A couple is on a sunny winter day in the Hofgarten in Munich.

Event calendar February

February: Carnival and lard pastry

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“.

Events in February 2024: typical Munich

 

Carnival in Munich and dance of the Market Women on Shrove Tuesday 

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!

Shrove Tuesday, 13 February 2024, Viktualienmarkt

Top events in February 2024

 

Light show Eonarium presents: Genesis II

After the Genesis I light show was a guest in Munich last winter, the Genesis II roadshow project will be making a stop in the Bavarian capital from 12 January to 12 March 2024, using immersive image projections in the church interior of St. Markus in Maxvorstadt district. Accompanied by music, the 30-minute light and video installation sends planets, sea creatures, reptiles, insects and birds through the nave and tells the story of the creation of the world from days four to seven of Genesis.

Light show Eonarium presents: Genesis II, 12 January to 12 March 2024, St. Markus Church

 

Trade Fair f.re.e

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, 14 to 18 February 2024, Messe München 

Aida – The Arena Opera Spectacle!

It will be an event of superlatives, a feast for the senses: at “AIDA – The Arena Opera Spectacle 2024“, the entire Olympiahalle (Olympic Hall) will be transformed into a gigantic performance space on 22 February 2024. With a more than 330 square metre temple façade, with a 700 square metre Nile flowing through the hall in blue satin and a five metre tall elephant model. Experience a unique opera classic in XXL format.

Aida, 22 February 2024, Olympiahalle

 

Concerts in February 2024

 

One Night of Tina – The Great Tina Turner Tribute Show

With almost 200 million records sold and 12 Grammys, Tina Turner was one of the most successful singers of all time. Nine months after her death, the Deutsche Theater is reviving the memory of the Queen of Rock. The successful London show “One night of Tina – A Tribute to the Music of Tina Turner“ brings her eventful life and her greatest hits such as “The Best“ and “Private Dancer“ to the stage in a spectacular concert show. In combination with impressive light and sound installations and a brilliant ensemble around singer Sharon Ballard, the rock legend is given a worthy memorial that will not only thrill Tina Turner fans.

One night of Tina, 5 to 7 February 2024, Deutsches Theater

You can find a well curated selection on Munich - City of Music.

Exhibitions in February 2024

 

Turner. Three Horizons

Joseph Mallord William Turner has long been hailed as a revolutionary innovator who helped pave the way for modernism. He began exploring the possibilities of landscape painting early on, both by studying earlier masters of the genre and in direct engagement with the world around him. He experimented with the conventions of his craft, gradually pushing the boundaries of traditional representation. Soon his works loosened the bond that tied them to nature as it appears to the eye to such a degree that, in their reduction to colour, light, and atmosphere, they called the picture’s representational function into question. His art amazed contemporary beholders and sparked controversy.

The cooperation of Lenbachhaus in Munich with Tate Britain, London, which preserves his extensive estate, enables to vividly illustrate Turner’s career and his pictorial innovations. On display are around forty paintings and forty watercolours as well as sketches from all parts of his oeuvre.

Turner. Three Horizons, 28 October, 2023 to 10 March 2024, Lenbachhaus

Events for families and children in February 2024

 

Puppet theatre and play: The brave tailor

On Wednesday, 21 February 2024, the duo Julia Giesbert and Peter Lutz will bring a figure of courage not only for little girls to the stage of the Trudering Cultural Centre with their performance of "The Brave Dressmaker" for children aged five and over. The artists will be performing themselves and adding puppets to the play. The story is about the young tailor who can do a lot of things and then, encouraged by her feat of catching seven flies in one go, sets off into the world. 

The brave tailor, 21 February 2024, Trudering Cultural Centre

 

What else happens in Munich in February 2024:

 

A trip to the mountains: Skiing in the Munich area

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.

Let your hair down with a sledge ride

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.

A culinary tradition: Time for Schmalzgebäck

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.

Video: simply winter

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.

 

 

Text: München Tourismus; Photo: Christian Kasper, Frank Stolle; Video: Redline Enterprises
Event calendar
One year in Munich
A young women in front of a ride a the Auer Dult in Munich.

Event calendar

May: Street festivals & backyards

Munich takes to the streets: At the Streetlife-Festival and the Hofflohmarkt the attitude towards life of the city is shown.

Munich takes to the streets: At the Streetlife-Festival and the Hofflohmarkt the attitude towards life of the city is shown.

A young man and are women are climbing up a small hill at the festival Tollwood in Munich.

Event calendar

June: Tollwood & Film Festival

In June, Munich is a big stage: the Allianz Arena is the venue for the European Football Championship and the Tollwood Festival.

In June, Munich is a big stage: the Allianz Arena is the venue for the European Football Championship and the Tollwood Festival.

A woman with red long hair is standing and smiling at the Isar River in Munich on a sunny day.

Event calendar

August: Open Airs & Isar

There are films and open-air concerts under the open sky. Otherwise the only thing that helps: a jump into the Isar.

There are films and open-air concerts under the open sky. Otherwise the only thing that helps: a jump into the Isar.

A woman and a man with grey hair are sitting on a bench and eating chestnuts at Hofgarten in Munich.

Event calendar

October: Kirchweihdult & München-Marathon

Stroll around Munich's traditional fair, the Auer Dult, or even jog through the Olympic Park in dirndls and lederhosen on a traditional costume run - that's what Munich has to offer in October.

Stroll around Munich's traditional fair, the Auer Dult, or even jog through the Olympic Park in dirndls and lederhosen on a traditional costume run - that's what Munich has to offer in October.

A young man and a young woman are sitting at a table in the Valentin-Karlstadt-Musäum in Munich.

Event calendar

November: Literature festival & cool concerts

The first Christmas markets open in Munich in November.

The first Christmas markets open in Munich in November. There are also literary events and great concerts.

Munich's Palace of Justice

Justizpalast Tour

During the guided tour of the present-day seat of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice, you will learn everything about the history and significance of the neo-baroque court and administrative building.

Book now for only 20€ !

During the guided tour of the present-day seat of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice, you will learn everything about the history and significance of the neo-baroque court and administrative building.

Small meeting room of the Neues Rathaus in Munich

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Explore the Neue Rathaus on Marienplatz with an official City of Munich tour guide. A visit of the famous law library is also included!

Book now from 20 €

Explore the Neue Rathaus on Marienplatz with an official tour guide. A visit of the famous law library is also included!

Magistrates, Monachia and magnificent celebrations: explore the Neue Rathaus on Marienplatz with an official City of Munich tour guide. A visit of the famous law library is also included!

Exterior view of the Hofbräuhaus Munich at dusk.

Hofbräuhaus Tour

Discover the most famous beer hall in the world with an official guide of the city of Munich and enjoy a fresh Mass of beer afterward!

Book for 28€, Mass beer included!

Discover the most famous beer hall in the world with an official guide of the city of Munich and enjoy a fresh Mass of beer afterward!

Discover the most famous beer hall in the world with an official guide of the city of Munich and enjoy a fresh Mass of beer afterward!

Towers at Marienplatz in Munich

Old Town Tour

The city walk for everyone who wants to become acquainted with the most beautiful parts of Munich's city centre.

Book now for 18 €!

The city walk for everyone who wants to become acquainted with the most beautiful parts of Munich's city centre.

Wort kettle at the Spaten brewery in Munich.

Spaten Brewery Tour

Experience a brewery tour at Spaten with a look behind the scenes, interesting facts about the company history and beer tasting in the brewery tower.

Book now for only 22 €!

Experience a brewery tour at Spaten with a look behind the scenes, interesting facts about the company history and beer tasting in the brewery tower.

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Vouchers

Buy now vouchers for your visit in Munich. The ideal gift! Guided tours, guest cards and more...

Buy vouchers from 6,50 €

Buy now vouchers for your visit in Munich. The ideal gift! Guided tours, guest cards and more...

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Oktoberfest Shop

Bring a piece of Oktoberfest home: Purchase official souvenirs such as the Wiesn poster or the Oktoberfest beer stein in the official Oktoberfest shop.

Bring a piece of Oktoberfest home: Purchase official souvenirs such as the Wiesn poster or the Oktoberfest beer stein in the official Oktoberfest shop.

A woman in the exhibition "Der Blaue Reiter" in the Lenbachhaus in Munich

Discovery trip incl. City Pass

2 nights in your selected hotel and - thanks to the City Pass - free admission to 45 museums, sights and attractions: our travel package for explorers.

3 days from 313 € for 2 Pers.

2 nights in your selected hotel and - thanks to the City Pass - free admission to 45 museums, sights and attractions: our travel package for explorers.

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Vouchers

Give the gift of a special Munich voucher: we also offer vouchers for all our guided tours. Here you can book unique Munich experiences directly online, print them out and give them as a gift voucher to friends or family.

Buy vouchers from 6,50 €

Give the gift of a special Munich voucher: we also offer vouchers for all our guided tours. Here you can book unique Munich experiences directly online, print them out and give them as a gift voucher to friends or family.