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Frauenkirche, Munich - courtesy th0mi - CC-BY

Munich (German: München) is the capital city of Bavaria. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg.

1158 is generally considered to be the foundation date, which is the earliest date the city is documented. In 1175 Munich was officially granted city status. Following the start of World War I, life in Munich became difficult, as the Allied blockade of Germany caused food and fuel shortages. The city was very heavily damaged by allied bombing during World War II but has long since recovered. Munich was also the site of the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Munich has a many attractions for all ages and tastes. Whether you are interested in history, architecture, art, strolling through parks, attractions like a trip to the Bavaria film studios, or a visit to one of Munich’s famous traditional beer gardens, you’ll always find something exciting in this city. The English Garden, Munich´s 900-acre park, has shaded winding paths, streams, ponds and swans and is best known for its four beer gardens and nude sunbathers. International names and designer fashion can be found next to typical bavarian gifts and clothing such as Lederhosen. Maximilianstrasse, a street in the city center, is the place to go if you are looking for high end luxury goods. In Munich there is a truely diverse shopping scene. And of course, don’t forget Oktoberfest. In 2003, Oktoberfest hosted 6.4 million visitors who drank 6.1 million liters of beer and ate 383,000 sausages and 630,000 chickens. If you happen to be unfortunate enough to miss Oktoberfest, you can live through a safer version at any of Munich’s many beer gardens.

Visitors can consider themselves lucky as Munich is home to everything essentially Bavarian, including the food. If heavy Bavarian cuisine doesn’t appeal, Munich is host to plenty of other international restaurants including, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Greek, and Turkish as well as typical American fast food outlets.

Munich is a safe city for travelers and it is one of the safest German cities overall.  Normal precautions apply.

The coldest month is January with an average temperature of −1 C (30 F). Summers in Munich city are warm with average temperature of 22 C (70 F) in July.

Munich is served by the Franz Josef Strauss International Airport.  Public transportation is by underground railway, suburban rail, trams, buses and taxi.

Munich population is 1,356,594 (2007).

+49 is the international calling code for Germany
089 is the area code for Munich

For more information about Munich