Munich offers a wealth of sustainable businesses and experiences, so there's always something to explore when it comes to sustainability. Whether it's 4 or 24 hours, a long weekend or a whole week. Our tips and suggestions for a sustainable stay in Munich!
- Explore attractions in a sustainable way
- Sustainable fashion
- Organics in the English Garden
- Sustainable projects in Munich’s Werksviertel (area)
- Sustainable cuisine
- Evening programme: Cinema and cabaret
- Experience nature
- Sustainable excursions in and around Munich
At first glance, Munich already appears relaxed and green, with its parks and the many locals out and about on their bicycles. If you take a closer look, you will notice that a multitude of projects, events, shopping opportunities and initiatives are gradually turning the city into a more sustainable place - and making this sustainability a tangible experience.
MVG bike (Munich transport company bicycle): On a short stopover, a bike is a stress-free, healthy and flexible way to explore the city. If the weather is unfavourable, you can use public transport as the network in the city is very well developed.
City walks: You can walk the different districts of the city with their sights either from east to west or from north to south and of course shorten or combine the tours.
On foot: In four hours, you can easily explore the Old Town and the adjoining Glockenbachviertel (district). First, stroll across Marienplatz (main square) towards Viktualienmarkt (food market), where regional, seasonal and fresh produce, as well as souvenirs are sold.
Guided tour: “Munich is getting better”: This solidarity-ecological walk through the city leads to interesting spots like the social enterprise of the Kammerspiele Kantine, a special screw and bolt shop that exemplifies traditional Munich crafts and the weekly market at St. Anna Platz.
Glockenbach- und Gärtnerplatzviertel (city districts): Just a few minutes' walk from the Viktualienmarkt (food market), large and small boutiques of sustainable labels are waiting to be discovered. Fair fashion and accessories are available at About Given and akjumii. In Eva Simon's shop atelier, high-quality fabrics are tailored into made-to-measure or sustainable workwear. At Saskia Diez you can buy sustainable jewellery, while the beautiful nkm store stocks vegan natural cosmetics - made in Munich from pure, regional ingredients. And you can find more organic labels, children's toys and stationery at Auryn. If you want to delve deeper into the topic, you can book a guided tour with Green Fashion Tours, not only to discover the respective shops, but also to get into conversation with sustainable designers. On a hot summer day, you can try vegan flavours at the Eiscafé Eismeer ice cream parlour!
We also recommend a stroll through Munich's high-end second-hand shops - because there's no other place where luxury and sustainability are combined so well.
Alternatively, you can stroll through the city's flea markets, many of which are held in the beautiful backyards of the Haidhausen or Westend districts. Information on when these take place can be found here and here.
If you are spending a whole day in Munich and the weather is good, you can plan a walk through the English Garden. The green space is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world and is very diverse, with surfers on the Eisbachwelle (river wave) in the south and the wild, sprawling Nordteil (northern part). Good places for a pause include the beer garden of the traditional Milchhäusl, where exclusively organic Bavarian dishes are served.
Take public transport or a bike to Ostbahnhof (Munich East) station and check out the emerging Werksviertel-Mitte (area). Here, creative minds are tinkering on exciting sustainability concepts like the Almschule, a mountain pasture school project on the roof of WERK3, as well as interim and secondary-use projects. If you're hungry after the sightseeing tour, stop at Katharina Inselkammer's integrative deli. In the "Kunst Werk Küche", people with and without disabilities work together, because inclusion is just as important here as delicious food - a fine example of the social aspect of sustainability.
At Klinglwirt, the first eco-inn in town, you can experience Bavarian cuisine in a very sustainable way. The menu also includes vegetarian dishes - there are organic spinach dumplings or “schupfnudeln” (finger-shaped potato dumplings) with organic sauerkraut - and the meat for beer goulash, schnitzel etc. comes from animals raised in a species-appropriate manner in the region.
Gourmet restaurant Green Beetle by Käfer (delicatessen shop): The creations are purely vegetarian/vegan and leave no wishes unfulfilled – climate-friendly cuisine, awarded a green star.
Giesinger Grünspitz: In the joint project with Green City e.V., and co-designed by the neighbourhood, an open space under chestnut trees has been offered as a public area for several years. Food and drink are available at the kiosk on site, or you can provide your own. A programme is also regularly put together, including film evenings, readings or small concerts.
Roecklplatz: This much acclaimed restaurant is a cooperation project between social work and the free economy: Young socially disadvantaged people are trained here, and at least one seat always goes to young refugees. The high-quality menu features delicious classics, but also vegan and vegetarian dishes.
Emmi's Kitchen: In its now three branches, there is only vegan food, which you completely forget once you’ve tried the sumptuous pancakes. If you linger a little longer, you can also try a Beyond Meat burger for lunch - the operators were the first in Munich to specialise in this.
Muffatwerk with its beer garden on the banks of the Isar (river) is a certified organic establishment serving classic beer garden dishes with a Mediterranean touch and light vegetarian dishes.
Vineyard in Obergiesing: The fine wines poured for the wine tasting here come directly from sustainable family-run wineries. You will certainly take along a bottle as a souvenir!
Visit a café supplied by a Munich roastery or a restaurant with a focus on vegan regional dishes. You’ll find a great selection here.
Charming cinemas: Visit one of the charming independent cinemas. Munich locals regularly campaign for the preservation of these cultural institutions - such as the "Studio Isabella" and the "Filmtheater am Sendlinger Tor", cinemas, which are over 100 years old.
Cabaret theatres: Many of them are long-standing in Munich’s cultural scene, family-run and with great attention to detail.
Museum Mensch und Natur: With over 200,000 visitors a year, it is one of the most visited state museums in Bavaria and one of the best-attended history museums in Germany.
Schlosspark Nymphenburg (Nymphenburg Palace park): The park is not only known for its idyllic layout, but also for its rare animal and plant species: A total of 17 mammal and 175 bird species live here, including bats, grass snakes and buzzards. Our author took a look around.
Ökologisches Bildungszentrum (Ecological education centre): This multi-award-winning centre is all about environmental education and the question of how Munich can develop sustainably. There is a varied programme that is also aimed at children and young people, and when the weather is fine, there is plenty to discover on the adjacent outdoor grounds with a play area and wetland biotopes.
Relax on a walk through the rose garden or on an interesting wild herb hike, where you will learn how many edible plants grow wild in the middle of the city and along the Isar river.
Walderlebniszentrum Grünwald (Forest Experience Centre): The adventure centre with a wide range of self-discovery activities is open seven days a week all year round, i.e. the surrounding forest, the wild boar enclosure and the adventure trails can be visited at any time.
Deutsches Museum: Visit one of the largest science museums in the world, Deutsches Museum, especially the "Man and the Environment" exhibition.
Fünf-Seen-Land (five-lake country): How about walking in the footsteps of Sisi from Possenhofen to Tutzing? Or hop on the Bayerische Regiobahn railway (BRB) and travel a little further, for example to Lake Tegernsee. Here you can read about how the Tegernsee Valley is committed to sustainability. A highlight is definitely the tour with e-mountain bikes along forest roads and side roads, with regional delicacies waiting for you at various farms.
