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Munich's medieval core is the Altstadt, once encircled by hefty defensive walls, which were knocked down in the 19th century when they became surplus to requirements. However three of the original gates somehow survived – the Isartor guarding the east, the Sendlinger Tor to the south and the Karlstor dividing Karlsplatz from the Altstadt. At the centre of the Altstadt lies the Marienplatz, the city's principal piazza since 1158. Not much of the original medieval square has survived, the dominating facade here being the neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus, but nearby rises the oldest church on the block, the Peterskirche dating from the mid-14th century. However, Munich's most famous church is the late Gothic Frauenkirche, its double spires capped with renaissance domes, a symbol of the city and its most recognisable building. Due to a stone shortage, the church was built in just twenty years in the late 15th century using brick. Back on the Marienplatz, the medieval Alte Hof was once the home of the Dukes of Bavaria before they moved to the Residenz. What you see today is a dull, postwar rebuild, the original having been obliterated by Allied bombs in WWII. The Dukes 'new' home, the Residenz, started off as a medieval Gothic palace, but over the centuries was extended time and time again and now sports every style in the architecture textbook up until WWI.

Arguably Munich's finest renaissance edifice is the Michaelskirche, the largest renaissance church north of the Alps. It was commissioned by Duke William V in the late 16th century and replaced 87 houses, causing quite a kerfuffle with the locals. Its main claim to fame since the late 19th century can be found in the crypt – this is where Ludwig II is buried. Another fine renaissance structure is the Alte Münze, the Old Mint, which sports light stone arcading so typical of the period. Nearby lies the Hofgarten, Munich's only Renaissance garden commissioned by Maximilian I. Paths radiate out from the Dianatempel, a typical renaissance folly.

As in most of central Europe, the dominating architectural styles of the 17th and 18th centuries were the baroque and its short-lived little brother rococo. The superstar duo of the counter-reformation in Bavaria were the Asam brothers, Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin. Their finest creation in Munich is the stunning Asamkirche, Munich's most ornately over-the-top ecclesiastical interior. The church was the brothers' private chapel, which they could access from their house next door and was one of the few churches built in Europe at the time without a commission – the Asams were incredible wealthy having adorned churches across Catholic central Europe. One of these was the Heiliggeist Church, just off the Marienplatz.

Belgian-born François de Cuvilliés (1695–1768) is another celebrity architect of the period – his most illustrious project was the Cuvilliés Theatre at the Residenz. He is also the man behind the Reiche Zimmer at the Munich Residenz, Amalienburg in the grounds of Schloss Nymphenburg and the eye-pleasingly symmetrical facade of the Theatinerkirche.

The first rococo style church to be built in Munich was the Church of St Anna im Lehel by star local boy, Johann Michael Fischer. This was one of only two churches Fischer built in Munich, though he designed 32 other churches and 23 monasteries across southern Germany.

But the greatest work of the baroque period is Nymphenburg Palace, designed by Italian Agostino Barelli (1627–1687), who also built the bulk of the Theatinerkirche. Later additions to the palace were completed by other famous architects in slightly different baroque fashions. This included Dachau-born Joseph Effner, who was also responsible for work on converting the Wittelsbachs' summer residence at Schleissheim into a baroque masterpiece.

No period in Munich's architectural timeline had as profound an effect on the city's appearance as the 19th century. Down came the stifling city walls allowing Munich to burst out in a confident march of neo-styles unrivalled in central Europe. This is when the city gained its grand theatres, arrow-straight boulevards, columned museums and triumphal Greco-Roman follies. The early part of the century was dominated by one name, Leo von Klenze (1784–1864), court architect to Ludwig I. His greatest work was the creation of the Königsplatz, with its Greek-revivalist edifices sporting columns, pediments and cornices. The Glypothek, the Alte Pinakothek, Monopteros in the English Garden, Ludwigstrasse and the Propyläen Gate are all his work, some of these designs looking as though they have been picked up and transported directly from ancient Greece. However, Klenze's greatest opus and the highlight of his career was his work on St Petersburg's New Hermitage, one of the world's most famous buildings, now Russia's most celebrated museum.

Another architect working at the court of Ludwig I was Friedrich von Gärtner (1791–1847). In a similar vein to von Klenze, Gärtner was a fan of reviving the architectural styles of the ancient world, though he leaned more to the Romanesque. His greatest works are the Feldherrnhalle (based on the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence), the Siegestor triumphal arch, the university and austere Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. However, his greatest work was the Wittelsbacher Palais, which once stood on the corner of the Brienner Strasse and Türkenstrasse. Originally a royal residence, the palace was infamously used as Gestapo headquarters before being badly damaged in an air raid in 1944. Sadly it was bulldozed in 1964.

Not to be outdone by his dad Ludwig I, King Maximilian II was also determined to leave his mark on the capital. He preferred the neo-Gothic style sweeping the continent at the time and the result is the Maximilianstrasse and the Bavarian National Museum. He employed architect Friedrich Bürklein, a student of Friedrich von Gärtner, to construct his greatest addition to the Munich skyline, the grand Maximilianeum, now the Bavarian parliament building.

One of the most visible buildings to go up in the late 19th century is the neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus, which dominates Marienplatz and houses city-authority offices. The architects were inspired by Brussels' City Hall and the New Town Hall in Vienna, and no one can deny that it's one of the most imposing facades in the city.

Asam Brothers – Cosmas and Egid were two of nine children. Sent to Rome for their artistic education, they returned as masters of baroque stucco, fresco and sculpture, adorning churches from Switzerland to Bohemia.

François de Cuvilliés – Actually started out as a court dwarf before being taken under the wing of Maximilian II and trained in Paris before returning as court architect.

Leo von Klenze – Court architect to Ludwig I, responsible for the Greek revivalist style sported by many of Munich's grandest buildings, particularly around Königsplatz.

Friedrich von Gärtner – Another of Ludwig I's favourite architects, Koblenz-born von Gärtner studied in Paris and Italy and served as artistic director of the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.

Jugendstil is simply the local term used for the art nouveau style employed in art and architecture in the late 19th century and first decades of the 20th century. Schwabing is the place to go to see the style in bricks and mortar, the streets in the north of the district lined with magnificent art nouveau villas. Naturally these are all closed to the public, but one Jugendstil building you can access is the Villa Stuck, the city's finest example of early-20th-century architecture. Inside, every surface is adorned, tiled and glazed, the effect designed by Franz von Stuck, a leading Munich artist of the time.

Enter the Nazis. Hitler had big plans for some of Germany's cities – he famously described architecture as the 'word in stone', but Munich's Greco-Roman and neo-Gothic Maxvorstadt seemed to temporarily satisfy the Nazis' need for bombast, at least until WWII broke out. One notable addition was the Haus der Kunst, the gallery Hitler had built in the English Garden to display what the Nazis termed 'degenerate art'. The gallery is an austere structure, its front edged with eye-bludgeoning columns. Another Nazi-era building is the 1930s Führerbau, designed by Paul Ludwig Troost as a representative building for Hitler. It was here that Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement in 1938. Hitler had big plans for Munich, but instead WWII left the city partially in ruins.

Post-war rebuilding bequeathed the city many a bland tenement, even in the city centre. However, the architectural highlight of the economic miracle period must be the Olympiapark, fashioned out of spare land north of Schwabing in time for the 1972 summer games. The two most striking Olympic structures are the Olympiastadion with its undulating plexiglas roof, and the 291m-tall Olympiaturm.

Next to the Olympiapark rises the eye-catching BMW Headquarters, which opened in 1973 and was designed to look like four engine cylinders. In the early 2000s BMW invested in more world-class building design when it was planning BMW-Welt and the adjacent BMW Museum. The same period saw the erection of what is possibly Munich's most amazing structure – the Allianz Arena. Built for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, it boasts an outer skin that can change colour depending on what team is playing. Now what would Ludwigs I and II or the Asam brothers make of that?

• Allianz Arena
• Asamkirche
• Schloss Nymphenburg
• Villa Stuck
• Olympiastadion

Many buildings in Munich's city centre were bombed during WWII so some of what you see today are often rebuilds or heavily renovated versions of the originals.

Despite his huge building projects in the Alps, Ludwig II left virtually no legacy in Munich itself. His only additions to the Residenz were the royal apartment and a huge winter garden, the latter demolished in 1897.

Documents declassified by Munich authorities in 2016 reveal the extensive plans Hitler had to completely rebuild Munich. These included a 183m-tall obelisk dedicated to the Nazi Party, a 275m-wide dome to cover a new train station and the world's largest opera house.

No building in central Munich may rise taller than the spires of the Frauenkirche, though in recent years the city authorities have come under severe pressure from developers to relax this rule.

The Reinheitsgebot (Purity Law) was passed in Ingolstadt in 1516 and stipulates that brewers may use only four ingredients when making beer – malt, yeast, hops and water. Even though this stopped being a legal requirement in 1987 when the EU struck it down as uncompetitive, most Bavarian brewers still conform to it anyway, making local brews among the best in the world. The law was valid across the Holy Roman Empire, and many breweries in the Czech Republic still adhere to it as well. So if you don't fancy a foaming tankard of sodium benzoate, potassium metabisulfite and propylene glycol alginate (just three of tens of additives that go into 'beer' in other parts of the world), stick to the beers of Bohemia and Bavaria.

Six big breweries dominate the beer scene in Munich: Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräu, Augustinerbräu, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr and Spaten-Franziskaner. Here we look at each one in turn – we'll leave choosing a favourite to you!

The big six may dominate the beer mats of the Bavarian capital but there are other brews out there, and fine ones at that. Tegernseer is one of the most popular bottled beers in the capital, though for the pulled version you should head to the Tegernseer Tal tavern. Dark and syrupy Klosterbrauerei Andechs from the Andechs Monastery is a real treat still brewed by the monks. In the town of Erding, just 30km to the northeast of Munich, the Erdinger Brewery produces some of Bavaria’s best beer, especially Weissbier, available in a few select pubs in Munich and almost everywhere in bottles across Europe. At the Weisses Brauhaus, just off the Marienplatz, the Schneider Weissbier sets the standard for wheat beer across the land. With all this locally produced, world-beating booze on offer, craft beer has been very slow to catch on.

The ‘Strong Beer Time’ originally developed to make the fasting season of Lent more bearable. It’s thought monks brewed more potent beer at this time to make up for the meagre rations they consumed, and the locals were more than willing to join them. Today the Starkbierzeit has turned into another mini-Oktoberfest (for beer fans it conveniently falls between Oktoberfest and the opening of the city’s beer gardens), celebrated with beverages containing almost 8% alcohol. The most famous of these is Salvator, pumped with abandon by the Paulaner brewery. To join in the inebriated revelry of the Starkbierzeit, head to the Augustinerkeller, Nockherberg and the Löwenbräukeller.

• Alkoholfreies Bier – nonalcoholic beer
• Bockbier/Doppelbock – strong beer (doppel meaning even more so), either pale, amber or dark in colour with a bittersweet flavour
• Dampfbier (steam beer) – originating from Bayreuth, it’s top-fermented (this means the yeast rises to the top during the fermentation process) and has a fruity flavour
• Dunkles (dark lager) – a reddish-brown, full-bodied lager, malty and lightly hopped
• Helles (pale lager) – a lightly hopped lager with strong malt aromas and a slightly sweet taste
• Hofbräu – type of brewery belonging to a royal court
• Klosterbräu – type of brewery belonging to a monastery
• Malzbier – sweet, aromatic, full-bodied malt beer
• Märzen – full bodied with strong malt aromas and traditionally brewed in March
• Pils (pilsener) – a bottom-fermented lager with strong hop flavour
• Rauchbier (smoke beer) – dark beer with a fresh, spicy or ‘smoky’ flavour, found mostly in Bamberg
• Weissbier/Weizen (wheat beer) – wheat beers (around 5.4% alcohol) with fruity and spicy flavour, often recalling bananas and cloves; a cloudy Hefeweizen has a layer of still-fermenting yeast on the bottom of the bottle, whereas Kristallweizen is clearer with more fizz.

If you want to go easy on the booze, order a sweetish Radler, which comes in half or full litres and mixes Helles Lagerbier and lemonade. A Russe (Russian) is generally a litre-sized concoction of Helles Weissbier and lemonade.

Bavaria's beer consumption figures are simply astounding. The estimated per capita intake is around 170L per year, around 20L per person more than the neighbouring Czechs, who lead the world country rankings by around 50L (Austria is second, Germany third). Bavaria produces around 22.3 million hectolitres of bier every year, a certain share of which goes for export.

All six of Munich’s breweries produce seasonal beers and once-in-a-while specials. Here are some of our favourites:

Heller Bock (Augustiner-Bräu) – a pale lager only available in May and June in Munich and packing a hefty 7.2% punch

Naturtrübes Kellerbier (Hacker-Pschorr) – touted as an alternative to wine, this less-carbonated beer is smooth, fruity and at 5.5% volume, not too strong

Münchner Urtyp (Paulaner) – a malty flavour with a refreshing hint of apple makes this summer-only lager a beer-garden must

Doppelbock Optimator (Spaten) – a 7.2% double Bock with a nutty molasses flavour

Diät-Pils (Spaten) – trust Munich’s brewers to come up with a beer that can be safely consumed by diabetics

Maibock (Hofbräu) – hoppy lager available in May, just in time for the reopening of the beer gardens

Oktoberfest has been cancelled several times: in 1866, 1870, 1914–18 and 1939–45 due to war, 1923–24 thanks to hyperinflation and in 1873 due to a cholera outbreak.

Airbräu, a microbrewery at Munich Airport, produces the wittily named AirCraft Beer and an 8.1% Starkbierzeit brew called Aviator.

Each year in an on-line voting process the Free State elects the Bayerische Bierkönigin – the Bavarian Beer Queen, who holds the title for 12 months.

The Munich Tourist office has produced a helpful metro-style transport map showing where all of the city's beer gardens are located. Download at www.muenchen.de/freizeit/sommer/biergartenfahrplan.html.