Rischart Café am Marienplatz

Rischart is one of Munich's best-known bakeries, a family business founded in 1883 and now run by the fifth generation. Its bread, pretzels and cakes are sold across the city, but the café on Marienplatz is the one most visitors find first. It shares its address with the company's head office on the square, a few steps from the Glockenspiel and the tower of St. Peter's Church.

The café is a practical choice for breakfast before a day of sightseeing. Breakfast is served until 12:00, with options ranging from omelettes and ham and eggs to the Bavarian combination of white sausages, pretzel and sweet mustard. At lunchtime you will find dishes such as tarte flambée and Kaiserschmarrn, the torn, caramelised pancake from the Alpine kitchen, and in the afternoon the focus moves to cakes and tortes from the Rischart bakery. Coffee is organic and Fairtrade.

The café opens Monday to Saturday from 8:00 and on Sundays and public holidays also from 8:00; closing times vary with the season, with earlier closing from November, so check before planning an evening visit. Reservations are not taken at any Rischart café, so at busy times you may need to wait for a table; mid-morning on weekdays and mid-afternoon are usually easier than the hour around the Glockenspiel.

Rischart suits families, groups and anyone wanting a reliable, central breakfast or a slice of cake at a fair price. If the Marienplatz café is full, the company runs two more cafés nearby: Café am Markt on Viktualienmarkt, with a terrace above the market, and Café zur Mauth on Neuhauser Straße in the pedestrian zone, which opens earlier on weekdays. All three sell bread and pastries to take away, which is useful for a picnic. Breakfast here is also an easy way to try Munich white sausages, which are traditionally eaten before noon, without committing to a full beer-hall meal.

The café is directly above Marienplatz station, served by the S-Bahn and the U3 and U6. St. Peter's Church, Viktualienmarkt and the Old Town Hall are all within two minutes' walk, so it is easy to fit a coffee stop between sights.