The cry of “Prost” rings out as Maßkrugs clink together ands we share greetings with a group of locals who squeeze in next to our party on a huge round table in the busy, bustling Augustiner Bräustuben bierhalle on a balmy Munich evening.

The famous ‘Halles’ are a great way to truly immerse yourself in the relaxed and friendly social Zeitgeist of this great German city, while being important historical and cultural waymarkers of the Bavarian capital in their own right. You mingle with the old and young, singles and couples, families and friends, all out enjoying traditional Bavaria food and drink much as the city’s ancestors have through the ages.

The Halles mirror the inherent contradiction of the city. Affluent, sophisticated and cosmopolitan, Munich is nonethless steeped in history, which in the beer halls – themselves central to the story of the city – you’ll see celebrated by, mostly young, urbane men and women out on a weekend evening proudly dressed in the traditional folklore costumes of lederhosen and dirndl dresses.

The traditional dress harks back to an earlier Munich, one steeped in aristocracy and commerce, which are the foundations on which this impressive city is built.

It was a history celebrated in grand buildings, none more so than the Munich Residence. For centuries it was the political and cultural centre of first the dukes, then the electors and finally the kings of Bavaria. Ranked as one of Europe’s most prestigious palaces, the ancestral home of the Wittelsbach dynasty was reduced to rubble during the war, but after a painstaking restoration it is now the largest museum of interior art in the world, with 130 rooms and 10 courtyards. The impressive antiquarium, first created in 1568 to house the family’s extensive art collection, has been completely rebuilt and its vast collection of sculptures and paintings, removed during the war and saved from damage and destruction, reinstated. The ancestral gallery, an elaborate ‘family tree’ of paintings of each Bavarian monarch, surrounded by a sea of ornate gold, is another of the palace’s most impressive rooms.

As impressive, if not more so, is the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall), a magnificent neo-gothic building from the turn of the century and which architecturally dominates the north side of the city’s Marienplatz. Completed between 1867 and 1874, and extended between 1899 and 1903, it has a richly ornamented near 300 feet main facade showing almost the entire line of the house of Wittelsbach in Bavaria. But perhaps it’s best known for housing the world-famous Glockenspiel. Since 1908, figurines representing stories from Munich’s history twirl on two levels in an almost 12 minute spectacle featuring the well-known coopers dancers, as well as the Münchner Kindl (symbol of the city’s coat of arms), and the angel of peace. A must-see on any visit to Munich, the show is daily at 11am and noon all year round, with a 5pm show added between March and October.

After enjoying the twirling show of the Glockenspiel, you are in the ideal place to grab lunch in the Ratskeller in the basement of the Rathaus, a traditional Munich restaurant since 1867. Its fabulous interior decor of painted wall murals, huge pillars and vaulted ceilings is a grand backdrop for sampling authentic local food cooked in the typical Bavarian style. I feasted on schweinshaxe – a roasted ham hock, or “pork knuckle”, served with potato dumplings and red cabbage – a popular, hearty local dish which gives you a true taste of the region’s cuisine.

Resuming a walking tour of the city was the ideal way to burn off the delicious excesses of lunch. As we left the old town our guide pointed out that in parts of the city, all is not what it seems. Large swaths of the inner city were destroyed by allied bombs in World War Two and rebuilt during a mamouth post-war building effort. While developers had to follow strict directives about materials and design, a closer look at the buildings reveal the ‘tricks’ used to age the fascades. The final giveaway is the many buildings which have ‘1972’ displayed above their entrances – this was the year much of the city was deemed to be complete after rebuilding.

While old buildings may have been restored to their pre-war glamour and glory, that does not mean that the darkness at the heart of the city’s history in the early 20th century is glossed over. A ‘Hitler and The Third Reich’ walking tour will take you to the actual places many will have learned about in history books, including the site where Hitler gave his very first speech, and memorials dedicated to those who opposed the regime.

But the most comprehensive attempt to tell the story of the rise of the Nazis is to be found in the The Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism, which opened in May this year. Built on the site of the former Nazi party headquarters in Brienner Strasse – and described by the museum’s director Winfried Nerdingeras as a “perpetrator site… Those who carried out the crimes actually sat here” – the emphasis is on retracing how the movement rose to power. The permanent exhibition charts the rise of the Nazi Party chronologically over three floors using a mixture of images, text and an audio guide, examining how the Nazi movement and Hitler rose to power largely unchallenged, morphing from the German Workers’ Party, embraced by middle-class society, and growing into a force that spread throughout Germany and later Europe, leading to World War II and the Holocaust.

The striking white form of the centre appears oddly misplaced against the backdrop of imposing neo-Classical buildings, but the incongruity was the desired effect of the centre – it is meant to force both residents and tourists in the Bavarian capital to stop and ask themselves: What is that building? And why is it here, in Munich? The questions posed by what is inside are rather more profound…

The museum visit concluded our party’s official tour, and the return walk to the hotel provided time to reflect on the willingness of the city to confront this dark period of its history; it is entirely in keeping with a city and its people which, while enthusiastically embracing a properous, cosmopolitan future does not shy away from acknowledging the uncomfortable history that remains a stain on the reputation of Bavaria’s capital.

A stop off at the Park-Café Biergarten encapsulated this past and present symbiosis. Located in front of a traditional 1937 Bavarian building in the middle of Munich’s old botanical garden, young, swanky party-goers gather at a generations-old meeting venue to drink a beverage which dates back 400 years and is one of the foundations on which their city has flourished.

How to get to Munich and where to stay:

bmi regional fly from Bristol to Munich with fares starting from £79 one-way, to include 20kg hold luggage, full in-flight bar service and snacks and a 30 minute check-in. bmi regional operates more than 300 scheduled flights each week across a network of 22 destinations in ten European countries with an 18-strong all-jet fleet. For further information visit www.bmiregional.com

Maritim Hotel Munich is conveniently located within walking distance of the inner city. The hotel features 347 elegantly furnished rooms and suites and an indoor rooftop swimming pool, offering fantastic panoramic views of the city. Prices start from £173, per double room per night on a bed breakfast basis. For more information, visit: www.maritim.com