Guides · Munich
Munich Christmas Markets 2026: Dates, Best Markets & Tips
By Viktorija Dvariskyte · Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
The Munich Christmas market season 2026 opens on Friday 20 November, when the Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz lights its 25-metre tree, and runs until 14:00 on Thursday 24 December. Marienplatz opens 10:00-21:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00-20:00 on Sunday, and entry to every market in this guide is free. Not every market follows that calendar: the Christmas Village in the Residenz starts on 16 November, the Christmas market at Munich Airport on 13 November, and Tollwood holds back until 24 November. All 2026 dates below come from the official Munich tourism board listing and the organisers' own sites.
The Munich Christmas market scene runs to more than 25 markets across the districts, and this guide narrows them to the five worth planning around. Three sit within a 10-minute walk of each other in the Altstadt: Marienplatz, the Residenz courtyard and the Medieval Christmas Market on Wittelsbacher Platz. Pink Christmas on Stephansplatz is a short walk south of Sendlinger Tor, and Tollwood fills the Theresienwiese.
Each entry gives the 2026 dates and hours, the exact address, the nearest U-Bahn, S-Bahn or bus stop, and a Pro Tip. For routing, walk the three Altstadt markets in one afternoon starting at Marienplatz, add Pink Christmas as darkness falls, and keep Tollwood for a separate evening, since the U4/U5 gets you from Odeonsplatz to Theresienwiese in under 10 minutes.
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1Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz - The Original Munich Christmas Market
The Münchner Christkindlmarkt is the Munich Christmas market most visitors have in mind, and in 2026 it runs from 20 November to 24 December on Marienplatz, spilling west along Neuhauser Straße and Kaufingerstraße and south towards the Rindermarkt. Its documented history reaches back to a Nikolaidult recorded on Kaufingerstraße in 1642, and it has stood in front of the neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus since 1972. Hours are 10:00-21:00 Monday to Saturday, 10:00-20:00 on Sunday and 10:00-14:00 on Christmas Eve, as confirmed on the official Christkindlmarkt website.
The centrepiece is a 25-metre Christmas tree lit with 3,000 lights. A few steps away beside St. Peter's Church, the Kripperlmarkt is probably the largest nativity market in Germany: ten stalls selling nothing but cribs, carved figures from South Tyrol's Val Gardena and miniature accessories, a Munich tradition since 1757. Brass bands and choirs play from the Town Hall balcony on Sunday to Thursday evenings, and the Krampus run takes over the old town on Sunday 13 December 2026 from 15:00 to 17:00, drawing up to 50,000 onlookers. Glühwein comes in a souvenir mug with a deposit (Tassenpfand) refunded when you hand it back.
2Christmas Village in the Residenz - The Most Sheltered Market in Munich
The Weihnachtsdorf fills the Kaiserhof, the largest courtyard of the Munich Residenz, the former palace of the Bavarian rulers. Palace walls on all four sides block the wind, which makes it the warmest-feeling of the Munich Christmas markets on a cold December night. In 2026 it opens four days before Marienplatz, on 16 November, and runs until 22 December, daily from 11:00 to 21:00. The entrance is on Residenzstraße, opposite Max-Joseph-Platz and the National Theatre.
The theme is a Bavarian village, and the organisers commit to it: wooden huts with mossy roofs, a fairytale forest with Hansel and Gretel and puppet shows for children. The workshop huts are the real reason to come. Goldsmiths, furriers and glassblowers work at their benches in full view, so you can watch a bauble being blown before you buy one. It is smaller than Marienplatz and easy to see in 45 minutes, which makes it a good first Munich Christmas market stop on an Altstadt evening.
3Medieval Christmas Market on Wittelsbacher Platz - Torches, Fire and Mead
The Munich Advent Spectacle and Medieval Christmas Market swaps fairy lights for torches and fire bowls. Dozens of rough timber huts fill Wittelsbacher Platz from 20 November to 23 December 2026, open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with one exception: the market stays closed on Sunday 22 November for Totensonntag, a quiet day of remembrance in Bavaria. The medieval Christmas market in Munich is a 10-minute walk from Marienplatz but feels centuries away.
Traders work in historical dress, and artisans demonstrate old crafts at their stalls. Food is cooked over open beechwood fires, from sausages on the grill to Flammkuchen baked on site. The drinks set it apart from every other market in this guide: instead of standard Glühwein, order Drachenglut ("dragon's embers") or hot spiced wine made to old recipes. The square sits at the end of Brienner Straße, where 16 silvery LED chandeliers hang over the road during Advent, so the walk in from Odeonsplatz is part of the experience.
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4Pink Christmas on Stephansplatz - Munich's Queer Christmas Market
Pink Christmas has lit up Stephansplatz in pink every Advent since 2005. It is run by Munich's LGBTIQ* community and open to everyone, and it keeps later hours than the old-town markets: in 2026 it runs from 20 November to 20 December, Monday to Friday 16:00-22:00 and Saturday and Sunday 14:00-22:00. That makes it the latest-closing Munich Christmas market in this guide on weeknights, and the natural place to end an evening.
The stalls sell mulled wine, snacks and gifts with a camp streak, but the stage is what makes the pink Christmas market in Munich different. Shows start at 19:00, with drag artists, young singers and the occasional headline act; Eurovision winner Johnny Logan has performed here in past years. The square is small, and the surrounding Glockenbachviertel is one of Munich's main nightlife quarters, so treat the market as the first stop of a night out rather than the whole plan.
5Tollwood Winter Festival - The Alternative Christmas Market on the Theresienwiese
Tollwood takes over the Theresienwiese, the Oktoberfest grounds, from 24 November to 23 December 2026, and it is the Munich Christmas market for anyone who finds the Altstadt too traditional. Entry to the festival grounds is free. The 2026 motto is "All in for climate", and the whole site follows that line: the food tents serve organic dishes from around the world, and the Markt der Ideen (Market of Ideas) sells fair-trade and handmade crafts instead of mass-produced decorations.
The programme is bigger than at any other market in Munich. The Hexenkessel tent hosts more than 60 bands over 30 days with free entry, there is curling on site and a children's crafts tent, and a new stage called The Cube runs fire, music and circus acts. Ticketed circus and dance shows play in the Grand Chapiteau, including Gravity & Other Myths' Ten Thousand Hours from 25 to 29 November 2026. The market closes on 23 December, and the grounds reopen on 31 December for Tollwood's ticketed New Year's Eve party.
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Munich Christmas Markets 2026: Dates, Best Markets & Tips - FAQ
The Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz runs from Friday 20 November 2026 until 2pm on Thursday 24 December, open 10am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 8pm on Sundays. The Residenz Christmas Village opens earlier, on 16 November, and Tollwood starts on 24 November.
Yes, entry to all five markets in this guide is free, including Tollwood. You pay for food, drinks and gifts, and a deposit on Glühwein mugs, which you get back when you return them.
Marienplatz has its own S-Bahn and U-Bahn station. Odeonsplatz serves the Residenz and the Medieval market, Sendlinger Tor is closest to Pink Christmas, and the U4 and U5 reach Theresienwiese for Tollwood in under 10 minutes.
No. Marienplatz closes at 2pm on Christmas Eve, and the traditional markets do not open on Christmas Day. Plan your market visits for before 24 December.
The traditional markets end on Christmas Eve. Tollwood has traditionally continued after Christmas with a New Year's Eve celebration on the Theresienwiese, so check its 2026 programme if you are in Munich between Christmas and New Year.
The main cluster is in the Altstadt: Marienplatz, the Residenz Christmas Village and the Medieval market on Wittelsbacher Platz are within a 10-minute walk of each other. Pink Christmas is on Stephansplatz near Sendlinger Tor, and Tollwood fills the Theresienwiese.
Visit Marienplatz on a weekday morning, as it gets very crowded on weekend evenings. Save the Medieval market and Tollwood for after dark. Note that Sunday 22 November 2026 is Totensonntag, when some markets stay closed.
Munich has more than 25 markets. The five worth planning around are the Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz, the sheltered Residenz Christmas Village, the Medieval market on Wittelsbacher Platz, Pink Christmas on Stephansplatz and the Tollwood Winter Festival.
Pink Christmas is Munich's queer Christmas market on Stephansplatz, a short walk south of Sendlinger Tor. It opens in the late afternoon and is known for its friendly atmosphere, pink lights and evening entertainment.
Tollwood is an alternative winter festival on the Theresienwiese, the Oktoberfest grounds, with a market of crafts and organic food, big tents and live shows. It opens on 24 November 2026, and the U4 and U5 get you there from Odeonsplatz in under 10 minutes.
