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Munich’s central pedestrian zone stretches along Kaufingerstraße and Neuhauser Straße to Karlsplatz/Stachus. Here you will find all the major European chains and many department stores. Estimates show that Germany’s largest retail turnover per minute happens right here. Beyond Stachus, there are more stores in Sonnenstraße, Schützenstraße, and in the Elisenhof at the main railway station.

Affluent shoppers head to Munich’s most elegant shopping street, which starts at Marienhof behind the Town Hall. The number of fashion boutiques and high-end stores has swelled since the classy Fünf Höfe shopping arcades opened.

Historic buildings and contemporary architecture, arcades, courtyards, stores (Manufaktum, Emporio Armani), culture (Kunsthalle of the Hypo-Kulturstiftung), and fine gastronomy (Schumann’s daytime bar, Ederer, Barista, Café Kunsthalle) – this award-winning jewel of urban design by architects Herzog and de Meuron covers the area between Theatiner-, Kardinal-Faulhaber-, Maffei- and Salvatorstraße.

Luxury stores and boutiques line this square and the exclusive boulevard that runs off it. Here, you will also find an exemplary piece of urban renewal – the 19th-century Luitpoldblock with luxury shops, galleries, and Café Luitpold with its palm garden.

Maximilian II laid out this elegant boulevard in the mid-19th century. Extending between the Nationaltheater and the Altstadtring, it has evolved into one of Europe’s most exclusive shopping destinations. Bulgari, Armani, Chanel, and other shops beckon beneath the pointed arches designed by Friedrich Bürklein. The boulevard is also home to the Hotel Vierjahreszeiten, the Kammerspiele, and – since the autumn of 2003 – the Maximilianhöfe.

The Maximilianhöfe is a complex encompassing a reconstructed Bürklein building on Maximilian-straße, a complex with offices and luxury boutiques (Gianfranco Ferré, Dolce & Gabbana, and others), and the state opera’s new rehearsal stage, featuring a transparent curtain façade. At the centre of the ensemble, the historic colonnaded hall of the former stables of the royal riding school has been preserved. The restaurant Brenner is a hidden treasure.

One of the oldest shopping streets, with several traditional stores. Growing increasingly chic, the strip still offers a colourful mix and great diversity of retail, from a fashion department store to leather goods to a teashop.

Worth a stroll in its own right, Munich’s oldest market is surrounded by speciality shops of all sizes. To the south, you’ll find the shops of the Gärtnerplatz district, while many small antique shops and the city’s largest supermarket for organic foods line the narrow streets leading to Isartor. On the west side, in the direction of Rindermarkt, a new shopping arcade has been created around the medieval Löwenturm.

Bounded by the Amalienstraße, Türkenstraße, and Adalbertstraße, the student quarter features not only many excellent bookshops but also boutiques of all kinds, including eccentric clothing stores, and jewellery and design shops.

Schwabing’s Leopoldstraße is lined with boutiques, restaurants, and cafés, starting at Giselastraße. Stroll along the side streets on the left side of the boulevard (heading north) for a wide variety of interesting shops. Hohenzollernstraße, especially, has evolved into a centre for small boutiques.