Cortiina Hotel
Ranking high on the hipster scale, this charismatic boutique hotel occupies a fantastically central spot a block away from the Hofbräuhaus and Marienplatz. The downstairs lounge often teems with cocktail-swilling babes and beaus, but all traces of hustle evaporate the moment you step into your minimalist, feng-shui-inspired room.
Pacific Times
This is a trendy joint to hang out at. It's decked out in dark wood and wicker chairs to attract all the beautiful people. You too could be one of them.
Brik
This slick Japanese-style café, bar and lounge is a temple of minimalism and draws a hip crowd as much for the delicious sushi snacks as for the drinks. From Thursday to Sunday, DJs usually play a wicked mix of indie, techno and top 40. Child-friendly during the day.
Bobolovsky's
The varied menu at this bustling bistro includes all the old favourites, such as fajitas, quesadillas and chilli. Portions are very generous and on weekdays this place takes the Happy Hour concept to new lengths, with incredibly cheap deals on breakfast, lunch and cocktails.
Morizz
This mod Art Deco-style lounge with red leather armchairs and mirrors for posing and preening goes for a more moneyed clientele and even gets the occasional local celebrity drop-in. The service is impeccable, the food's good and the wine and whisky list keeps everyone happily pickled. Packed on weekends.
Günther Murphy's Irish Tavern
One of the most popular Irish pubs in Munich, this cellar bar is usually packed to the gills with a good mix of locals, expats and tourists. Well worth a visit.
Joe Peña's
This festive cantina-style restaurant is regarded as Munich's best Tex-Mex place and can get very crowded especially during Happy Hour ( to ). The food's tasty but calibrated to Germanic tastes.
Hofgarten
Office workers catching some rays during their lunch break, stylish moms pushing prams, seniors on bikes, a gaggle of chatty nuns - everybody comes to the Hofgarten. The formal court gardens with fountains, radiant flower beds, lime tree-lined gravel paths and benches galore sits just north of the Residenz. Paths converge at the Dianatempel, a striking octagonal pavilion honouring the Roman goddess of the hunt. In summer it's a favourite spot for classical music recitals.
Wombat's City Hostel
Of all the hostel-hotels popping up in Munich, this pert little number does the best job combining style with location. On a busy street right by the train station, it's a top-rated, friendly, safe and clean starting point for your Munich explorations.
News Bar
From tousled students to young managers and greying professors, everybody loves their news, especially at this stylish café that also sells international papers and mags. It's an ideal breakfast spot before embarking on a day of Pinakothek museum hopping.Child-friendly during the day.
Creatif Hotel Elephant
Owners have worked hard to spruce up this property in order to propel it into the 21st century while keeping prices low. It's on a quiet side street just a hop, skip and a jump away from the train station, making it a perfect spot if you're rolling into town late or leaving in the wee hours.
Münchner Suppenküche
Another good spot, just north of the Frauenkirche, is Münchner Suppenküche, a self-service soupery serving chicken casseroles, chilli con carne and other filling snacks.
Susanne Bommer
Avant-gardists will love Susanne Bommer in Haidhausen. The speciality here is transparent clothing (capes, wrap-around blouses etc) for the cashed-up female. Just browsing is fun. There is a second store on Rumfordstrasse.
Bräustübl
This hill-top Benedictine monastery was rebuilt in rococo style in 1675 after being ruined during the Thirty Years' War. These days the pilgrims are beer-lovers rather than religious types, drawn here by the delicious beers the Andechs monks have been brewing for 500 years or so. Eat on the terrace if possible.
Hotel Haberstock Hotelissimo
After an extreme makeover this family-run hotel has been catapulted from shabby to chic while remaining one of the best value-for-money picks near the main train station. Its central location puts you within minutes of Marienplatz, the Hofbräuhaus and other Munich delights.
Café Zeitgeist
Simply a perfect spot to pore over coffee and cake to watch, from a shady courtyard, the steady flow of students and trendoids pulsing along Türkenstrasse.
Jazzclub Unterfahrt im Einstein
This is perhaps the best-known place in town with live gigs from 9pm, and sometimes it pulls international stars such as Al Porcino and his big band. There's a small art gallery in one corner and open jam sessions on Sunday nights.
Makassar
In the south of town near the Schlachthof, this is a fancy French-Creole-International place that lures the jet set (Brad Pitt, Boris Becker and Joe Cocker among them). It's run by the former chef of Jacque Cousteau's Calypso research ship, and the menu is full of his African and Caribbean recipes. Try the breast of duck in honey-mustard sauce with veggies.
Gästehaus Englischer Garten
The bustling metropolis will feel light years away at this bastion of warmth and hospitality. You'll be instantly charmed by the house itself, a 200-year-old ivy-clad mill whose idyllic park-facing terrace quite literally spills out into the English Garden, Munich's fabulous green oasis.
Hotel Splendid-Dollmann
No two rooms are alike at this small but posh player in leafy residential Lehel. Ensconced in a stately 19th-century patrician mansion, it delivers old-world charm by the bucketload and is sure to delight romantics seeking a sophisticated hideaway. The slick boutiques of Maximilianstrasse are only a short stroll away.
News Café
Not just another news-bar clone, the plush leather seating, rows of glowing red lamps and African-inspired art make this hip joint a great place to hang out. It serves light food and a multitude of cocktails.
Schloss Nymphenburg
Adelaide of Savoy certainly married well. After she gave birth to her son Max Emanuel, her husband, Elector Ferdinand Maria was so overjoyed that he rewarded her with her own palace, Schloss Nymphenburg. Later rulers dabbled with the place until it grew into the lavish edifice you see today.