Built by Beer and BMW

With looming spires, cobblestone streets and any number of beerhalls, Munich offers a fairytale backdrop for Germany’s largest collection of galleries and museums. Bavaria’s prim and prosperous capital is also home to BMW and Siemens, as well as fashion houses and shops selling world-famous local porcelain.

The seat of the Wittelsbach family, rulers of Bavaria until 1918, Munich has long been a beacon for the elite. The imposing Wittelsbach palace, the Residenz, dominates the top of central Max-Joseph-Platz. Most of the other sights are walkable in the compact downtown area. In the central old town, Altstadt, the domed towers of the 15th-century Frauenkirche loom over the low-rise city, much of which was rebuilt after the war. Marienplatz is the heart of the old city, with its neo-Gothic town hall. Just south is Munich’s oldest church, Peterskirche, with its landmark tower.

Nearby, the upscale mecca of Maximilianstrasse is dominated by the Residenzmuseum (+4989290671), whose dynastic treasures are so vast that different sections open at different times of the day. In the same complex is the State Collection of Egyptian Art (Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst, +4989298546, closed Mon) and the Altes Residenztheater, or Cuvilliés Theater (+4989290671), a rococo confection that’s a theatre by night and a museum by day.

North-east is the vast city park of Englischer Garten, with the modern art of the Haus der Kunst (+4989211270) and the Bavarian artefacts of the Bayerisches National-Museum (+498921124216). To the west lies Schwabing, where gentrification combines with the social life of the nearby university, with bars and streetwear shops around Hohenzollernstrasse.

South of Schwabing are the famous Pinakothek galleries: the Alte Pinakothek (Barer Strasse 27, +498923805216), with medieval masters, and the Neue Pinakothek (Barer Strasse 29, +498923805195), with 19th- and early 20th-century art. The new Pinakothek Moderne (Barer Strasse 40, +498923805360) shows off a collection of four museums in one sleek building whereWarhol’s exposures share a home with the expressionism of Max Beckmann.

On the other side of Schwabing, the river Isar skirts the city centre.

On an island by Ludwigsbrücke is the Deutsches Museum (Museuminsel 1, +498921791), a temple to technological innovation. In the north-east corner of the Olympic Park, the BMW-Museum (Petuelring 130, +498938223307) illustrates the history of the brand on which modern Munich was built.

Nearby is the Olympia-stadion, host of the 1972 Games, with its 951-feet Olympic tower. In 2005 home football club Bayern will move to the Allianz-Arena, built in nearby Munich-Fröttmaning for the 2006 World Cup.