Seven thousand seats arranged around a wooden Chinese pagoda in the middle of the Englischer Garten. The pagoda is an eighteenth-century folly; the beer garden around it is Munich's most famous and, on a summer afternoon, one of Europe's great public spaces. A brass band plays from the tower balcony on Sundays and warm evenings, the sound floating over chestnut canopy and Mass-sized steins of Hofbrau. The crowd is everyone: families, students, tourists, runners who paused and did not resume, office workers who left early and do not regret it. The food is biergarten standard — roast chicken, pork knuckle, radish spirals, Obatzda — and the beer is cold and plentiful. The setting does the rest.
Location
Schwabing, Munich
Opening Hours
Open nowOpen · Closes 11 PM
Map
Insider Intel
A Mass of Hofbrau Helles — the litre format is not optional in a garden this large. Half a roast chicken (Hendl) from the self-service counter. Obatzda with a Brezn. A Radler if the sun demands something lighter. The brass band provides the seasoning.
Sunny afternoons, ideally from 2pm. Sunday afternoons with the brass band are peak Munich. Summer evenings when the chestnuts filter golden light. Open April through October, weather permitting.
Englischer Garten 3. Bus 54 to Chinesischer Turm or walk from Universitat U-Bahn (15 min). Mass EUR 10-12. Self-service for garden seating, table service at the restaurant. Bring cash for the garden stalls. Shade is plentiful under chestnuts but prime spots fill early on hot days. 7,000 seats still sell out on peak summer Sundays.