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Munich Beer Gardens

Munichbeergardens.com is an all-in-one reference guide to the many great beer gardens in the Munich area. Whether you are a visitor in town exploring some of the famous beer gardens in the undisputed world capital of beer, or a seasoned beer garden goer looking for a change of venue, this guide has something good to offer for everyone's taste and preference. The printable Google maps on each beer garden page are useful for navigation while beer garden hopping by bike or foot.

Munich beer garden index

These are all traditional beer gardens in and around the greater Munich area. However, in case there any traditional beer missing, please feel free to add them to this list by clicking the edit link above.

History of Munich's beer gardens

Beer gardens originate from a 19th century Munich when they became popular venues during the rule of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. At this time, a dark lager was the most common type of beer. On order of the king, beer had to be brewed during the winter months, because fermentation of this particular type of beer had to occur between four and eight degrees Celsius. So that the large Munich breweries could also sell their beer during the summer, they built cellars along the banks of the Isar river for storing the beer. To further reduce the cellar temperature, they covered the banks in gravel and planted chestnut trees to provide shade during the hot summer months. Soon thereafter, beer cellars were used not only to store beer but also to serve food and beer to the public. Simple benches were placed amongst the trees of these so-called beer gardens which quickly became popular amongst the Munich population. However, this new trend soon had a detrimental effect on many small breweries and restaurants which led them to collectively petition King Ludwig to forbid beer cellars to serve food. A royal decree was consequently passed, preventing all beer cellars in and around Munich from serving food. Instead, the guests of the beer gardens were permitted to bring their own food. While the law is no longer in effect, and as all beer gardens now serve food as well as beer, the Bayerische Biergartenverordnung states that "real" beer gardens should allow guests to bring their own food.

The general understanding nowadays is that as long as you order a beer, you are welcome to bring and consume your own food in the beer garden. Only those beer gardens that still adhere to this Bavarian tradition can be considered real Munich beer gardens.

There is no waitress service in areas where own food can be brought. Instead, there is a self-service canteen where both food and drinks are sold and where the beer is often tapped from wooden barrels in Maß glasses. Most beer gardens have two areas, a served area with regular tables and chairs and another with beer benches for those who buy beer and/or food in the self-serviced canteen. The only rule that guests need to respect is not to bring their own beer.