Old Town and Viktualienmarkt: city walk or food tour?

If you want to eat your way around the market in English, book the Viktualienmarkt Food Tour: €43 per person, 4.5 stars from 1,315 reviews, 2.5 hours, offered in English and German. If you want the sights and a German-speaking guide, the €20 Old Town walk is the more-reviewed choice, and it ends at the market.

First, what the market is

The Viktualienmarkt moved to its present site in 1807, when King Max I Joseph had it taken out of Marienplatz because there was no room left for the farm trade. The city counts more than 100 vendors on it. The beer garden in the middle serves the beer of Munich’s six big breweries in turn, changing roughly every five to six weeks, and the rule is the old Bavarian one: you buy the drink there, and you may bring your own food.

Opening hours matter more than people expect. The city’s page lists Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Sunday closed. Only minimum selling hours are mandatory: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter) and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Individual vendors set their own hours inside that, so a stall can close earlier than the market does. Check which days a food tour runs before you plan one for a Sunday.

The tours compared

Tour	Price	Duration	Language	What it is
Old Town and Viktualienmarkt city walk	€20	1.5 hours	German only	Sights, ends at the market
Walking tour of Old Town and Viktualienmarkt	€240 per group of up to 30	1.5 hours	German, English	Private, or a shared German group
Viktualienmarkt Food Tour	€43	2.5 hours	English, German	Tastings at the market
Old Town Food Tour with 10+ tastings	€102.18	3 to 3.5 hours	English	Market and a beer hall, 10+ tastings
Street food tour with Peter	€29	1.5 to 2 hours	English, German	Small group, up to 10

The walks

The €20 walk. It covers central Munich: Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, the cathedral and the Theatine Church, the Fünf Höfe shopping arcade, the Hofbräuhaus and Odeonsplatz, and it finishes at the Viktualienmarkt. It is the most-reviewed of these tours, with 4.7 stars from 2,675 reviews, but the listing is clear that it runs only in German. Its meeting point depends on the option you choose, so check it on the booking page.

The €240 walk. The price is for a group of up to 30, not per person. You can book it as a private tour in English or German, or join a shared German group. The route takes in Marienplatz, St. Peter’s Church, the market, the Hofbräuhaus, Maximilianstraße and Odeonsplatz, and you meet at the Mariensäule in the middle of Marienplatz. It has 4.8 stars from 911 reviews. Split between six people it comes to €40 each; for two people it is the expensive way in. The listing shows both a wheelchair-accessible tag and a note that it is not suitable for people with mobility impairments, so ask the operator before you book if that applies to you.

The food tours

The €43 food tour. You meet at Marienplatz in front of the tourist information office, where the guide holds a yellow sign reading “Food and market tour”. The listing names Weißwurst, pretzels, cheeses, regional bread, exotic fruit and some beer, with stories about the food from the guide and the traders. It asks you to arrive hungry. Hotel pickup applies to the private option only.

The €102.18 tour. This is the long one, with more than ten tastings: a Schmalznudel, the fried Munich doughnut, then in the morning version a Weißwurst breakfast with pretzel and wheat beer, in the afternoon version Rostbratwurst with sauerkraut, followed by Leberkäse, the market, a beer hall and a dessert. It has 4.7 stars, but from 190 reviews. The listing says it is not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments, and that the meeting point changes on 1 November, so read the booking page for the date you choose.

The €29 street food tour. A small group of at most ten people with one guide who sends you off with a personal list of places to eat afterwards. There are two options, with or without snacks; the first does not include tastings, and the second is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians. Children under 6 and people with mobility impairments are listed as not suitable. It has 5.0 stars, but from only 12 reviews.

Which one to book

• English, and you want to eat: the €43 food tour. Among the English-language food tours here it has by far the most reviews.
• German, and you want the sights: the €20 walk.
• You want a full lunch out of it: the €102.18 tour, and skip lunch.
• Small group and no set tastings: the €29 tour.

You do not need a tour for the market itself. Walk in on a weekday, buy bread, cheese and a sausage at the stalls and take them to the beer garden. What a tour adds is somebody to explain what you are looking at, and a set of tastings you would not have chosen.

See also the city walking tours and the beer and food tours for the whole range.

Our pick for most travellers: the Viktualienmarkt Food Tour.