Champion’s League Finale – Where to Watch in Munich

I’ll be enjoying the opera (with the lovely Anna Netrebko) on Saturday night, but everyone else will be watching the football. As such, here’s my mini-list of places to watch the Champion’s League finale, if you weren’t one of the lucky 65 000 people to have snapped up tickets. Pretty much every Munich bar will be showing the finale on Saturday, and you won’t have to look far to find somewhere. But if you want somewhere with a good atmosphere, it might be worth planning your viewing.

The weather is set to be clear and dry on Saturday evening (just a 10-20% chance of rain) so a beer garden is a safe bet:

Chinesischer Turm – The huge beer garden seats up to 3 500 people – if the weather really is good and you want to enjoy the long, light evenings with a few litres of beer, the Chinesischer Turm is a picturesque place to enjoy a football final. If you can’t find an ideal beer bench there, it might be worth walking down to the Seehaus in the Englischer Garten – ten minutes walk away and with a beautiful view over the lake. Saying that, they ‘only’ have 2 500 seats, so you’re not guaranteed a good spot there either.

Muffathalle beer garden – I like this beer garden. Next to the Muffathalle concert venue, the beer garden has a real family-friendly atmosphere. It’s idyllic, relatively small – seats 300 – and you can enjoy a pleasant stroll along the river to get there.

P1 – Munich’s most chic club will be joining in the fun – make sure you’re dressed to impress if you’re headed there though – yes, even just for the football. The party kicks off post-match – be prepared to have cash to splash. Think oversized bottles of champagne as opposed to a couple of Maß.

Hirschgarten – The (above) Englischer Garten beer gardens are total tourist traps. If you fancy something more authentic, try Munich’s biggest beer garden – the Hirschgarten, which seats 8 000. A lovely place for a pre-match picnic too, and you can go deer-spotting.

Kennedy’s – The Irish pub (in my opinion far nicer than Kilian’s near the Frauenkirche) seats 400. Perhaps a better option for Chelsea fans. And the burgers are yummy.

Munich Airport – So you booked flights to Munich and have tried in earnest to get tickets for the game? It didn’t work out and you just want to watch the live streaming before heading back to the UK? The airport will be showing the game for 3 000 fans at the Airport Center. Get some good German beer down you and the lack of tickets will soon be forgotten.

Substanz – The small alternative bar near Poccistr. will be showing the match on Saturday – if April showers sneak in and steal some of May, it’s a good indoor option. Food options include Currywurst, pizza and chips. Perfect football food.

Theresienwiese – 25 000 people can fit on the Oktoberfest grounds to watch the match live on Saturday. Tickets cost 5 € and you can set up camp from 6pm onwards.

Olympiapark – Today marks the start of the UEFA Champions Festival – the fest will run until Saturday and is essentially a celebration of football. If you want to get in the football zone before the match, head to the festival (tickets cost 5 €). There will be concerts from the likes of Sunrise Avenue and Aloe Blacc and several sports celebs will be on hand to chat to visitors. Unfortunately the public viewing in the Olympic stadium is completely sold-out, but the Theresienwiese still has space a plenty.