Fasching, Tollwood, Bachfest & More: Munich’s Hidden Festivals Driving Year-Round Tourism Beyond Oktoberfest- Here’s What Traveler’s Really Need To Know

Published on July 23, 2025

At the heart of Southern Germany is a city that requires absolutely no introduction – Munich, the Bavarian capital famed around the world for its historic architecture, bleeding-edge design and of course the world famous Oktoberfest. But as six million people pour into this city each September for beer tents and bratwurst, there’s another side to Munich that merits equal attention. Underneath the rumble of Oktoberfest lies a beat of smaller, deeply-rooted, introspectively artistic and far more localised festivals that mean a more personal and oftentimes more significant reflection of the city will follow.

From the flamboyant dress of Fasching to the soulful harmonies of Bachfest, it is a tapestry of events year-round that are driving tourism in new and sustainable ways. More than bringing in different flavors of visitor, however, they also help the city spread the numbers of visitors it can attract and host across a fuller year — extending its economic and cultural appeal far beyond a single flagship event.

Fasching: Munich’s Colorful Carnival Season

Munich throws off the hush of winter every February with Fasching, a rousing citywide carnival season leading up to Lent. Other places may call it Carnival or Mardi Gras, but in Munich, Fasching combines ancient pagan celebration, Catholic ritual and contemporary tribute. People flock to the pedestrian areas and Viktualienmarkt to watch gay parades draped in color, merry brass bands, fancy dress and masked dances (like that by the local kiosks and food vendors – especially the famous “market women” whose dance is a cultural asset).

There are Fasching celebrations on the streets and in the ballrooms. The opera houses and hotels and cultural centers across the city host themed costume balls, and each provides a peek into the city’s sense for celebration. This time of year, domestic and European visitors clamor for a culturally thorough experience than that of simply attending Oktoberfest, sometimes flying in for short getaways to participate in the parades or dances. For Munich, Fasching is a moneymaker that fills hotel rooms, pubs and restaurants in an otherwise dull and dreary winter month.

Tollwood: A All Season Market Of Ideas

Very few festivals integrate activism, art and international sweep as well as Munich’s Tollwood Festival. Happening biannually (in summer at Olympiapark and in winter squash on the Oktoberfest grounds at Theresienwiese), Tollwood is a hook-up of environmental awareness, international dialogue and the arts. Hundreds of open-air performances and art installations, food stalls selling organic and fair-trade goods, and artisan workshops selling crafts from around the world will liven up the event.

In the summer, younger, eco-minded tourists and families flock to Tollwood’s open-air concerts and green-living workshops. For the winter version, the festival has a cosy Christmas market feel but with a focus on ethical gifting market and delicious warm food offerings that bring in the crowds. Tollwood is an important magnet for tourism, bringing more than a million visitors a year into the city and keeping the city active during the slow Christmastime. Likewise, its free-entry approach and value for sustainability also suggest a forward and inclusive travel destination.

Bachfest: Celebrating Musical Heritage

And in November, Bachfest, an annual classical music festival with a rotating cast of host cities, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in Munich. For the greatest musician to have no personal history whatsoever directly associated with Munich, Johann Sebastian Bach received what can be considered his post-World War II musical rebirth largely through the auspices of conductor and Bach interpreter Karl Richter, making Munich a hub of Bach music in post-War Germany. It is this connection that today is celebrated through concerts that are organized in churches, concert halls, and auditoriums throughout the city.

“Each day, Bachfest Munich will gently slip into you with choirs, orchestras, soloists and school groups, and will perform both ticketed and some free-entry concerts.” The festival is expected to attract both amateur music lovers and professionals from around the world who want to pay — often more than the average tourist is willing — to spend a day here. In turn, Bachfest contributes to drawing a high-spend cultural demographic and the classical music industry, boutique hotels and niche dining to Munich during an otherwise moribund month when it comes to tourism.

Munich Creative Business Week: Where Design and Innovation Set The Stage

Every May, the city becomes a hotbed of creative discourse for Munich Creative Business Week, the nation’s largest design and innovation festival. Involving well-known universities, startups, design studios, international experts, and many more, MCBW puts on a show through exhibitions, talks, product presentations, and networking sessions across several districts.

What makes MCBW different from traditional design festivals is that the event has world-class travel appeal for design professionals and business travelers to head to Munich who then end up staying on for the city’s incredible museums, architecture and outdoor spaces. This intermingling of business and leisure travel also raises tourist-page earnings across industries. Moreover, MCBW would enhance Munich’s international standing as the hub of creative, innovative and high quality design and significantly contribute to its tourism strategy in the long term.

Filmfest München: Flowers in the House of Cinema

Held in June and July, the Munich International Film Festival is second only to Berlin’s Berlinale in prestige and attendance for German film and television. The most distinguishable feature of Filmfest München is that it is open to the public. Films are screened in Buda as well on some of the larger cinemas of the city. Many of the films are screened with English subtitles and it is one of the most accessible film festivals for tourists in Europe.

Tourists and locals pile into screenings, red-carpet events and after-parties. The timing is just as convenient, falling in the middle of Munich’s high summer when the public spaces like the Englischer Garten are at their most alive. Movie Fest boosts hotel reservations, restaurant business, and contributes to the city of Munich’s international appeal. For many of the festival-goers, the festival itself is a cultural anchoring point of a larger summer vacation in Bavaria.

Cultural Activities Boost Year-Round Tourist Traffic

In the last full calendar year, Munich hosted more than 8 million overnight guests, with domestic and European tourists accounting for a significant portion. Although Oktoberfest is still a key driver of arrivals, city planners and the state tourism board have placed more priority on spreading tourism throughout the year.

Festivals such as Fasching, Tollwood, Bachfest, Filmfest, MCBW act as a lever to attract guests in off-season months. Each event caters to a different demographic — families, eco-conscious youth, classical music aficionados, creatives and cinephiles — widening Munich’s tourism appeal and easing the risks of relying too heavily on a single festival.

Local Communities and Cultural Preservation

But more than economics, these festivals maintain Munich’s identity and traditions. From the choreographed dance of Fasching’s market women, to Tollwood’s eco-activism thrust, each event is steeped in community pride and awareness while welcoming all its generations. They are also providing a venue for emerging artists, musicians, filmmakers and designers to make a name for themselves and get their foot in the door.”

By creating festivals that are attractive to locals and tourists alike, Munich ensures that tourism complements — rather than replaces — the fabric of its culture. This inclusive cultural tourism model has since become to the go-to example in urban development when it comes to inclusion of neighboring communities, and is being mentioned in policy talks all over Germany.

Conclusion: A City Alive All Year Round

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind about the cultural and financial impact of Oktoberfest, but the truest magic of Munich is how it transmutes celebration year-round. Be it the swirl of a Fasching costume in February, the soulful organ sounds of Bachfest in November or a summer walk through the Market of Ideas at Tollwood, there is more on offer here than many visitors suspect.

The rich calendar of festivals makes Munich pulse to a beat all year long. It is a story, not just of joy and tradition, but of innovation, resurrection and a profound regard for both the arts and the earth. If you really want to get to know Germany, Munich calls you—beyond the beer tents, and into the heart of a culture.