Munich is not without its blingy moments. Entering the Schatzkammer, the treasure room at the Residenz museum is like snooping through the world’s most ostentatious jewellery box. I was impressed by a bejewelled travel altar from 870, until I saw the lover’s knot tiara which inspired the one worn by Princess Diana and Kate Middleton but then everything was overshadowed by a gold casket designed to carry a splinter of Christ’s cross. Breathtaking.

Staying at the Mandarin Oriental hotel was memorably luxurious too. Situated in the heart of the Old Town (even the view from my bathroom looked like something created by Disney), it has one of the city’s only rooftop swimming pools and is home to chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s first restaurant in Germany, Matsuhisa. Guest or not, you can dine here and sample the Japanese-Peruvian dishes including the famous Black Cod Yuzo Miso or the delicious aubergine version Nasu Miso - so good I ordered it twice. Team it with a Munich mule (gin, lime and ginger beer) or bury your prejudices about sweet floral German wines with a fresh, crisp Riesling.

Uncover art and hidden history in the Bavarian city of Munich