Munich, verdict by verdict

Munich is Germany's polished southern capital: a compact Altstadt of church towers, the Residenz's long Antiquarium hall, the Viktualienmarkt grazing circuit, beer halls and beer gardens treated as civic institutions, and the English Garden running through the middle with surfers on the Eisbach. The centre is walkable end to end, the Alps start on the horizon, and the Hofbrauhaus brass band is exactly the cliche you came for.

The caveat is cost and character: this is Germany's most expensive city, sitting well above Berlin on price, and Oktoberfest fortnight multiplies hotel rates several times over while filling every room and occasionally closing the grounds for overcrowding. Sundays are quiet, the city runs conservative rather than edgy, palace fatigue is real inside the enormous Residenz, timed Neuschwanstein tickets sell out weeks ahead, and the streets south of the main station feel rough after dark. Zugspitze is weather-hostage: fog means a summit of information boards.

Two days covers the Altstadt, Residenz and English Garden; a third for Neuschwanstein or the Starnberg lakes is the classic addition, with Dachau for the serious half-day. May to September brings beer-garden weather, December the Christmas markets, and Oktoberfest travelers need to book months ahead. Sleep in the Altstadt to have Marienplatz, the market and the beer halls on foot; BMW Welt rounds it out even for non-car people.