The central point in the older part of the city is the square known as the Marienplatz. To the north of the square is the tree lined Maxmillian Strasse which leads to the Bavarian Parliament building and the Residenz Palace. Two great art collections, the Old and New Picture Galleries are a short distance northwest of the city center. To the south are the history museum and, on an island in the Isar River, the world's foremost museum of science and technology, the Deutsches (German) Museum.

Central Munich is extremely attractive and is easy to explore on foot. There are innumerable restaurants and cafés in Munich with a wide range of culinary choices. Window shopping is one of the most popular pastimes all over the city, but especially along the pedestrian only Neuhauser Strasse and Kaufinger Strasse where many fine specialty shops and department stores are located. Maximilian Strasse is lined with designer fashion boutiques, art galleries and jewelers. Antiques and less expensive fashions are concentrated in the student section of Schwabing, and Bavarian crafts can be found in the streets that run off Max Josephplatz. Munich's famous open air market, Virtualienmarkt appears south of Marienplatz every day except Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Its specialties are fresh produce and baked goods of all varieties as well as locally produced cheese.

Officially founded in 1158, Munich (München) has been the capital of Bavaria since 1503, and as far as the locals are concerned it may as well be the center of the universe. Münchener pride themselves on their special status; even people who have made Munich their home for most of their lives are still called Zugereiste (newcomers). Natives and newcomers alike consider themselves Münchener first, Bavarian second and German somewhere way down the line.

Next to Berlin, Munich is Germany's most popular city, with everything you'd expect in a cosmopolitan capital. Yet it's small enough to be digestible in one visit, and it has the added bonus of a storybook setting, with the mountains and Alpine lakes just an hour's drive away. Munich is well known as a center of art and learning. It is the site of a major university and other higher educational and scientific institutes. It is also the seat of the European patent office. It is an attractive city with many fine examples of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and neo-classical architecture.

Munich is a city in which children are welcomed and loved, so provision has been made for their comfort and entertainment. The Englischer Garten is a veritable wonderland for the whole family. In addition to the boating lake, there are broad expanses of manicured lawns and grassy knolls that invite running, rolling over and over, and turning somersaults and cartwheels. Family picnics are everywhere throughout the parks. The Hellabrunn zoo is one of the best in the world. The castles provide opportunities for experiencing the wonder of days gone by, and for exploring rooms in which even whispers echo, to the delight of children. Munich is clean and orderly with completely safe food and water. It is the ideal setting for family travel.

A trip to Germany is not complete without time spent in Munich. There are treasures here that are not found elsewhere. Over the years Bavaria and its capital Munich have maintained their individuality and have produced a rich heritage.

Munich's city symbol is the Münchener Kindl or "little monk," recalling its origins as a monastic settlement. The first recorded mention of München, the "home of monks," was in the year 777. The city itself was founded nearly 400 years later by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony.

History of the City of Munich
>From the founding of Munich to its inauguration as the seat of government
1158 Munich is founded by Henry the Lion (official date: June 14th, 1158).
1175 First fortification of Munich is built.
1180 Frederick I Barbarosa gives Bavaria to the Count Palatine Otto von Wittelsbach, whose dynasty rules until 1918.
1214 Munich is referred to as a city for the first time.
1240 Munich passes from the rule of the bishops of Freising to that of the House of Wittelsbach.
1255 Munich becomes capital of the partial duchy of Bavaria.
1328 Munich becomes an imperial city and holds the imperial insignia until 1350.
1504 Munich has 13,500 inhabitants and becomes the capital of the Duchy of Bavaria.
1623 Munich becomes the city of residence of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria.
1705 - 1714 Munich under Hapsburg rule.
1759 Bavarian academy of sciences founded.

Munich in the 19th century
1806 Munich becomes the capital of the Bavarian kingdom.
1808 Bavaria's new constitution enshrines French revolutionary ideals of equality and freedom of conscience, while abolishing serfdom. Many monasteries are secularized.
1818 King Max I Joseph proclaims a more liberal constitution. The Bavarian parliament, the Landtag, sits in Munich, which is also the seat of the new archdiocese of Munich and Freising.
1825 - 1848 King Ludwig I. In 1848 (the King is forced to abdicate because of his affair with an American dancer).
Munich becomes a city of art of world acclaim. The architects Leo von Klenze and Friedrich von Gärtner build the Ludwigstrasse, the Königsbau and the Festsaalbau of the Residenz, the Königsplatz and the Alte Pinakothek. Klenze builds the Ruhmeshalle - the hall of fame; on the Resienwiese. Schwanthaler erects the "Bavaria" statue.
1826 The University of Landshut is moved to Munich.
1848 - 1864 King Maximilian II successfully negotiates the problems caused by rivalry between Austria and Prussia.
Development of the Maximilian Style in architecture.
1864 - 1886 King Ludwig II.
Music, arts and crafts flourish. The King idolized Richard Wagner and became his patron in Munich, sponsoring world premieres of several of his musical dramas.
1882 Munich hosts the first German electricity exhibition and heralds the introduction of electric light to the city
1886 Ludwig II is declared insane; the throne passes to his brother who is also found to be unfit to rule. Otto's uncle, Luitpold is declared regent and governs until his death in 1912.

Munich in the 20th century
1901 Munich has 500,000 inhabitants
1907 Peter Ostermayr establishes his film production company (movie production center Geiselgasteig).
1911 The Hellabrunn zoo is opened.
1918 With the end of World War I, Kurt Eisner leads the Bavarian Revolution, deposes King Ludwig III and becomes the first president of the socialist Bavarian republic.
1919 Eisner's assassination in Munich leads to a Communist government which is overthrown in May. This is followed by a bloody coup in which the Communist leaders are assassinated and Bavaria becomes part of the German Weimar Republic.
1923 Right wing coups in 1920 and 1921 fail as does an attempt by Adolf Hitler's National Socialist (Nazi) party to seize power in the "Munich Putsch."
1930 The first television set in the world is exhibited at the Deutsche Museum.
1935 - 1945 Munich is dubbed the "capital of the Nazi movement".
1939 An attempted assassination of Hitler in the Bürgerbräukeller beer garden fails.
1945 Munich is occupied by the Americans (April 30th 1945) and on may 7 Germany surrenders.
1957 Munich has 1 million inhabitants by December 15th.
1958 800th anniversary of Munich.
1972 Olympic Summer games in Munich.
1974 Soccer's World Cup in Munich
1985 175th anniversary of the Oktoberfest.
1986 "Royal Year"
100th anniversary of Ludwig II's death.
200th birthday of Ludwig I.
1989 200th anniversary of the English Garden.
400th anniversary of Munich's Hofbräuhaus (court brewery).
The reunification of Germany!
1992 Opening of the new "Franz-Josef Strauss" airport.
1994 500th anniversary of the Cathedral Church of Our Lady, Munich's landmark.
2000 Munich's population is 1,298,537