Munich travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Munich, planned over three days
Best time to visit Munich
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter market, museum and mountain Munich. December markets transform it, while January and February are grey, empty and cheap.
Spring locals' festivals: Starkbierzeit, Frühlingsfest and the Auer Dult. May, with gardens and long evenings, is a best month.
Summer lake and garden Munich at its peak, light past 21:00, with swimming at the Flaucher and the lakes from June to early September.
Autumn is Oktoberfest and its shadow. Mid September before it and mid October after it are calmer, cheaper and golden.
What's on
- Christkindlmarkt on Marienplatz 20 Nov - 24 Dec 2026
Munich's main Christmas market on Marienplatz, plus neighbourhood markets across the city.
- Tollwood Winter Festival late November to 23 Dec
Alternative winter festival on Theresienwiese, then a New Year's Eve party.
- Fasching February
Carnival street parties in the centre.
- Starkbierzeit about three weeks in March
Strong beer season in the brewery halls, with Paulaner's Salvatorkeller on the Nockherberg as the epicentre.
- Frühlingsfest mid-April to early May
Oktoberfest's little sister on Theresienwiese, with two tents and far fewer visitors.
- Auer Dult, Maidult late April - early May
Market, fairground and neighbourhood party on Mariahilfplatz, the most local event in the calendar.
- Filmfest München late June to early July
Germany's number two film festival.
- Munich Opera Festival late June - July
Festival productions at the Nationaltheater, home of the Bavarian State Opera.
- Tollwood Summer Festival June - July
About 26 days of concerts, theatre and the market of ideas at Olympiapark Süd.
- BMW International Open 26-30 May 2027
DP World Tour golf at Golfclub München Eichenried.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Munich
Englischer Garten
Huge urban park and the city living room, with meadows, streams, a beer garden and the Monopteros hill.
Eisbachwelle
A standing river wave by Haus der Kunst, surfed year round in the middle of the city. Watch, do not join.
Residenz München
The Wittelsbach city palace, with the Antiquarium, Treasury goldwork and the tiny Cuvillies Theatre.
Alte Pinakothek
Seven hundred Old Masters including Durer, Rubens and Leonardo, and the one Kunstareal museum to pick first.
Pinakothek der Moderne
Art, design and architecture under one rotunda, the modern counterpart to the Alte Pinakothek next door.
Museum Brandhorst
Contemporary museum in the Kunstareal, best known for its large Cy Twombly collection.
Lenbachhaus
Villa museum holding the Blaue Reiter and Kandinsky collection, five minutes from the other Pinakotheks.
Viktualienmarkt
Permanent open air food market since 1807, with over 100 stalls, a maypole and a central beer garden.
Where to stay in Munich
Altstadt
first trip, all-round base
Everything central is walkable, Marienplatz is the transport hub, and evening restaurant choice is the densest.
Lehel
quiet, elegant base, couples and repeat visitors
Handsome residential blocks five minutes from Marienplatz, with the Eisbach and Englischer Garten at the end of the street.
Maxvorstadt
museums and value
The Pinakotheks, Königsplatz and Lenbachhaus on your doorstep, with some of the best mid range hotel value in central Munich.
Schwabing
couples and café life
Art Nouveau streets, cafes and small restaurants north along Leopoldstrasse, with the English Garden as a front garden.
Glockenbachviertel / Gärtnerplatz (Isarvorstadt)
food, bars and nightlife
Munich's densest cluster of independent restaurants and bars, with Gärtnerplatz as a living room and the Isar nearby.
Au-Haidhausen
local-feeling, family-friendly stay
Village scale French Quarter streets across the Isar, calmer nights, and Rosenheimer Platz S-Bahn for the airport line.
Think twice about
- South of Hauptbahnhof, Schillerstraße / Landwehrstraße / Goethestraße strip
Adult cinemas, casinos and gold buying shops around a station under reconstruction. Not dangerous by big city standards, but a poor front door for a first, couple or family trip.
- Right on Theresienwiese during Oktoberfest
Sixteen days of drunk crowds, noise into the night and vomit on the pavement, unless Oktoberfest is the trip. The same applies, scaled down, during Frühlingsfest.
- Schwanthalerhöhe / Westend immediately by the fairground
Shares the festival spillover and is otherwise short on reasons to base, versus Glockenbach or Haidhausen at similar prices.
- Far out beyond the Mittlerer Ring without an S- or U-Bahn station
Munich sprawls into suburbs quickly, and a cheap room served only by a bus will cost you the trip in transit.
Best restaurants in Munich
Tohru in der Schreiberei
Japanese precision and European composition in a calm room off Marienplatz, Munich's newest three star.
Tantris
Germany's defining fine dining institution since 1971, in a red and black 1970s design landmark.
Alois - Dallmayr Fine Dining
Two star tasting menus upstairs from the famous Dallmayr deli, with a shorter lunch as the value route.
Augustiner-Keller
The locals' brewery flagship, a 5,000 seat chestnut garden with Edelstoff from wooden barrels and roast pork.
Schneider Bräuhaus München
Home of Schneider Weisse in the Tal. Come before noon for Weisswurst, sweet mustard, pretzel and Weissbier.
Wirtshaus in der Au
Big warm neighbourhood tavern famous for giant dumplings in every form, plus roast duck and pork.
Steinheil 16
Plain student quarter Wirtshaus serving one of Munich's best schnitzels at student area prices. Go early.
Broeding
Small restaurant and wine shop serving one seasonal Austrian inflected set menu a night.
Outdoor things to do in Munich
Olympiastadion München
Harnessed climb over the Olympic Stadium tent roof, finishing with the Flying Fox zipline across the stadium.
Cycle Munich
Cycle the classic circuit from the Altstadt through the Englischer Garten and south along the Isar to the Flaucher.
Flaucher
Gravel banks and shallow Isar channels south of the centre for swimming, sunbathing and riverside beer gardens.
Isar Rafting Lenggries
Guided family grade rafting on the alpine Isar near Lenggries, usually running May to October.
Golfclub München Eichenried
Twenty seven parkland holes about 30 minutes out, and home of the BMW International Open.
OPEN.9 Golf Eichenried
Nine holes next to Eichenried, explicitly open to all with no club membership required.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Ludwig II's fairytale castle. The bridge view is the memory, and timed tickets sell out weeks ahead in season.
Linderhof Palace
Smaller, complete Ludwig palace usually paired with Neuschwanstein, and quietly preferred by many visitors.
Best hotels in Munich
Platzl Hotel
Best loved Altstadt all rounder, a Bavarian styled four star by Hofbrauhaus with a proper Wirtshaus attached.
LOUIS Hotel
Design hotel literally overlooking the Viktualienmarkt, with a rooftop terrace and calm wood and stone rooms.
CORTIINA Hotel
Grown up boutique hotel with a wine bar heart, five minutes from Marienplatz.
Rosewood Munich
Splurge hotel in two restored historic old town buildings, and the current Oktoberfest luxury favourite.
Mandarin Oriental, Munich
Quiet side street luxury with a rooftop pool view over the Altstadt rooftops.
The Charles Hotel
Big hotel by the Old Botanical Garden with Munich's best big hotel spa and large quiet rooms.
Hotel München Palace
Small family run five star on a quiet Bogenhausen street near Prinzregentenplatz, a calm residential base.
Hotel Bayerischer Hof
Grand historic five star since 1841, with five restaurants and the rooftop Blue Spa pool.
Is Munich expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €85 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €170 a person |
| Splurge | €380 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Deutsches Museum: a few days ahead
- Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site: a few days ahead
- BMW Museum: weeks ahead
- Bayerische Staatsoper: weeks ahead
- Allianz Arena: a few days ahead
- Olympiastadion München: a few days ahead
- Isar Rafting Lenggries: a few days ahead
- Golfclub München Eichenried: a few days ahead
- Neuschwanstein official timed tickets sell out weeks ahead in season. Book the castle first, transport second.
- Oktoberfest hotels go as early as you can. An evening tent table for a group needs a reservation with the tent, months ahead.
- Tohru, Tantris and Alois book out weeks ahead for weekends. The Dallmayr lunch menu is the pressure valve.
- Dachau guided tours and BMW factory tours have small capacities. Book days ahead, not on the morning.
- Kunstareal state museums charge 1 euro on Sundays, and the queues are the price. Go at opening.
Is Munich safe?
- Munich is one of Europe's safest large cities. Watch for pickpockets in Marienplatz crowds, at Hauptbahnhof and above all at Oktoberfest.
- Swim at the Flaucher shallows and lake beaches, not the Eisbach surf channel. The Isar current and the Eisbach have killed confident swimmers.
- Around Hauptbahnhof south, expect seediness, not danger. Emergency number 112.
- Carry cash for beer garden self service stalls, market stands and small Wirtshäuser. Cards are widely accepted elsewhere.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Munich travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Hofbräuhaus as your beer experience: worth a look in, but Augustiner-Keller, Hofbräukeller or any garden here gives a better hour.
- The Glockenspiel as an event: glance up if passing at 11am, do not plan a morning around it. Climb Alter Peter instead.
- Restaurants facing Marienplatz charge for the postcode. Walk three minutes into the Tal, Lehel or the market.
- Neuschwanstein's interior as the point: 35 rushed minutes in an unfinished castle. The bridge, lakes and Linderhof are the day.
- The Eagle's Nest as a history site: the interior is a restaurant with photographs. Königssee carries that excursion.
Getting around Munich: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre. Everything else is MVV: U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus on one ticket in the MVV or MVG app.
- Airport MUC is about 40 km out. Take the S1 or S8 to the centre in 40 to 45 minutes rather than a taxi.
- For day trips, the Bayern-Ticket gives regional trains and group pricing after 9am on weekdays. Check current terms at bahn.de.
- Cycling is a real transport mode. Use bike lanes, not pavements, and never cycle drunk.
Who Munich suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Munich your trip
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