Jump to content

Berlin or Munich?


irreverentad

Recommended Posts

Definately off to Germany in early Feb as I now have the money!

Cannot decide which of these two cities to go to. I am going on my own and I want to mooch around, see sites, eat well and have a few beers and people watch.

Anyone been to either of these cities?

Which one is better?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Munich has your Hitler tours , beer gardens and of course the Allianz arena

Berlin has some good museums , Monuments , zoo and of course a few clubs

Both interesting places but of the 2 Munich edges it for me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say Berlin is your best bet. Stacks of culture, great food, shops, museums, east v west, Europe's biggest department store amazing flea markets and lots of nightlife. Munich is beautiful but I found it a little one dimensional.

Despite living near to Munich for 6 years I spent more time in Berlin than I did there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been to both many many times with work, must be nearly 100 times or so.

They are very different cities, Munich certainly has more wealth IMO. I prefer Berlin slightly because I have spent more time there, it seems a place that has had many influences and you get that impression from the locals. Munich is (obviously) very Bavarian they don't see themselves as mainstream Germans. I would say they are like Edinburgh is to the rest of the UK, part of it but see themselves as being different.

Both have very good, easy to use, local transport systems. I would say English is spoken more in Berlin than Munich. If you are prepared to travel a bit outside of the city centre then possibly Munich has more to offer.

Bottom line though they both have very very good beer :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say Berlin is your best bet. Stacks of culture, great food, shops, museums, east v west, Europe's biggest department store amazing flea markets and lots of nightlife. Munich is beautiful but I found it a little one dimensional.

Despite living near to Munich for 6 years I spent more time in Berlin than I did there.

Good summing up - plus in Feb I would go for the fact that Berlin has a bit more nightlife than Munich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers chaps.

You have made me torn between the two.

I will be going for 4 nights. I am not too bothered about the nightlife as I am going on my own.

I just want to chill, eat, drink and go round sites and museums.

Which is best for that?

I would still favour Berlin for that. If you are going for 4 nights though then there is the option of doing both. Internal flights in Germany are frequent and not that expensive.

IMO Munich is great at Xmas and Oktoberfest time for life but outside of that can be a little flat as a city. Berlin on the other hand has lots of buzz and little areas that are so different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers chaps.

You have made me torn between the two.

I will be going for 4 nights. I am not too bothered about the nightlife as I am going on my own.

I just want to chill, eat, drink and go round sites and museums.

Which is best for that?

I would still favour Berlin for that. If you are going for 4 nights though then there is the option of doing both. Internal flights in Germany are frequent and not that expensive.

IMO Munich is great at Xmas and Oktoberfest time for life but outside of that can be a little flat as a city. Berlin on the other hand has lots of buzz and little areas that are so different.

Is there still much of a feel of the West/East divide? I am really interested in the Cold war and the former Eastern Bloc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

East Berlin is very different IMO to West Berlin. Go up the old TV tower - a remnant from the Communist days and you can still see how the sides of the city differ. There are still bits of the wall standing and you can do bicycle tours - really they are just this weird bit of transport, that give a great commentary of various bits.

link

From what you have just said then Berlin is certainly the place to visit for this trip at least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

You will have a great time. I went down to Munich a couple of times last year when I lived over in Nordrhein Westfalen.

Once for Oktoberfest so I didn't see any of the city but the second time my friends from uni came over for the weekend and we did all the tourist stuff, did a fascinating walking tour centering around 1920s onwards. Make sure to go to the Hofbrauhaus for a Mass (the big beers) or several.

Also would recommend taking the train out to Dacchau concentration camp if you haven't looked around one before.

Don't get too excited about the Rathaus-Glockenspiel though, which is apparently a big tourist attraction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I am currently residing in Munich, or Gauting to be exact. Munich is a great city, nearly everyone speaks English, so you wont have to :winkold: It is a very wealthy city with lots to do. A bit on the expensive side though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...
Â