All you need to know about Munich on one page!

MUNICH STATISTICS

More than 70 million people from all over the world visit the Bavarian capital each year, making it one of Germany's most popular city for tourists. Munich's parks (totaling over 70,000 acres), stunning architecture, history, culture, beer gardens and a magnificent countryside give it a very special character and are the reason why so many people decide to visit the city on the Isar River.

- Germany's third-largest city, after Berlin and Hamburg
- Situated close to the Alps
- Population: 1,326,206, 23% of which are foreigners
- Elevation: 529 m
- Time zone: GMT/UTC
- Has a four-season climate, but experiences frequent changes in weather conditions, for a
  detailed description of Munich's weather conditions, go to our Find It! section
- Germany's country code is 0049. Munich's area code is 089 (omit the 0 when calling from
  abroad)

Museums, theaters, English-language movie theaters and libraries are listed in our Find It! section. For recommendations on guided tours, go to our Sightseeing section.
Munich's most interesting events are listed under What's Up.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT, TAXI, BIKE RENTALS, GERMAN TRAIN SYSTEM

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Emergency Phone Numbers
Pharmacies
Consulates
City Tourist Office

Post Office
The post office at the Central Train Station (Hauptbahnhof) is open Mon.–Fri., 7 am–8 pm,
Sat., 8 am–4 pm and is open Sun., 9 am–3 pm. For more information on services of the Deutsche Post (German Post), visit www.deutschepost.de.

Money
There is no limit on the amount of foreign currency you may bring in to or
take out of Germany. The European currency, the euro, is issued in
denominations of 1,000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 bills, and in 2- and
1-euro coins. One euro equals 100 cents, which are issued in the form of 50-, 20-, 10-, 5-, 2- and 1-cent coins. Money can be exchanged at banks and post offices. ATMs offer various cash withdrawal options—not just with an EC card but also with Cirrus and Plus from the US, along with the classic credit cards Visa, Mastercard and American Express. While an increasing number of restaurants, hotels and stores accept credit cards, it is advisable to ask about methods of payment before ordering a meal or making a purchase. The EC banking card is widely accepted.

There is a travel center at the central branch of the Stadtsparkasse München,
(089) 21 67 0, Sparkassenstr. 2, just off Marienplatz, open Mon., Tues., Wed. and Fri. 8:45 am–4 pm and Thurs. 8:45 am–6 pm, here you can exchange money, cash traveler's checks and withdraw cash with a credit card. An ATM outside the bank accepts currencies from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

SHOPPING
The central pedestrian zone of the city (Fussgängerzone) consists of Kaufingerstrasse, Neuhauser Strasse and Marienplatz, where there are many large department stores, well-known chain stores and souvenir shops. Between Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz is Theatinerstrasse. This upmarket street has a great combination of book stores, jewelers, chic boutiques, galleries, shoe shops and cafés and is a good place to shop for designer labels. Fünf Höfe, a high-class shopping mall consisting of five courtyards, is also located on Theatinerstrasse. It is worth a visit for the exceptional architecture alone, not to mention the tasteful shops and cafés, restaurants and galleries. Close to Theatinerstrasse is the most exclusive of Munich's shopping areas, Maximilianstrasse. This glamorous part of the city is definitely worth a look, even if you cannot afford the haute couture on offer. Near Marienplatz is Sendlinger Strasse, which has a wide range of stores selling everything from home accessories to hiking gears, furniture and shoes, as well as some cool clothes and jewelry shops. If you are looking for funky shops, explore Schwabing, Haidhausen, Gärtnerplatz and the Glockenbachviertel. These districts have a more Bohemian flavor. They have unique shops, including second-hand stores and local designer boutiques. There is an abundance of lively cafés, bars and restaurants where you can rest your weary feet after a hard day's shopping. Discover exotic delectibles and local delicacies at Munich's traditional farmer's market, the Viktualienmarkt (see above).

Opening Hours: Many stores are open until 8 pm from Mon.–Sat., but if you venture out of the city center you might find that they close earlier. All shops are closed on Sundays and holidays.

FOOD & BEER
Even though you will find culinary diversity in Munich, a visit to the city should include a traditional Bavarian fare! Here are a few translations of local specialties to help you along:

Brezn — soft pretzels strewn with coarse salt
Haxe — grilled knuckle of pork or veal
Käsespätzle — egg pasta served with melted cheese and butter
Knödel — bread (Semmel) or portato (Kartoffel) dumpling
Leberkäse — meatloaf of beef and pork
Obazda — cheese spread with butter and spices
Radi — thin slices of white radish
Sauerbraten — marinated beef with a sour flavor
Schweinebraten — roast pork
Steckerlfisch — whitefish or trout grilled on a spit
Weisswurst — boiled white veal and pork sausage

Beer doesn't get any better than in Bavaria. The Reinheitsgebot (purity law) decreed by Duke William IV in 1516 and still followed today, state that only four ingredients are allowed in the brewing process—water, hops, yeast and barley (malt)—and the fact that there are fewere preservatives means you'll end up with less of a hangover. In addition to the six local breweries featured at the annual Oktoberfest—Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten—there are numerous other excellent Bavarian breweries, such as those at the monasteries in Andechs and Ettal. Each brewery runs its own beer halls and gardens, where only the house brew is sold. A Munich institution, beer gardens date back to when breweries stored beer in cellars and planted chestnut trees above to ensure that the beer remained cool in the summer.

It will not take you long to find out if you prefer Weissbier (wheat beer), dunkles Bier (dark beer), Pils (pilsener) or Helles (light-colored beer). When you order a beer, you will usually get half a liter of Helles unless you specify, but at beer gardens or the Oktoberfest you will get a Mass, or liter, of beer. In Bavaria around 2.7 billion liters of beer are served annually, 500 million of which are consumed in the two-week-long Oktoberfest.

For a list of Munich's best Bavarian restaurants, visit our Food & Dining section.