Sometimes called the "Village of One Million" Munich is a German city located near the Alps. This wonderfully charming 800-year-old city is the capital of Bavaria and the home of the world-famous Oktoberfest. Munich is an important cultural center with special opera, theatre, ballet and concert seasons.

Munich is most famous for its Oktoberfest. Be prepared not only to drink but also to eat: You’ll have your fill of sausages that is for sure but experiment a bit, whole oxen for instance are cooked on giant spits. While the food is good, fest goers never let it distract from the main focus of the festival: beer. But don’t think Oktoberfest is the only time Munich celebrates. The pre-Lenten celebration of Faschung (carnival) is equally popular. It goes on for days with all sorts of costumed parties and festivities.

Of course Munich is not only drinking, eating and partying, it also has museums and galleries on every imaginable subject (including one about unusual museums). Some interesting ones are the German Theater Museum, Museum of Mankind and Nature, the Residenz (Egyptian Art and the crown jewels) and the Valentine Museum. The Deutsches Museum is the largest science and industry museum in Europe. The Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek (art museums) house extensive collections of medieval to modern European painting. The Lenbachhaus Gallery also has an exceptional collection of expressionist paintings (Kandinsky Klee Macke Marc).

The Englischer Garten is a nice place to relax and watch the citizens of Munich take their walks or tan in the sun. In the midst of the gardens are the Kleinhesseloher See, a small lake with a cafe that serves refreshments, and a Chinese Tower and Monopterus (a Greek temple).

When Germans are polled about where they would most like to live, Munich finds its way consistently to the top of the list. Being within easy driving distance of the Alps, Italy and the Mediterranean, the Czech Republic, Austria and some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe, it's not surprising everyone wants to be there! Add to its benefits beautiful architecture, especially Baroque and Roccoco, green countryside which starts a mere half-hour away on the S-Bahn, the second largest university in Germany, and the greatest beer culture on the planet.

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