Munich Shopping

The only place I ever went shopping in Munich is the airport. Terminal 2 (the Lufthansa part) has loads of all the usual shops. You want lederhosen? You want expensive leather handbags? Tag Heuer watches? Now's your chance. Terminal 1 is somewhat sparse when it comes to purchasing opportunities, but at least there's a place to buy the usual "duty free" staples of sprits, cigarettes and cosmetics. And best of all since it's not really "duty free" anymore (you'd actually pay the same price in a Germany supermarket for this stuff as you would at the airport) within the EU, you can take as much as you can carry. In my case, that was between 3 and 6 liters of 40% ABV each week. They have some nice wine and port too (although the selection of wine is rather limited).

What to buy: Don't forget the leather trousers and pewter beer stein. Oh, and the silly green felt hat with a feather poking out. And how could you miss out on all that Bayern Munich memorabilia? Because I forgot to mention that Munich has the best soccer team in the world too. If you believe the locals.

What to pay: Standard German prices for alcohol. You're looking at about 10 euros per liter for spirits such as vodka, rum, gin, tequila, blue curacao, cognac, brandy, cheap whiskey, Bailey's, you name it. Cointreau and Grand Marnier are slightly more expensive, around 15 to 20 euro per liter. Cigarettes are 36 euros for 200. Cosmetics are only marginally cheaper than the UK high street - in fact they are very slightly more expensive than the Heathrow duty free.

Along Neuhauserstrasse and its extension, Kaufingerstrasse, in central Munich, you will find many modern stores such as Zara, H&M, Mango, C&A, New Yorker, and various other shops and department stores. This area is pedestrian-only and vendors set up shop in the street to sell fruits & vegetables, roasted chestnuts, bratwurst, flowers, souvenirs,and the like. If the shopping madness starts getting to you, grab a seat at an outdoor cafe to people watch or notice the architectural details of the surrounding buildings and two churches.

A big shop of delicatesen where you can eat something, have breakfast with champan or buy suprems of chocolate, coffe, tee, deserts, or every kind of food ... At the first floor you have where to buy also things for the house. A beautiful place near Marianplatz. Its a place you must visit

What to buy: chocolate
coffe
tee
food
house things

Many gift shops in Munich (and in Germany as a whole) sell these pewter goblets. I love them and I have a small collection of them.
In the photo, the goblet on the left is from Munich; I bought the other one in Bavaria somewhere.
Notice the merry group on the goblet on the right drinking (what else?), beer...

What to pay: They're not terribly expensive, but not cheap either (at least $35 for a small one; larger ones are more expensive)

Recently I was asked about shopping malls in Munich. There are 3 big ones. The PEP is located in Neuperlach. It can be easily reached by U4/U5 - to the station "Neuperlach Zentrum" and it is right underneath this beautiful mall of approx. 120 stores.

The OEZ (Olympia Einkaufs Zentrum) was the first mall in Munich, built in the 1970s. It is close to the Olympic Grounds and can be reached by bus. It has about 140 stores, cafes, etc.

The newest mall in Munich, is in fact the newest and most modern one of Germany: The beautiful Riem Arcaden. This is a super-modern shopping mall of 150 stores, shops, cafes, restaurant, a big hotel, cinemas, and other attractions.
Check out their homepage at www.riem-arcaden.de

Any visit to Munich should include at least a short visit to the Viktualienmarkt.

Located in the old center near the famous sights. it is full of wonderful stands and shops, selling fresh produce, cheeses, flowers, and other goodies to enjoy on the spot or take home.

What to buy: My favorite was the honey shop. And the cloth shopping bags with colorful designs on them make great souvenirs and gifts. Do your thing for the environment, and use one of these bags at the grocery store. Do more paper nor plastic!

There are no 'seasonal holidays' to worry about. Some stores close in August, but these are mainly small, service-type shops with one owner, for example a hairdresser or flower shop, and this is when they take their own holidays. All large shops will be open year round.

Germany has vastly improved with regards to shop opening hours. However, this varies greatly and is usually directly proportional to the distance from the city centre. Many shops are now open until 20.00 on week nights, although not all, so to be safe go before 18.00 if you are not sure. On the weekends, in the city centre, you will find shops open until 16.00 on Saturdays, and mostly closed, except for essentials on Sunday. However, again this varies, and if you need something, get it before 13.00 on Saturday. You will never go without food and drink and starve, but if you need medicines or something essential like that you should plan ahead.

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What to buy: You can find a lott of things here, but mostly you'll find food. From exotic fruit to fetacheese, herbs, smoked ham, bread, coockies, fish, ...
They also have nice flower stands. Take a wile to walk around here, you can buy or just look for the nice stuff they sell.

What to pay: As much as you desire. It's a market, so you have cheep stuff but also more expensive.