Germany city breaks: What makes Munich the world's most liveable city?
Then there's the annual beer festival, when gap-year students and men with big tummies rule the roost.
And yet a glossy magazine recently voted it the 'World's Most Liveable city'. I was curious.
Drink it in: The attractive city centre has a bustling energyLocated in southern Germany, Munich was, until 1918, the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria - and the regal spirit still survives. It has the architecture, with sweeping boulevards lined with stately buildings that mean business.
I'd always wanted to go to Munich to see the extraordinary Residence, as it is modestly called, home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, Bavaria's ruling family.
There aren't many palaces left in the world that look as if they've stepped from the pages of a fairytale.
Bavarian charm: The traditional refreshment is a must in MunichOnce we found the entrance (after walking round the forbidding walls several times), we were plunged into a baroque world of grottoes, porcelain collections set against a hall of mirrors and general decorative extravagance. It was fabulous.
At the heart of the palace is the Antiquarium, an extraordinary hall with a 225 ft-long barrel vault decorated with frescoes, but essentially designed to show off a world-class collection of antique statues.
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Now, if Munich knows how to do one thing properly, it's providing places that do just that.
The Oktoberfest - which actually starts in mid-September - is an orgy of good beer drinking, but if you're a serious barley connoisseur, it's much better to go in early spring, the 'strong beer' season that began in the 17th century.
The Hofbrauhaus is in the centre of Munich's medieval town square and hasn't changed much in 100 years. All Munich still crowds into the flagged ground floor to sit at trestle tables.
Then we moved on to the Augustinerbrau to sample gerschwollene (fried veal sausage) and schweinsbraten (pork roast).
Visiting a beer hall might sound irredeemably touristy, but i assure you it's not. These places are heaving with locals. This enthusiasm also extends to Viktualienmarkt, essentially a farmers' market.
We wandered round the stalls looking at the meticulous displays of gourmet produce: honeycombs, ham from nurtured pigs, shiny fresh fruit and vegetables.
By royal appointment: The Residence gives a fascinating insight into the city's regal historyWhen we climbed to the top of Peterskirche tower - a challenging 302 steps - the view of the market scene below could have come from any century. And this must be why Munich has won the accolade of world's most liveable city; despite sustaining heavy damage during World War II, it's retained its appetite for gracious living.
We visited a wonderful range of museums - such as the Glyptothek, with its collection of Greek and Roman sculptures, on Konigsplatz, a neo- classical square that Ludwig i created to be his version of Athens.
Two blocks away there is the brand new Brandhorst Museum, for lovers of modern architecture, with its stellar collection of Warhols! .
We also enjoyed watching the Munchners in their parks. As we wandered through the 922-acre Englischer Garten, we spotted surfers riding the standing wave on the river and observed a stag party peddling an eight-man contraption which had on board a barrel of beer, complete with tubes, so they could drink as they cycled along - and of course they were dressed in lederhosen.
We ended the day by hiring a boat and rowing around the lake. As the sun set, strings of lights were turned on around one of the garden's major follies, which turned out to be a Chinese pagoda.
We'd arrived in Munich with all kinds of preconceptions. We left with nothing but unadulterated praise for one of Europe's great cities.
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