Munich is not a carnival stronghold – and yet with the market women on the Viktualienmarkt it has something unique to offer. Those who already dream of summer holidays and outdoor sports in February will get the best inspiration at the travel and leisure fair “f.re.e“.
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Shortly after Christmas, the colorfully filled doughnuts are already piling up in Munich bakeries, a clear sign that the Fasching (carnival) is approaching. Because the carnival season officially begins on Epiphany (January 6) and ends on Shrove Tuesday. This day is the highlight of the Munich carnival season: At the Viktualienmarkt (market) the Lord Mayor speaks, the prince and princess couple and carnival guard say goodbye with their last performance – and thousands of people look forward to the dance of the market women. During the year these women sell fruit and vegetables, fish, flowers, spices or fresh juices at their stalls. Now they whirl across the stage in brightly coloured costumes, so that the petticoat skirts and high hats just fly. Every year the start is made by the cult song “Linie 8“, followed by newly rehearsed dances. A unique experience!
Dance of the Market Women, Shrove Tuesday, 4 March 2025, Viktualienmarkt
Even before the peak of the Munich carnival at the end of February and beginning of March, there will once again be a whole series of traditional carnival balls in the city's ballrooms in 2025. The carnival strongholds include the Deutsches Theater, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof and numerous pubs. You can find all balls and dates for Munich carnival here.
The Oide Wiesn Bürgerball opens the ball season at the Deutsches Theater. A ball for all those who love traditional costume and the flair and tradition of the Munich Oktoberfest.
Oide Wiesn Citizens' Ball, 7 February 2025, Deutsches Theater
Highlights of the soirée in the Deutsches Theater are the Prince Waltz by the carnival prince and princess of the state capital Munich, the dance performances by the Narrhalla Prinzengarde and the guard dance by the flag regiment. This year, the Karl Valentin Medal will be awarded to TV presenter and entertainer Günther Jauch. Friend and colleague Thomas Gottschalk will give the laudatory speech.
Grand Narrhalla Ball “Soiree Münchner Leben“ with presentation of the “Karl Valentin Order“, 8 February 2025, Deutsches Theater
When the Künstlerhaus on Karlsplatz-Stachus opened at the beginning of the century before last, legendary carnival costume parties were celebrated throughout Munich. Great Munich artists such as Franz von Lenbach and August Kaulbach were busy organising huge carnival parades. The Künstlerhaus celebrates its opening 125 years ago with the Gauklerball in the style and costumes of the time, the so-called Belle Époque.
Jugglers' Ball: The jugglers around 1900, 8 February 2025, Munich Künstlerhaus
At the carnival ball for children and families, the dance guards of the Carnival Order perform. There are also lots of fun games, surprises, great music and something to win. Of course, Pumuckl is not to be missed.
Pumuckl and the carnival prince: Family carnival ball, 9 February 2025, Festsaal Bayerischer Hof
Claudia Pichler stands for modern Bavarian cabaret - she loves to incorporate forgotten Bavarian expressions into her stage show. In Pichler's third solo programme “Feierabend“, she faces the challenges of everyday life with singing and storytelling and a good dose of self-irony: “happiness coaching“, the search for meaning, self-optimisation, online dating and difficult neighbours as well as political greed.
Claudia Pichler - solo programme “Feierabend“, 25 February 2025, Lustspielhaus
The Scottish band Snow Patrol are touring Germany with their new album “The Forest Is The Path“ and will also be stopping off in Munich.
Snow Patrol, 4 February 2025, Zenith
The pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi comes from Turin and fills both pop arenas and classical concert halls with his compositions. The film music he wrote for the 2002 remake of “Doctor Zhivago“ won an award at the New York Film Festival. Several solo albums followed. Einaudi will be touring Germany again in February and March 2025, including a guest appearance at the Olympic Hall in Munich.
Ludovico Einaudi - Germany Tour 2025, 23 February 2025, Olympiahalle Munich
You can find a well curated selection on Munich - City of Music.
Around 1900, young visionary artists in Munich set out to revolutionize art and to reform life. Facing a time of rapid scientific as well as technical innovation and social upheaval, they joined the quest for a fairer and more sustainable way of life. Artists such as Richard Riemerschmid, Hermann Obrist, and Margarethe von Brauchitsch turned their backs on historical styles to create a new art that permeated life down to the smallest detail. Their ideas formed the foundation for modern art and design. With examples from painting, graphic art, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and fashion, the exhibition sheds light on Munich’s role as the cradle of Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) in Germany and demonstrates how topical the issues of life discussed back then still are today.
Jugendstil. Made in Munich, until 23 March 2025, Kunsthalle München
More than 400 tropical butterflies are once again fluttering around freely in the small aquatic plant house in the Botanical Garden. This is possible because of the warm tropical atmosphere in the greenhouse. Here you can enjoy a blaze of colour before spring arrives outside again.
Tropical butterflies in the Botanical Garden, until 9 March 2025, Botanical Garden
At the trade fair f.re.e from 14 to 18 February 2024, people will be mentally on holiday, in the mountains, on the water and on their bicycles. The largest travel and leisure fair in Bavaria inspires in camping, cruising, health and wellness, water sports and everything to do with outdoor activities. On site at the Messe München, visitors can climb steep rock faces, try their hand at stand-up paddling and even take a taster diving course.
Trade Fair f.re.e, 19 to 23 February 2025, Messe München
Winter in Munich without any skiing or snowboarding? Unimaginable! After all, the city has the mountains right on its doorstep. Brauneck mountain, for example, is around an hour away in the car or on the train. Lenggries ski resort offers a variety of pistes and a long valley run. However, its best snow conditions come during high winter. Sudelfeld Bayrischzell is Germany's largest continuous ski resort and is known for being particularly family-friendly. The lifts have been undergoing expansion and renovation measures for a number of years. Garmisch-Partenkirchen has not one but two resorts in its direct vicinity. One the one hand, you have the Garmisch resort with its local mountain, Alpspitze, Kreuzeck and the legendary Kandahar run. And on the other hand, you have Zugspitze, Germany's highest ski resort. Up there, the peak is still covered in snow when the beer gardens back down in the valley are opening for the season. However, the terraces on Zugspitzplatt (plateau) are also an ideal spot to enjoy the first warm sun of the new year.
If the sledging slopes in Munich's parks are too small for you, why not try heading to a proper mountain. The best place is Wallberg mountain in Rottach-Egern, a 1722-metre-high peak in Bavaria's Alpine foothills. Starting at the mountain station for the Wallbergbahn cable car, a 6.5-kilometre-long natural sledge track winds its way down the valley. The route is one of the longest and sportiest in Germany. Sledgers need around 30 minutes to cover the 825-metre drop in altitude from the top to the bottom. Sledges are available to rent from the Wallbergbahn cable car. The sledge route is open daily if there is enough snow; the track is then prepared overnight ready for the next day. After your descent, relax with a beer or snack at Herzogliche Braustüberl Tegernsee or a trip to the lakeside sauna Seesauna Tegernsee. The highlight of any trip to the sauna is a round in the Irmingard sauna ship, a 15-tonne steam boat from 1925 that was once used to train captains.
Schmalznudeln – also known as Auszogne or Kiachl in Bavaria – literally means “shortening noodles”, though these deep-fried pastry treats have little to do with pasta. Auszogne are a traditional part of Alpine cuisine. They are made from a yeast-based dough, cooked in fat and then dusted with icing sugar. These little discs are thick around the edges and exceptionally thin in the middle. The Bavarian name Auszogne comes from the traditional technique used to make the pastries. The dough used to be pulled out (“ausgezogen” in German) by hand and stretched over the knee to make rings. Auszogne are sold in plenty of bakeries, though the undisputed number one choice when it comes to Schmalznudeln is Café Frischhut on Viktualienmarkt. In the 1970s and 80s, no sooner had the discos closed for the night than the city’s night owls arrived at the café for a Schmalznudel and cup of coffee. Nowadays, the café's most loyal customers are the stall owners at the Viktualienmarkt.
A detailed calendar of events can be found here.
More about this: New arrivals talk about where to find a taste of home in Munich. Hélène Badault from Paris (aufildelene.com) talks about popular pastries, chatty restaurant owners, and lamb that tastes of summer. Bonjour Munich.
