BUSINESS CENTRES

With a population of 1.3 million, Munich is Bavaria’s business and culture capital. Nuremburg, 170 km north of Munich and Bavaria’s second-largest city with some 500,000 people, has attracted an increasing share of business start-ups: commercial and residential property here is much cheaper here. Bavaria has a diversified economy, with agriculture, manufacturing and services all playing roles, although in recent years it has been high-tech industry, biotechnology, services and media that have been booming.

LOCAL COLOUR Houses on Nuremburg’s Weissgerbergasse

Useful information

Business contacts
Almost every company is a member of the IHK, or Chamber of Commerce. Visit www.ihk-muenchen.de or call +49 (0)89 51160 for useful information and local business contacts.

The Chamber of Lawyers (Rechtsanwaltskammer) helps in finding the right English-speaking lawyer for every situation. Visit www.rechtsanwaltskammer-muenchen.de or call +49 (0)89 5329440.

Getting around
Bavaria’s capital is easily accessible by road, train and air. The airport connects to downtown in 40 minutes on the regional train, called the S-Bahn, which is quicker and cheaper than a taxi. The clean and efficient railway station runs inter-city services in all directions; journey time to Berlin is approximately seven hours. Taxis are typically E-type Mercedes-Benzes, and drivers are usually knowledgeable and English-speaking. Munich has a very good and safe public transport system, and the extensive U-Bahn (underground) will often beat a taxi across town.

Sleeping
The newest place to stay in Munich is the Rocco Forte-owned Charles Hotel, which opened last month. Three other top properties are the Bayerischer Hof, the Mandarin Oriental and the Vierjahreszeiten. An excellently located bargain hotel is the Carlton, located in the centre of the Schwabing university district, walking distance from the city centre and in the heart of the city’s publishing and media hotspot.

Eating
For 35 years, Tantris has been one of Munich’s leading gourmet restaurants; business lunches are available from €65 per person. Austernkeller offers fine seafood and French cuisine. Zum Dürnbräu, not far from Marienplatz, offers traditional Bavarian specialities. In Nuremburg, Bratwurtsglöcklein serves the local speciality rostbratwurst, a type of sausage dating back to 1313. Schwabing is a Mecca for good-vibe cafés, one of the most popular being News Bar on Amalienstrasse.

Time off
Munich is a paradise for shoppers. Marienplatz in the city centre is a good starting point to explore the best shops in town, as is Kaufingerstrasse, Munich’s most expensive high street. Close by is Dallmayers, a luxurious emporium and delicatessen. Beer gardens abound, but one of the loveliest and something of a local secret is the Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm) found inside the English Gardens (Englischer Garten).

City Sights
The Mandarin Oriental, Munich, is one of the city’s top hotels; a statue in the grounds of Schloss Nymphenburg, Munich

In the know
This being Germany, punctuality is a given – particularly at business meetings. Bavarians are generally formal in both manner and dress. That said, business meetings arranged over weisswurst and wheat beer are not unusual, particularly on a Friday. Local pride is considerable: people here are Bavarians first and Germans second, often starting sentences with the phrase “We in Bavaria”. Humour tends towards the obvious, without Anglo-Saxon nuances. Even good-standard German speakers may struggle with the dialect outside the main cities, although English is widely spoken.

Current topics of conversation include the performance of the Grand Coalition government; how Bayern Munich, the local football team (and the richest in Germany), has been playing; the expected departure of Edmund Stoiber, head of the CSU and Bavaria’s prime minister; and the high level of local tax.