Things to do in Munich

Two to three days. One for Marienplatz, the Residenz, Frauenkirche and a beer hall lunch. One for the Englischer Garten (with the river surfers at the Eisbach wave) and the BMW Welt/Museum. A third for a Dachau memorial morning or a Neuschwanstein day trip (long but doable).

Marienplatz at 11 a.m. for the Glockenspiel on the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) — figurines re-enact a 16th-century royal wedding and joust. Then climb the Alter Peter church tower across the square for an unbeatable view of the spires and the Alps on a clear day.

Schwabing north of the centre (the old artists' quarter, now upmarket) and the streets around Münchner Freiheit. Glockenbachviertel south of the Sendlinger Tor for the gay scene and indie cafés. Westend for the multi-ethnic food. Sundays at the Eisbach river in the Englischer Garten for the surfers.

Weisswurst — white veal sausage with sweet mustard, eaten before noon with a Brezel and a wheat beer. Schweinshaxe (roast pork knuckle) at Hofbräuhaus or a calmer beer hall like Augustiner-Keller. Obatzda (cheese-onion spread) on bread. Maß (1-litre beer) at Viktualienmarkt's open-air beer garden.

The U-Bahn, S-Bahn and tram network is silent, punctual and clean. A Tageskarte covers everything in the inner zone. Munich is also exceptionally bike-friendly; rent a MVG bike or grab a Lime. The Innenstadt around Marienplatz is largely pedestrianised.

The Asamkirche on Sendlinger Strasse — a baroque chapel barely four metres wide squeezed between two houses, built by the Asam brothers as their private church next to their home. The interior is gold-leafed riot from floor to ceiling. Five minutes from Marienplatz, often empty, free.