Munich

Munich is the capital of Bavaria, Germany's largest and most prosperous state, and the country's most visited city after Berlin. It combines Bavarian tradition — beer halls, lederhosen, the Alps on the horizon — with genuine cosmopolitan sophistication, world-class museums, and the kind of quality of life that consistently places it at the top of global rankings. The English Garden (Englischer Garten) is larger than New York's Central Park and the city's great outdoor living room — locals surf an artificial wave on the Eisbach stream even in winter. The Marienplatz, with its neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus (new town hall) and its famous Glockenspiel carillon, is the city centre. The Deutsches Museum is the world's largest science and technology museum, while the Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne form one of Germany's finest art museum clusters. Oktoberfest (late September to early October) is the world's most famous festival — an extraordinary spectacle of beer, music, lederhosen and Bavarian identity, though the city is excellent year-round. The Hofbräuhaus beer hall on Platzl is a tourist institution but worth experiencing. Day trips to Neuschwanstein Castle, the Bavarian Alps, Dachau Memorial and the Chiemsee lake are all manageable from Munich. The city's food markets, particularly Viktualienmarkt, are outstanding.