Saturday is Halloween, Sunday is All Saints’ Day – and Munich runs very differently on the two days. Here are our family picks for the city and surroundings, with times, prices and how to get in.
Saturday, 31 October: Halloween
Free and without registration: ASP Maulwurfshausen (Albert-Schweitzer-Straße 24) runs a Halloween programme for children aged 6 to 13, starting at 2 pm according to the organiser. Spookier is the Halloween Gruselhaus at Bürgerhaus Unterschleißheim (Rathausplatz 1), open 4 pm to 10 pm, recommended from age 8, with children up to 12 accompanied by an adult. Adults are asked for a donation of at least €5; tickets are issued on site, or you can pick up a free Fast-Lane pass online to skip the queue.
With registration: “Halloween in der Zauberschule” at SPIELkultur (Adams-Lehmann-Straße 56) offers potions and magic candles for children from 5 with an adult, in two slots (1–3.30 pm and 4.30–7 pm). The family Halloween at Hausler Hof in Hallbergmoos (3–7 pm) is listed as free, but registration is required. Theatre is an alternative: “Pettersson feiert Weihnachten” at the Münchner Theater für Kinder (10 am) or Disney’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” at the Deutsches Theater (2.30 pm); tickets via muenchenticket.de.
Sunday, 1 November: a quiet holiday
All Saints’ Day is a public holiday in Bavaria. Municipal cemeteries are open 8 am to 7 pm, and public dance events are banned from 2 am to midnight. The Deutsches Museum, including the Verkehrszentrum and Flugwerft Schleißheim, is closed – so visit the Flugwerft on Saturday, when “Inside the Suit” runs from 9 am to 5 pm.
Sunday is good for the family budget at the state museums, many of which charge just €1, including the Museum Mensch und Natur, the Pinakotheken, the Glyptothek and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. The Museum Mensch und Natur shows its family exhibition “Jetzt geht’s rund – Kreisläufe statt Abfälle” from 10 am to 6 pm. Special exhibitions can cost more. In the afternoon, children’s theatres perform: the Marionettentheater (“Die Zeitmaschine des Korbinian Fox”, 3 pm), the Münchner Theater für Kinder (“Oh, wie schön ist Panama”, 3 pm) and the Galli Theater (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, 4 pm). At Gasteig HP8, the film “Das grüne Wunder – Unser Wald” starts at 3 pm.
For swimming: Michaelibad and Südbad are open 7.30 am to 11 pm, the Müller’sches Volksbad 10 am to 6 pm.
Our advice: many Halloween listings give no prices or exact times, so check the organiser’s site before setting off. On the holiday itself, expect closures and confirm admission in advance.
Earlier coverage: Halloween in München: Drei Ideen für Kinder am 30. und 31. Oktober (in German).
Sources: muenchen.de – Wochenende, muenchen.de – Allerheiligen, Halloween Gruselhaus, ASP Maulwurfshausen
