Best Time to Visit Munich

Photo by Anastasiya Dalenka on Unsplash

April and October are the best months to visit Munich. April gives you 16.2°C (61.2°F) days with only 24.5mm (1.0in) of rain spread across 5 days — the driest, clearest month of the entire year — and October holds 12.7°C (54.9°F) with 58.9mm (2.3in) over 11 days, cool enough for a jacket but dry enough to sit outside. Avoid July: 164.0mm (6.5in) falls on 20 separate days, which means two out of every three days in the month get wet.

The best months: April, May, and October

April is the standout. Highs of 16.2°C (61.2°F), lows of 5.8°C (42.4°F), and just 5 rainy days delivering 24.5mm (1.0in) total. Compare that to March, which sits right before it with 67.7mm (2.7in) over 13 days — April has less than half of March's rain across less than half as many days. That 24.5mm over 5 days works out to roughly 5mm per wet day: brief showers, not weather that ruins an afternoon. The catch is the morning. A 5.8°C (42.4°F) low means you will genuinely feel cold walking to breakfast, and the Englischer Garten beer gardens won't have the crowd energy they get in summer. But for walking the Altstadt, doing Nymphenburg and Dachau on separate days, and eating outside at lunch, April is the month with the fewest wasted hours.

May widens the temperature range without adding much rain. Highs reach 18.0°C (64.4°F) and lows lift to 8.6°C (47.5°F), so mornings stop being punishing. Rain rises to 58.2mm (2.3in) over 12 days — more than double April's total — but it is spread thin at under 5mm per wet day. May is the month where beer garden season actually becomes viable: 18°C with a light jacket is exactly the temperature for sitting under chestnut trees for three hours.

October is the underrated one. 12.7°C (54.9°F) highs, 5.9°C (42.6°F) lows, and 58.9mm (2.3in) over 11 days — nearly identical rainfall to May, at six degrees cooler. This is the second-driest stretch of the warm half of the year. October is cold enough that you are dressing in layers and ducking into cafés, but it is not winter, and the surrounding countryside — the drive toward the Alps, Neuschwanstein, the lakes — is at its best visually.

The months to avoid: July first, then September

July is the wettest month by a wide margin. 164.0mm (6.5in) across 20 rainy days. That is not just "more rain" — it is a different kind of rain. 164mm divided by 20 days is 8.2mm per wet day, nearly double the per-day intensity of April or May. In practice this means heavy afternoon thunderstorms rolling off the Alps, not gentle drizzle. Mornings are frequently fine. The pattern is: sunny until 2pm, dark clouds by 4pm, a hard 40-minute downpour, then clear again. If you visit in July, plan indoor anchors — the Residenz, the Deutsches Museum, the Pinakotheken — for late afternoon and do your walking early.

The temperature is not the problem in July: 23.4°C (74.1°F) highs are pleasant. In fact, June is hotter than July at 26.1°C (79.0°F) — the warmest month on the year, with 78.2mm (3.1in) over 12 days. June is the better summer month by a clear margin: seven degrees more heat, half the rainfall, eight fewer wet days.

September is the second problem month. 91.5mm (3.6in) over 16 rainy days, with highs down to 19.1°C (66.4°F). More than half the month is wet. This matters more than the raw numbers suggest because September is Oktoberfest — the festival runs from the third week of September into the first days of October — so you are paying peak accommodation rates for the third-wettest month of the year. The Wiesn tents are covered, so the rain does not stop the festival, but everything you do outside it is compromised.

August sits in between: 24.0°C (75.2°F) highs, 95.8mm (3.8in) over 15 days. Warm and wet, with the same thunderstorm pattern as July but less of it.

Shoulder season: February, late October, and November

If you want lower prices and are willing to trade weather for them, the numbers point somewhere unexpected.

February is the driest month of the year outside April. 32.2mm (1.3in) over just 8 days — less rain than May, June, July, August, September, October, and November. Highs are 5.7°C (42.3°F) with lows at −1.3°C (29.7°F), so it is genuinely cold, but it is cold and dry, which is far more workable than cold and wet. Winter tourism has collapsed by February — Christmas markets are gone, ski traffic passes through rather than staying — and it is the cheapest month to be in the city. If your trip is museums, churches, beer halls, and food, February costs you very little in lost experience.

November is the classic cheap month: 7.6°C (45.7°F) highs, 1.1°C (34.0°F) lows, 69.2mm (2.7in) over 10 days. The rain concentrates — 69.2mm across only 10 days is about 7mm per wet day, close to July's intensity — so November delivers a few genuinely miserable days and a lot of grey-but-dry ones. Book it if the price gap is large.

December is worth a separate note: 29.8mm (1.2in) over 7 days makes it the second-driest month of the year, and −0.9°C (30.4°F) lows mean much of that falls as snow rather than rain. Christmas market prices are not shoulder-season prices, but the weather is better than its reputation.

What each season means practically

Spring (March–May). March is the trap: 10.8°C (51.4°F) sounds like spring, but 13 rainy days and 67.7mm (2.7in) make it the wettest of the three. Pack a waterproof shell, not an umbrella — Munich gets wind with its rain. By April you can drop to a jacket over a long sleeve, and by May you will be carrying the jacket rather than wearing it after noon. Beer gardens open when the weather allows; May is when they reliably do.

Summer (June–August). Shorts and t-shirt weather, with a packable rain jacket that lives in your bag every day. Evenings stay warm — June lows of 15.1°C (59.2°F) and July lows of 14.5°C (58.1°F) mean you can sit outside past 10pm — but you will be dodging storms. This is the season for the Isar river swimming spots, the Olympiapark, and day trips to Starnberger See, all of which are genuinely better in warmth. It is also the season where "we'll decide in the morning" is the right way to plan.

Autumn (September–November). September still supports outdoor eating at 19.1°C (66.4°F), but with 16 wet days you need indoor fallbacks. October is layering season: 12.7°C (54.9°F) day, 5.9°C (42.6°F) morning, so a sweater plus a jacket you can take off. By November at 7.6°C (45.7°F) you are in a proper coat, and the day is short enough that anything outdoors needs to happen before mid-afternoon.

Winter (December–February). Below-freezing nights all three months, with highs between 4.3°C (39.7°F) and 5.7°C (42.3°F). Insulated coat, hat, gloves, waterproof shoes with grip — Munich pavements ice over. January is the exception to the dry-winter rule at 70.7mm (2.8in) over 12 days, the wettest winter month by a long way. December and February are cold but dry; January is cold and wet.

Month-by-month

• January — 5.4°C / 41.7°F high, −1.5°C / 29.3°F low. 70.7mm (2.8in) over 12 days. Coldest and the wettest of the three winter months. Skip unless you are skiing nearby.
• February — 5.7°C / 42.3°F high, −1.3°C / 29.7°F low. 32.2mm (1.3in) over 8 days. Cold but the second-driest month of the year, and the cheapest.
• March — 10.8°C / 51.4°F high, 1.7°C / 35.1°F low. 67.7mm (2.7in) over 13 days. Mild-looking on paper, wet in practice. Wait for April.
• April — 16.2°C / 61.2°F high, 5.8°C / 42.4°F low. 24.5mm (1.0in) over 5 days. The driest month of the year and the best all-round choice.
• May — 18.0°C / 64.4°F high, 8.6°C / 47.5°F low. 58.2mm (2.3in) over 12 days. Warm enough for beer gardens, rain light enough to ignore.
• June — 26.1°C / 79.0°F high, 15.1°C / 59.2°F low. 78.2mm (3.1in) over 12 days. The warmest month, and the best of the three summer months.
• July — 23.4°C / 74.1°F high, 14.5°C / 58.1°F low. 164.0mm (6.5in) over 20 days. The month to avoid. Heavy afternoon storms.
• August — 24.0°C / 75.2°F high, 13.9°C / 57.0°F low. 95.8mm (3.8in) over 15 days. Warm and wet, but half of July's rainfall.
• September — 19.1°C / 66.4°F high, 10.9°C / 51.6°F low. 91.5mm (3.6in) over 16 days. Oktoberfest month; peak prices, more than half the days wet.
• October — 12.7°C / 54.9°F high, 5.9°C / 42.6°F low. 58.9mm (2.3in) over 11 days. Cool, dry, and the best month for day trips out of the city.
• November — 7.6°C / 45.7°F high, 1.1°C / 34.0°F low. 69.2mm (2.7in) over 10 days. Cheap, grey, occasionally very wet.
• December — 4.3°C / 39.7°F high, −0.9°C / 30.4°F low. 29.8mm (1.2in) over 7 days. Christmas markets, and drier than any month between March and November.

FAQ

What is the single best month to visit Munich?

April. It has the least rain of any month — 24.5mm (1.0in) across 5 days — with highs of 16.2°C (61.2°F). No other month combines that little rainfall with usable outdoor temperatures. The trade-off is 5.8°C (42.4°F) mornings and beer gardens that have not fully woken up yet. If you want warmth over dryness, June at 26.1°C (79.0°F) is the alternative.

Is it worth visiting Munich during Oktoberfest?

Only if the festival itself is the reason for the trip. September brings 91.5mm (3.6in) of rain over 16 days, so more than half your days will get wet, and you are paying the year's highest accommodation rates for it. The tents are covered so the festival runs regardless, but everything else on your itinerary — Nymphenburg gardens, the Englischer Garten, day trips — is a coin flip. If you want Munich rather than Oktoberfest, come in April or October instead.

How cold does Munich actually get in winter?

Lows sit just below freezing all three winter months: −1.5°C (29.3°F) in January, −1.3°C (29.7°F) in February, −0.9°C (30.4°F) in December. Daytime highs recover to between 4.3°C (39.7°F) and 5.7°C (42.3°F), so it is cold rather than extreme — comparable to a northern US or UK winter. You need an insulated coat, gloves, and shoes with grip, but you do not need Arctic gear.

Do I need to pack rain gear for Munich?

Every month except April and December has at least 8 rainy days, so yes, in almost every case. The kind of rain gear depends on when you go. For June through August, pack a packable waterproof shell for short, heavy afternoon storms — July averages 8.2mm on each of its 20 wet days, which is downpour territory that an umbrella won't handle. For March, October, and November, a proper waterproof jacket with a hood is more useful, because that rain comes with wind and lasts longer. April and December need the least: 5 and 7 wet days respectively.

Climate figures are measured Munich data for 2025. Weather in any single year varies; use these as the pattern, not a forecast.