Why Is Munich One of the Best Cities in the World?

Munich is one of the best places in the world to live in – what a bold statement, but it is true!

Munich has the beauty, with beautiful architecture, nature and parks, as well as having a vibrant social buzz with plenty of nightlife, restaurants and bars. The city has something for everyone – old or young, with a perfect balance of modern & fun with tradition, and throughout this article I will explain why.

CULTURE

Munich is home to beautiful architecture and buildings. Something many of the residents of Munich love to admire and be proud of. Some of the honourable mentions are: New Town Hall in the heart of Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, Asam Church and Nymphenburg Palace – check them out you won’t be disappointed! 😍

You will also find that lots of wonderful parks are scattered all across Munich – the most famous probably being the Englischer Garden (one of the largest public parks in the world!).

Munich is a major international cultural centre and has played host to many prominent composers including Mozart and Wagner 🎵

There’s also incredible Christmas markets all over the city in the Winter months – here you’ll find lots of stalls selling gifts and decorations as well as lots of Bavarian food and Gluwein (yum!) 🍷

Dotted around Munich are some outstanding museums such as the BMW museum, the Deutsches Museum and Residenz

Munich centre is very much a built-up city for many to enjoy and still has stunning pastel coloured houses and architecture, but just a short car journey away you will find the beautiful countryside with gorgeous views. There really is something for everyone in Munich!

Places of interest in particular to check out - Odeonsplatz in Munich. The large square gives you a view straight down a huge avenue to one of the original gates to the city, with columned buildings framing the street.

Then, just a few hours train ride away from the city is Neuschwanstein Castle, one of the palaces that inspired the actual ‘Cinderella Castle’ at Disneyland (see below)

Vienna and Zurich are both around a four-hour drive away, and Munich has excellent rail connections too to cities in Germany and across Europe. Plus, Munich Airport is one of the busiest airports in Europe (maybe because it’s the place to be?)

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

There are plenty of options for thrill-seekers and lovers of nature nearby Munich.

Of course there are the Alps – under one hour drive away. Here the more adventurous can get involved in various activities such as hiking, cycling, skiing and snowboarding🎿

You’ll also find incredible freshwater lakes nearby too e.g. Lake Starnberg (below) or Ammersee which are popular for swimming and watersports 🚣♂️

ECONOMY/JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Munich's economy is largely based on the Engineering, IT, Electronics, Biotechnology and Automotive industries. Munich is home to many successful global companies such as BMW, Siemens, MAN, Allianz, FlixBus and Rohde & Schwarz.

Munich has the strongest economy of any German city as well as the lowest employment rate (around 4% 👌).

Munich also has the highest average salary for workers in the city too – expect to earn an average of €10,000 more than employees working in Germany’s capital city, Berlin 🤑

*You also have a fantastic specialist recruitment team at Umbilical – solely focused on placing the best candidates in JavaScript Development, DevOps Engineering and Data Engineering across Bavaria 😉 *

NIGHTLIFE

The nightlife in Munich is great. It has a large beer garden culture – perfect for young professionals. Plus, there is no event more infamous in Munich than the one and only ‘Oktoberfest’ that takes place in September and October every year. Oktoberfest has more than six million people attending every year!!! 🍺🍺🍺

The city also holds more than 100 nightclubs and 1000s of bars – so you’ll never have a dull evening in Munich!

There are so many places to drink, dance and laugh with music for everyone from dance/techno to heavy metal 💃

An absolute must is to visit the Hofbräuhaus which is the world’s most famous brewery. Here you can enjoy some beers, traditional German food and dance to oompah bands!

With more than 1.5 million inhabitants living in Munich, it is the 3rd largest city in Germany behind Hamburg and Berlin, and the 11th largest city in the European Union. Plus, the Munich Metropolitan region overall is home to more than 6 million people – so there a plenty of people to meet and socilaise with! 👨👩👧👦

EDUCATION

Munich is one of the leading cities in Germany for Education and is home to some of the highest regarded universities too. The Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) and the Technische Universität München (TUM), were two of the first three German universities to be awarded the title elite university and are very well respected worldwide. 👨🎓👩🎓

There are also lots of great primary and secondary school options in the area too, as well as kindergartens.

Furthermore, Munich has various large scientific research institutions to offer too e.g. Max Planck Society or the Fraunhofer Society 🧪

STANDARD OF LIVING

Munich has been voted the number one standard of living in Germany (2018 Mercer Survey) 💯

Munich was also rated the world's most liveable city by the Monocle's Quality of Life Survey 2018, and 3rd in 2019, and is consistently near the top every year.

Furthermore, according to QS, Munich has been voted as the 2nd best student city in the world for 2022!

Nearly 40% of the Munich population is made up of people from a foreign background which creates a fantastic international culture and communities in the city.

Additionally, Munich has been voted at 14th safest city in the world according to Teleport.org 😄

SPORTS

How could I start with anything else but Bayern Munich? Who play their games at the breath-taking Allianz Arena (why not take a tour around the stadium?) ⚽

Bayern are the most successful club in German football history and are feared team in the Bundasliga as well as across Europe too. If you’re in Munich, go to a game and see one of the best footballers in the world, Lewandowski, in action (I bet he scores 🎯).

If football isn’t your thing there are plenty of other sports teams in Munich such as Basketball. They also have a great Ice Hockey team – EHC Red Bull München

You’ll also find Olympiapark München in the city – built for the 1972 Summer Olympics! 🏅

As you can tell from this article there is plenty of things to do in Munich from arts & literature to sports to nightlife. With Munich being consistently awarded for being one of the most liveable cities in Europe and worldwide it's not just myself who believes Munich is a great place to live! 🏠