Events in Munich
This November, Munich turns towards Advent, and the listing runs on into mid December. The Christmas Village in the Residenz opens on 16 November, the Christkindlmarkt around Marienplatz on 20 November and the Tollwood Winter Festival on the Theresienwiese on 24 November. Concerts range from Tarmo Peltokoski with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra on 30 November to a Candlelight evening of Christmas classics on 11 December, while The Jury Experience puts the audience on the jury from 21 November. Haus der Kunst shows Steina until 7 December and the Kunsthalle presents Barcelona moderna until 21 February.
Official events calendar for Munich
The events below are the Christmas markets and winter festivals that Munich's official events calendar lists for the season, and each card links to more details on dates, opening times and locations. For the sights that stay open all year, see the guide to things to see in Munich.
Weihnachtsdorf, the Christmas Village in the Residenz
When: 16 November to 22 December
Where: Kaiserhof of the Residenz
Puppet scenes from fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood sit among craft stalls, mulled wine and food. Free entry; closed on 22 November.
Münchner Christkindlmarkt
When: 20 November to 24 December
Where: Around Marienplatz
Regarded as the city's oldest Christmas market, with roots documented in 1642, it centres on a 25-metre tree lit with 3,000 candles. Closed on 22 November.
Münchner Adventsspektakel, the medieval Christmas market
When: 20 November to 23 December
Where: Wittelsbacherplatz
Medieval stalls serve mulled wine as Hexentrunk, and the stage hosts early music, historical sword fights and dances. Free entry; closed on 22 November.
Pink Christmas
When: 20 November to 20 December
Where: Stephansplatz, Glockenbachviertel
Munich's queer Christmas market adds evening DJ sets from Monday to Saturday and a Sunday drag show to its gift and food stalls.
Winterzauber on the Viktualienmarkt
When: 20 November to 5 January 2027
Where: Viktualienmarkt
The city-centre food market dresses up for Christmas with seasonal treats, and a nativity scene in the beer garden depicts the market itself.
Tollwood Winter Festival
When: 24 November to 23 December
Where: Theresienwiese
Organic food from around the world, fair trade crafts, circus and dance shows and more than 60 bands; entry to the festival ground is free.
Live music and festivals in Munich
Placebo, 30th Anniversary Tour
Placebo, 30th Anniversary Tour plays Olympiahalle on 9 November at 20:00.
Good Charlotte, Motel Du Cap Tour
Good Charlotte, Motel Du Cap Tour plays Zenith on 11 November at 19:30.
Candlelight: Tribute to Hans Zimmer
Candlelight: Tribute to Hans Zimmer plays St Matthäus on 14 November at 20:45.
Son Mieux, 24 Hours Tour
Son Mieux, 24 Hours Tour plays Ampere on 16 November at 20:00.
ODEON Concert, First Steps
ODEON Concert, First Steps, plays the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche on 19 November at 19:00, with piano trios by Debussy, Shostakovich and Schubert.
The Jazz Room: Tribute to Frank Sinatra & Louis Armstrong
The Jazz Room: Tribute to Frank Sinatra & Louis Armstrong plays the Sudetendeutsches Haus on 22 November at 16:00.
The Script, Man in the Arena Tour
The Script, Man in the Arena Tour plays Zenith on 23 November at 19:30.
Tayc, Joya Tour
Tayc, Joya Tour plays Muffathalle on 24 November at 20:00.
Tarmo Peltokoski & Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Tarmo Peltokoski & Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra plays Herkulessaal der Residenz on 30 November at 20:00.
Mighty Oaks, Go for Broke Tour
Mighty Oaks, Go for Broke Tour plays Muffathalle on 7 December at 20:00.
Candlelight: Christmas Classics
Candlelight: Christmas Classics plays the Auferstehungskirche on 11 December at 20:15.
NIMO, Home Sweet Home Arena Tour
NIMO, Home Sweet Home Arena Tour plays Zenith on 14 December at 20:00.
Events and shows in Munich
Richard Cwiertnia, Ostblock Live
Richard Cwiertnia, Ostblock Live plays Schlachthof München on 10 November at 20:00.
Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy
Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy comes to the Sudetendeutsches Haus on 13 November at 20:30.
The Jury Experience, The 20 Million Dollar Heist
The Jury Experience, The 20 Million Dollar Heist comes to the Kolpinghaus München-Zentral on 21 November at 16:30, in German.
Bratwurst und Baklava with Bastian Bielendorfer and Özcan Cosar
Bratwurst und Baklava with Bastian Bielendorfer and Özcan Cosar plays Alte Kongresshalle on 24 November at 20:00.
Alex Stoldt, Quasi Nichts
Alex Stoldt, Quasi Nichts plays Theater Leo 17 on 5 December at 19:30.
Current exhibitions in Munich
Steina, Playback
Until: 7 December
Where: Haus der Kunst
The first retrospective in Germany of the Icelandic pioneer of video art, a trained violinist whose sound and image shape each other.
The F1 Exhibition
Until: 10 January 2027
Where: Pineapple Park, the former Paketposthalle
Seven rooms tell the story of Formula 1 through historic and modern race cars, unseen film, artefacts and racing simulators.
Tomás Saraceno in collaboration, Ancestral Futures
Until: 7 February 2027
Where: Haus der Kunst
Air-fuelled sculptures and multispecies habitats meet a new work made with Indigenous communities in northern Argentina facing lithium extraction.
Barcelona moderna, From Gaudí to Picasso
Until: 21 February 2027
Where: Kunsthalle München
Around 160 works trace Catalan Modernisme from 1880 to 1914, ending with early Picasso, in the first show on the subject in Germany.
Yalla, Arab-Jewish Encounters
Until: 28 February 2027
Where: Jüdisches Museum München
Seven artists of Jewish origin with family roots in North Africa and West Asia explore Jewish identity, exile and memory in their work.
Antony Micallef, The Future Is Stupid
Until: 4 April 2027
Where: MUCA, Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art
The first major retrospective of the British painter, now extended, follows his career from the BP Portrait Prize onwards.
Maria Jarema, Revolutionary Commissar of Abstraction
Until: 25 April 2027
Where: Lenbachhaus
Painting, sculpture and stage design by the Kraków artist (1908 to 1958), whose work drew on her long experience in experimental theatre.
Kabuki, Theatre, Prints, Fan Culture
Until: 2 May 2027
Where: Museum Fünf Kontinente
A special exhibition looks at Japanese kabuki through its theatre, its prints and the fan culture around it.
National and local holidays in Munich
Public holidays reshape a visit more than most people expect. Shops close, museums and attractions move to holiday timetables, and public transport runs a thinner service, so a day built around a single errand or sight can fall flat. Germany sets its public holidays state by state rather than nationally, and only 3 October, the Day of German Unity, is fixed for the whole country by law. The nine days listed below are the ones observed in every German state in 2026. Bavaria then adds four more under its own holiday act, and all four apply in Munich, which is why the local list is longer here than in many German cities. One of them, Assumption on 15 August, is a public holiday only in Bavarian municipalities where Catholics outnumber Protestants, and Munich, in Catholic Upper Bavaria, is on the official list kept by the Bavarian statistical office.
National holidays in Germany 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day (Neujahr)
- 3 April Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 6 April Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
- 1 May Labour Day (Tag der Arbeit)
- 14 May Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt)
- 25 May Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag)
- 3 October Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
- 25 December Christmas Day (Erster Weihnachtstag)
- 26 December Boxing Day (Zweiter Weihnachtstag)
Local holidays in Munich 2026
- 6 January Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige), regional
- 4 June Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam), regional
- 15 August Assumption (Mariä Himmelfahrt), regional
- 1 November All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen), regional
More about Munich
Things to do in Munich
The Munich guide on Tourist Office ranks 13 must-see attractions, from Marienplatz and the Frauenkirche to the Olympiapark, then adds the free sights.
Tourist office in Munich
This page shows where to find the tourist offices in Munich and the public holidays that change opening times across the city.
Beyond Munich
The Germany guide looks past Bavaria's capital to Neuschwanstein Castle, Cologne Cathedral, Heidelberg Castle and the Zugspitze, with the landmarks worth a longer trip.