What's on in Munich (Munchen), Germany through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Germany, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fasching

  12–17 FebCarnivalCrowded

  Munich does carnival quietly next to the Rhineland, but the market women dance in costume at the Viktualienmarkt on Shrove Tuesday and the beer halls take it seriously for a fortnight. Source ↗

Still on: Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Fasching, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Fasching (12–17 Feb), Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Starkbierzeit

  6–29 MarMajor festival

  For three weeks in March the breweries pour doppelbock at around 7 percent, in their own halls rather than a fairground. Locals call it the fifth season and it is the least touristy of them. Source ↗

Still on: Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually))

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Fruehlingsfest

  17 Apr – 10 MayMajor festival

  The spring fair on the Theresienwiese: two tents, a flea market and fireworks, in the same place as Oktoberfest at a fifth of the scale and without the reservations. Source ↗

Still on: Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually))

Peak crowds — May Day and the maypoles, Whitsun/Pentecost holidays in Germany

• Season

  Beer garden season

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallySummer season opens

  The gardens open properly once the evenings hold, and the rule that you may bring your own food to the self-service tables is what makes them worth the trip.

• Holiday

  May Day and the maypoles

  1 MayNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  A national holiday, so shops are shut and transport runs a Sunday timetable. The outer districts raise or re-dress their maypoles from mid-morning, with brass bands and beer rather than a parade. Source ↗

Still on: Fruehlingsfest (17 Apr – 10 May), Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Tollwood summer festival

  19 Jun – 19 JulMajor festival

  A month of tented concerts, theatre and market stalls in the Olympiapark, much of it free. It is the counterweight to the beer-tent version of the city. Source ↗

Still on: Beer garden season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Germany, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Beer garden season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Tollwood summer festival (19 Jun – 19 Jul)

Busy — Summer holidays in Germany, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Beer garden season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Oktoberfest, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Foehn wind

  1 Sep – 31 May · usuallyWind season

  A few times a season the warm downslope wind clears the air until the Alps stand on the horizon eighty kilometres away. Half the city gets a headache and blames the wind for it.

• Festival

  Oktoberfest

  19 Sep – 4 OctMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Sixteen days from the third Saturday of September. Six million people, tent tables gone by mid-morning at weekends, and hotel rates across the city at their yearly peak. Source ↗

Still on: Beer garden season (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Oktoberfest, Autumn holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually)), Oktoberfest (19 Sep – 4 Oct)

Busy — Christkindlmarkt, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Christkindlmarkt

  20 Nov – 24 DecChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The Marienplatz market is the one on the postcards and the most crowded; the Tollwood winter market on the Theresienwiese and the medieval one at Wittelsbacherplatz are easier going. Source ↗

Still on: Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Christkindlmarkt, Christmas holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Foehn wind (1 Sep – 31 May (usually)), Christkindlmarkt (20 Nov – 24 Dec)