Munich

Munich combines Bavarian tradition with cultural depth and economic strength. Museums, gardens, classical avenues, refined hotels and seasonal rituals give the city an elegant sense of order.

Munich is the farthest city of the collection and still an easy one. Direct EuroCity trains from Zurich take about three and a half hours, running along the Swiss shore of Lake Constance and on through the Allgäu; by road the journey is of similar length. A Swiss-based traveller goes for the Bavarian State Opera, the great picture galleries and Oktoberfest, and can return by the lake with a stop at Lindau.

Munich grew as the seat of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which ruled Bavaria for more than seven centuries and left the city its shape: the Residenz and its courtyards, the Neoclassical avenues of Ludwigstrasse and Maximilianstrasse, the summer palace at Nymphenburg. Marienplatz, with the Glockenspiel of the New Town Hall, and the twin domes of the Frauenkirche mark the old centre, a short walk from the stalls of the Viktualienmarkt.

The collections are the city’s depth. The Kunstareal in Maxvorstadt gathers the Alte Pinakothek, the Pinakothek der Moderne and the Lenbachhaus within a few streets. The Englischer Garten, larger than Central Park, runs north along the Isar, with surfers riding the standing wave of the Eisbach at its edge. Maximilianstrasse carries the luxury houses; Schwabing and Glockenbach the cafés and the younger city.

From May to September the beer gardens under the chestnut trees set the rhythm of the city, and July brings the Munich Opera Festival of the Bavarian State Opera, the high point of a year-round musical calendar. Oktoberfest fills the Theresienwiese from late September into early October; hotels book out far ahead and rates rise with demand.

Late autumn is quieter and suits the museums and concert halls. In Advent the Christmas markets open on Marienplatz and in the courtyards of the Residenz, and by January the Alpine resorts of Upper Bavaria and Tyrol are within easy reach. Spring arrives late, with the strong-beer season of Lent and the first terraces in April.

Munich’s hotels are concentrated in the old centre. Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski München has stood on Maximilianstrasse since 1858; Hotel Bayerischer Hof, family-owned since 1897, fills a side of Promenadeplatz; Mandarin Oriental, Munich, with its rooftop pool, lies a few steps from the Platzl; Rosewood Munich occupies former state bank buildings in the heart of the old town; and The Charles Hotel overlooks the Old Botanical Garden.

LVXE books Mandarin Oriental through Mandarin Oriental Fan Club and the Vier Jahreszeiten through Kempinski Club 1897 — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges each programme attaches to the stay. For the Bayerischer Hof, Rosewood Munich and The Charles, LVXE advises on and arranges the stay. For Oktoberfest, reservations are best made many months ahead.