisses Bräuhaus

Cavernous, bustling and Bavarian, this is informal. The centuries-old brewery also serves Rhenish cuisine and its own Hefe Weiss beer. The front room, with dark-wood paneling and stained glass, is for serious beer drinkers who want light meals. The backroom features white tablecloths and black-outfitted staff. Bavarian fare (smoked filet of trout, potato soup, roast pork with potato dumplings and cabbage salad or Viennese veal goulash with mushrooms and cream sauce) are favorites. Tables are shared. Open daily noon to midnight. Entrees cost $4-$13. Reservations recommended.
Weisses Bräuhaus
Tal 7
Munich, Germany
Tel 089 29 98 75
www.weisses-brauhaus.de

Shopping

Shopping hours are normally 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. except on Saturday when shops close at 4 p.m.; shops are closed Sundays. The supermarket in the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) is open until 9 p.m.

Sightseeing

In Marienplatz, the city’s “heart” since its founding by Henry the Lion in 1158, the town hall’s Gothic facade is a sight to behold. Its bells peal at 11 a.m. (and again at midday and 5 p.m. in the summer accompanied by a glockenspiel depicting a medieval dance and the wedding of Duke William V and Renata von Lothringen).

The English Garden is one of Europe’s oldest English-style gardens and among its largest parks. The Chinese pagoda adjoins a beer garden, a good spot to refresh before taking in the Monopteros Greek temple, river and boating lake. The Japanese tea house offers traditional tea ceremonies.

Frauenkirche’s towers, built in 1525, are a celebrated landmark. The church itself was built by Jörg von Halsbach in 1468. The overall size is imposing, but its simplicity and symmetry are impressive. Its grounds include numerous grottoes, courtyards, fountains, and the 17th century Wittelsbach fountain. The palace houses the Crown Jewels, the State Collection of Egyptian Art, a late-baroque theater and Herkulessaal, a concert hall with renowned acoustics.

St. Michael’s is the most important Renaissance church north of the Alps. Its lavishly decorated interior houses the world’s second-largest free-standing vault. Forty of the Wittelsbach royal family are interred in the royal vault.

Emperor Ludwig I’s Alte Pinakothek (Old Picture Gallery) opened in 1826 representing the pinnacle of his achievements as a collector. The 800 paintings document European art from the 14th through 18th centuries. Featuring 4,000 paintings, Neue Pinakothek (New Picture Gallery) is Europe’s most important museum of 19th century works. The original building, destroyed during World War II, was replaced in 1981. French realists and impressionists and English and German landscape artists are represented.

Info to go

Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss Airport (FJS) is located about 18 miles northeast of the city center.

A fast train service links the airport to Munich’s main train station, Hauptbahnhof. Trains leave every 20 minutes for the 38-minute trip to the city. Public transportation in Munich consists of the U-bahn (subway) and the S-bahn (suburban railway), supplemented by streetcars and buses. The Munich Tourist Office (tel 89 233 03 00) is located at Sendlinger Strasse 1.