When to Go

Munich is a year-round city, but it's nicer to walk through the Englischer Garten and have your beer under a shady chestnut tree when the weather's fine in summer. If fate takes you to Munich through its long, cold winter, though, there are world-class museums and good restaurants to keep you entertained. Theater and opera fans will especially enjoy the winter season, when the tour buses and the camera-toting crowds are gone. Munich comes alive during Fasching, the German Mardi Gras, in the pre-Easter season. The festival of festivals, Oktoberfest, takes place from the end of September to early October. A few post-summer sunny days are usual, but the Oktoberfest is also an indication that fall is here, and the short march to winter has arrived.