Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Los Angeles to Munich. The right side wins at takeoff with the LA coastline, but the left side delivers the more dramatic payoff: the Greenland ice sheet during the polar routing, and the Bavarian Alps on descent into Munich. Over a 10-11 hour flight, the left side accumulates more visually significant geography.

During takeoff from Los Angeles International (LAX), sit on the Right side for the best views. LAX departures on runways 24L/24R head west over the Pacific before turning north, so the right (north) side gets the Santa Monica Bay coastline, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the urban sprawl of the LA Basin. Left side faces open ocean with little to see. Notable sights include: Santa Monica Bay, Santa Monica Mountains, downtown LA skyline to the northeast, Palos Verdes Peninsula.

When landing at Munich (MUC), sit on the Left side for the best views. MUC approaches from the west on runway 08, so the left (south) side has the Bavarian Alps stretched along the horizon, including the Zugspitze massif and the Wetterstein range. The right side faces flat agricultural land to the north with little visual interest. Notable sights include: Bavarian Alps (Zugspitze and Wetterstein range), Ammersee lake, Starnberger See lake, Munich city center.

The flight from Los Angeles International (LAX) to Munich (MUC) takes Approximately 10 to 11 hours.

The great circle route from LAX to MUC tracks north over the Sierra Nevada and Rockies, crosses Hudson Bay, arcs over southern Greenland with its ice sheet and fjords, crosses the North Atlantic, passes over Ireland and southern England, then crosses the Netherlands and southern Germany. Greenland's ice cap and coastal fjords are the single most dramatic visual feature of the flight, visible from both sides but particularly striking on the left side as the route curves over its southern tip.