Moon Phase Munich

Moon Phase Munich: Last Quarter

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, the moon in Munich is a Last Quarter with 45% illumination. Moon age: 22.6 days.

Illumination
45%
Moon Age
22.6d
Next Full Moon
Oct 26
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
—
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
4:12 PM

moon-phase-today-in-Munich, Germany

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Munich, Germany

Munich lies on a flat gravel plain in the Alpine Foreland, with the Alps visible to the south on clear days from the city's artificial hills and park viewpoints, all of them free. The Moon rises in the east, crosses the southern sky and sets in the west, so which way a viewpoint faces matters. From Olympiaberg and Luitpoldhügel the city and the Alps lie to the south, and the Moon crosses the sky in front of you. From the Monopteros and the Friedensengel terrace the city centre lies to the west, the direction the Moon sets. From the Theresienhöhe it lies to the east-north-east, where the Moon rises. Exact Moonrise and Moonset directions change with the date and your observing position, so check both before planning a specific composition.

Olympiaberg – 60 m Artificial Hill with Alpine Views

Olympiapark's official information says Olympiaberg was largely formed from wartime rubble and is about 60 m high. It has panoramic views over Munich and, on clear days, the Alps to the south, and the official park information identifies it as useful for observing the Munich night sky. The city and the Alps lie to the south, so the Moon crosses the sky in front of you, to about 65° for a winter full Moon. It's a public park with no regular opening hours listed. The Olympic Tower nearby is listed as closed since June 1, 2024, with reopening expected from October 2027, so it isn't available as a viewpoint.

Monopteros in Englischer Garten – Moonset Over the City

Munich's city information identifies the Monopteros as a viewpoint over the Englischer Garten, Munich's largest park, and the city centre. It is a free outdoor viewpoint. The centre lies to the west-south-west, inside the range of directions where the Moon sets, so a setting Moon, mostly a waning Moon in the morning or a crescent in the evening, can drop over the skyline. A public park, with seasonal conditions.

Friedensengel & Prinzregentenstraße – Terrace Vantage Point

Munich tourism describes the Friedensengel terrace as a popular vantage point with views along Prinzregentenstraße toward the city, and one municipal page describes the principal view as toward the west. That is the direction the Moon sets, so a setting Moon can line up with the street and the city. A free outdoor viewpoint with broad city views.

Luitpoldhügel in Luitpoldpark – Night-Sky Viewpoint

Luitpoldpark is a recognized Munich viewpoint, including for Alpine views, and official sources identify Luitpoldhügel as useful for observing the Munich night sky. The hill is artificial and gives an elevated perspective over northern Munich. The city lies to the south-south-east, so the Moon crosses the sky in front of you. A public park with no entrance fee.

Theresienhöhe & Bavaria Statue – Moonrise Over the Centre

The Bavaria statue stands on the Theresienhöhe, and the surrounding area is public. The city centre lies to the east-north-east, inside the range of directions where the Moon rises, so a rising Moon can come up over the skyline from here. The statue's viewing platform costs €5 in 2026 and is listed as open only from March 28 to October 19, closed from October 20 through March 2027, so it isn't the place for a winter Moonrise.

Bayerische Volkssternwarte – Telescopes in Munich

The Bavarian Public Observatory, at Rosenheimer Straße 145h with its entrance on Anzinger Straße, offers guided evening tours from Monday to Friday, starting at 8 p.m. from September to March and 9 p.m. from April to August, in all weathers, and closed on public holidays. The tour of about two hours takes in an exhibition and a Zeiss planetarium, and ends at the roof terrace, where in clear weather you can observe objects such as the Moon through its four telescopes. It is not part of the Deutsches Museum. Check its programme for current times.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography in Munich

🌕 Full Moon: generally rises near sunset and sets near sunrise. Check exact time and azimuth for your chosen viewpoint
🌔 Waxing gibbous: useful for blue-hour at Olympiaberg and Monopteros — foreground still lit
🧭 Moonset over the city — from the Monopteros and the Friedensengel terrace, which face west; Moonrise over the centre from the Theresienhöhe, which faces east-north-east
🔭 Telescope evenings — Bayerische Volkssternwarte, Monday to Friday

📷 Quick Tips for Munich

🎯 Tripod for landscape and bracketing — The Moon can often be photographed handheld with a sufficiently fast shutter speed, while a tripod is useful for carefully composed landscapes, bracketing and multi-exposure scenes. On Olympiaberg and the Monopteros, a tripod keeps horizons steady during blue hour.
📷 RAW + bracketing for the bright disc — The Moon is much brighter than a dark foreground, so a single exposure can make it difficult to retain detail in both the lunar disc and the landscape. Bracketing or exposure blending can help preserve crater detail while keeping city lights visible.
📏 Looney 11 as a starting point — For a full Moon, start at f/11, ISO 100, 1/100s and adjust from there. It is a traditional baseline rather than a guaranteed exposure. Haze and humidity over the gravel plain can affect contrast, so refine exposure with your histogram.
🌕 Longer lens for city and Alps — A telephoto lens, often around 200–400 mm on a full-frame camera, can help isolate the Moon against distant architecture or the city skyline and, on clear days, the Alps visible from elevated viewpoints such as Olympiaberg.
🌃 Manual focus considerations — For lunar detail, focusing on the Moon itself is preferable when possible using magnified live view. For a composed landscape containing the Moon, the appropriate focus distance depends on the composition and depth of field.
🌧 Check forecasts for haze and cloud — Munich lies in the Alpine Foreland, where weather can change quickly. Check local forecasts for cloud, haze, humidity and visibility, and confirm access: the Olympic Tower is closed, and the Bavaria statue platform is listed as open only March 28–October 19.

🕐 Timezone: Central European Time (CET) — UTC+1, Central European Summer Time (CEST) — UTC+2 during daylight-saving. Europe/Berlin zone.

🔭 Observatory: The Bayerische Volkssternwarte München is at Rosenheimer Straße 145h, entrance on Anzinger Straße, east of the Ostbahnhof. Guided evening tours run Monday to Friday, at 8 p.m. from September to March and 9 p.m. from April to August, in all weathers, with the roof telescopes used when it is clear. Check its programme for current times.

Access: Olympiaberg, the Monopteros, the Friedensengel terrace and Luitpoldhügel are free public viewpoints. The Olympic Tower is closed, with reopening expected from October 2027. The Bavaria statue platform is ticketed and seasonal. Munich's own visitor information recommends leaving the central city for darker skies, since its parks are good Moon viewpoints but not dark-sky locations.

Munich works because its viewpoints face every direction: Olympiaberg and Luitpoldhügel for a Moon crossing the southern sky above the city and the Alps, the Monopteros and the Friedensengel terrace for a Moonset over the city centre, and the Theresienhöhe for a Moonrise over it. Add an evening tour at the Volkssternwarte to see the Moon through a telescope.

The moon phase today in Munich is shown above. For moon phase today anywhere else, visit the calculator on our home page.

◐ What It Feels Like

At Olympiaberg, a grassy hill built from rubble rises above the Olympiapark, with the city spread out to the south and, on a clear day, the Alps along the horizon. The Moon climbs across that southern sky in front of you.

At the Monopteros, a small temple on a hill in the Englischer Garten looks over the park and the city centre, and the towers of the old town stand to the west, where the Moon sets.

At the Friedensengel, a terrace at the top of Prinzregentenstraße gives a long view west along the street toward the city.

At the Volkssternwarte, a guided tour leads through an exhibition and a planetarium to a roof terrace, where on a clear night visitors queue for a look at the Moon.

"A 60 m hill built from wartime rubble with the Alps on clear days, a Monopteros looking west over the city, and a public observatory in the east of the city."

✓ Checklist for Lunar Observers

Before You Go

  • Check moonrise and moonset azimuth for your exact viewpoint — the Monopteros and the Friedensengel face west, the Theresienhöhe faces east-north-east, and Olympiaberg faces south
  • Check forecasts for cloud, haze, humidity and visibility
  • Confirm access — the Olympic Tower is closed, and the Bavaria statue platform is ticketed and listed as open March 28–October 19 only
  • Check the Volkssternwarte's current programme if you want to look through its telescopes

What to Bring

  • Telephoto and wide for hill and city skyline foregrounds
  • Tripod for landscape and bracketing
  • Lens cloth for dust, dew or condensation
  • Light jacket for changing evening temperatures, and a warmer layer on the exposed hills

On the Night

  • Manual focus considerations — for lunar detail focus on the Moon; for a composed landscape containing the Moon, appropriate focus depends on composition and depth of field
  • Bracket for the disc and the foreground — it is difficult to retain both in a single exposure
  • Stay on designated paths and observe posted access rules
  • Urban parks provide open horizons, but they are light-polluted locations, useful for Moon-over-city rather than dark-sky observing
Start at Olympiaberg for a high Moon over the city and the Alps, use the Monopteros and the Friedensengel terrace for a Moonset over the centre, the Theresienhöhe for a Moonrise over it, and the Volkssternwarte for a look through a telescope.

? Munich Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Munich?

The moon phase today in Munich is a Last Quarter with 45% illumination. The next full moon is in 23 days, on 26 Oct. Moonrise is at — and moonset at 4:12 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Munich?

Munich sits on a gravel plain in the Alpine Foreland, so the best places are its artificial hills and park viewpoints, all free. Olympiaberg, a hill about 60 m high built largely from wartime rubble in the Olympiapark, has panoramic views over the city and, on clear days, the Alps to the south. The Monopteros in the Englischer Garten, Munich's largest park, looks over the park and the city centre, and the terrace at the Friedensengel looks west along Prinzregentenstraße toward the city. Luitpoldhügel in Luitpoldpark is another hill viewpoint, and the Theresienhöhe by the Bavaria statue looks back east toward the centre. The Bayerische Volkssternwarte is the place to see the moon through a telescope.

Q. Can I look at the moon through a telescope in Munich?

Yes. The Bayerische Volkssternwarte München, at Rosenheimer Straße 145h with its entrance on Anzinger Straße, offers guided evening tours from Monday to Friday, starting at 8pm from September to March and 9pm from April to August, in all weathers, and closed on public holidays. A tour of about two hours takes in an exhibition and a Zeiss planetarium, and ends at the roof terrace telescopes, where in clear weather you can observe objects such as the moon. The observatory has two mirror and two refractor telescopes on a 300 square metre platform, and it is not part of the Deutsches Museum. Check its programme for current times and booking.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Munich, and how high does it climb?

At about 48.1°N, Munich's moonrise and moonset points swing widely across the horizon each month, from roughly north-east to south-east for rising and north-west to south-west for setting, with an even wider swing in years near a major lunar standstill. A full moon near the winter solstice climbs to roughly 65° in the south, while a full moon near the summer solstice stays low, peaking near 18°. From Olympiaberg the city and the Alps lie to the south, so the moon crosses the sky in front of you, while from the Monopteros and the Friedensengel terrace the city centre lies to the west, the direction the moon sets. From the Theresienhöhe the centre lies to the east-north-east, where the moon rises. Check the azimuth for your date and exact spot.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Munich?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Munich, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. Munich is a large city, and its parks and hills are good moon viewpoints but not dark-sky locations, so stars are faint. The city's own visitor information recommends leaving the central city for darker skies.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Munich?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the city and the park, so shoot RAW and bracket or blend exposures to keep both crater detail and the foreground. A waxing gibbous is useful for blue hour at Olympiaberg and the Monopteros while the foreground is still lit. A telephoto of about 200 to 400 mm on a full-frame camera can isolate the moon against distant towers or the Alps on clear days, with a tripod on the hills and magnified live view for focus on the moon's edge. Haze and humidity can lower contrast.

Q. How do haze, Föhn and weather affect moon viewing in Munich?

Munich's position in the Alpine Foreland brings changeable weather. On Föhn days a warm, dry wind off the Alps can give very clear air and make the mountains look close, while cloud, haze and humidity on other days can cut visibility. Check the forecast for cloud, haze and visibility rather than relying on a general outlook. The artificial hills are exposed and can be colder and windier than the streets, so bring a warm layer.

Q. What time zone are Munich's moonrise and moonset times shown in?

Munich runs on Central European Time, CET, UTC+1, in winter and Central European Summer Time, CEST, UTC+2, in summer. Clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, and moonrise and moonset times on this page follow the local clock in effect on each date. Munich lies at about 11.6°E, west of the 15°E meridian on which Central European Time is based, so the sun and moon cross the sky about 14 minutes later on the clock than they would on that meridian.

Q. Can I shoot the moon at Munich's viewpoints after dark?

Mostly yes, with care. Olympiaberg, the Monopteros, the Friedensengel terrace and Luitpoldhügel are public viewpoints with no entrance fee and no regular opening hours listed. The Olympic Tower, however, is listed as closed since 1 June 2024, with reopening expected from October 2027, so it is not available. The viewing platform of the Bavaria statue costs €5 in 2026 and is listed as open only from 28 March to 19 October, though the surrounding area is public. The Volkssternwarte's tours run in the evening on weekdays.