Sunday Morning on the Rindermarkt
The third candle goes on the wreath this morning, and Munich knows it. By ten the air over the Viktualienmarkt carries bratwurst smoke, roasted almonds and damp fir; stallholders in the old market halls are already pouring Glühwein for people who have come straight from church. The city's Advent season is in full swing by now — the first week's novelty has worn off, the fourth is still ahead, and this middle Sunday has the unhurried feel of a tradition being kept rather than performed.
Work the Christmas Market Circuit
Munich's Weihnachtsmärkte run through Advent and are the spine of the day. Start where the city does.
- Marienplatz — the Christkindlmarkt in front of the Neues Rathaus, with the Glockenspiel above and the giant Christmas tree. Busiest in the evening; go before noon for room to move.
- Viktualienmarkt — the Advent market set among the permanent food stalls, which means you can buy a candle and a wedge of mountain cheese in the same ten minutes.
- Münchner Freiheit — the Schwabing market, smaller and more local in feel than the square at Marienplatz.
- Sendlinger Tor and the Pink Christmas market — the latter on the Blumenstraße side, known for its pink-lit bar and its DJ; a younger crowd, later hours.
- Chinesischer Turm in the Englischer Garten — the tower itself is lit, and the surrounding stalls keep the park's beer-garden spirit alive through December.
- Weißenburger Platz in Haidhausen — a neighbourhood market in the east of the city, good if you want the ritual without the crush.
All of them sell the same seasonal grammar: Glühwein in a collectible mug, Bratwurst in a Semmel, Reiberdatschi, roasted chestnuts, candied fruit, gingerbread hearts on ribbons. The mug deposit is returned or kept — most people keep it.
Krampuslaufe and the Dark Half of Advent
Early December in Munich and the surrounding Bavarian towns belongs to the Krampus, the horned companion of St Nicholas who runs through the streets in carved wooden masks and shaggy suits. These Krampusläufe — Krampus runs — cluster around the first week of December, which places them just before this Sunday; check local listings for the exact evening in any given year. Munich itself hosts runs, and the towns within easy reach by S-Bahn put on their own. It is loud, deliberately frightening, and entirely a spectator sport: stand back, keep children close, and watch.
Music in the Churches and the Concert Halls
Advent is Munich's choral season. The city's churches hold Advent concerts and organ recitals through December, and the brass ensembles that play from the balconies of the Rathaus and the churches on the weekends are a fixture of the month. Munich's professional choirs and orchestras — the Philharmoniker am Gasteig among them — programme Advent and Christmas concerts in this period, as do the major churches. Tickets for the well-known ones go early; the free church concerts do not.
Eat and Drink Like It's December
The seasonal menu is short and reliable. Look for:
- Glühwein — red, mulled with clove and cinnamon, at every market. The white version, Weißer Glühwein, is also common.
- Bratwurst — grilled over charcoal, in a roll, with mustard. The market standard.
- Reiberdatschi — potato fritters, often served with apple sauce or smoked salmon.
- Lebkuchen and gebrannte Mandeln — gingerbread and burnt sugar almonds, sold by the bag.
- Stollen — the dense fruit bread, in the bakeries and at the markets, sold by the slice or the loaf.
For a sit-down meal away from the stalls, the Viktualienmarkt's surrounding streets and the traditional Bavarian restaurants in the Altstadt serve the same winter cooking — roast goose, dumplings, red cabbage — through the season. Book ahead on weekends.
Make a Day of It: Haidhausen and the East
If the Altstadt crowds wear you down, cross the Isar to Haidhausen. The Weißenburger Platz market is the anchor, the streets around it are full of cafés and small shops, and the walk back along the river gives you the city lit up across the water. It is the version of Advent Sunday that Munich residents actually keep.
Third Advent is the pivot of the month — close enough to Christmas that everything is open and lit, early enough that you are not yet rushing. Book a hotel near the Altstadt or in Schwabing, check the concert listings before you go, and leave an evening free for the market after dark, when the Glühwein is hot and the tree at Marienplatz is doing the work it was put there to do.