Beer Hall Munich: Six Places to Drink Beer

A Munich beer hall is a big tavern with long tables, and the Hofbräuhaus is the one most visitors mean. You can also drink in a beer garden, in a festival tent or on a guided tour. This list starts with the Hofbräuhaus and goes on from there. If you prefer a guide to choose the stops, see our page on brewery tours Munich.

1. Hofbräuhaus Schwemme: best for your first beer hall

The Schwemme is the big ground-floor hall of the Hofbräuhaus, and you can walk in and sit anywhere. The Hofbräuhaus website says no reservation is needed on the first floor. A reservation is only needed for groups of four or more.

The address is Platzl 9 in the old town. The house is open every day from 11 am to midnight. The kitchen closes at 10 pm, and the last drinks are served at 11:30 pm, according to the opening hours page.

The history is short to tell. Duke Wilhelm V founded the brewery on 27 September 1589 to supply the Bavarian court. King Ludwig I opened it to the public in 1828. The current tavern dates from the rebuilding of 1896 and 1897, and the new Schwemme opened on 9 February 1897, according to the Hofbräuhaus history page.

The October 2026 standard menu lists a half-litre of Hofbräu Original, Dunkel or the seasonal beer at €5.80. A Münchner Weisse is €6.10. The same menu lists a litre of those three beers at €11.60.

For food, the menu lists a pretzel at €2.10, Obazda (a spiced cheese spread) at €12.50 and two white sausages at €8.20 while stocks last. A sausage platter with sauerkraut is €17.90. The official pages do not explain how ordering works, so ask the staff when you sit down.

Key Takeaway At the Hofbräuhaus Schwemme you need no reservation unless you are four or more, and a half-litre of Hofbräu Original costs €5.80 on the October 2026 menu.

2. Hofbräuhaus Wirtsgarten: best for a sunny afternoon

The Hofbräuhaus also has a garden, and its website lists it with free seating. The website's own photo caption calls it a "Hofbräuhaus beer garden". The official pages give no separate hours for the garden or the other rooms.

Check before you go. The Hofbräuhaus lists its phone number as +49 89 290 136 100 and its email as willkommen@hofbraeuhaus.de.

Both the Schwemme and the garden are worth a visit, and the Viktualienmarkt garden below is the best other choice. The official pages do not rank them, so this is our pick by how each one works.

The rooms with names like Festsaal and Wappensaal are marketed for events, so a normal visit means the Schwemme or the garden.

3. Viktualienmarkt beer garden: best for a snack and a beer

The Viktualienmarkt beer garden sits inside Munich's food market, and you can bring your own food. The city of Munich's Viktualienmarkt page says you may bring your own Brotzeit, which is a cold snack, but you must buy your drinks there. Market stalls and restaurants sell food too.

The beer comes from Munich's six big breweries, and the brewery changes about every five to six weeks. A sign at the serving counter shows which one is on now.

Hours are not fixed. They depend on the weather and on the businesses that run it, so check on the spot, especially in late autumn.

The nearest stop is Marienplatz. All the main-line S-Bahn lines stop there, and so do the U3 and U6. Follow the signs for the Viktualienmarkt exit. Our Munich public transport guide explains the tickets.

Pro Tip Bring bread, cheese or a pretzel from a market stall to the Viktualienmarkt beer garden, and buy only the beer there.

4. Oktoberfest tents: best for the full festival

The Oktoberfest tents are the biggest beer halls in Munich, but they are only open in the festival weeks. The 2026 festival ended on 4 October. The next one runs from 18 September to 3 October 2027, according to the official Oktoberfest site. Our guide on when is Munich Oktoberfest has the opening day, hours and how to get there.

Entry to the grounds and to the tents is free. A litre of beer cost between €14.80 and €15.90 in 2026, depending on the tent, according to the Oktoberfest beer price page. The hosts set the price, not the city. Only beer from six Munich breweries is served, and the Hofbräu tent charged €15.80 for a litre in 2026. For comparison, the Hofbräuhaus menu lists a litre at €11.60. The city page for the Viktualienmarkt gives no beer prices.

If you visit outside September, the tents are closed. Pick one of the other places on this list.

5. A guided beer hall tour: best if you want a guide

A guided tour fits you if you want the history and the stops chosen for you. The three-hour beer hall and brewery tour from Munich Walk Tours is sold from €49 per person. It has a rating of 4.5 from 1,026 reviews on GetYourGuide. It includes the guide, brewery entrance fees, transport and two half-litre beers. Food and tips are not included.

You meet at Marienplatz in front of the Tourist Information in the Gothic Town Hall. The guide holds a yellow sign, and you should arrive 15 minutes early. The group is up to 25 people, children under 16 cannot join, and you get free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

The Beer & Beyond tour from The Local Experience is cheaper, from €35 per person. It is rated 4.7 from 244 reviews. It visits up to three beer halls and gardens and includes 1.5 litres of beer. You meet at the Euro Youth Hotel, Senefelderstraße 5, near the main station. It lasts 3 hours, is not for children under 18, and takes up to 25 people. Food and extra beers are not included, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead.

You can do the Hofbräuhaus alone with no tour, since seats are free. Our advice: go alone if you just want a beer and a seat, and book a tour if you want a guide, a plan and several stops. A tour only adds a guide and a plan, and the beer is cheaper than a night of single rounds only if you drink what is included. For more choices, see all brewery tours Munich has to offer.

The ratings and review counts come from the GetYourGuide listings on 28 October 2026, and we did not check the reviews ourselves. No hotel pickup is listed for any of these tours.

The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Munich on 28 October 2026 found 29 listings that name beer or a brewery in their title, at a median of €76.50 per person.

6. A bike tour with a beer garden stop: best if you want to ride

A bike tour gives you a beer garden stop without a long evening of sitting. The four-hour bike tour with a beer garden break from Fat Tire Tours is sold from €40 per person. It is rated 4.9 from 636 reviews. A city bike and helmet are included, but the beer and snacks are not. You meet at Karlsplatz 4. The group is up to 50 people, and it is not suitable for pregnant women or people with a low level of fitness.

The 3.5-hour city bike tour from Mike's Bike Tours is sold from €39 per person. It is rated 4.7 from 654 reviews. It meets at Marienplatz 15, with groups of up to 22. Lunch at the beer garden is not included, and people who cannot ride a bike should pick another option.

How to choose your beer hall in Munich

Pick by what you want to do. The table sums up the six places.

Published prices for a half-litre of beer in Munich ranged from €4.80 to €5 in October 2026, in the 2026 Munich Travel Cost Study.

Good beer tastes best in good company, and a table is easy to share.

The honest limit: the Hofbräuhaus is busy and loud, and a half-litre costs more there than the study's pub prices. If you want a quiet drink, the Viktualienmarkt garden on a weekday is a better choice. If you only have one evening and want to see several places, a tour does that, but you pay for the guide.