Visitors to Munich have a lot to choose from with the latest museums and exhibitions, and the wide array of concerts, sporting events and festivals held in the city. We invite you to immerse yourself in the spirit of Munich: down-to-earth but with a laid-back, urban style.

NEW TO MUNICH

Germany's first ever Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA) is now open. The museum will bring street art to the fore of artistic discourse among experts, artists and the public (www.muca.eu).

 Beginning March 2017, guests attending “Der Traum” (“The Dream”) at the newly built Apassionata Showpalast can expect to enjoy a new blend of horseback riding, dance, acrobatics, music and light. Apassionata World Munich is due to open June 2017. Visitors to the center will get a chance to catch a glimpse of Europe's show-riding elite during training. (www.apassionata.com) 

Shedding new light on the Alte Pinakothek: Builders are currently working on renovations to the Alte Pinakothek art museum, updating lighting systems and replacing windows. Parts of the painting collection will be closed until the end of 2017. Further information is available at www.pinakothek.de/en. 

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

A first-time exhibit, Postwar: Art between the Pacific and the Atlantic, will look at the post-war period as a global phenomenon shaped by increasing global integration. Work by 180 artists from more than 50 countries will be shown. The exhibition's patron is Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Foreign Minister for the Federal Republic of Germany. Through March 26, 2017, www.hausderkunst.de/en)

Until August 26, 2018, the Sammlung Brandhorst (Brandhorst Collection) will show the retrospective Cy Twombly: In the studio, a selection of paintings, sculptures, sketches and photographs, stretching from the early 1950s through Twombly's last series, which he completed shortly before his death in 2011. (www.museum-brandhorst.de/en.html)

In March 2017, Munich Creative Business Week will bring creative talents from around the globe together with the world of business for an interdisciplinary event in the design hot spot of Munich. The theme for this year's design week is “Design Connects - The Smart Revolution.” Now in its sixth year, MCBW offers a mixture of conferences, workshops, exhibitions, events, tours and award ceremonies for experts and design fans alike. (March 5-8, 2017, www.mcbw.de/en)

From April 13 - August 27, 2017, the contemporary art museum Kunsthalle will present Peter Lindbergh, “Photography”. Lindbergh is seen as one of the most influential photographers of the last 40 years. The multimedia exhibition will showcase approximately 200 pieces, including some never-before-seen material (www.kunsthalle-muc.de/en).

Providing an environmentally friendly, economic, and safe supply of energy is one of the biggest challenges of our generation. From February 15 through August 2017, the Deutsches Museum (German Museum) will explore this issue in the special exhibition “energie.wenden” (transforming.energy). The exhibition will explain how energy is generated, distributed and stored, looking at why energy is needed and how it is used in both a historic and global context. Its focus is on the array of different ways we can have a conscious impact on the energy revolution. (www.deutsches-museum.de)

Working with the Gabriele Münter und Johannes Eichner Stifting, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus is dedicating an extensive exhibition to the artist Gabriele Münter, the first in 25 years. It will present the painter's life work in a new light, showcasing a number of works never seen before in public. Gabriele Münter (1877 – 1962) painted nearly every day of her life (November 1, 2017 – April 8, 2018, www.lenbachhaus.de

MUSIC AND THEATER

The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz theatre is set to reopen in mid-2017 following extensive renovation.

The Deutsches Theater, which celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2016, specializes in musicals and is set to bring the world of gospel to Munich with Sister Act (May 19-July 9, 2017).

Browse other shows at www.residenztheater.de, www.muenchner-kammerspiele.de, www.gaertnerplatztheater.de, www.deutsches-theater.de

Christopher Wheeldon's version of Alice in Wonderland will open Ballet Festival Week 2017. Audiences can expect an explosion of color, theatrical magic and imaginative choreography. The ballet from Moscow Stanislawsky Theatre will perform Mayerling (choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan) during the festival. The festival's program also features an evening of contemporary ballet, revivals of Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardée, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Symphony in C / in the Night / Adam is and La Bayadère. (April 3-11 2017, www.staatsoper.de/staatsballett.html)

Cultural enjoyment and a picnic await visitors to the Festival Concert on Marstallplatz and a live broadcast of one of the opera festival's shows on Max-Joseph-Platz as part of the initiative “Opera for All”. Open-air entertainment and the free open-door policy attract locals and visitors to Munich alike to enjoy the music. In 2017, music fans can look forward to performances of works by Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Peter I. Tschaikowsky (Jun3 24, 2017). An open-air event showing Richard Wagner's “Tannhäuser” (with sound) is set to take place on July 9, 2017 (www.staatsoper.de).

Munich Opera Festival (June 24 – July 31, 2017) is the traditional highlight of the year for Munich's opera scene (www.staatsoper.de). At “the most beautiful open air concert hall in Munich”, music, curtains and a mild summer evening create an unforgettable, magical experience at the classical music event Klassik am Odeonsplatz. Saturday will see performances by Manfred Honeck, Lang Lang and the Bayerische Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra while Valery Gergiev, Yuja Wang and the Munich Philharmonic will perform on Sunday (July 15-16, 2017, www.klassik-am-odeonsplatz.de) 

Rocking out Bavarian style, dancing to trumpets, tubas and bass, before heading home sweaty and smiling: LaBrassBanda are sure to excite any audience with their energy and presence. In 2007, the musicians from Chiemgau were a classic insider trip. These days they fill huge venues and play festivals around the world. To celebrate their 10-year anniversary, the band will release a new album “Around the World”. (March 4, 2017, Olympiahalle, www.labrassbanda.com)

The highlight of the rock calendar returns for a third time: Visitors to Rockavaria come together with 90,000 other rock fans to enjoy acts like Kiss, Metallica, Iron Maiden or Iggy Pop (May 26-28, 2017, www.rockavaria.de).

SPORTS

Rolling round again between May and September 2017: Every Monday, depending on weather, the street belongs to inline skaters. At AOK Blade Night you can see Munich from another perspective on three specially selected routes. If you don't have your own skates, visit the rental point at the starting line in Westend (www.aok-bladenight.de/engl.html).

For three days, stars from the world of extreme sport show the world what they can do at Munich Mash in Olympiapark. Wakeboarders, skateboarders and mountain bikers show off with spectacular stunts – just as you would expect from true Munich Action Sports Heroes (M-A-S-H). In 2016, 85,000 visitors travelled to the Olympiapark to cheer on the world's best athletes and celebrate together at MASH FEST. The attractive mix of action sport and lifestyle will once again cast its spell over visitors from June 23-25, 2017 (www.munichmash.com).

Are you fit enough? Why not tackle the Munich City Run in June or MunichMarathon in October. Dates TBD. Both events bring together sporting competition and sightseeing at its most beautiful. (Munich City Run: www.muenchen.de, see “Münchner Stadtlauf”, MunichMarathon: www.muenchenmarathon.de).

In 2017, two exhibitions will also put the spotlight on the world of sport. The special exhibition “Fußballprofi – Traum und Wirklichkeit” (Professional Footballers – Dream and Reality) will run at FC Bayern Erlebniswelt until April 30, 2017 and provides a comprehensive overview of the dream career of many children and young people. It also touches on the issues of training, talent, health and other factors that could affect a young athlete's happiness and fortune on their journey in the sport. One example looks at the story of Thomas Müller and Timo Heinze, one of Müller's team mates from his days on the youth team (www.fcbayern.com/erlebniswelt/en) 

The Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) presents “Haltung zeigen! Jüdische Identitäten in der deutschen Sportarena.” This exhibition, known as “Never Walk Alone” in English, highlights German sporting history from a Jewish perspective and shows how developments in society are always reflected in the sporting arena. (February 22, 2017 – January 7, 2018, www.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de)

FESTIVALS

Streetlife Festival and Corso Leopold: Celebrating on the streets in the heart of Munich and taking back the space which normally hums with the sound of traffic. Making creative use of public spaces also involves music, performance, food, and lots of sporting and creative activities that all age groups can get involved in (May 20-21 and September 9-10, 2017, www.streetlife-festival.de).

Tollwood and the Munich events calendar go together like a pretzel and the famous Munich Weisswurst. The festival aims to reflect the city's multicultural society, from the range of food offered to the program of events. Tollwood offers culture for everyone, with over 70% of the events taking place free. Since 1988, the Tollwood festival has come up with a different theme for each event, while also hoping to combine the wide range of cultural events with an awareness of the environment. The summer festival in Olympiapark will run from June 21 – July 16, 2017 while the winter festival in Theresienwiese is set to start at the end of November 2017 (www.tollwood.de/en).

During Kunstareal Fest event, 16 museums, six universities, twelve cultural institutes and more than 40 galleries in the area offer free entry to the public. Curators and artists grant visitors an exciting glimpse behind the scenes of the art business, revealing their intentions, techniques and approach to work. The agenda for the fine arts event also includes concerts, film screenings and an open-air event, enabling visitors to enjoy all aspects of culture (June 23-25, 2017, www.kunstareal.de).

The International Film Fest is popular with fans and experts alike. With more than 200 films on 18 screens in front of 70,000 visitors, the event is primarily a public festival, although it also acts as a meeting point for the film industry. Because films are shown in their original language, the Film Fest is also worth a visit for international visitors (June 22 – July 1, 2017, www.filmfest-muenchen.de).

Would you like to discover the next Oscar winners or a future winner of the Palm D'Or? Film schools all over the world submit their students' latest productions to the International Filmschoolfest Munich. Filmschoolfest is one of the world's most important festivals for up-and-coming film talent. The selected short films compete for prizes, with the winners selected by an independent jury. Several famous filmmakers like Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Nick Park, Caroline Link, Jan Sverak or Florian

Gallenberger showed some of their early work at the festival when they were students. (November 12-18, 2017, www.filmschoolfest-munich.de)

LONG NIGHT EVENTS

Architecture, music, and museums: When the “Long Nights” come calling it feels like the whole of Munich is out and about, taking the opportunity to get to know every aspect of their city. At various locations around the city or simply out on the road, you can end up in conversation with anyone and everyone – talking about art, culture or the best thing about Munich.

Long Night of Architecture, January 20, 2017, www.lange-nacht-der-architektur.de

Long Night of Music, May 6, 2017, www.muenchen.de (enter key word)

Long Night of Museums, October 21, 2017, www.muenchen.de (enter key word)

WITH HEART AND SOUL

Braukunst – the Art of Brewing Live! brings brands and brewers together with fans and friends. The event focuses on smaller breweries, like craft beer specialists. Free tastings included! The master class events give guests the chance to learn more about the art of brewing from the experts (February 10-12, 2017, MVG Museum, www.braukunst-live.com).

A street food revolution: at the 1st Munich Streetfood & IceCream Festival at Theresienwiese, international cuisine meets regional delicacies with delicious, creative results. Guests can taste a range of treats from the array of snack stands, food trucks and ice-cream sellers while enjoying a program of artistic performances. (May 19-21, 2017, www.walhallastreetfoodfestivals.de)

Printable images can be downloaded at www.muenchen.de/fotoservice