26 Most Unusual and Fun Things to Do in Munich

Just add lederhosen to to a Gaelic ceilidh and you have Tanzboden, complete with traditional Bavarian dancing accompanied by a live band and a dance master calling out the steps during the songs. Tanzboden happens just four times a year in a room on the second floor of the famous Hofbräuhaus. Tickets are €12 (£10.15/$13), and decent German skills are a must to keep up!

Mingle with locals to the sound of traditional Bavarian music while enjoying a beer and floating down the Isar river on a giant raft. This might sound slow, but these rafts actually pick up a fair speed. Float season is April to November, and as with all German beer-drinking sessions, it’s accompanied by traditional food – maybe even a BBQ if the weather is good. Get a big group together, or turn up on your own and make new friends!

Want to discover the cheapest draft beer in the city? Despite being next to one of the main tourist attractions in Munich, Bratwurst Glöckl am Dom takes some finding: Ignore the main restaurant, and walk around the left of the building into an alley to an innocuous door; inside is a vestibule that holds about eight people. Crouch a little to a frosted glass window with a rope next to it; pull the rope and hear a bell ring followed by a gruff ‘Yaw wos?’ – brusque Bavarian for ‘Good evening, how may I help?’ Order a beer from the selection on the board, and get to know the regulars in the vestibule.

A swimming pool might not sound like much of a destination, but this beautiful Art Nouveau building on the banks of the Isar shouldn’t be missed. Müllersches Volksbad has been a public pool since it opened in 1901, and taking a dip today still costs only €4.40 (£3.75/$4.70). Inside is also a Roman steam bath and a Finnish-style sauna with colourful lighting. You’ll need to make like a Münchener, though, and leave the bathing suit at the door – saunas are an important part of German culture, and in most saunas, swimwear is actually banned.

Forget Hofbräuhaus and Hirschgarten – head to a beer garden that’s off the beaten path to see Munich at its most relaxed. At Waldwirtschaft in the south Munich suburbs, grab a beer and some snacks from the traditional food stalls, and sit back and listen to the live jazz bands on the weekend. If the weather’s no good, try Augustiner Bräustuben for great value food and drinks in a traditional beer hall atmosphere.

There’s one corner of Munich that’s been doing the time warp for a very long time; the Lichtspiele cinema has been playing The Rocky Horror Picture Show every Friday and Saturday night for 30 years – and counting! The cinema itself has been going since 1910, and the iconic movie has been on the programme since June 24, 1977! As always with this movie, costumes are more than welcome, and the screening starts at 11 pm.

Germans are not afraid to bare all. In fact, Munich has six ‘designated urban naked zones’. Don’t think these are tucked away somewhere or fenced off – take the wrong turn in the English Garden or along the Isar, and you’ll see a whole lot more of Germany. There aren’t many cities in the world where you can go au naturel.

If there’s no rush to see Munich, spend an afternoon relaxing by a lake. Just 36 minutes on the S-Bahn from Marienplatz will take you to Lake Starnberg – Germany’s fifth largest freshwater lake. 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) from the centre, it feels like another world. Starnberg even gets a mention in T.S. Elliot’s 1922 poem, The Waste Land. Not inspired to pen a poem? Simply take lakeside a stroll, sunbathe and admire the view.

Head to the Universität district to Lost Weekend, a bookstore and vegan coffee shop by day that comes alive at night with poetry slams, open mic comedy and Munich Sessions, a live music event that introduces crowds to both signed and unsigned artists at its easygoing evenings. The line-ups are both local and international – handy for German language beginners – and vary from mellow acoustic guitarists to upbeat funk band. Munich Sessions takes places twice a month.

Müncheners love being outdoors, especially at mealtimes. As soon as the first few rays of sun hit the city, people dust off their grills and head to the Isar. Avoid the crowds by heading to one of the parks with a designated BBQ area, like West Park in southwest Munich, about 10 minutes on the U-Bahn from Marienplatz. West Park also has a Japanese garden, a Thai temple, and even an outdoor cinema in the summer.

The German Museum is an interesting and interactive place to visit for some incredible exhibitions ranging from technology to history, aviation and a free observatory. Yet the hidden piece of the puzzle resides underground, where a 700-meter-long gallery of the oldest motors in Europe showcases mining technologies since the Middle Ages. With some great re-enactments of the mining environments, the German Museum presents three levels of subterranean interest, going from open-cast to modern ore mining in just one visit. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

The main provider of luxury goods to the royal family in Munich since 1888, Bernheimer-Haus is a splendid piece of new-baroque architecture and grandeur. A hidden secret of the city, the building was left going to ruin until the late 1990s, when it passed into the hands of a new wealthy benefactor: Deutsche Bank. Today, a residential and commercial complex is housed in the plaza, and the exterior frontispiece is an image of old Munich; a compound of history, taste and extravagance that hearkens back to the days of the Habsburgs. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

A German tradition for over 200 years, the Viktualienmarkt is a goods market in the heart of Munich, celebrating the produce of the seasons, scattered across 110 tents, where vendors from all over the land come to present crafted beers, veg, meat, sweets and flowers. The hidden secret in the gigantic market is Fisch Witte, a delightful, petite restaurant that serves fish fresh from the Danube. Guests can savor high class catfish, pike and tench in a variety of different ways; in sushi, at the bistro or to take away. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

The summer residence commissioned by Bavarian king Maximillian II, and used afterwards by his son Ludwig II, The Rose Island is one of the best kept secrets in Munich and a stunning place full of surprises besides. The location on the waters of Lake Starnberg alone was breathtaking enough to attract 19th century personalities galore: like Tsarina Maria Alexandrowna and Richard Wagner, who gazed at the Alps from the southern balcony. There’s also a surprise element discovered recently by archaeologists: Near the island, four meters underwater, clusters of prehistoric pile dwellings indicate that area has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

A gift of friendship and a sign of solidarity in the aftermath of Germany’s greatest struggles in the Second World War, Urasenke Tea House was donated by Soshitsu Dr. Sen, Grand Master of Urasenke Tea School in Kyoto, Japan, to the state government of Bavaria in 1972. The Tea House is guided by a philosophy rooted in the teachings of Zen Buddhism, paving the way for some seriously harmonious and relaxing drinking in an environment that embodies peace, solitude and good will to all. Firmly off-the-beaten-track, Urasenke Tea House opens its doors to the English Garden every second weekend of the month for the celebration of the tea ceremony. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

After 39 years of providing glamorous cabaret and incredible entertainment, Drehleier Theater is no ordinary place to spend an evening. It squeals with excitement from all corners and bursts with enchantment for the senses. Even the name of the theatre (a translation of the all but forgotten instrument, the hurdy-gurdy) stands as a metaphor for the revival of the long lost entertainment arts. The repertoire involves musicals, burlesque, cabaret and comedy, while the on-site restaurant also has exquisite cuisine and hosts regular food nights that allow visitors to indulge the taste buds while watching a show. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

Hop on the surfboard and experience the new wave of surfing on the Eisbach, a two-kilometer-long, man-made wave on the Isar River (yes, some distance from the sea!). Since 1972 people have been surfing over the river here, which is located in the famous English Garden, open for boards and swimmers alike all summer long.There have also been countless competitions on its waters, and riders are often seen honing their skills amidst the thick snowdrifts of the Bavarian winter; just don’t forget the wetsuit! Recommended by Eliza Marin.

Excitement surrounds the gates of Kaltenberg Castle for this annual anniversary involving fantastic witches, jongleurs, magicians, dancers and the stars of the medieval come-back, the hero knights. Fighting a tournament of color, fire, music and, most of all, entertainment, the participants come from over 100 countries to show their incredible skills. With an overwhelming atmosphere of joy, the festival held within the castle walls during the second and third weekend of July each year gives the extraordinary experience of authentic time-travel back to the Olde Worlde of Bavaria. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

Isarbräu is one of the most interesting beer gardens in Munich, located in an antique but extremely well preserved railway station since 1890. Away from the tourist areas and with easy access to nearby S-bahn stations, the remastered space around Pullach offers out-of-the-ordinary culinary experiences; like beer soup for one! Among the customary brew assortments can be found the Hacker-Pschorr, a five-century-old crafted kellerbeer with a powerful yeast aroma. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

Touting breathtaking panoramas over the Bavarian lands around Munich, the Blomberg amusement park is one action-packed adrenaline shock that’s perfect for adventure seekers looking to stray from the much-trodden paths of the city. Aside from the curvy summer toboggan run, a rail-coaster called Blomberg-Blitz and bungee trampoline attractions, this one boasts car tracks and water games to boot. And in the winter, ski slopes and sledging are also possible on the German snows. Recommended by Eliza Marin.

November 8-9, 1923 witnessed the death of four Bavarian policemen and 16 Nazi soldiers at the Feldherrnhalle during a coup attempt by the Nazi party. This gory incident, known as the Beer Hall Putsch, resulted in Hitler’s arrest and consequently led to the rise of the Nazi rule. Once Hitler came to power, the site of Feldherrnhalle was declared to be a national monument and it was made mandatory for all passers-by to perform the Hitlergruß (Nazi salute) at this location. Those who staunchly disapproved of Hitler’s policies used to take the Viscardigasse Alley, nicknamed as ‘Deserter’s Alley’. In honor of the brave souls who refused to salute Hitler, this pedestrian-only lane exhibits a trail of bronzed paving bricks. Recommended by Anwesha Ray.

St. Peter’s Church, or Alter Peter, is the final resting place of Saint Munditia, the patron saint of spinsters, who is believed to have been beheaded in 310 AD. She rests in striking style, dressed in a transparent body stocking and decked in jewels and gemstones. In her hand, she holds a goblet of dried blood, a symbol of her execution. Every November 17, a festival is hosted in Munich in her honor. Recommended by Anwesha Ray.

Munich‘s energy is infectious. That said, if you’re craving some solitude away from the bustling, touristy city, head to Klenze’s Stone Bench. This large, secluded bench dating back to 1838 tricks people into thinking that it is in the middle of a creek and not accessible. However, we’ll let you in on a secret – a narrow lane hidden by towering trees leads you to the bench from behind. Do note the inscription on the seat “Hier wo Ihr wallet, da war sonst Wald nur und Sumpf” (“Here where you meander was once only wood and marsh”). Recommended by Anwesha Ray.

The Umschreibung (‘rewriting’ in German) is an art sculpture standing in the courtyard of the accounting firm KPMG Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft. Designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, this steel structure is 9 meters (30 feet) high and shaped like a double helix, resembling a dizzying roller-coaster. The uniqueness of this architecture lies in the fact that the staircase doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody knows what the artist was thinking when he designed this – perhaps it signifies that whatever goes up has to come down, or maybe that sometimes it’s the journey, not the destination? Do be aware though that unfortunately, visitors are not allowed to climb the staircase. Recommended by Anwesha Ray.

In 2006, a brown bear named Bruno kept Germany and Austria on their toes – the Problembär (‘problem bear’) had traveled across the Alps, indiscriminately snacking on any creature that happened to cross its path. As Bruno grew consistently fearless and started making frequent appearances near human settlements, the Bavarian Ministry of Environment ordered him to be killed. There was a lot of protest from activists against this decision, though unfortunately, he had to be shot when attempts to capture him failed. Today, you can see him in the middle of plundering a beehive at the Natural History Museum housed in Nymphenburg Castle. Even though he is now stuffed and mounted, you wouldn’t find it difficult to imagine why he was such a terror in his heyday. Recommended by Anwesha Ray.

Bruno Bear was just a teaser! The Deutsches Jagd und Fischereimuseum (Museum of Hunting and Fishing) is waiting to inject a whole lot of creepiness in your holiday with over 1,000 taxidermy animals and birds, including some particularly rare ones. If that’s not creepy enough for you, wait till you see the macabre monstrosities made by creative combinations of animal and bird parts. Moreover, the fact that this ensemble is housed in a (defunct) church adds a touch of incongruity to the setting as well. Recommended by Anwesha Ray.