According to one of those achingly trendy style magazines produced by people named after French desserts, Munich is the best city in the world.

Really? The Bavarian capital has a lot going for it. But better than London? New York? Tokyo? To be fair to the style gurus, the actual prize was for 'best quality of life', because of the city's combination of  "investment, high-quality housing, low crime, liberal politics, strong media and a general feeling of Gemütlichkeit". I'm not sure what they mean by 'liberal politics'. For years, Bavaria was run from Munich by a crotchety old conservative called Edmund Stoiber, who had the kind of unreconstructed view of the world which would definitely not be welcome in Dave Cameron's new 'green' Tory party. Never mind. Don't let the facts get in the way of a marketing strategy for your new magazine.

Whatever his politics, there's no doubt that Herr Stoiber governed from a very fine city, one of my favourites in Europe. But does it have restaurants to match Paris? Arts to match London? Or hotels to match New York? We had the chance to find out on a weekend break.

The Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski is 150 years old, and deserves to be considered as one of the best of Europe's revitalised grand hotels. The ideal introduction is to sit in the splendid lobby and have high tea with Munich's haute bourgeoisie. This is where they come after an afternoon's shopping at the fancy stores on Maximilianstrasse.  The Germans, of course, love their cakes, and there is an extravagant selection on offer here; although I would recommend having the full 'English afternoon tea' only if you have spent the last month wandering across the Gobi desert. I had not, and felt like a stuffed Bavarian pig after demolishing a full plate-load. The service in the hotel is excellent, and it was good fun watching some of the old retainers fussing over a large table of Munich grande dames.


The 303 suites and rooms at the VJ 'combine the art of modern living with historical ambience', according to the  hotel website. I'm not sure what the art of modern living is, but I would say that the suite we had was extremely comfortable, if not quite 'luxurious'. The style is contemporary, if perhaps a little generic. Although everything is extremely well done, the rooms lack a 'killer feature', like an enormous bath or high-definition televisions.

On the first night, we ventured up to the pool and spa area. There we found a good-sized pool, but a disappointing lack of space for lying around on loungers. There were only a handful available when we arrived, and we were lucky to grab the last two. There was a small sauna and steam area, the door of which bore the unmissable sign 'naked area'! As usual, there was a handful of elderly Germans lying around in the buff. They seemed very content, but we were not that keen to join them. It was time for dinner.


We drove some distance from the bright lights of Maximilianstrasse. In a quiet, residential area on the outskirts of town sits Tantris, Munich's lone two-star (Michelin) restaurant. An evening here is well worth the plane ticket. What strikes you at first is the extraordinary mixture of colours and shapes which fill the spacious dining room. Your eyes flood with red, black and orange - from the walls, ceiling and fittings. With its bulbous yellow lamps and multi-coloured pillars, Tantris is more like a Tate Modern installation than a restaurant. Service is faultless from the moment you step foot over the door, as smiling, handsome waiters guide you to the table and swiftly serve up a champagne cocktail. The menu offers the best of modern European cuisine. KB thoroughly enjoyed his starter of goose livers, cooked in different ways, followed by a delicious lobster in a creamy sauce. But the highlight was undoubtedly the selection of chocolate desserts (you can tell by now this was not a calorie-counting holiday) and an outstanding half-bottle of Cos D'estournel. A special limousine service whisked us back to the VJ after a first-class dining experience. I will return, some day.


As most people know, the Germans take Christmas very seriously. And nowhere is that truer than in Munich, where the 'Christkindlmarket' gives a bright, colourful and highly seasonal flavour to the city. The stalls which are set up in front of the town hall from the end of November until Christmas Eve offer a tempting selection of festive goodies, especially loads and loads of cakes, chocolate and other sweets. But it's not really the products which draw the visitor to the Munich Christmas Market. The place is packed with people having a good time, and the atmosphere is genuinely friendly and innocent.

After a few more cakes, it was time to head for a long walk through Munich's famous Englischer Garten. This is, by all accounts, one of the the largest parks in Europe. The afternoon of a clear winter day is the perfect time to walk off those excess calories in this beautiful, immaculately maintained public space.


Our visit to Munich was rounded off by a spot of high culture. The city had much to live up to, just a few weeks after we had gorged on the finest opera and ballet in St Petersburg; but we had a fine evening at the Bavarian State Opera House (above), just down the road from the VJ on Maximilianstrasse. We were lucky enough to get excellent seats for a production of 'The Tempest' by the state ballet company. This was a new version of the ballet based on Shakespeare's play, with music by Tchaikovsky, Bruckner and Sibelius. After a somewhat slow beginning, this performance picked up pace dramatically after the interval, and turned out to be an excellent evening of dance. It was, however, almost completely dominated by the principal dancer, a sharp-eyed Italian called Alen Bottaini, who played Prospero. He was really splendid to watch, but no one else was quite up to his standard. Neveretheless, this was a very enjoyable evening in a very fine opera house, well worth the 60 euro ticket price.

Munich is not the best city in the world, by any definition. But it is a first class choice for a weekend break. And there is much more to Munich for the visitor than consuming gallons of beer during the famous Oktoberfest. It has very good hotels, restaurants, arts, shopping, and public parks in a safe, clean, urban environment. The highlight was definitely our evening at Tantris, a restaurant which should enioy an international reputation, and which is worth each of those two Michelin stars.