Location

To visit us, please see our Directions to the MIPLC

With a population of over 1.2 million, Munich is the third-largest city in Germany and an important cultural and economic center. It has been ranked by Germans as the most livable city in Germany, and with more than 80,000 university students, it holds plenty of attractions for students. Munich is known as Europe's "Intellectual Property Capital" because it is the home of the European Patent Office, the German Patent and Trademark Office, the German Federal Patent Court, a large number of intellectual property law firms, and a variety of companies in industries heavily dependent upon intellectual property, including Siemens or BMW, as well as many media and biotech companies. Munich's cultural and recreational attractions include:

• 45 museums, including the Deutsches Museum -- possibly the best technology museum in the world -- and a cluster of world-famous art museums such as the Alte Pinakothek, the Neue Pinakothek, and the Pinakothek der Moderne;
• 2 opera houses, 58 (non-cinema) theaters, and 84 cinemas;
• the Bavaria Film Studios, where such films as The Never-Ending Story, Cabaret, and Das Boot were shot (Munich is the film and media capital of Germany);
• the English Garden, one of the largest urban parks in the world (larger than New York's Central Park), which offers an astounding variety of attractions, including surfing (on a well-frequented standing wave in a branch of the Isar River) and nude sunbathing;
• the largest concentration of beer gardens in the world (see the English-language Beer Drinker's Guide to Munich); and
• within an hour by car or train, the German Alps, and a number of beautiful Alpine lakes.

The Munich Tourist Office provides an excellent English-language online guide to the city and its attractions. You may find other useful information on the following sites: New in the City; Frommer's; Europe for Visitors; or Toytown Munich.