A Christmas markets weekend in Munich

Start in the city's central square, home to one of Germany's oldest Christmas markets: a towering tree, stalls of ornaments, gingerbread and mulled wine, and the neo-Gothic spires of the New Town Hall overhead. Catch the Rathaus-Glockenspiel once, its figures re-enacting historical scenes at set times daily; check the schedule when you arrive. Then walk to the twin towers of the Frauenkirche and on to Viktualienmarkt, where smaller, more local Christmas stalls sit among the regular food vendors.

Its lavish staterooms and the Antiquarium, one of the largest Renaissance halls north of the Alps, fill a warm hour or two, with Marienplatz minutes away when you're ready for the cold again.

Ride the tram about 20 minutes out to Nymphenburg, the Bavarian electors' summer residence, where a long Baroque façade faces a formal canal that is sometimes frozen in winter. The staterooms are grand without overwhelming you, and the bare, quiet park is worth a walk if the weather allows. Back in town, give the late afternoon to the Alte Pinakothek and its Dürer, Rubens and Rembrandt. Choose a handful of galleries, not the whole building.

The Asam brothers built this small Baroque church as their private chapel and covered nearly every surface in gilt and fresco, so densely it feels almost theatrical. Fifteen or twenty minutes inside stays with you far longer.

Inside the Residenz, just off Odeonsplatz, the Kaiserhof courtyard holds a smaller Christmas village: wooden chalets, a children's carousel and palace walls closing out the city. Have your last, less crowded Glühwein here. Around the corner at Wittelsbacherplatz, a medieval-themed market trades the usual sausage stalls for mead and food cooked over open fire, sold by traders in historical dress. If the weather holds, finish on the southern edge of the English Garden, bare and still in winter.

The Theatinerkirche on Odeonsplatz, Italian Baroque with a bright yellow façade and ornate white stucco inside, gives you a quiet fifteen minutes before you carry on.