Munich/Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt

In German, a Vorstadt is an area just outside the very centre – the Altstadt – but tightly connected to it and densely populated. You'll get scornful looks if you call it a suburb, a Vorort. However that is how they all got started: beyond Munich's medieval city walls were poor, scrappy neighbourhoods, whose denizens couldn't afford central prices, or were too lowlife and louse-ridden to be let into a city constantly in fear of plague, treachery, and vagabonds. These areas urbanised in the 17th century, when Munich demolished its walls and expanded, but their flowering was in the 18th and 19th centuries, when they became lined with stately boulevards and impressive public and private buildings. Lehel, just east of Altstadt, was the earliest to get this treatment, and became so fused to Altstadt that most travel guides, including Wikivoyage, regard them as one.

Isarvorstadt is the area south of Lehel flanked by the Isar. Until the 19th century, Isarvorstadt was a landscape of small market gardens and mills powered by the river. The area's top attraction is the Deutsches Museum of science and technology, which takes up an entire island in the river, helpfully called "Museum Island". (Prater, the other large island downriver, is described as part of Altstadt-Lehel.) Isarvorstadt is a high-end residential area with lots of bars, pubs, and clubs, centred on Gärtnerplatz, a popular spot for lazing and being seen on a summer evening. Isarvorstadt is also the focus of the city's gay and lesbian community.

Ludwigsvorstadt is bounded by the railway tracks leading into the Hauptbahnhof, the city's main railway station. No surprise that the area just south of the station is crowded with hotels, hostels, eating places, gambling joints, sex shops, and street-traders touting, um, herbal tobacco. This is the ideal district to seek out ethnic cuisines: it's sometimes called "Little Istanbul", but it could be the diminutive Asian city of your choice. Given the number of trad eating and drinking places, it could even be dubbed "Little Bavaria", except that it hosts the biggest of them all: Theresienwiese (or Wiesn) is the scene of the annual Oktoberfest. The area further south is also known as "Kliniken", as there's a large hospital complex, though these facilities are migrating to edge-of-city sites.

Schwanthalerhöhe or Westend starts west of Theresienwiese. It's densely populated and was a working-class quarter until late 20th century. By then its housing stock was in poor shape, so it was re-developed and prices soared. Augustiner brew their beer here, and the main sight is the Verkehrszentrum (transportation) branch of the Deutsches Museum.

🌍 Hauptbahnhof: The main railway station has connections across Germany and beyond. See Munich#Get in for services and station facilities.

Bahnhof München Süd, the south station, is still displayed on some older maps, but it closed to passengers in 1985 and is now just a freight yard.

S-Bahn suburban trains run east-west through Altstadt to Karlsplatz and Hauptbahnhof then along the northern boundary of this district. S1 and S8 are from the airport, the others are S2, S3, S4, S6, S7 and S20. Westbound from Hauptbahnhof the stations are Hackerbrücke (for main bus station) and Donnersbergerbrücke, then they fan out to various suburbs. S7 and S20 may be useful for the south of the district, stopping at Heimeranplatz and Harras on the way to Sendling.

U-Bahn underground trains mostly converge on Hauptbahnhof and are the way to go north-south. At Karlsplatz the U-Bahn station is called Stachus and is 100 m north of the S-Bahn station. All of this district is within the inner city fare zone, which stretches 5 km out.

•  U1 ,  U2  and  U7  run from the north to Hauptbahnhof, Sendlinger Tor and Fraunhoferstraße then diverge southeast.
•  U4  and  U5  run from the east across Altstadt to Stachus, Hauptbahnhof, Theresienwiese (for Oktoberfest), Schwanthalerhöhe, Heimeranplatz and Westendstraße.
•  U3  and  U6  start in the north and cross Altstadt via Odeonsplatz, Marienplatz and Sendlinger Tor, then follow the riverbank to Goetheplatz and Implerstraße then diverge southwest. These don't run via Hauptbahnhof.

Trams converge on Hauptbahnhof from all over the city, see below.

🌍 ZOB the central bus station is just north of this area, see Munich#Get in for services.

By car: You'll wish you hadn't. The arterial roads are Lindwurmstraße from A95 and A96 south, Landsberger Straße / Bayerstraße from A8 and A9 west, and Altstadtring from the east and north. These are reasonably free-flowing outside of rush hour, but trying to park?? Check ahead with your accommodation what the deal is with parking. There's a multi-story parking garage at Karlsplatz 6 (€3.50 per hour, €25 per day) and a more expensive one (but better suited for larger vehicles) down the street, but street parking is only available to residents by permit.

Walking is usually the best option, as most sights are in a compact area.

Bike lanes run along the riverbank and most main streets. Your biggest hazard is getting stuck in tram tracks, whereupon your options are 1) dismount promptly and thork the wheel out, like a vet assisting a beast in labour, 2) keep going until you tumble and get a pizza-face, 3) meet a tram, which will dislodge you and the bike one way or another.

Tram lines 18 (from Gondrellplatz) and 19 (from Pasing) traverse the western suburbs along Bayerstraße to Hauptbahnhof. Line 18 then circles Altstadtring south to Isartor then follows the riverbank north to Lehel and Effnerplatz. Line 19 plunges right through Altstadt to Ostbahnhof then away out to St Veit Straße.

Line 17 runs from the northwest via Nymphenburg Palace then is joined by line 16 to Hauptbahnhof, Karlsplatz (Stachus) and Sendlinger Tor. Line 16 continues northeast to Isartor, Deutsches Museum, Effnerplatz and St Emmeram. Line 17 branches southeast to Fraunhoferstraße then across Haidhausen to Giesing and Schwanseestraße.

• Children's Museum (Kindermuseum), Hauptbahnhof (within main railway station). School term Th F 14:00-17:00, Sa Su 10:00-17:00; school holidays Tu-Su 10:00-17:00. It's perhaps a misnomer, it's more like a crafts & play space, but could save the family sanity one wet day. €5.50. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Deutsches Museum (German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology), Museumsinsel 1 (S-bahn: Isartor, or U-bahn: Fraunhoferstrasse, or Tram 16: Deutsches Museum), ☏ +49 89 2179333, information@deutsches-museum.de. Daily 09:00-17:00. Enormous museum of science and technology, needing a full day, and even then you need to prioritise which galleries to explore - though half the fun is discovering the secrets of technology you'd never considered. Themes include natural sciences (from atom physics to music), materials and energy (including robotics), transport including aerospace, environment, health, agriculture and food, IT, communications and photography. At any time, some galleries are closed for refurb (these are indicated by the ticket booths), some are fresh and exciting, and some are getting tired. The museum is very popular, buy online to avoid queuing in the rain. Verkehrszentrum is the branch museum for transport west edge of this district, Flugwerft Schliessheim exhibits aviation north of the city, and there are branch museums in Bonn and Nuremberg. Adult €15, conc €8 (child, senior or student). (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Vater-Rhein-Brunnen is the ornate fountain which is the focal point of the north tip of Museum Island. It's a pleasant park, where outdoor events are sometimes held in summer. A footbridge spans downriver to Prater Island in Lehel.
• 🌍 Gärtnerplatz (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße) is the small park circus at the centre of Gärtnerviertel, the suburb laid out in the 1860s. Lined by imposing buildings, it's a popular gathering spot in the evening and the Staatstheater is on its south side.
• 🌍 St Maxmilian Church, Auenstraße 1 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 2024070. M-Th 10:00-16:00. In a prominent position on the banks of the Isar, this Roman Catholic parish church was mostly complete by 1908, though the sacristry was only added in 1938. It was bombed during wartime but restored by 1953. It was again closed for restoration during 2021. The mighty organ and church bells will get your attention when they sound off, and the church sometimes hosts concerts. Since 1993 the pastor has been the flamboyant Rainer Maria Schießler (b 1960), who used to serve beer at Oktoberfest. No, not in a low-cut dirndl. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Sendlinger Tor is one of the three surviving (though much altered) gothic city gates: Isartor and Karlstor are the others. In the 13th century the city expanded and needed a new defensive wall and gates. Sendlinger Tor originally had a central tower over a triple gate, and two flanking towers were added in 1420. All this did an excellent job of impeding modern traffic, so in 1906 the central tower and triple gate were demolished and replaced by a single arch. It's now a pedestrian area and hosts a Christmas market. Step through it to enter Aldstadt.
• St Matthäus or Matthew's is the tall Lutheran church on Nußbaumstraße 100 m west of Sendlinger Tor. It was destroyed by wartime bombing, like so many especially near the railway station, and rebuilt in the 1950s in a style we might one day come to appreciate. It looks like a fire station tower.
• 🌍 Old South Cemetery (Alter Südfriedhof), Thalkirchner Straße 17 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U3, U6, U7: Sendlinger Tor), ☏ +49 89 231 99343. Daily 08:00-20:00. This was established in 1563 when plague overfilled the church graveyards, and bodies needed to be interred beyond city limits. St Stephan's church at its main north entrance was built at the same time. From 1788 to 1868 it was Munich's single collective burial ground, becoming non-denominational, so it's the last resting-place of some 14,000 citizens. The roll-call includes Josef von Fraunhofer, Friedrich von Gärtner, Leo von Klenze, Justus von Liebig, Georg Simon Ohm and Carl Spitzweg. Also here are many of the 1100 victims of "Sendling's Night of Murder" (Sendlinger Mordweihnacht), a peasant rebellion against Austrian rule in 1705. The cemetery is studded with elaborate gravestones and crypts, and you can find particular graves on the city cemetery website. It was gradually closed down during the early 20th century but is maintained as a cultural relic and green space. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• St Anton's is the RC church on Kapuzinerstraße just south of the cemetery. It was built in Romanesque style in 1893, replacing an 18th century Capuchin monastery church, and the monks still use it. It's open daily 08:30-18:30.

• 🌍 St Paul's church (Paulskirche), St-Pauls-Platz 10 (U-Bahn U4, U5: Theresienwiese), ☏ +49 89 531547. Daily 08:00-20:00. Massive Roman Catholic church in neo-Gothic style, completed in 1906. It was bombed out in 1944 but rebuilt, albeit with a simpler interior. Its best known feature is the 97 m main tower. In 1960 a Convair C-131 transport plane lost power on take-off, clipped the tower and crashed into the street, killing all 20 on board and 32 in a passing tram. The tower can be climbed to a viewing platform but only during Oktoberfest (donation, and weather dependent), commanding a view from the Wiesn festivities below to the Alps. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 St Andreas' church, Zenettistraße 46 (U-Bahn U3, U6: Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 774184. Daily 09:00-18:00. Striking modern Roman Catholic church completed in 1953. Even more striking are the five bells, which are trying their best to be heard in Hamburg. Free. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Bavaria statue and Hall of Fame, Theresienhöhe 16 (U-Bahn U4, U5: Theresienwiese), ☏ +49 89 290671. Apr-mid Oct daily 09:00-18:00; in Oktoberfest statue 09:00-20:00, hall closed. Early 19th century Bavaria was a pawn in conflicts between Austria and Napoleonic France, so when Ludwig I came to the throne in 1825, he sought an iconic statue to symbolise Bavaria's strength and independence, and a hall of fame to celebrate its heroes. There was a design competition, and since Ludwig was a great admirer of classical Greece, that was the style that won. The ensemble was completed in 1850, and casting the 18.5 m female statue in bronze was a huge engineering challenge. A stairway within ascends to a viewing platform in her head, so you can see what she sees. It's mobbed and claustrophobic during Oktoberfest (when it opens late), as it looks onto the nearby Wiesn grounds. The Hall of Fame was bombed out in the Second World War but re-opened by 1972. The display of famous Bavarians is not static but evolves to recognise new stars. The Hall of Fame is closed during Oktoberfest. Adult €5, concessions €4. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Verkehrszentrum, Am Bavariapark 5. Daily 09:00-17:00. This branch of Deutsches Museum is about transport of every kind. The main themes are urban transport, travel, and mobility and technology. The building was the halls of Münchner Messe, the trade fairs, until they moved out to the eastern suburbs. Adult €8, conc €5 (child, senior or student). (updated Oct 2022)

• 🌍 Oktoberfest (U-Bahn: U4, U5 Theresienwiese): In late September Munich resounds to this famous festival, the world's largest beer festival. It usually lasts 16 days, to end on the first Sunday in October - dates are set for ten years ahead. The festival is extended by a day or two whenever German National Unity Day on 3 Oct (a public holiday celebrating the merger of East and West Germany) falls just after the normal Sunday closing. That next happens in 2023 then 2028.

The first Oktoberfest was on 12 Oct 1810, to celebrate the marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. All citizens of Munich were invited to a meadow (Wiesn) situated in front of the city tower, subsequently renamed Theresienwiese in honour of the bride. In the early years of the fair, horse races were held, then as the event grew they added agricultural conventions, which still take place every fourth year. In 1896, businessmen working with the breweries in Munich built the first giant beer tents, and drinking beer has been the primary focus ever since. Although it's still called Oktoberfest, the festival was soon moved to start in September for better outdoor weather.

There are some 24 large tents (capacity circa 10,000, mostly but not all under cover) presided over by the major breweries, and a similar number of small tents seating a few hundred apiece. Each tent serves its brewery's own beer, with incredibly strong barmaids hoisting ten or more Maß one-litre glasses of beer - those glasses are heavy even when empty! Musicians lead the crowd in popular drinking songs, and there's food. And of course toilets, with hordes of drunken people jostling to get in. There's at least one wine tent, carnival games, amusement rides, and other entertainment. In 2019, Oktoberfest hosted 6.3 million visitors from 55 countries who drank 7.3 million litres of beer, so each visitor drank less than 1.2 litres. The all-time attendance record was 7.1 million visitors in 1985.

What you need to know:

1. Book well ahead with accommodation, and even so, expect to pay double. Everything decent will sell out, even mid-week, and even in nearby towns such as Augsburg. Budget air tickets and Sparpreis rail tickets will also be hard to find.
2. If you know which brewery's product you prefer and which days you want to come, reserve a place online on that brewery tent's website.
3. Don't bring small children at weekends. Each Tuesday from 12:00 to 18:00 is family day with discounts on many rides. Children aren't allowed in beer tents after 20:00.
4. Don't bring a backpack, or any bag larger than 3 litres. All bags will be checked at the Wiesn entrance, and acceptable small bags tagged. You'll have to leave larger bags at the nearby left-luggage lockers, for a fee, and probably involving a queue.
5. Walk there if possible. The closest underground station "Theresienwiese" (lines U4 and U5) gets horribly crowded and is sometimes closed to avoid dangerous congestion. An alternative is "Goetheplatz" (lines U3 and U6) - also crowded, but at least you'll be able to breathe, and the exiting crowd will carry you willy-nilly to the Wiesn gates.
6. There's no entrance fee for the Wiesn site or the individual tents, but of course you'll be paying for drinks, food and amusement - reckon €13 for a litre of beer. You can buy beer tokens in advance.
7. Wiesn opens at 09:00. Individual beer tents open at 10:00 midweek and serve beer from noon. They open at 09:00 on weekends and serve all day (except the opening Saturday, the tapping day or "Anstich", with the first beer keg ceremonially broached at noon). They will only admit as many people as they have seating, then they're full. Midweek they're often full by early afternoon, weekends by late morning. If you leave the tent for any reason, you won't get back in.
8. Smoking is forbidden within the tents. Some tents have designated smoking areas outside.
9. The bar usually stops serving at 22:30. Make sure you finish your beer by 23:30, when the tent closes and security will briskly eject all stragglers.
10. Outside the tents, there's lots to eat, drink and do. You'll have a good time, but you won't get the full-on, oompah-oompah, wow-only-in-Munich experience.
11. You're welcome to buy a beer mug, don't try to nick one. Security at the exit will search for that very thing and each year they confiscate over 100,000. They'll probably just scowl and send you on your way, but being accused of theft is never a good place to be. Not in Germany.
12. In 2019, 3,800 items were turned into the Lost & Found office including 780 ID cards, 660 wallets, a set of dentures, a children’s pram, and a wedding ring.
13. After the Oktoberfest closes in the evening, a few venues offer special "After-Wiesn" parties. However, many nightclubs and bars refuse entry to people in traditional costume during Oktoberfest - they reckon you've had a skinfull of drink already. As if!

• Cinema: Mathäser is a multiplex on Bayerstraße between Stachus and Hauptbahnhof, which usually shows one or two movies in their original language.
• Climb St Paul's bell tower at Oktoberfest: see above for directions, but you can hardly fail to see this huge church just north of Wiesn. The twin west towers are 72 m, but the main tower is 97 m and this is the one you climb. By donation, weather dependent, and only during Oktoberfest.
• Oktoberfest Museum is a permanent display of the event's history, near Isartor in Lehel district.
• Tollwood Winter Festival is held on the Wiesn site from late November to Christmas, with music, food stalls and a Christmas Market. Their summer festival is mid-June to mid-July in Olympiapark, see Munich/North#Do.
• State Theater at Gärtnerplatz (Gärtnerplatztheater), Gärtnerplatz 3 (U-Bahn U1, U2, U7: Fraunhoferstraße), ☏ +49 89 218 51960. Opulent theatre-house opened in 1865 and mainly showing opera, with occasional operettas, musicals, and ballets. (updated Oct 2022)
• Deutsches Theater München, Schwanthalerstraße 13 (200 m south of Hauptbahnhof), ☏ +49 89 552 34444. Grand theatre opened in 1896, the style is called neo-baroque but in this upmarket district the building doesn't greatly stand out. Early fare was music hall, popular comedy and light theatre. Nowadays their programme is mostly musicals, with some theatre, ballet and operetta. The theatre was extensively refurbished 2008-2014. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Münchner Volkstheater, Tumblingerstraße 29 (U-Bahn: Poccistraße), ☏ +49 89 523 4655. The theatre left its old venue on Brienner Straße in 2021 and now dwells down near the southside railway tracks. They offer an eclectic mix, often contemporary takes on the classics. (updated Oct 2022)
• Relax on the riverbank: there are footpaths and bike paths along the Isar. On the opposite riverbank in Haidhausen is the large park of Frühlingsanlagen.
• Pink Christmas is a gay / lesbian Christmas fair on Stephansplatz just south of Sendlinger Tor, from late Nov to Christmas Eve. The name is literal: everything is coloured pink. They put on a live show at 19:00.

• Galeria (formerly Karlstadt), Bahnhofplatz 7 (opposite main railway station). M-Sa 09:30-20:00. This department store, built in 1904/05, fills the block between the railway station and Karlplatz S- and U-Bahn. It's got everything, and is very busy on Saturdays. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Optimal Records, Kolosseumstraße 6 (U-Bahn: U1,U2 Fraunhoferstraße Rosenheimer Platz, Tram: Lines 17, 18, 27 Müllerstraße; shop is 100 m south of Müllerstraße), ☏ +49 89 268185, info@optimal-records.de. M-F 11:00-20:00, Sa 11:00-18:00. Shops for vinyl records are everywhere disappearing but Optimal record store, founded in 1982, is still going. These are new records, they don't run an exchange, and they also stock CDs, mags, books and wine. So that's your nostalgic weekend sorted. The stock is mostly techno, house and electro vinyl, and famous names from the vinyl era are occasionally seen here. (updated Oct 2022)
• 🌍 Public Possession, Klenzestrasse 16 (S-Bahn: Isartor, U-Bahn: U1,U2 Fraunhoferstraße; 50 m northeast of Gärtnerplatz), ☏ +49 89 260 10425, info@publicpossession.com. Th-Sa 12:00-18:00. Record store dealing in electro, techno, house and disco vinyl and with artistic merchandise. (updated Oct 2022)

Ludwigsvorstadt is the place to stay if you can't find affordable accommodation in Altstadt or want to be within staggering distance of Theresienwiese. Budget and mid-range places cluster just south of Hauptbahnhof - practically every other building there contains a hotel.

As of Oct 2022, the entire city has 5G from all three German carriers. Wifi (in German WLAN) is widely available in public places and on transport.

• Altstadt the old city is walking distance, and centres on Marienplatz.
• Maxvorstadt just north is the university district and has big-name galleries and museums.
• Southwest Munich is a sprawling area, with the zoo and Blutenburg castle.
• Hauptbahhof the main railway station is the hub for U- and S-Bahn lines across the city and to the airport.