Things to do in Munich

Fill your boots with a foodie walking tour

Say the phrase ‘Bavarian cuisine’ and you’ll conjure the old tropes: sausages, beer… and not much else. Munich Walk Tours (tel: +49 2423 1767; www.munichwalktours.de) offer a tour that’ll change your mind and guide you around the finest foodie corners of Viktualienmarkt, Munich’s oldest open air market and bona fide gastronomic manna.

Hit the slopes

Munich is a popular base for those who want to enjoy the winter season in the German Alps without straying too far from the city. Spending a day on the slopes before returning to town each evening is perfectly doable, and the resorts of Alpspitze (tel: +49 8821 7970; http://zugspitze.de/de/sommer) and Wallberg (www.wallbergbahn.de) are both within a 90 minute drive.

Kick off your boots (and shirt and trousers and pants)

Europeans are famed for their penchant for public nudity, and in 2014 Munich’s mayor decreed six areas of the city to be ‘Urban Naked Zones’. Locations include the Englischer Garten, a naturist area since the ‘swinging’ 60s. You can find the info on these hottest of hot spots at Naturist Travel (http://www.naturisttravel.net).

Soak up some goodness at the spa

Therme Erding (tel: +49 8122 5500; www.therme-erding.de), is the largest thermal bath complex in Europe. The sulphur spring - where natural, unprocessed water originates from a depth of 2,350m (7,710ft) - is recommended for easing your aches and stresses. On clear summer days the glass dome above the main bath area retracts to let visitors soak up the rays in situ.

Surf the wave, anytime

Surfing in winter may seem like the actions of a lunatic, but its entirely possible at the Eisbach (www.muenchen.de/freizeit/sport/surfen.html). This small channel in the Isar River runs through the Englischer Garten and has its own 24/7, one metre wave. Although not one for beginners, it’s worth a look to see the surfers shivering at the edge.

A digital image at https://illuminoto.com

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Featured Hotels

Mercure Hotel München Altstadt

This formulaic chain hotel in Munich, located between the Marienplatz and Stachus squares, is an affordable option right in the heart of the Old Town. The 80 standard rooms provide simple accommodation but are comfortable, clean and secure. The Mercure Alstadt offers Wi-Fi access, covered parking (a rarity in central Munich) and basic catering, within a short walking distance of all the historic attractions of the city centre.

Fleming's Hotel Munich-City

Part of the Fleming’s chain of accommodation and restaurants, Hotel Munich-City is centrally located, just a short walk from the Hauptbahnhof. Its contemporary flair is pared down with straight-lined furniture, while its 112 rooms come with glass cube bathrooms. The restaurant downstairs gives the diner décor a French brassiere twist, and its spa and fitness area boasts a Finnish sauna and aroma steam bath.

Eurostars Book Hotel

Bookworms will find much to write home about at Eurostars Book Hotel, which dedicates each of its floors to a different literary genre. So whether you’re wandering the corridors with Don Quixote or bunking up with Anna Karenina, its 201 rooms have plenty space for tucking into a good read. Modern and stylish, the hotel doesn’t have the grandiose beauty of a Jane Austen manor, plumping instead for saunas, a lobby-bar, a business centre, meeting rooms for events, free Wi-Fi and small gym.

Hotel Olympic

This unusual hotel is popular with actors and media types - partly because of its trendy, central location near Gärtnerplatz and partly because of the combination of English colonial style and traditional Bavarian architecture. Its 32 rooms are tastefully furnished and follow a unique design scheme throughout. Definitely a hotspot to be seen at in Munich, yet still kept a secret from all but the in-crowd.

Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski

Possibly the best appointed of all the luxury hotels in Munich, with its imposing 19th-century facade dominating a long stretch of the city’s most fashionable boulevard, Maximillianstrassse, in the heart of Munich. The hotel mixes traditional opulence with a contemporary twist, and the 230 rooms and 67 suites are accompanied by indoor pool, solarium, sauna and spa. The hotel has had famous guests like Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor and Konrad Adenauer.

The Charles Hotel

This Rocco Forte purpose-built luxury hotel is in the same stable as Berlin's opulent Hotel de Rome and the Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt. Unashamedly expensive, but guaranteed to provide every possible comfort, The Charles Hotel in Munich was designed by Olga Polizzi. It is located centrally, close to Königsplatz and all Munich's historic city centre attractions. It offers 132 large rooms, extensive meetings facilities and a fully equipped spa and bathing complex.

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