Gay Munich

Until the 1990s Munich (München) had been Germany's no. 1 tourist destination for many first-time visitors to Germany – not only because of Berlin's status as a divided city until 1989 and because Munich with its Oktoberfest seemed to perfectly fit to the common cliché of Germans drinking lots of beer and wearing funny traditional costumes. For open-minded travellers Munich has much more to offer. As one of the richest cities in Germany it has excellent facilities for sports and cultural activities. Along the Isar river and in the foothills of the Alps you've got plenty of options for recreation and outdoor activities. And as regards the beer gardens, from spring to autumn they are a common (and most of the time a moderate) part of the Munich lifestyle. Munich is Germany's third largest city with a population of 1.3 million (2.7 million in the Munich metropolitan area) and as such it got a diverse gay life. Nevertheless, the gay scene in Munich can't be compared with the two gay hotspots in Germany, Berlin and Cologne. One reason is that Munich is the capital of Bavaria, Germany's most conservative federal state (although Munich is more liberal than the rest of Bavaria). Another reason might be the influence of the ›Schickeria‹ (in-crowd) on the night-life in Munich, which also affected the gay scene. Clubs are often dominated by pretty clothes, while in contrast many bars go for the traditional Jeans & Leather style. Most of Munich's gay cafes, bars and shops are located in the city center in the area Glockenbachviertel close to the subway station Sendlinger Tor. Annual gay highlights in Munich are the leather and fetish meeting at the Starkbierfest in March, several street fairs from June till August, the Gay Pride weekend (CSD) in July, the gay & lesbian film festival Verzaubert, and the gay Sunday at the world-famous Oktoberfest in September.