Quality of Munich nightlife

Soooo... all you Toytowners out there, what do you have to say about Munich's nightlife?

Since I have not experienced it yet, I am very curious in reading what you all have to say about it. What is your experiences, do's and don'ts and obviously your favourite pubs, nightclubs, party places or favourite part of town?

I personally don't like the Munich night-life at all. Clubs are nothing special, the bars are pretty Schickimicki and everything's closed at about one o'clock (apart from the clubs of course-but I've already mentioned that they might not be everybody's thing).
The offer of diversity is pretty limited, so unless you are into the stupid clubbing and expensive nightlife and you don't like staying out till very late then you are in the wrong city IMHO. You cannot compare Munich to other cities (e.g. Hamburg) where it's pretty kicking. It's a bit like a very posh village here with not a lot happening. But the folks that like that sort of thing are very happy with the situation in a boring Toytown.

I must be very boring, because the night life here suits me down to the ground. I like beer, conversation, curry, Italian food, sunshine, Bavarian food, wine and travelling. I get lots of all of those here.

This week I have been mostly visiting beer gardens within and without the city boundary. It's been marvellous.
Recommendations for summer? Chinese Tower. Hirshau. Andechs. Gindelalmschneid. Wankhaus. Echingersee.
Recommendations for winter? Unionsbrau. Augustiner Kellar. The Arc. A hundred and one small bars that I'm not sharing the names of. Deeba. Tegernsee Hofbrau haus... the list goes on.

Mr T. You are talking about Munich, Germany right? I have no clue what you have been doing but I guess those that have advised you are pissing themselves laughing right now. There are more than enough places you can go to that are open way past 1am and do not cost the earth, nor are they full of "schickimicki" types. And boring? Well go to some of these "cheap and nasty" places and you will find a very lively and fun side of "boring" Toytown.

Benpanther mentioned a lot of great places and the list just goes on and on...

You, sir, have been to the wrong places that do not reflect the lifestyle of Munich in any way, shape or form

Well, I guess everyone is entitled to his own opinion based on his own personal experience. But I am glad you are happy!

Hang on, it's not personal opinion, it's a fact. There are dozens of bars that I could name off the top of my head which are open way past 1am. Yes, to a large extent Munich is a schicki-micki town but there are also heaps of bars which are not, which provide a good time at good prices.

Read the bar, restaurant and club reviews on this site. Also see MunichNights.com. For nightlife info in German and lots of photos from clubs see Nachtagenten and Clubstars. For a very comprehensive bar, restaurant et al site in German see Kneipen-Suche.

All the outlying areas of Munich have their own bars & restaurants which are good or bad depending on your personal taste. The central areas of Schwabing, Maxvorstadt, Isarvorstadt, Lehel & Haidhausen have a rich and diverse selection of nightlife. Everything from Lenbachs where a nice suit and a fat wallet are de rigeur to Schwabinger 7 where a Metallica t-shirt might be considered over-dressing.

If you are looking for specific information then please post specific questions. If it's just a general feel of the place you're looking for then read some of the links I've given above.

ok to be more specific...

excluding all the "relaxed" places like beergardens and so
on, how would you describe the clubbing aspect of Munich City.
Anything Spectacular.. I know someone who has a few ideas for
a nightclub, but need some feedback on the current happenings,
and likes\disslikes of nightclubs in Munich...

Thats my reasons for asking...but except for that its very
interesting reading about what different opinions and experiences
there are about nightclubbing in Munich...


Keep it up..

Munich has everything. The schicki-micki dance clubs predominate, but there're a few alternative places around too which you just have to look a little harder for.

True the whole world over. Noisy, overpriced, and certainly ALL run by one bloke. You can tell, the twat never spell checks his promos, and I have never seen him spell "fat" correctly once, in ANY country.

If you want the best of Munich nightlife you need to get off the beaten track!
NO WAY does the nightlife stop at 1AM and there's a LOT more going on than the schicki-micky discos

I was a club night on Saturday, well known DJane from London playing indie and electro.
€2.50 door charge and Beck's for €3.

Left the club at 6AM and then went to the pubs!

Mr T, why not post up what you like and you might get some tips.

Seems like you´re in the hot spot, Mr. T.

I pity the foo who say
Munich's club scene ain't a-ok

Seriously go to a bar or takeaway in a "going out" area and there are HUNDREDS, well dozens of flyers for you to take away with all the different club nights on. Club nights are the way to rather than going to the same locations imvho.

i guess i'm posting at my own risk at this point, but i sort of see what Mr.T means. In itself munich has fun things to do at night but it depends on where u are coming from and what you compare it to. I mean i see the whole "posh village" feel to it a lot, i have to admit..it is after all a big town in the middle of farming land, and therefore you can not expect to have the sort of entertainment one may find in new york or berlin or san francisco.

for the most part it is quite "schikimiki", staple vuitton/gucci-glittery-tops-expensive drinks kind of town. and the few "bohemian" places while fun, are nothing special if you are coming from a very cosmopolitan city. i really like what someone said in the review of the "hip-crowd" bar "favorit", how it's a bunch of people out looking grundgy/artsy but in reality these people are just kinda afraid to move to berlin and lose their high-paying design jobs. something like that. but it seems true. munich is just "safe"

i mean the entertainement culture is just very black and white, easy to navigate on one hand, predictable on the other- posh/slinky places, a few token "artsy" joints, irish pubs, etc. i think it is evident in other things too, like the way people dress and the lack of cool thriftstores for instance, there isn't much experimentation, craziness, individuality, like u may find in ny and sf (but now i am just repeating myself). i personally have also noticed my own life-style is much changed since coming here, a lot more day-time activities, i think that's what munich is suitable for the best..for me that is. like day trips, amazing nature, beer gardens. i mean if i really cared for insane and great nightlife that much i would not stay here.

I shouldn't really admit to this, but I've been twice already to the newly re-opened Geheimiche Gesellschaft on Saturdays at the new complex at the Victualienmarkt.

I went went last year too when it was up on the way to Giesing.

In all instances because a German female mate of mine has loads of free tickets and we can just stroll right in.

I have to admit that the calibre of gorgeous women is off the scale. True, its a relatively pretentious crowd. Schickey Mickey through and through. But for a gander at the immaculate gene pool this part of Germany boasts, I would recommend it.

(Try to ignore the pseudo-would-be ravers on the stage, pretending to be on pills. It really is quite sad.)

there's clubbing and there's clubbing. what's your cup of tea? you'll not find the volume of 'banging' house, techno, d&b clubs like london (heck it's an 1/8 the size of london) but you can find whatever you want. oh, and i know several non-schicki variety of establishments which have served me until the sun is well up in the sky again and i haven't had to be deafened by crap music. it's all there, you just need to do a bit of digging (oh and random stumbling around the right areas, probably couldn't find some of them ever again!).

LMAO, I went to a great night in a venue that I think was about 3 streets from me but I never found it again!

Maybe you are right repeating that comment about Favorit Persik.
I only ever go there when mates of mine are DJ-ing there.

<Clang!>

What a weird thing to criticize someone for -- afraid to move to a city where they might not find a job while leaving a high-paying one here. I'd call that rational, not cowardly.

I think most grungy/artsy-looking people are posers anyway, here or Berlin or anywhere else. Unless they're homeless, in which case they may be authentically grungy...

A lot of the Favorit etc aren't that "grungy" but simply in jeans and t-shirts etc.

i would like to find a place with a great band that plays cool music to dance to (maybe i am a bit old fashioned - but no techno/dance/trance/rave) that has a great dance floor and a good deejay when the band takes a break. i have been told to search til the cows come home. wish i could open a place like that but would people go??? hmmmm...

@ OnPar, maybe some of the nights at the Registratur. Or Candy Club, it's lesbian and gay AND FRIENDS and they have some pretty good bands on and the music is good.

@Monkstown, when u say good music, what sort is there? sometimes, I just want to go out and dance but to music of the 80s and 90s. In singapore, they have these awesome Filipino bands that blow your mind and do everything from the 80s to present day. Can I expect something like that? And what age group? sorry for all the questions but i have searching for a long time and my husband is a bit useless when it comes to providing this information.

ABOUT THE FAVORIT THING, I DiD NOT SAY THAT. someone else did, i am just a bit agreeing with it. jeez. and what i mean by grundgy and that whole scene, is not actual seattle early 90s scene, or anyone looking homeless, but for the lack of a better word the more artsy, funky, "bohemian" (although that word makes me want to throw up) places to counteract the posh-and-often-cheesy joints one sees in munich!! i think what that other person meant to say about favorit is that it is a "poser" sort place and even though it seems to be more "cool" the whole bohemian thing is just bullshit cause everyone is more worried about their job security in the daytime. (but then again i guess that is very true of a lot of places, where there are very few artistic mavericks, and nighttime "scensters" have happy day jobs)
and once more, what i mean to say in the first places is that munich is a small town and entertainemnt, accordingly, can also be stagnant at times. to me it is much more a daytime town.

one must learn not to go to places where people are there to be seen for the sake of being seen just because they have a 200 euro pair of jeans on or a new haircut.if you go looking for a fantastic night out you usually end up pulling your wire, go out and go in some places that are not hip and flash and just relax.

good underground non posey dance music clubs:

Garden
Prinzip
Registrateur
Zerwirk
Harry Klein
Rote Sonne

good commercial music drinking and pulling club:

Milchbar

good live music venue:

Atomic Cafe

Another good website to check is www.in-muenchen.de. They offer a fairly comprehensive listing of all the goings on in Munich to suit every taste. If you honestly think that your only option is "schicki-micki " establishments and that everything shuts down at 1am then you haven't been looking very hard.