Nightlife in Munich
Nightlife in Munich is located mostly in the city centre (Altstadt-Lehel) and the boroughs Maxvorstadt, Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt, Au-Haidhausen and Schwabing. Between Sendlinger Tor and Maximiliansplatz lies the so-called Feierbanane (party banana), a roughly banana-shaped unofficial party zone spanning 1.3 km (0.8 mi) along Sonnenstraße, characterised by a high concentration of clubs, bars and restaurants. The Feierbanane has become the mainstream focus of Munich's nightlife and tends to become crowded, especially at weekends. It has also been the subject of some debate among city officials because of alcohol-related security issues and the party zone's general impact on local residents as well as day-time businesses.
Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt's two main quarters, Gärtnerplatzviertel and Glockenbachviertel, are both considered decidedly less mainstream than most other nightlife hotspots in the city and are renowned for their many hip and laid back bars and clubs as well as for being Munich's main centres of gay culture. On warm spring or summer nights, hundreds of young people gather at Gärtnerplatz to relax, talk with friends and drink beer.
Maxvorstadt has many smaller bars that are especially popular with university students, whereas Schwabing, once Munich's first and foremost party district with legendary clubs such as Big Apple, PN hit-house, Domicile, Hot Club, Piper Club, Tiffany, Germany's first large-scale disco Blow Up and the underwater nightclub Yellow Submarine, as well as many bars such as Schwabinger 7 or Schwabinger Podium, has lost much of its nightlife activity in the last decades, mainly due to gentrification and the resulting high rents. It has become the city's most coveted and expensive residential district, attracting affluent citizens with little interest in partying.
Since the mid-1990s, the Kunstpark Ost and its successor Kultfabrik, a former industrial complex that was converted to a large party area near München Ostbahnhof in Berg am Laim, hosted more than 30 clubs and was especially popular among younger people from the metropolitan area surrounding Munich and tourists. The Kultfabrik was closed at the end of the year 2015 to convert the area into a residential and office area. Apart from the Kultfarbik and the smaller Optimolwerke, there is a wide variety of establishments in the urban parts of nearby Haidhausen. Before the Kunstpark Ost, there had already been an accumulation of internationally known nightclubs in the remains of the abandoned former Munich-Riem Airport.
Munich nightlife tends to change dramatically and quickly. Establishments open and close every year, and due to gentrification and the overheated housing market many survive only a few years, while others last longer. Beyond the already mentioned venues of the 1960s and 1970s, nightclubs with international recognition in recent history included Tanzlokal Größenwahn, Atomic Cafe and the techno clubs Babalu Club, Ultraschall, KW – Das Heizkraftwerk, Natraj Temple, MMA Club (Mixed Munich Arts), Die Registratur and Bob Beaman. From 1995 to 2001, Munich was also home to the Union Move, one of the largest technoparades in Germany.
Munich has two directly connected gay quarters, which basically can be seen as one: Gärtnerplatzviertel and Glockenbachviertel, both part of the Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt district. From 1979 to 1985 Freddie Mercury lived near the Gärtnerplatz and is known for his role in Munich's gay nightlife of the 1980s, including his 39th birthday party at the club Old Mrs. Henderson. Transsexual icon Romy Haag had a club in the city centre for many years.
Munich has the highest density of music venues of any German city, followed by Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin. Within the city's limits are more than 100 nightclubs and thousands of bars and restaurants.
Some notable nightclubs are: popular techno clubs are Blitz Club, Harry Klein, Rote Sonne, Bahnwärter Thiel, Pimpernel, Charlie, Palais and Pathos. Popular mixed music clubs are Call me Drella, Wannda Circus, Tonhalle, Backstage, Muffathalle, Ampere, Pacha, P1, Zenith, Minna Thiel and the party ship Alte Utting. Some notable bars (pubs are located all over the city) are Schumann's Bar, Havana Club, Sehnsucht, Bar Centrale, Holy Home, Negroni, Die Goldene Bar and Bei Otto.
Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt's two main quarters, Gärtnerplatzviertel and Glockenbachviertel, are both considered decidedly less mainstream than most other nightlife hotspots in the city and are renowned for their many hip and laid back bars and clubs as well as for being Munich's main centres of gay culture. On warm spring or summer nights, hundreds of young people gather at Gärtnerplatz to relax, talk with friends and drink beer.
Maxvorstadt has many smaller bars that are especially popular with university students, whereas Schwabing, once Munich's first and foremost party district with legendary clubs such as Big Apple, PN hit-house, Domicile, Hot Club, Piper Club, Tiffany, Germany's first large-scale disco Blow Up and the underwater nightclub Yellow Submarine, as well as many bars such as Schwabinger 7 or Schwabinger Podium, has lost much of its nightlife activity in the last decades, mainly due to gentrification and the resulting high rents. It has become the city's most coveted and expensive residential district, attracting affluent citizens with little interest in partying.
Since the mid-1990s, the Kunstpark Ost and its successor Kultfabrik, a former industrial complex that was converted to a large party area near München Ostbahnhof in Berg am Laim, hosted more than 30 clubs and was especially popular among younger people from the metropolitan area surrounding Munich and tourists. The Kultfabrik was closed at the end of the year 2015 to convert the area into a residential and office area. Apart from the Kultfarbik and the smaller Optimolwerke, there is a wide variety of establishments in the urban parts of nearby Haidhausen. Before the Kunstpark Ost, there had already been an accumulation of internationally known nightclubs in the remains of the abandoned former Munich-Riem Airport.
Munich nightlife tends to change dramatically and quickly. Establishments open and close every year, and due to gentrification and the overheated housing market many survive only a few years, while others last longer. Beyond the already mentioned venues of the 1960s and 1970s, nightclubs with international recognition in recent history included Tanzlokal Größenwahn, Atomic Cafe and the techno clubs Babalu Club, Ultraschall, KW – Das Heizkraftwerk, Natraj Temple, MMA Club (Mixed Munich Arts), Die Registratur and Bob Beaman. From 1995 to 2001, Munich was also home to the Union Move, one of the largest technoparades in Germany.
Munich has two directly connected gay quarters, which basically can be seen as one: Gärtnerplatzviertel and Glockenbachviertel, both part of the Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt district. From 1979 to 1985 Freddie Mercury lived near the Gärtnerplatz and is known for his role in Munich's gay nightlife of the 1980s, including his 39th birthday party at the club Old Mrs. Henderson. Transsexual icon Romy Haag had a club in the city centre for many years.
Munich has the highest density of music venues of any German city, followed by Hamburg, Cologne and Berlin. Within the city's limits are more than 100 nightclubs and thousands of bars and restaurants.
Some notable nightclubs are: popular techno clubs are Blitz Club, Harry Klein, Rote Sonne, Bahnwärter Thiel, Pimpernel, Charlie, Palais and Pathos. Popular mixed music clubs are Call me Drella, Wannda Circus, Tonhalle, Backstage, Muffathalle, Ampere, Pacha, P1, Zenith, Minna Thiel and the party ship Alte Utting. Some notable bars (pubs are located all over the city) are Schumann's Bar, Havana Club, Sehnsucht, Bar Centrale, Holy Home, Negroni, Die Goldene Bar and Bei Otto.
