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Munich
Munich

Festivals and Annual Events

Fasching or Carnival is a boisterous six week long festival consisting of street parties and balls. This carnival season is especially characterized by fancy dress balls. There are parades, masks and balls. A Carnival King and Queen are also elected.

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Fasching or Carnival is a boisterous six week long festival consisting of street parties and balls. This carnival season is especially characterized by fancy dress balls. There are parades, masks and balls. A Carnival King and Queen are also elected.

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This Spring Festival, held on the last Saturday in April, is a smaller version of the Oktoberfest festival. A fair and market called Auer Dult which is the largest market in Europe for tableware, are also part of this festival.

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Munchner Stadtlauf or city run has been taking place for the past 25 years. The participation of thousands of people make this event a huge success. Runners can choose between a half marathon and a 10 kilometer run.

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Munich Blade Night is the world's largest inline skating event. Thousands of people participate in this event. Munich Blade Nights usually take place every Monday from May to two weeks before the Oktoberfest begins in September.

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This is a fair for enjoying arts and crafts produced by gifted artisans whose skills have been taught and passed down through the generations. For the children, the Maidult Fair provides fairground rides and sideshows.

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The Tollwood Festival takes place in Olympia Park. It lasts 24 days, with a variety of different shows on, most of which are free. This festival attracts performers from all over the world who perform music concerts. The wide range of genres means that there is usually a concert that will be of interest to everyone.

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The Munich Film Festival is one of Germany's biggest film festivals. It has taken place for the last 25 years and includes a large number of premieres, documentaries, regional films, TV movies, a children's section and much more. Although mainly non-competitive, some awards are also presented. It also includes the Munich Festival of Film Schools. The festival lasts nine days and emphasises world cinema and films which carry the Made in Germany trademark.

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The Munich Opera Festival is an annual opera festival that takes place at the National Theatre. It is performed by the Bavarian State Opera which stages several opera festivals all through the year.

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Oktoberfest is the most famous and some may say infamous festival of Munich. It is held annually and lasts two weeks. The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese. This festival begins at the end of September and ends in early October. With six million attendees, it is most certainly the world's largest fair. Beer plays the key role in this festival.

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Thrice a year Munich hosts the Dult which is a haven for junk and antique lovers. There is a carnival ambiance and you can often find some extraordinary buys.

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The Cycle Race lasts for six days and takes place at the Olympiahalle of Olympia Park. There is plenty to do with all kinds of entertainment, food and drink on offer.

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Germany is famous for its Christmas markets and the Christkindlmarkt in Munich's Marienplatz is one of the best examples. It takes place during late November and December.

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Starkbierzeit, or Strong Beer Week, is celebrated every year during Lent, when strong beer is consumed in a tradition dating back to monastic times. The festival dates to the period when monks brewed very strong beer to help them through Lent. This beer contains 6.5% alcohol, making it a strong beer.