Munich and Foothills of the Alps
Bavaria, Germany
Mon-Tue, September 29-30, 2025
Wed-Thu, October 1-2, 2025
Custom Dates Also Available
- Minimum group size of 6 people and 2-month lead time.
- Rich will be in Europe from Sept 29 – Oct 11, 2025, so possibility of scheduling an additional Munich Immersion during that window.
- Contact Rich to request custom dates or inquire about being added to existing groups.
Price: 2 days for $849
Likely breweries, visits, tours, and meals:
Oktoberfest (in September), Starkbierfest (Strong Beer Fest in April), Klosterbrauerei Andechs, Giesinger Bräu, Zum Augustiner Stammhaus, Augustiner-Keller, Viktualienmarkt, Higgins Ale Works and more!
10% discount for Beverage Industry! Cicerones®, Certified Beer Servers, Sommeliers, WSETs, and employees of restaurants and beverage producers & wholesalers get 10% off!
Tradition, Modernity, and Beer
To me Munich is the perfect blend of exciting and historical. As soon as I arrive, I head to a biergarten or a beer hall to grab a liter of shining helles lager and munch on a salty pretzel. Invariably, any time of day or night, I’m surrounded by locals and tourists doing the same. Nicknamed Italy’s northernmost city, this capital of Bavaria is international, cosmopolitan, and rich with centuries of history. And it’s obsessed with local beer.
Münchners I speak to are a blend of modern and traditional. They love their rustic, outdoor biergartens, and have legally protected their right to bring their own comfort food from home with them to the city’s many biergartens. Businessmen in suits, elderly women, and families of all ages head to beer halls to break for Brotzeit (“bread time”), a weekday-morning second breakfast of weisswurst (white sausage) and weissbier. Brilliant. They’re proud of their art museums, churches, high standard of living, and, perhaps most of all, their beer.
Cradle of Lagers: Dark, Amber & Golden
Two fantastic beer styles bear the city’s name: Munich Dunkel (a chestnut-brown lager) and Munich Helles (a pale golden lager). Dunkels are the beers that made Munich famous, and they’re bready and smooth with hints of savory cocoa. Dunkel and its stronger, maltier cousins the Bock and Doppelbock developed because of the unique local water chemistry — part of Munich’s terroir. Munich Helles is the city’s answer to Pilsner, and has Munich’s trademark bready, malty character, which makes these pale golden, gently-hopped lagers as delicious as they are refreshing. Another Munich original, the amber Märzen lager, is harder to find these days. We’ll be able to enjoy a great Märzen, as well as an ice-distilled, 25% ABV Eisbock version of Märzen, at one of Munich’s craft breweries. Weissbier, Bavaria’s hazy, fruity-spicy wheat beer, is prevalent, fresh and delicious, and especially popular during morning Brotzeit.
During Oktoberfest,
the 2-day
Munich Immersion includes
2 SESSIONS
at the Festival!
I’ll lead the group on a tour of the tents and my favorite sights within the fairgrounds, plus we’ll enjoy beers, lunch, beers, dinner and more beers in multiple tents.
Join beer fans from around the globe heading to the biggest State Fair in the world: Oktoberfest. We’ll enjoy liters of Festbier, oompah bands, hearty food, Gemütlichkeit, amazing people-watching, and more liters of Festbier!
Special Beer Styles:
- Munich Helles: bready, pale-golden, quaffable lager; flows like water in Munich
- Munich Dunkles: bready, dark lager with hints of savory chocolate
- Doppelbock: strong, malty, slightly sweet lager, ranges from deep gold to tawny to mahogany; a specialty in winter and Starkbierfest
- Eisbock: even stronger, richer, maltier than a doppelbock! this hard-to-find style is brewed by partially freezing the beer and removing some of the ice to concentrate its flavor and alcohol. We’ll visit a craft brewery to try this amazing beer.
- Festbier: balanced, golden lager brewed for Oktoberfest, 6% ABV and sold by the liter
- Weissbier: refreshing, liquid bread, with banana and clove aromas created by the special yeast
- plus: lots of pilsners & a great Märzen
Local Dishes:
- Schweinhaxn mit Kloß: slow-roasted pork shank with crispy skin, served with potato dumplings
- Weisswurst: mild, white pork and veal sausage, served with sweet mustard and an almost-mandatory wheat beer
- Nürnburger Bratwurst: sauteed, herbed pork sausages, finger-sized (called “minis”), served 6 or 8 at a time with sauerkraut or potato salad; from Nuremburg, but equally popular in Munich
- Brezen: ever-present salty soft pretzels, with a chewy, browned exterior and soft, bready interior
- Obatzda: cheese dip of Camembert, quark, onions, paprika, and sometimes beer; perfect on pretzels or bread
- Käsespätzle: soft flour dumplings with melted cheese and grilled onions
- Käse: cheeses! Bavaria produces a variety of delicious cow’s milk cheeses, including Bergkäse (from Alpine-pastured cows, similar to Emmentaler cheese), Heumilch Camembert (soft-ripened haymilk cheese) and stinky washed-rind Romadur
- Zwiebelkuchen: Bavaria’s answer to Quiche Lorraine, but with less egg and more sweet onions
- Topfenstrudel: warm, flaky strudel stuffed with quark, vanilla, and raisins, served with vanilla ice cream
Local Customs We’ll Join In On:
- drinking beer in biergartens, gazing at the Alps on the horizon, as the breeze blows through the chestnut trees
- eating weisswurst and drinking weissbier, the traditional Bavarian Brotzeit snack, always with sweet mustard (and only tourists eat the casing!)
- making a beer and food “pilgrimage” to the Andechs Monastery and Brewery on “Holy Mountain”
- strolling through Munich’s amazing outdoor food market, the Viktualienmarkt, and making a stop for coffee and pastries
- visiting Oktoberfest (in Sept) or Starkbierfest (in April) for liters of beer, oompah bands, lederhosen and dirndls, and Gemütlichkeit!
Local Non-Beer Sights We’ll See:
- Frauenkirche Cathedral, St. Peter’s Church, and Andechs Monastery
- Marienplatz, Odeonsplatz, Neues and Altes Rathäuser, and Karlstor Gate
- Schloss Nymphenburg (weather permitting)
- views of the Alps on the horizon, 35 miles distant (weather permitting)
Hotel Recommendations
TIP: Lodging in Munich is pricy during Oktoberfest, which runs each year from mid-September to early-October. If you’re thinking of joining the Munich Immersion during Oktoberfest, consider booking your hotel right away. Go ahead and get a *cancellable* reservation now just to be safe (just make sure you know the terms of cancellation). You can cancel it later if you have to. (Prepaid reservations are cheaper, but they don’t allow cancellations.) Below this list of hotels, I’ve provided some Airbnb tips, too.
Functional/Budget Category:
- Hotel Westend
- Hotel Alfa Munich City Centre
Schwanthalerstrasse 121, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: Small, clean rooms. 8-min walk to Oktoberfest, 18-minute walk to the central train station.
Hirtenstrasse 22, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: Small, clean rooms. Hotel is located on a small, charmless street off the main drag on the north side of the central train station. 20-min walk to Oktoberfest, 5-minute walk to the central train station, 20-min walk to the Marienplatz in the heart of the Old Town.
Mid-Range Category:
- Hotel Eder
- Hilton Garden Inn Munich City West
- Hampton by Hilton Munich City West
- Aloft Munich
Zweigstrasse 8, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: Nice rooms and in-room modern bathrooms in a small, charming hotel, with elevator. Centrally located between the main train station and the Old Town and Marienplatz, and tucked down a side street just a block away from shops, restaurants, and bars. From the hotel, it’s a 5-min walk to the main train station; 15-min walk to the Marienplatz, which is the heart of the Old Town/Altstadt; 15-min walk to Oktoberfest.
Landsbergerstrasse 112, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: Serviceable, cookie-cutter mid-range business hotel. 23-min walk to Oktoberfest, 28-minute walk to the central train station, 6-min walk to Donnersbergerbrücke S-Bahn stop. Shared property with Hampton by Hilton.
Landsbergerstrasse 114, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: Serviceable, cookie-cutter mid-range business hotel. 23-min walk to Oktoberfest, 28-minute walk to the central train station, 6-min walk to Donnersbergerbrücke S-Bahn stop. Shared property with Hilton Garden Inn.
Bayerstrasse 37, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
Elevated Category:
- Roomers Munich
- Elevated Category: Le Méridien Munich
- Elevated Category: Sofitel Munich Bayerpost
Landsberger Strasse 68, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
Bayerstrasse 41, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
Bayerstrasse 12, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
Luxe & Design Category Category:
- The Charles Hotel
Sophienstrasse 28, Munich ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
These hotel recommendations are based on a combo of location, online reviews, and my experiences. I’ve stayed at some, but not all, of these hotels. I don’t get any perks or discounts for referrals. You should feel free to book at any of these, but of course you’re welcome to choose other accommodations.
AIRBNB locations throughout Munich ~ website
- Airbnbs can be great options, especially when Oktoberfest drives up hotel prices. I’ve stayed at Airbnbs in Munich multiple times and have had good experiences. Of course, each Airbnb listing is different, and will probably have both advantages and drawbacks. Click on the website link above, then enter in your dates and other preferences to see your lodging possibilities.
- Neighborhoods like Schwantalerhöhe and Sendlinger Tor are generally within 5- to 20-minute walk to both the Munich’s Central Train Station and Oktoberfest.
- Neighborhoods like Gärtnerplatz, Isartor, Marienplatz and Maxvorstadt offer good options as well. While they are farther from Munich’s Central Train Station and Oktoberfest, they are bustling neighborhoods full of great sites, restaurants, shops, and nightlife.
- Munich’s public transit (U-Bahn and S-Bahn) stations are plentiful and the trains are safe and efficient. Of course, during Oktoberfest time, the trains are quite crowded, and I personally find walking to be preferable.
10% discount for Beverage Industry!
Cicerones®, Certified Beer Servers, Sommeliers, WSETs, and employees of restaurants and beverage producers & wholesalers get 10% off.
Beer Immersions are an amazing way to study and learn about beer, and they’re incredibly fun, memorable team building opportunities.