Munich: An Attitude towards Life
In global city rankings, Munich regularly ends up at the top of the list when it comes to quality of life. In addition to its broad recreational and cultural offerings, the region’s attitude toward life plays an important role. Amongst generous green spaces and impressive architecture, Munich’s countless beer gardens and breweries offer a one-of-a-kind experience. In addition to regional beers, you can also find local specialties here, from pretzels to veal sausage.
Those looking for relaxation in nature can find it in one of the world’s largest parks: the English Garden. In this public park built more than 200 years ago, you can ride a paddleboat, jog, or enjoy yourself in one of the beer gardens. During the summer months, we recommend visiting the Isar-Auen. Here you can cool down in the placid water on hot days, barbecue with friends, or simply enjoy the view of the renaturalized river.
Sports and Recreational Offerings
Munich and its surroundings offer a wide range of recreational activities all year round. The city’s location, with its many swimming lakes and its proximity to the Alps, means there are many different outdoor activities. From hiking, biking, swimming or sailing in the summer to skiing in the winter months, there is something for everyone. The city of Munich provides extensive information about recreational offerings on its homepage.
There is a good overview of various sports activities on the sports web pages for the City of Munich. A comprehensive database of sports offerings and clubs, with addresses, is available on the Sports Department website.
Zentraler Hochschulsport München (ZHS), the university’s central sports facility, offers a cost-effective alternative to the usual gyms and sports clubs. Doctoral candidates who are enrolled or employed at TUM can learn and practice a wide range of sports here for a small fee per semester. Information about the courses offered and registration can be found on the Zentraler Hochschulsport website. The International Center provides information on how to register with the ZHS.
Art, Culture and Events
With more than 45 museums, three opera houses, around 60 small and large theaters and nearly 90 cinemas, Munich has exciting cultural programming every day. In addition to the world-famous Oktoberfest, Munich also offers a range of festivals and other large events. The Starkbierfest, spring festival, film festival, opera festival, summer festival, Auer Dult, the summer and winter Tollwood events, street festivals and much more seamlessly follow one after the other.
In the summer there are many popular open-air events, like classical music at Odeonsplatz and the Munich Midsummer Night’s Dream with its amazing fireworks. There are many open-air movie events for cinema lovers, with enchanting natural backdrops like Westpark or the Olympic Lake. A good overview of current events, performances, exhibitions and much more can be found in the event listings for the City of Munich.