Marienplatz -
The Center of Munich
A stroll around Marienplatz is always rewarding. Lying in the center of picturesque Old Town Munich, it's a perfect place to start your ventures through Munich's history. Usually Marienplatz is crowded with people watching the attractions, sitting around to enjoy the sun, eating and drinking in one of the restaurants with outside seating area, waiting for friends to meet, etc.
Apart from being the center of Old Town, Marienplatz lies prominently within Munich's main shopping area (Fußgängerzone, engl.: pedestrian zone).
After a long and exhausting shopping tour starting from Karlsplatz, Stachus, we usually end up at Marienplatz, with sore feet
and ready to sit down to drink a beer or eat some ice cream.
A bad weather alternative is to go to "Hugendubel" (a big book store), where you can sit down, read and shop for books (also a good place to leave male compagnions while going on shopping tour).
Moreover Marienplatz is a perfect place to meet your friends. Even though it's relatively big and always crowded, we often meet here before going out.
We usually use the "Fischbrunnen" (fountain with a fish figure) as meeting spot. You just can't miss anyone waiting there.
To see how popular it is, just have a look at the photo: I couldn't take any picture without persons on it, standing there and waiting for their friends :-)
From here on, you can go just about everywhere in downtown Munich. But before doing so, don't miss the major attraction Marienplatz
offers you: The city hall with the famous Glockenspiel (carillon).
The city hall is situated along the entire north side of Marienplatz.
It's so big, that I couldn't take a picture, not even from above, where you can see the city hall in its entirety.
With its 85 m (260 feet) tower, you can distinguish the town house from almost anywhere in the skyline of Munich.
The tower
contains the famous Glockenspiel, which you have to watch in action at least once.
During the spectacle you can watch dancing figures performing scenes from the history of Munich.
Especially if you come to Munich for the first time, plan your visit to Marienplatz around the times, the carillon will play.
The dance of the wooden figures in the Glockenspiel starts every day exactly at 11 a.m. and noon (in summer also at 5 p.m.). You'll notice, because Marienplatz is overcrowded with people having a camera in their hands und staring upwards :-)
After watching the Gockenspiel, I'd recommend to climb either the city hall tower or the tower of St. Peters Church to enjoy a splendid view over Munich.