More than enough things to do in Munich in winter

and in Summer too, but we are focusing on the cold months for now

Get ready to move around a lot because Munich is a city that offers a tremendous amount of things to do in Munich in winter and summer. They have squares, monuments, museums, history and biergartens, theaters, in addition to a high concentration of churches – of course, it is Bavaria.

Several sights are located in the central part of the city, in the middle of the Marienplatz – the famous pedestrian square in the heart of the Munich’s Altstadt district. But it does not mean that the visitor should not explore other regions, ok? In fact, it is quite the opposite! And if you’re planning to explore a lot, you’re in luck. Besides being perfect for walking, the Bavarian capital offers quality public transport. It is effortless to reach all the items on this list of things to do in Munich in winter, that it is also valid for the summer.

This post about things to do in Munich in winter it is not necessarily just about Munich per se

Getting inside and even out of town is very easy. Consider taking 1 or 2 days to explore more than just Munich. For example, you can book a day to explore some interesting places such as the concentration camp of the city of Dachau and the famous Neuschwanstein, the castle (of fairy tales) of Ludwig, the Crazy King. This last one being possible by public transportation but will be way easier – and faster – if you can rent a car to go.

According to local information, Neuschwanstein was the main inspiration for Walt Disney to build the castle of Cinderella. You’ll see the similarities as soon as you lay eyes on this beautiful castle. Unfortunately, we had only four days in the capital, and we had to skip those day trips to focus on showing you the best things to do in Munich in winter -and summer – that are not just the basics like Octoberfest and Christmas Markets and biergartens.

Some of the places on this post are in this video we did there! If you like, don’t forget to support us by subscribing and giving a thumbs up.

This post we’ll focus on winter activities but don’t ever forget that Munich is THE place for visiting biergartens in the summer. During the winter Bavarians prefer to stay inside since temperatures can easily go below 0 degrees Celsius.




Augustiner Bräustuben, one of our favorite places to drink and eat

I guess since we started talking about beer, nothing fairer to you to recommend the place where you can find the fresher Augustiner beer in the world. Is there any way that this list of things to do in Munich in winter – and summer – can start better? I didn’t think so!

Since we’re great people, we will also recommend the place where you can find the cheapest Maß (those crazy 1L beer glasses Bavarians love so much) in the city. Both recommendations are for the same place, the Augustiner Bräustuben.

It is a large brewery with a very German and big restaurant on top of where the beer is produced and stored. And since the Augustiner beer that you can drink all over Germany comes from this place, there’s no way in hell that somewhere else has fresher Augustiner. And since Augustiner cannot be exported, this place has the most refreshing and delicious Augustiner beer in the entire world. The only thing I would advice is to check the menu before because we’re pretty sure there are no vegan options, bt for sure vegetarians can find something.

Another high point that we need to highlight here is that it was the cheapest Augustiner vom fass (or just draught beer if you don’t want to pretend you know German). Each maß as 5,5€ (prices from December 2017). They also have delicious German food options for a very fair price compared to other Augustiner bars.
Remember to look at the map at the bottom of this post to make sure you visit the right place since there are 938472929474 and 1/2 Ausgutiner Bräu in Munich.

Augustiner is also Fotostrasse’s favorite Bavarian beer since we had moved to Germany 6 years ago.

Go to the underground of Munich at the Black Wave Records shop

This one goes to everyone who’s a rock fan like we are. This shop belongs to a very cool guy – who is usually working in the store – and only because of this dude we went to the Augustiner Bräustuben. Woohoo for Black Wave Records!

This shop has some of the best punk rock albums I’ve seen, and you can get informed of all the shows happening in Munich during your stay. Something that we can recommend for the future you: go to a concert in Munich!

Besides records and tickets, this place sells posters, mugs, shirts and much more. It is the punk rock touch of this list of things to do in Munich in winter – and summer.

Nymphenburg Palace and the weird room where the king display the pussy he fucked

If you have already watched the video from the of this list of things to do in Munich in winter, the first item, I show you there is the Nymphenburg Palace. Pay close attention to a room that appears around the 1:09 minutes of the video. A room filled with portraits of pretty ladies.

I remember entering this room and saying to Marian: “This looks like a room with ‘trophies’, no? I mean, has this vibe that this king is showing off his ‘victories’ as a frat boy would do, don’t you think?” And it turned out that I was right! Even though the Bavarian King Ludwig I was married at 24, he kept 36 beautiful young women in the south pavilion of his palace. If you know what I mean…

And every single time he “fell in love” with one of this lady’s good looks, a portrait of their face was added to the room that is called “Gallery of Beauties”. The ladies, always with milk-white skin and serene looking, came from noble, middle-class and royal backgrounds. They were all countesses, actresses, seamstresses or even princesses.

Legend has it that he, and if you pardon my French, banged (!) all of them. That is what our tour guide had told us, but I cannot confirm this since I have found other stories. Either way, from all I’ve read, this version is the best and the most creepy. So I’m sticking with it.

Krampus is not just in Tirol and it one of the top things to do in Munich in winter

Remember our post about Krampus from a few years ago? So, turns out that in 2017 we managed to revisit our favorite European Legend. But this time it was in Germany. The Krampuslauf in Munich is slightly different than the ones happening in Austria, but the fun is the same. Maybe a bit more intense in Munich since they are running with everybody and the Krampus we saw in Austria was more of a Krampusnacht, which is mainly groups of Krampuses performing in a space dedicated to them.

This time we saw dozens of Krampuses running like crazy around Marienplatz in the very center of Munich.
If my video about Munich gets over 20 likes on Youtube, I’ll do a video ONLY about this experience. If you’re a fan of monsters, Christmas and free activities in Munich, please take a look here and support us!

And since you’re down in Marienplatz, why not see Satan and not just Santa?
​

Yes, you have read this right. You can see Satan in downtown Munich!
I mean, not the real deal of course since he doesn’t exist just like Jesus and God don’t exist. But let’s just pretend for the fun of it, shall we?
Inside the Frauenkirche in Munich, you can find a footprint of what is supposed to be the Devil trying to walk to the main altar in this church.
It is quite impressive because it is not something that you see very often.
I find churches very dull to visit, and I only get excited when there’s this little extra to the experience.
It is free to enter the Frauenkirche, but please check when a mass is happening so you can go around and see all the art. They close for tourists during masses and other events.

Viscardigasse is very close to the last two items, and it is worth a quick visit

A gold path made with cobblestones remember a time when this small alley was used by the citizens of Munich to avoid having to give a Nazi salute. Yes, you read it right. Back in the days, if you had to pass by the Feldherrnhalle, it was mandatory to do the Nazi salute or the Hitlergruß, different name, same thing. And officers were there 24/7 to ensure that you do it, otherwise…

However, like many knows, not everybody in Germany supported the Nazi party. But since speaking out or showing any form of resistance were most of the times punished by death, the world has this idea what the whole Germany were OK with Hitler in power. Remember that he never won an election, the majority of Germany didn’t want him there. Therefore it was an act of passive resistance to taking this small street. Opposers to the Nazi regime would take an alternate route around the monument using the Viscardigasse alley to avoid having to do this salute.

If this is not a proof that not all Germans were Nazis, I don’t know what this is.

One of the best things to do in winter is eating and sleeping, so here is an excellent tip for you

When we were in Munich, we had the pleasure to try the Bold hotels. And I’m adding this extra to this list of things to do in Munich in winter because eating and sleeping are the best things to do when it is cold.

This hotel has a delicious breakfast buffet; if you have read some of my other hotel reviews, you would know how much this means to me.

I also want to point out that Bold hotels are more than just a hotel, the room they gave us had a complete kitchen just for us. I love when hotels are either small and cozy or when they are more of an apartment than a hotel, don’t you? It makes me more comfortable and since it was heavily snowing some of the days, staying inside wasn’t too bad.

They also have a few supermarkets half a block away, making it extra easy and wallet-friendly to have that midnight snack or even a real meal.

Bold allows dogs if this is important to you. On the nights we were there, we saw two cute dogs from 2 different couples.




And the last item in this list of things to do in Munich in winter goes to a festival

Tollwood Festival happens every winter in the same place where the Oktoberfest is, the Theresienwiese. And every summer on the Olympiapark. Haven’t I told you that this post is about things to do in Munich in winter and the summer?

The first edition of Tollwood Festival was held during the summer of 1988. Until 91 it was mainly German artists but later became more international. Also, in 91 the winter version was added to the city’s calendar.

Tollwood’s distinctive features are the marketplace of ideas, the cultural program of music and, our favorite, the ecological gastronomy festival. There’s food from all over the world and some more. You can also buy loads of art, clothes and unique craftwork.

In the festival, you can find a free area and a paid area, but even if you’re not ok with paying to get in, you can have loads of fun. Save a whole day to go there, have some food, dance a little and check out the immense spaces dedicated to cool ideas and innovative products.

Hope you like this list of things to do in Munich in winter. Munich is such a cool city and the area surrounding is great too, did you know? You have great options for day trips from Munich to see castles and more. And for those wanting a list of places to stay, check it out this great list here.

If you liked this post, please share with your friends that are considering Germany as a destination.

 

We also want to invite you and everybody else to join our group on facebook. It can come in hand if you have any questions about Germany and other destinations, we have locals from all over the world, and we truly help each other there.

Don’t forget to join our newsletter and to follow us on Instagram and check out highlights about Munich, there are way more tips there! On the second one, I promise you loads of awful jokes and on the first occasional freebies that can be flights, photography equipment or hotel nights. You can only know for sure once you sign up.

If you like what you read here, you should join our Discord channel; there, you will find a place for open discussions about all the themes we talk about here, and it is a free space for you to share your questions, comments and suggestions.

If you are not a fan of the platform, you also can join us on our Facebook group or our Twitter and Instagram.

We usually post all the lovely images we see and do there, together with curating the best links of all World Wide Web. No joke!

Subscribe to our newsletter for discounts in hotels and photo gear, freebies and much more.