Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower)

The story behind Munich's Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower) beer garden

Where it's at

Wanna get worldly? Here you can drink German beer next to a Chinese tower in a so-called English garden.

THE TOWER: The Chinesischer Turm is Munich's best-known Biergarten.

This is Munich's loudest and proudest beer garden and rightly deserves to be on any traveller's itinerary.

It's smack dab in the middle of the city's famous park.


The proximity to LMU university makes it a popular spot for the student crowd but really, this is one beer garden that sucks in all and sundry.
Benches are spread around an impressive five-story faux Chinese pavilion that's said to be a copy of one in London's Royal Gardens.

I think it looks like an immense wedding cake, but then again when I'm there I am usually half tanked. A bunch of aging lads in Lederhosen take over the first floor on weekends and belt out oompah tunes.

Beer and food

Hofbräu is now served. The owners switched over from Löwenbräu a few years ago, God bless their souls.
There are plenty of typical German snacks on offer from the self-service huts (not the best wurst I’ve had, but not bad!), and you can go in for a proper sit-down meal at the restaurant next door.

VENERATED: The popular restaurant near the Chinese Tower.

The garden

The Chinesischer Turm is Munich's second biggest after the Hirschgarten with about 7000 places, the lion's share on traditional wooden banks.

A playground and very old-skool carousel are there for the little ones.

Lots of shade and a few shady characters - great place for people watching!

Backstory

The tower was built in 1790 as part of some craze for all things Oriental. It burned down when Munich was taking a World War Two pounding in 1944 and rebuilt in 1951-52.

In July it hosts the Kockerball, a fancy dress ball that started with the maids and servants of the mega-wealthy. In 2009 it's on July 19 - an early morning affair, starts at 6am.

In December there's a Christmas market and the tower is a lit up like a Christmas tree. A beautiful spot in the depths of winter.