Munich Christmas Markets Guide: The Best Markets to Visit
Vienna and Prague get most of the attention when people talk about European Christmas markets, and with good reason. But did you know Munich does the festive season well too? In fact, the Bavarian capital commits to it fully – you’ll find markets in medieval squares, in royal courtyards, and tucked along the streets you're already walking down.
Last year, we had our first European Christmas market experience, and we chose Munich for it. We spent five nights there with my best friend, and drank rather more glühwein than I'm going to admit to here. It was every bit as magical as we'd hoped, and we've been telling people about it ever since.
So which markets are actually worth your time? Here are the six we made it to, what each one does best, and the practical things nobody mentions beforehand.
The Best Christmas Markets in Munich
Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt
If you only have time for one, make it this one. Munich's largest and most iconic market fills the square in front of the Neues Rathaus, underneath a Christmas tree so enormous that it’s nearly impossible to fit it in your camera.
Grab a mug of glühwein, pick up roasted chestnuts from the nearest stall, and stand still long enough to catch the live carols from the town hall balcony. Everything you came to Germany for is happening in that one square, and it is wonderful!
This was my favorite market of the entire trip.
Our Tip: Save this one for your first and last nights. The market feels different depending on when you visit. Quiet at opening, packed in the evening!
Residenz Christmas Village
Prefer your Christmas shopping without the crush? The Residenz Christmas Village sits in the courtyard of Munich's historic Residenz palace, and that setting changes the whole feel of it.
The gifts here are perfect for surprising your loved ones back home – traditional crafts, gourmet treats, and ornaments (rather than the things you grab at the airport because you forgot someone).
With the palace architecture lit up behind the stalls, it's the most elegant of the six. A true Christmas wonderland!
Medieval Market at Wittelsbacherplatz
Craving a more unique Christmas experience in Munich? This market is nothing like the others. The Medieval Market swaps glühwein for mead and fairy lights for actual burning torches. Here, every stallholder is in costume, and the whole square smells of woodsmoke rather than sugar, which, after three days of markets, turns out to be a genuine relief.
Traveling with kids? Your little ones will love Wittelsbacherplatz Market! After all – where else can you meet real knights?
Sendlinger Tor
Smaller, calmer, and wonderfully easy to drop into. The Sendlinger Tor market is a line of wooden stalls running along the street, and it's the one you'll wander past on your way back from a tour without ever meaning to stop.
Still, it has all the Christmas ‘musts’: spiced glühwein, warm gingerbread, handcrafted gifts and decorations. Nothing sprawling here, which is precisely what makes it such a welcome half hour after a long day on your feet.
Kripperlmarkt at Rindermarkt
The Kripperlmarkt is Munich’s nativity market, and it’s the most traditional of the six. Here, you’ll find nativity scenes and the hand-carved figurines that fill them, alongside unique traditional Bavarian crafts that the larger markets don’t offer. Even with no intention of buying anything, give it ten minutes. The craftsmanship is beautiful, and it's the most traditional thing we saw all week.
Pink Christmas Market
Pink Christmas is exactly what it sounds like, and it was hands down the most fun experience of the week! Munich's LGBTQ+ market glows pink from every direction, the crowd is warm and genuinely welcoming, and it's one of the cutest parts of the city in December.
Make sure to go after dark, once the lights are properly doing their job!
Other Markets Worth Knowing About
There’s no such thing as too many Christmas markets (did you know Germany runs 2500-3000 Christmas markets a year?)! During our trip, we managed to visit six, but there are several others worth checking out. For instance, the English Garden market is right by the beer garden, which is a lovely combination on a cold afternoon.
If you wish to enjoy some live music, make sure to include the Tollwood Winter Festival, which takes over the Oktoberfest grounds.
Do the Christmas Market Food Tour
While you can visit the Christmas markets on your own, our advice is to book a guided tour. We joined the Original Christmas Market Food Tour, and it turned out to be great!
The route winds through the historic old city and into markets most visitors walk straight past, including the Residenz Christmas Village and the Medieval Market at Wittelsbacherplatz. Moreover, five traditional Bavarian dishes with desserts plus three drinks are all included in the price (which makes it much better value than it first looks).
There's also never more than a few minutes between you and the next mug of mulled wine, which matters more than you'd think when you've been standing outside for hours.
Our Tip: Bring your cutest (or tackiest) Christmas sweater. Everyone else is wearing one, and the photos are so much better for it!
What to Know Before You Go
Bring cash. Although plenty of stalls take cards now, the queues move noticeably faster when you don't need one.
Your glühwein comes with a deposit on the mug (the Pfand). Hand it back to get your money, or keep it – the designs change every year.
Dress for standing still rather than for walking because you'll be outdoors and barely moving for hours at a time. You don’t want to be cold!
Final Thoughts
Munich in December isn't simply a city that happens to have Christmas markets. For those few weeks, the markets more or less are the city – you don't plan your days around them so much as move through them on the way to everything else. While Germany may not be the first place that pops into your mind as a Christmas wonderland, our trip clearly showed it’s the perfect place to be during the festive season.
Ready to experience a European Christmas for yourself? Next year I'm hosting a group trip through the Christmas markets of Prague, Budapest, and Vienna – three of the very best in Europe, in a single trip, with every detail already taken care of. Come and join us for Christmas 2027!
Check Out Our Other Luxury Travel Resources:
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