Munich turns into a glowing winter wonderland when its Christmas markets open across the city.
From sparkling stalls filled with handmade gifts to the scent of roasted almonds in the air, here's where to experience the most magical ones.
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Top Christmas Markets
Munich will keep you busy during the pre-Christmas season with magical aesthetics and a huge offering.
I have split the many Christmas market venues into 2 major sections. The first set are the most important festive fairs, and the second lot includes surprising and quirky Christmas markets.
- Old Town — This is the biggest and most important Christmas market in Munich. It extends from the main city square, Marienplatz, to the neighboring streets and to the Stacchus (ice rink). This has to be on your bucket list!
- Residenz — Located in the courtyard of the former royal residence. This is a walking distance from the old town Christmas market.
- Sendlinger Tor — One of the oldest holiday fairs in the Bavarian capital at the Sendlinger gate. It's a small market with a few stalls, but you might find some interesting Christmas market gifts and souvenirs here.
Munich has many more Christkindlmärkte. We visited a few, which felt special. I highly recommend the following additional 4 Christmas market venues.
- Pink Christmas — A small, pink-themed twinkling market organized by the LGBTQ community. It's a fun, out-of-the-box venue with good vibes located at Stephansplatz. A DJ fires up the crowd.
- The biggest Feuerzangenbowle — The Feuerzangenbowle is a typical German hot punch that is put ablaze. In this little hidden spot, you'll come across a small market with the largest Feuerzangenbowle on fire.
- Tollwood Winter Festival — The Tollwood festival, with arts entertainment and stalls, is organized twice yearly, in the summer and winter. The winter edition in December comes with a Christmasy twist, and it's located on the Theresienwiese (the Oktoberfest venue).
- Munich Airport Christmas Market — The Munich airport organizes a neat winter market between Terminals 1 and 2. We were surprised about the offerings and size. In fact, that was one of our favorite Christmas markets because it's not as crowded. Here you get food and drink choices from all over the world, and they have an ice skating rink!
Several other, much smaller, very local Christmas markets are held near specific residential areas. Mostly locals frequent those markets, so I haven't listed them here since we didn't visit them.
Photos & Walking Tour Video
What to Expect and What We Loved
We visited the old town, Sendlinger Tor, Residenz, Pink, Feuerzangenbowle Christmas Markets on the opening day.
This gave us the ideal opportunity to compare them so that you can decide on where to spend your time.
We did the airport Christmas market on a trip out of Germany days later.
You will be mostly occupied and bound to the massive old town market. This is the city's major classic Christmas market, and it has it all!
But you would potentially want to visit any of the other Christmas bazaar for various reasons. Because you are looking for:
- more gift ideas
- specific food and drink options
- different entertainment and vibes
- less crowds
... Or because you just love to move about and hop between markets. Yet, keep in mind, some venues are walking distance, and others are better accessed via public transport.
Tip: If you just want THE Christmas market experience, stick to the main old town Christmas Market. It has everything that your heart longs for.
Old Town Christmas Market
The Munich Old Town Christmas Market is one of the most beautiful Advent markets we have seen in Germany and Europe in general. Incidentally, it's also one of the oldest markets.
You can see that the city has put in a lot of energy and planning to make this market memorable for all visitors.
The stalls are beautifully decorated, the lighting setup is spot on and so very enchanting, and the stalls leave plenty of space between each other to work with the crowded Christmas market infrastructure.
We also enjoyed the fact that most stalls offered a diverse choice of products and items. It's not just repetitive commercial items but also artisans selling their handmade local goods and specialties.
Many accepted cards too and not just cash (read up on the notorious cash-only culture in Germany). We didn't have a comparable experience in other German Christmas market cities.
Head to the Stacchus. Here you'll find a massive ice rink. You can hire skates to take part in the icy fun!
Tip: The Krampus run takes place at the Munich Old Town Christmas market around the 5th and 6th of December.
The Residenz
The Residenz market is probably the second largest classic Christmas market in Munich.
You should add it to your Christmas market itinerary if you'd like to see a little more of the city during the Advent period. This market takes place in the large royal courtyard, and it can get rather busy.
Families with kids should come here to see the animatronic fairytale figurine and a traditional puppet show.
Sendlinger Tor
The Sendlinger Tor Christmas market is rather small, but I have added this market here because it's one of the oldest.
It's right next to the subway and tram stops, which is a busy transit zone. I don't recommend heading there just to see the market. Just stop here if you are traveling by subway or if you are going to the pink Christmas venue nearby.
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