It is high time to see Munich differently than through the prism of the legendary beer festival. The main tourist destination in Germany after Berlin, traditional but trendy, historic but in movement, Munich has a lot to offer: rich heritage, cultural dynamism, modern architecture and strength of character.

Munich has great museums that contribute to its artistic excellence, but also buildings that teach a lesson in architecture, parks stretching green lawns and flowerbeds. Munich is also a real art of living with the famous Biergarten, where you sit down long before the flonflons of Oktoberfest.

Unique art collections in the world with a hippie scent that still hangs over the Englischer Garten, from the Wittelsbach residence at the forefront of new museums, come and vibrate to the rhythm of a city that sparkles with life.

A city of art and culture

The Bavarian capital, which was the birthplace of the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider), still lives to the rhythm of an intense cultural life. A multitude of theaters, operas and cinemas make cultural programming shine. Munich is also the seat of leading publishing houses and press organizations (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Focus).

But we especially go to Munich for “colossal” museums concentrated notably in Kunstareal, the “arts district”. The Alte Pinakothek (photo), which houses one of the largest collections of classical painting in the world, rivals the Louvre and the Uffizi. The Neue Pinakothek presents a panorama of 19th century European painting, while thePinakothek der Moderne adopts a multidisciplinary vision of modern art.

Besides these three jewels, Munich has other advantages. The Residenzmuseum houses the former apartments of the Wittelsbach Palace (dukes then kings of Bavaria), witnesses of the splendor of the court. Science buffs will head to the Deutsches Museum, Europe’s largest science and technology museum. As for history lovers, they will meet it at the Museum of Egyptian Art, at the Glyphothek and the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, which form one of the most important German collections of antiquities.

Finally, for enthusiasts, Munich also abounds with thematic museums on transport, coins, toys. Very appreciable: the absence of queues at the entrance to the museums, and the changing rooms available.

A lesson in architecture

Munich itself is an open-air architectural museum. Historical buildings, churches, museums it displays a range of architecture over the centuries. A legacy that we owe a lot to the Wittelsbachs, who have written in stone their architectural fantasies and the fashions of their time.

Munich had its Gothic periods. The Neues Rathaus (photo) features neo-Gothic ornamentation. We will not fail to see the characters of the Glockenspiel, the famous carillon, come to life. At the top, the no less famous Münchner Kindl (sparrow) has become the city’s coat of arms. Its more discreet neighbor, the Altes Rathaus, also has a pretty Gothic facade. The Frauenkirche, of late Gothic style, is topped with domes of Byzantine inspiration.

The Renaissance style Munich also knows Michaelskirche is the largest Renaissance church in Bavaria. It is here that the tombs of some Bavarian kings of the Wittelsbach dynasty are found, including Louis II, builder of castles. The Lenbachhaus, a neo-Renaissance villa built for the painter Franz von Lenbach, has become a painting gallery (under renovation, reopening in 2013).

Munich has also tried its hand at Italian Baroque: with the Theatinerkirche, the oldest Baroque church in South Germany, the Asamkirche, and of course the Nymphenburg Palace.

Munich, green city

After a bath of culture in museums, the parks of Munich invite you to go green. The Englischer Garten (English Garden, photo), its green lung, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe. It owes its name to its sinuous lines and picturesque panoramas. On the program: cycling, and from the first rays of sun, beer at the Biergarten, sunbathing on the lawns, paddling in the rivers, surfing on the Eisbach wave. In the background, a rotunda (the Monopteros), a Chinese tower, a Japanese tea house and a lake.

The heart of Munich also breathes with the Alter Botanischer Garten (former botanical garden), Hofgarten (French gardens), Finanzgarten (Dichtergarten).

For the alliance of English and French gardens, head for the park of Nymphenburg Castle, summer residence of the Kings of Bavaria. Flowerbeds, bodies of water and shrubbery thickets a majestic park on the model of Versailles.

Less classic? The Olympiaparkillustrates Munich’s capacity for renewal. This leisure complex includes a stadium, a swimming pool and an ice rink covered by a canvas of synthetic glass! She lets see the television tower that points to the sky. Original: you can practice water ski lift on the Olympiasee. For those who do not have sport in their veins, the Olympiapark also offers lawns for picnics, an aquarium, a concert hall.

Modern Munich

Munich has become a capital of contemporary art and architecture. Already rich in an artistic heritage, it can boast of a vibrant cultural life, heightened by a certain creative frenzy.

Munich event of the emerging millennium, the Pinakothek der Moderne came in 2002 to complete the collections of the first two art galleries. It houses paintings, design objects and installations from the 20th century. Its architecture testifies to the modernity of Munich: rotunda of glass, nudity of the walls, alternating lines and curves. We are at the level of the Center Pompidou and the MoMA.

Prestige of collections and modernity of architecture: several museums in Munich stand out in these two paintings. The Jüdisches Museumdisplays since 2007 its modern and refined lines in an old district His temporary exhibitions explore the perception of Jewish identity in Munich in an ultra-modern museography. Lovers of modern art and architecture will also admire the multicolored ceramic slats on the facade of the Brandhorst Museum (photo). Vast volumes and harmony of lighting sublimate a fascinating collection of contemporary art (late 20th-early 21st century). The museums themselves are works of art.

Munich inaugurates, and Munich renovates: public roads, facades and museums. The Lenbachhaus, which houses among other things the most important collection of the Blaue Reiter, is thus under renovation until 2013. In the meantime, we will take our dose of contemporary art just a stone’s throw away, in the Königsplatz underground station, where the Kunstbau, an amazing quality exhibition hall, has opened.

Alternative and trendy neighborhoods

The “Peace & Love” wave has undoubtedly passed there. The hippies spread their naked bodies on the lawns of the Englischer Garten. Nothing revolutionary across the Rhine: naturism (FKK for “Freie Körper Kultur”, culture of the free body) is a tradition well rooted in German customs. Located in the heart of the city, the FKK area of ​​the Englischer Garten symbolizes Munich’s openness. After surfing the Baba Cool wave, the young Munich residents take the wave on the Eisbach, an artificial river. A surprising spectacle.

Connected, Munich is electrifying in more ways than one. Schwabingis the well-known district of students and artists, who swarm on Leopolstrasse. But it no longer has the monopoly on “trendiness”. Today, Haidhausen, the “2nd Schwabing”, is on the rise. Things are also moving on the side of Karlsplatz and Maxvorstadt. Munich therefore multiplies the poles of attraction “in”, and not only on the front of cafes and festive haunts.

Also, a sign that things are moving, trendy stores and art galleries are flourishing in Maxvorstadt (student district), Schwanthalerhöhe (Westend, multicultural, recently in vogue and still not very touristy) and Kunstareal (corner of museums, and therefore quite naturally artists). Three centuries after royalties placed under the sign of patronage (Louis I, Maximilian II, Louis II) and a century after having seen the birth of the Blaue Reiter, Munich still attracts artists.

Eager for cafes, trendy boutiques and galleries, trendy sores are also taking over Glockenbach. A traditionally gay neighborhood, but ultimately open to everyone.

The art of living in Munich

Living in Munich is definitely good. First of all, the municipality dared to bet on a particularly large pedestrian center, one of the largest in Germany. Pedestrians even travel there in harmony with cyclists. Munich takes you over a thousand kilometers of cycle paths.

Here, to dwell on table there is only one step. Impossible to go to Munich without tasting the pleasure of the Biergarten (literally, “beer garden”). This Munich invention is an institution, the beating heart of Bavarian life. In these gardens lined with rows of tables in the shade of the chestnut trees, we sip … beer of course. You can also order a dish, or bring your basket of provisions.

To bubble a mug by hand, go toViktualienmarkt (classic and central, photo), at the Chinese tower of the Englischer Garten (Bavarian brass orchestras), at the Hofbräukeller of Wiener Platz (dense foliage of hundred-year-old chestnut trees), at the Park Cafe (trendy, in Maxvorstadt).

No doubt we will find good companions to its beer: panoply of sausages with sweet mustard, plate of cold meats, Münchner Sauerbraten (marinated beef), Knödel (potato dumplings) or Bretzel.

At the Biergarten, there will always be someone to chat with you. From the traditionalBierkultur in the legendary Gemütlichkeit (from gemütlich, “warm”), it’s a lifestyle in Munich.

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