If there’s one pageant folks affiliate with Germany, it’s Munich’s Oktoberfest, an annual occasion of beer, bratwurst, and Schlager music that overtakes the town each September. The custom will rejoice its one hundred and ninetieth version this yr, kicking off on Sept. 20 with a procession of beer to Theresienwiese, the grounds the place the inaugural barrel is tapped to mark the pageant’s official begin.
Apart from the six million individuals who attend Oktoberfest yearly, many Germans (and overseas residents of Germany, like me) strategically keep away from Munich throughout this 16-day interval to dodge the massive crowds. If you happen to fall into this class, otherwise you’re merely on the lookout for various cultural celebrations within the Bavarian capital, learn on for 5 lesser-known festivals in Munich price planning a visit round.
Bachfest (November 2025)
No go to to Germany is full with out paying homage to one of many composers chargeable for the nation’s musical legacy. The 100-year-old Bachfest travels to a special metropolis yearly, with Munich internet hosting the centennial event this November. The pageant brings collectively every day classical performances all through the month, with artwork and occasions celebrating the musician and his legacy. From church choirs to orchestras to organ solos, venues throughout the town ring out the best hits on all devices.
Though the composer was neither born nor buried in Munich, the town has a particular historical past with him. Munich’s personal Karl Richter, a conductor and organist working after World Struggle II, repopularized Bach’s music for many years, turning the town right into a “Bach Metropolis” and making it a frequent website for festivals that includes the composer’s music, together with the official Bachfest. Some occasions require advance tickets, although many are free. Try the Bachfest program for extra data.
Tollwood Competition (July and December)
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Celebrating worldwide tradition with open-air artwork displays, workshops, theater, music, and meals, Tollwood is Munich’s pageant of “braveness and motion,” a motto that encourages an open-minded, ecological outlook in what the organizers name the “Market of Concepts.” Bringing collectively worldwide arts and entertainers with a concentrate on environmental well-being, the pageant has been operating since 1988.
It takes place twice a yr, in July and December. In the course of the summer season, it’s hosted in Olympiapark, the town’s Olympic stadium constructed for Munich’s 1972 video games; within the winter, it may be discovered on the Oktoberfest grounds of Theresienwiese, full with a Christmas market twist. Whereas the market and meals stalls supply merchandise on the market, most artwork and leisure occasions are free.
Munich Inventive Enterprise Week (Might)
Munich is dwelling to a number of design-centric universities, in addition to the design and structure collections of the Pinakothek der Moderne, so it’s no shock it performs host to Munich Inventive Enterprise Week, Germany’s largest convention of its variety, welcoming 65,000 professionals from the design world to encourage one another and reveal new concepts. MCBW brings collectively know-how, artwork, and design for a pageant that’s definitely worth the journey preparations.
Filmfest München (June and July)
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Regionally born and internationally accessible, the Munich Worldwide Movie Competition showcases the most effective of recent German movie and tv, iconic classics, and worldwide motion pictures that will have premiered at industry-only festivals. Apart from the internationally acknowledged Berlinale, it’s essentially the most well-attended pageant for German {industry} of us and stars, so that you’re prone to spot European celebs on the pink carpet.
And it is accessible to film followers and worldwide guests, too. Movies are subtitled in English and tickets might be bought for particular person screenings or, at a lowered charge, in packages of 5, 10, or 20. Better of all? The pageant takes place on the finish of June, when Munich’s well-known Englischer Garten, the largest interior metropolis park on the earth, is in full bloom.
Fasching (February)
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The colourful pagan festivities which have come to be celebrated within the weeks main as much as the Lenten season have completely different names internationally: Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, and Fasching in Munich. Cologne’s Karneval is essentially the most well-attended occasion of its variety in Germany, so Munich gives a barely quieter (however nonetheless thrilling) various.
Over the ultimate weekend earlier than Ash Wednesday, the town casts off the darkness of wintertime with open-air parades and road festivities. Members in handmade masks and funky costumes take over Munich’s pedestrian zone and the Viktualienmarkt to rejoice the event.
If you happen to’re not round for this occasion weekend, you will discover tons of of formal Fasching Balls all through the month at opera homes, theaters, accommodations, and different venues across the metropolis. These occasions have costume themes or black-tie gown codes, so make certain to examine the venue’s necessities and guide a spot forward of time.