The Ultimate Guide To Attending The Munchen Carnival Bavaria

With wild parties, colourful costumes, parades and an electric atmosphere, the Munich Carnival is an unforgettable experience. When it comes to city-wide parties in Munich, most people think of Oktoberfest, but Carnival, or Fasching, comes in a close second. Here’s your ultimate guide to attending Munich Carnival.

The carnival schedule

Carnival is a pre-Lent festival widely celebrated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The customs and traditions that surround the event vary from country to country – however, most are rooted in long-founded pagan customs, with the unfolding events and parades held at the end of January and early February.

The Munich Carnival lasts for only three days, with the city letting loose on Sunday, Monday and ending the festivities on Shrove Tuesday. On Sunday the celebrations take place around Marienplatz, with large street parties, parades and crowds dressed head-to-toe in wild and wonderful costumes. Staying central and close to this part of Munich will put you right in the thick of the day-to-night parties. On Shrove Tuesday, carnival reaches its climax at Viktualienmarkt, with the ‘Dance of the good women of the market.’ This lively event features women in traditional dress dancing and singing in the traditional market square, for the elation for the surrounding crowds.

During this time more than 800 balls are held throughout Munich. The largest of these will host over a thousand people and most of them are fancy dress, with masquerade themes and a lavish atmosphere. However, classic gala balls in dinner jackets and dress also take hold of the city during this time, and known as ‘Schwarz-Weiß-Bälle‘. To get a good first impression of these opulent affairs, visit one of the big traditional balls in the Deutsches Theater, in the Löwenbräukeller, or in the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. In parallel with the carnival and masked balls, there are also over 1,000 events and dances that take place in Munich – some even last several weeks and are often organized by major theatres and breweries in the city.

Fun for the whole family

While Munich’s carnival is relatively subdued compared to its cousins in Cologne and Düsseldorf, it does offer the atmospheric joy of carnival season and manageable crowds. Here visitors with families and children can let their hair down with the locals, and soak in this truly unique Germanic tradition during the lead into the fasting season of Lent.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.