Step off the beaten track and go beyond the steins! Embrace all the weird and wonderful Munich has to offer for a more memorable trip.
You hear Munich and huge steins, Oktoberfest and the Nymphenburgh Palace all spring to mind – and for good reason! But just off the beaten tourist track, Munich has a wealth of quirky highlights for those who know where to look.
Umschrebung: Stairway to Nowhere, Serious Selfie Potential!
After your cheap flight to Munich, airport taxi downtown and very big beer, let’s get active. For the most out-there Instagram, look no further than the top of the ‘staircase to nowhere’, the Umschreibung. Directly translated it means ‘movement without destination’, and it is a double helix, 30 foot steel stairway which loops back on itself. Designed by a Danish artist, tourists are invited to climb to the top for a great photo op— this way your friends and family will believe you when you claim you didn’t spend the whole trip in a beer hall!
You can find the Umschrebung inside the KPMG building (29 Ganghoferstraße). The structure is free to climb.
Deutsches Jagd und Fischereimuseum
The Deutsches Jagd und Fischereimuseum (Or Museum of Hunting and Fishing, to you and I!) may not sound like the most enthralling of attractions, but it really is worth a visit! Alongside the collection of more than one thousand taxidermy examples of animal heads is a collection of mythical wolpertingers. Legend has it that these half-mammal half-bird creatures inhabited the Bavarian forests hundreds of years ago. Emphasis on the word legend here, so these works of taxidermy are either terrific or terrifying concoctions of horns, wings, fangs and various other appendages…
Entry is €5 and the museum is open daily from 9.30-17.00.
Viscardigasse’s Bronzed Footstops (Deserters’ Alley)
You can’t miss the iconic Feldherrnhalle beer hall, where a young Hitler was arrested for treason before his rise to power. After the Nazi party’s electoral triumph, the site was declared a monument and every person who passed was legally required to give a Nazi salute. For those brave enough to rebel, the alleyway behind the Feldhernnhalle provided an alternative route for secretive movement through the area. It’s an important symbol of passive resistance and nowadays there is a row of bronze bricks commemorating the bravery of those citizens who defied the Nazis in this way.
Located just between Theatinerstrasse and Residenzstrasse.
The Jewelled Skeleton of St Peter’s Church
The church and museum circuit may not be your thing, but this is still worth a nosey! St Peter’s Church is the oldest church in Munich and the resting place of Sain Munditia, the saint of spinsters. She lies displayed for all the world to see in a glass coffin, all the better to see her jewel and gold encrusted body stocking. Stare into her glass eyes if you dare…
Her rotting teeth are bejewelled and in one hand she clutches a bottle of her own blood.
Free entry and open every day 9.00-18.00 just off Marienplatz.
See All the Sights, and More
Munich has so much to offer, but do try something a little out of the ordinary. Even if you only have a weekend, with budget flights to Munich, airport taxis easily organised ahead of time and this little guide you’ll be able to make the most of your time here.
Ski Touring Valley Style
Go beyond the slopes on a Chamonix ski touring expedition on this winter’s ski holiday.
Keep in Shape While You Travel
Believe it or not, it is possible to return from your travels fitter than when you left and avoid the post-holiday diet. Find out how.
Cruise Back in Time into the Heart of Dutch History at Zaanse Schans
European river cruises provide a unique insight into a country: nowhere is this more true than a trip by boat through the ‘living museum’ of Zaanse Schans.
