Munich Christmas markets 2026: opening dates, hours, closed days and which market suits whom

💡 The Short Version: The Münchner Christkindlmarkt on Marienplatz runs from 20 November to 24 December 2026, free, with 137 stalls and 3.1 million visitors in each of 2023 and 2024. München Tourismus lists it as closed on Sunday 22 November. The medieval market on Wittelsbacherplatz and the queer Pink Christmas open the same day, the Residenz village on 16 November, the Chinese Tower market on 19 November and Tollwood on 24 November. Almost every market is free. Or book a guide: the Christmas Markets Food & Drink Tourad is from €55 for 3 hours.

⚠️ Sunday 22 November. The Christkindlmarkt on Marienplatz is closed, and so are the Wittelsbacherplatz, Residenz, Sendlinger Tor and Chinese Tower markets, which say so themselves.

Dates and hours

The markets are listed by opening day.

The dates are from the organisers where they publish them and otherwise from München Tourismus. München Tourismus lists more markets without 2026 dates: Santa’s Isarzauber on the Praterinsel, the Moosacher Hüttenzauber, the Sternenflotte at the Alte Utting, the Mondscheinexpress at Bahnwärter Thiel, a market on Luise-Kiesselbach-Platz, Gans am Wasser, and the Eiszauber ice rink on Karlsplatz.

The markets, by place

Christkindlmarkt, Marienplatz

Marienplatz and the pedestrian streets · U3, U6 and S-Bahn Marienplatz · 20 November to 24 December

The city’s own market, run by its economic department and spread over about 30,000 m²: Marienplatz, the courtyard of the Neues Rathaus, and the pedestrian streets from Kaufingerstraße and Weinstraße to Rosenstraße, Sendlinger Straße and Rindermarkt. The organiser counts 137 stalls and 3.1 million visitors in 2023 and 2024. The Kripperlmarkt beside the Alter Peter sells nativity scenes, and the organiser says it is probably the biggest in Germany, first recorded in 1757. The Himmelswerkstatt, a free workshop for children from 6 to 12, runs in the Rathaus from 29 November to 13 December. There is no parking at Marienplatz and no bicycles on the market. The sights are in Marienplatz and the Glockenspiel.

A Glühwein hut and gift stalls on the Christkindlmarkt in the old town’s pedestrian streets. Photo: Andrzej Otrębski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Krampuslauf is on Sunday 13 December from 15:00 to 17:00: about 25 groups and more than 300 people in Krampus costume run from Augustinerstraße through the pedestrian zone to the Altes Rathaus, with up to 50,000 spectators.

Medieval market, Wittelsbacherplatz

Brienner Straße 6-10, Maxvorstadt · 20 November to 23 December

The Mittelalterlicher Weihnachtsmarkt, also called the Münchner Adventsspektakel, has run since 2005. It opens on Friday 20 November at 18:00, is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00 except Sunday 22 November, and has a cultural programme every Advent weekend.

Pink Christmas

Stephansplatz, Glockenbachviertel · 20 November to 20 December

The queer Christmas market, in its 21st edition, opens earlier than before because the city council approved it. It is small and bar-like, with a DJ every evening from 18:00 and a show on Sundays at 19:00. The area is in where to stay in Munich.

Tollwood Winterfestival

Theresienwiese · U4, U5 Theresienwiese · 24 November to 23 December

An organic market of craft stalls from around the world and organic food, with a circus tent. Entry to the grounds and the market is free and more than 90 per cent of the events are free; the Grand Chapiteau and ice-stock shooting are ticketed. The market closes at 22:00 on 23 December. A Tollwood ticket counts as an MVV ticket on the day. For 31 December, see Munich on New Year’s Eve 2026.

Craft stalls and red tents at the Tollwood Winterfestival on the Theresienwiese. Photo: Usien, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Chinese Tower, English Garden

Englischer Garten, around the Chinese Tower · 19 November to 23 December

Village stalls in the park, with carriage rides, a brass band playing from the tower, a carousel and ice-stock lanes at the weekends. It is closed on Sunday 22 November. The market has its own site, weihnachtsmarkt-chinaturm.de. See the English Garden.

Residenz village

Kaiserhof of the Residenz, entrance on Residenzstraße · 16 November to 22 December

A free fairy-tale forest in the Residenz courtyard, with nativity scenes, crafts, and a puppet show and face-painting from 16:00 to 18:00. St Nicholas visits on 6 and 7 December from 17:00. Closed Sunday 22 November. The museum has its own ticket: see the Residenz.

Sendlinger Tor

Sendlinger-Tor-Platz · U1, U2, U3, U6 Sendlinger Tor · 20 November to 22 December

A market on the square at the gate, open daily from 10:30 to 21:00 except Sunday 22 November.

The Christmas market on Sendlinger-Tor-Platz, with the gate behind the stalls. Photo: Andrzej Otrębski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Schwabing

Forum Münchner Freiheit · U3, U6 Münchner Freiheit · 25 November to 24 December

It opens on 25 November at 18:00. Free music plays from Tuesday to Sunday at 18:00, and on 24 December the market is open from 11:00 to 14:00.

Haidhausen, Neuhausen and the others

The Haidhauser Weihnachtsmarkt on Weißenburger Platz is about 40 years old and has a South Tyrol nativity scene. The Neuhauser Weihnachtsmarkt on Rotkreuzplatz (U1) runs daily from 11:00 to 20:30. The Feuerzangenbowle, a mulled-wine stand, has moved to Blumenstraße 22 behind the Schrannenhalle because its Isartor site is being renovated.

After Christmas and on 24 December

On 24 December the Christkindlmarkt and the Schwabing market close at 14:00, and the airport market at 16:00. The Wittelsbacherplatz, Tollwood, Sendlinger Tor, Residenz and Chinese Tower markets have ended by then. Still trading after Christmas are the airport market to 27 December, the Märchenbazar to 28 December, the Winterzauber on the Viktualienmarkt to 5 January 2027 and the Feuerzangenbowle to 6 January. The Christmas tree on Marienplatz stays lit until 6 January.

Tours

Christmas Markets Food & Drink Tour

From €55 · 3 hours

Munich: Christmas Markets Food & Drink Tourad is a guided walk with tastings through the markets.

Christmas market tour with Glühwein

From €59 · 3 hours

Munich: Christmas Market Tour with Glühweinad is a 3-hour tour with mulled wine.

City guides

The city’s official guides run tours of the markets, booked at einfach-muenchen.de.

Planning the day

• Shops. Shops are shut on Sundays and public holidays, with one exception: in the old-town pedestrian zones, shops selling tourist goods may open from 11:00 to 19:00 on the four Advent Sundays, the first of which is 29 November. Two late shopping nights, with shops open to 24:00, fall on Friday 27 November and Saturday 12 December. On 24 December shops may open until 14:00. 25 and 26 December are public holidays.
• Daylight and weather. The sun sets at about 16:32 on 20 November, and on the shortest day, 21 December, it rises at about 08:01 and sets at about 16:22. At the DWD München-Stadt station, November averages 8.2°C by day and 2.1°C at night, and December 4.8°C and -0.8°C, and 5.1 days in December when it never rises above freezing. The months are in the best time to visit Munich.
• Getting there. The Christkindlmarkt is at Marienplatz, on the U3, U6 and S-Bahn. Fares are in Munich public transport.
• Where to sleep. The Christkindlmarkt fills the streets from Marienplatz to Karlsplatz, so the Altstadt is the area for it: where to stay in Munich compares the areas.

To set Munich’s Christmas against the other cities we cover, with each city’s dates, hours and the thing that decides a visit, see Christmas market cities compared.

Where to stay for Marienplatz

The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com. The distances are straight lines from the square.

BEYOND by Geisel

Marienplatz 22 · 19 rooms · one Michelin Key · about 40 m · Hotels.comad

Nineteen rooms directly on the square, with a living room that has a library and an open kitchen, according to Michelin.

LOUIS Hotel

Rindermarkt 2 · 72 rooms · Michelin Selected · about 100 m · Hotels.comad

Beside the Viktualienmarkt, a few steps from the Rindermarkt end of the Christkindlmarkt.

Platzl Hotel

Sparkassenstraße 10 · 167 rooms · 4-star superior · about 280 m · Hotels.comad

A few minutes’ walk from Marienplatz, with a pub serving seven Ayinger beers, according to the hotel.

Next

For the evening of 31 December, see Munich on New Year’s Eve 2026. To fit the markets into a stay, see 3 days in Munich, and what to book before you go to Munich lists the tickets that need a slot. Nuremberg is a day trip: see Nuremberg from Munich. The markets in Berlin, Vienna, Prague and Budapest have their own guides. The Marienplatz, Viktualienmarkt and Residenz markets are on the Munich old town walk, and the Chinese Tower market is on the English Garden walk.