Ludwigsvorstadt & Bahnhofsviertel

South of the Hauptbahnhof, the Goethe- and Landwehrstraße corridor forms Munich's diaspora heart, a working district that serves as the Turkish, Afghan and Balkan kitchen of the city. Belle Époque facades from the late nineteenth century survive between Klinikum buildings and modest pensions; at the corner cafés grandfathers play backgammon while medical students cross the road. The Beethovenplatz is the quiet pocket: a leafy square ringed by stuccoed houses where the protected Café am Beethovenplatz has hosted live piano since 1897. Less polished than the Altstadt, and more honest about who actually lives in Munich.