Drink a drink in Munich’s oldest American cocktail bar, eat a snack in a traditional inn and discover street art on house walls – this and more can be experienced if you follow the new app for digital city tours that the city of Munich presented on Tuesday. “City(er)leben München” offers two different routes. They are intended to connect shops “that are worth going to the city center for,” says economic advisor Clemens Baumgärtner. Classic sights such as the Viktualienmarkt, the Asam Church and the Frauenkirche are also included.
The idea of digitally supporting retail in the city center came to the Department of Labor and Economic Affairs in 2020 during the Corona pandemic. Initially, local online retail for Munich shops was considered, but ultimately digital city tours were decided upon. Munich is now richer by a “digital shop window,” says Clemens Baumgärtner happily.
Claudia Slanzi is part of the city tour with her candle shop “Cera-Kerzen” and hopes “that perhaps young people in particular, who didn’t know the shop before, will notice me.” Oliver Wendel, landlord of the Augustiner am Platzl, also said he was immediately convinced by the idea: “Augustiner beer has been a wonderful, but rather analogue topic for almost 700 years – that’s why we’re all the more excited.”
In contrast to conventional apps, the web app can only be accessed in the browser; it is not offered for downloading to a smartphone. The economic department says that it does not want people to be put off by having to download an app in order to use the service.
Alexander Breiter from the traditional shop “Hut Breiter” is pleased that the city tours “give a platform to shops that offer an experience”. He is looking forward to the launch: “Now it’s all about getting traffic to the app.” Christiane Hoss-Nurminen from the bed shop Bettenrid also has an idea: she would like to see an English-language offering in the future that can also appeal to tourists.
But for that to happen, the project would first have to be extended. It will initially only run for one year, then the city council will make a new decision. Until then, it will be clear whether the offer, which the Department of Labor and Economic Affairs has been working on for a good four years, will be accepted – even in the browser, without an app on the smartphone.