Gay Munich Munich City Guide

Curation by Yasmina Rodríguez, words by Ian Packham

Picture Bavaria and you’ll likely imagine a city resembling Munich, replete with Lederhosen, oompah bands, and the giant Bierhallen of the annual Oktoberfest celebrations—the world’s largest folk festival—aplenty. But stereotypes aside, there’s a huge number of things to do in Munich too, from a stunning medieval Old Town to 61 theatres and 36 museums. It was also here, in the ‘City of Beer and Art’, that Germany’s first publicly supportive political statements on homosexuality were made back in 1867. Though it took a further 100 years for sexual activity between men to be legalised, this still made Germany a leading light in the battle for equality, which today sees Munich laying claim to some of the oldest gay bars in the world. Set around the Glockenbachviertel neighbourhood, the LGBTQ scene is one of the largest and most diverse of any German city; events come to a head not at Oktoberfest, but the Christopher Street Day pride festivities each July. For your definitive Munich gay guide, you’ve come to the right place.

The best hotels in Munich

Let’s begin with Munich’s finest addresses. Right on Marienplatz — the historic heart of the Altstadt — BEYOND by Geisel is an adults-only boutique residence unlike anything else in the city. With just 19 impeccably designed rooms perched above the celebrated square, it feels less like a hotel than an exclusive private penthouse: a two-floor communal living room, a fully-equipped kitchen available around the clock, and interiors bathed in light from panoramic windows. Intimate, personalised, and perfectly placed.

Should the scale tip towards grandeur, Rosewood Munich sets an entirely different standard. Occupying the former headquarters of the Bavarian State Bank and the adjacent Palais Neuhaus-Preysing — a magnificent early 18th-century aristocratic residence — the property marries baroque restoration with sleek contemporary elegance, and functions as a living gallery for the work of German illustrator Olaf Hajek. The two-floor Asaya Spa encompasses an indoor pool, twin saunas, and six treatment rooms, while Bar Montez — humming nightly with live jazz and inventive cocktails — is currently the most talked-about address in Munich.

Quieter in character but no less accomplished, the Rocco Forte Charles Hotel overlooks the Old Botanical Garden, and its 160 rooms rank among the most spacious in the city. The Charles Spa houses Munich’s longest hotel pool, complemented by Irene Forte botanical treatments and a genuinely unhurried atmosphere. Finally, the Koenigshof — part of The Luxury Collection, opened in 2024 and designed by acclaimed Spanish architects Nieto Sobejano — has made an immediate statement at Stachus. The ninth-floor restaurant and adjacent skybar offer some of the most spectacular rooftop vistas in Munich, while the presidential suite — reputedly the largest in the city — comes with its own pool and sauna.