Bavaria’s autumn school break runs from Monday 2 November to Friday 6 November. If you are staying put, that is five days to fill, and it does not have to be expensive. The City of Munich lists a range of activities on muenchen.de that are free or cheap for children. We sorted them and checked them against the organisers’ own details.
The one fixed date: testing games at the Motorama
From 2 to 6 November, daily from 12:00 to 14:00, children and teenagers aged 8 to 16 can try out and rate new games, apps and software at the city library in the Motorama (Rosenheimer Straße 30–32, 81669 Munich). It is part of the TOMMI, a children’s software award whose winners are chosen by a children’s jury. Entry is free. Young people aged 12 and over need proof of age, according to the listing. The event page also mentions “further dates” without naming them, so if you plan other days, ask the library directly.
Museums, library, farm: what needs no ticket
According to muenchen.de, entry is free for everyone at the Palaeontological and Geological museums (fossils and dinosaur skeletons), the Museum of Casts of Classical Sculpture near Königsplatz and the NS Documentation Centre. Under-18s get in free at, among others, the Museum Mensch und Natur, the State Museum of Egyptian Art, the Lenbachhaus and the Residenz Museum. Special exhibitions, tours and workshops may follow different rules.
- Munich city libraries: reading and playing on site is free without a card, and the library card is free for under-18s.
- Children’s and youth farms in Neuaubing and Ramersdorf: for ages 6 to 17, no registration during opening hours, with animals, a garden and a workshop. Hours are on bne.muenchen.de.
- “Riesige Rosi” climbing wall under Rosenheimer Straße in Ramersdorf: open around the clock, sheltered from the weather, free.
- The city’s open holiday sports sessions: some drop-in, some need registration; the programme is at stadt.muenchen.de/infos/spielaktionen.html.
The city’s overview page does not give opening hours for museums and libraries, so check the venues’ own websites before setting off. The children’s and youth culture workshop at Pasinger Fabrik, by contrast, explicitly does not hold its regular open sessions during school holidays.
Hellabrunn Zoo has been open daily from 9:00 to 17:00 since 25 October. A day ticket for children aged 4 to 14 costs €9, or €10 with the voluntary conservation euro. The Munich Ferienpass (€10 or €14 depending on age, digital only) includes one free zoo entry plus five entries to the city’s indoor pools. If you were going to the zoo and the pool anyway, the pass should pay for itself fast. Families on a tight budget can get it free; our Ferienpass article explains how. Our assessment: Monday and Friday are likely to be the busiest days at the zoo and pools, so if you are flexible, aim for Tuesday to Thursday, ideally in the morning.
Theatre, cinema and Halloween events for the same week are in this separate round-up.
Sources: muenchen.de autumn holidays, muenchen.de free tips for children, muenchen.de Hellabrunn Zoo, in münchen: TOMMI Games Award, TOMMI
