Munich City Guide

"We all follow the Chelsea, over land and sea" is a popular chant amongst Chelsea fans and there will be thousands of blues following Chelsea over land and sea and into, what most people would call, the beer capital of the world over the course of the next week.

Is there a better city for Chelsea to play out their second European Cup final than Munich? I can think of few better. It's a city that, unlike Moscow in 2008, is relatively easy to reach from London with a variety of transport choices. A number of neighbouring cities such as Frankfurt, Cologne and Salzburg will offer cheaper flight options while it isn't impossible or unthinkable to jump on one of Europe's efficient rail networks from perhaps Calais or Paris down to Munich. Driving to Munich is also a possibility, it was not for Moscow. Any option will be relatively cheaper and easier than the 2008 hosts but still offers that challenge and unknown element that we love about following Chelsea across the borders. (Unlike Wembley last year, and in fact next year - down the road for a European Cup final? Not the most exciting, but I'd still take it.)

Food and Beer

Bavaria is famous for it's beer and of course it's capital, Munich, hosts the annual, world famous beer festival every October - aptly named Oktoberfest. Those litre sized steins? We're going to enjoy them here. Those Munich beer gardens won't know what's hit them. The food is also superb. German's love their pork and they know how best to serve it. Don't miss the opportunity to try out a currywurst (pork sausage with curry sauce).

Inter-City Transport

Transport links inside the capital are cheap and easy to use. To get to the Allianz Arena you need the U6 Line to Frottmaning and to the airport you want the S8 line to Flughafen Munchen. Transport network maps are scattered inside the stations and the stations are plentiful. Both the stadium and airport are direct lines from the city centres. Munich's central station is called Hauptbahnhof and this has a direct line to the airport but you can also get on at the more touristy locations such as Marienplatz or Karlsplatz and you won't need to change the line. To get to the stadium in a direct route both Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz will offer you this.

Allianz Arena - U6 to Frottmaning

Munich Airport - S8 to Flughafen Munchen

Munich train map

Landmarks

I've heard through the grapevine that some 35,000 Chelsea fans will be in Munich on the 19th May 2012 with only 17,500 with tickets. This is impressive from Chelsea and had this final been played in a neutral city I'm sure we would have outnumbered the Bayern Munich fans but, as we all know, it isn't and there will be well over one million fans dressed in the red and white of Bayern. I've heard from unofficial sources that Chelsea's fan base will be at Odeonsplatz so perhaps head there in your search for Chelsea pubs and fans. I'm sure the Bayern fans will want to take over Marienplatz early. This is the central point of the city where the most famous landmarks are so don't miss the opportunity to check them out. The surrounding area of this famous square occupies some good quality pubs, small beer gardens and restaurants but I'm sure Bayern will have them under lock down on Saturday.

Marienplatz

As previous mentioned Marienplatz is the most central and biggest tourist area of Munich. It hosts some famous architecture and cathedrals that you may recognise.

Munich's popular square hosts this cathedral

Odeonsplatz

So apparently this is where the official Chelsea fan base is to be held but don't quote me on this. Either way it's a nice place to visit, I stumbled across it by mistake during my time in the city but was glad I did. Lot's of history is evident in this area and the street running away from the square is Munich's equivalent of Kings Road.

Odeonsplatz will be blue

Olympiapark

This is where this years Champions Festival will take place. It was built in 1972 for the Munich Olympic games where infamously 17 people died, including 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team, after a Palestinian group called Black September took hostages. There is a memorial for those who died in the park while much of the 40 year old infrastructure still stands. The stadium here was where England famously beat the Germans 5-1 in 2001. Post-Olympics this stadium played host to Bayern Munich's home games and Chelsea lost here 3-2 in a Champions League quarter final second leg in the April before Bayern moved into the Allianz Arena. Lampard and Drogba were the Chelsea scorers that day which saw us progress to the semi finals on aggregate.

The Olympiapark can be reached by taking the U3 to Olympia-Zentrum

Englischer Gardens


Apparently double the size of New York's central park this park hosts Munich's famous beer gardens. If it's nice weather when you're in Munich then check out the park and it's superb beer gardens. There is also a surfers wave near the entrance of the gardens. It is located near Odeonsplatz.

Munich's world famous beer gardens

Deutsches Museum

Nursing a hangover? Perhaps head over to one of the largest museums in the world showing off human inventions from thousands of years ago to present day.


Oktoberfest Gardens

It's high up on my bucket list but not worth a visit unless it's October. When I visited in April of this year it was just a large empty park. Perhaps this will change as Munich prepares for the Champions League final. I heard rumours there would be a viewing here for ticketless fans.

Language Guide

Hello - Hallo
Thank you - Danke
Please - Bitte
Beer - Bier
Cheers - Prost
Come on Chelsea - Auf geht's, Chelsea
Who are ya? - Wer sind sie?

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