Tollwood Summer Festival

Tollwood is Munich's big-tent summer festival in the most literal sense: for a month, the meadows of Olympiapark Süd fill with marquees, market stalls and open-air stages for a sprawling programme of music, theatre, circus and food. Running since 1988, it grew out of the city's alternative and environmental scene and still wears those values openly, pairing headline concerts with a strong ecological and human-rights message. Entry to the festival grounds is free, which gives it the relaxed, come-as-you-are feel of a city fair rather than a ticketed mega-festival, and makes it one of the easiest large events in Germany simply to wander into.

What to expect

The festival is organised around a ticketed Musik-Arena for its bigger concerts, alongside a large slate of free performances, international theatre and circus, a global-food and craft market, and family activities. Hundreds of individual events run across the month, many of them free; only the arena concerts require a ticket. Each edition adopts a guiding theme that threads through its programming and talks.

The grounds open into the evening daily, with later starts at weekends. There is no on-site parking, so arrive by U-Bahn or bike; buy arena-concert tickets ahead through the festival's official channels.

The Tollwood Summer Festival sets up in Munich's Olympiapark South. Fly into Munich Airport (MUC), then take the S1 or S8 S-Bahn into the city (around 40 minutes). Change onto the U3 U-Bahn and ride to Olympiazentrum, the station right beside the festival grounds. The whole trip runs on a single MVV ticket. Trams and buses also serve Olympiapark, and cycling is easy and popular in Munich if you'd rather avoid the summer-evening crowds heading to the site.

• Before you go, read the UK government's FCDO travel advice for Germany (entry requirements, safety and local laws).
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