Munich

Munich was first recorded in 1158 and became the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806. The Oktoberfest goes back to a beer festival in October 1810. The city was heavily bombed in the Second World War and US troops took it on 30 April 1945, and in 1972 it hosted the Summer Olympics. You can still see that last chapter: the Olympiapark is a working sports and concert park, and its former Olympic Village now houses students.

It is a city of money and engineering rather than of cheap student bars. BMW, Siemens, Allianz and Munich Re are headquartered here, and the city's own business pages count more than 900 US companies and over 80 Indian companies with offices in the area. For a student that means a job market with international employers on your doorstep, and a housing market priced for their salaries.

The weather is continental. January days reach about 4 C and drop below freezing at night, July days about 25 C, and it rains around 940 mm a year, with July the wettest month. Plan for a proper winter coat and for the fact that the Alps, 50 km to the south, make the weather change quickly.

Munich sits about 520 m above sea level and about 50 km north of the Alps. In a normal week you will not need to leave the city for nature: the Englischer Garten, the Isar with its gravel banks at the Flaucher and the Olympiapark are all inside the city. For longer trips, the university sports centre (ZHS) is the cheapest way in. Its course list covers climbing and mountain sports, winter sports, sailing and water sports on Lake Starnberg, and it has sites outside Munich, including Starnberg. Winter-sport bookings for the 2026/27 season open on 2 November 2026 at 9:00, and the other courses of the winter semester started on 12 October.

Even a first winter in the city is easier with a ZHS course: it gives you a fixed weekly appointment and people to meet.

Public transport is run by the MVV: U-Bahn, tram, bus and S-Bahn, with the S-Bahn lines S1 and S8 going to the airport. LMU also points out that within about five kilometres a bike is faster than anything else, with around 1,200 km of marked bike lanes and some 22,000 bike stands, and that you do not need a car.

The important change for a newcomer: Munich has no cheap semester ticket built into your fees at the moment. The semester-ticket contract with the Studierendenwerk has been suspended since winter semester 2023/24, so the extra solidarity contribution no longer applies and the LMU student card no longer works as a travel pass on the MVV. LMU's living-costs page budgets 43 euros a month for the student Deutschlandticket. The MVV says that Bavaria has a reduced-price, Germany-wide discount ticket for students, trainees and volunteers. Check the current price on the MVV page before you buy, because ticket prices change at the turn of the year.

Since winter semester 2024/25, TUM charges tuition to new bachelor's and master's students from outside the EU and EEA. TUM states it is usually 2,000 or 3,000 euros per semester for a bachelor's and 4,000 or 6,000 euros per semester for a master's, depending on the programme, and the exact figure is on each programme page under Program details. From winter semester 2027/28 the amounts rise to 2,300 or 3,400 euros (bachelor's) and 4,600 or 6,800 euros (master's). Students who began earlier keep the rate they started with.

There are exits. TUM does not charge doctoral candidates or exchange students, and a master's student who finished a bachelor's at TUM or at another German university is exempt, provided the degree is proven by the enrolment deadline. TUM also offers waiver scholarships and a study grant of 500 to 1,800 euros per semester for international students, decided case by case.

This profile can only confirm TUM's rules. LMU's fee page says no tuition has been charged since winter semester 2013/14 and does not mention non-EU students, so check the fee page of your own programme at LMU, Hochschule München and any private college before you apply.

At TUM the weight is on engineering, informatics and natural sciences, and the Garching campus north of the city is where many of those programmes live. TUM's Student Clubs list over 250 initiatives, and the TUM Student Club Fair on 21 October 2026 in Garching is the quickest way to find a team. LMU is more central and more mixed: its main building on Geschwister-Scholl-Platz is a few minutes from the English Garden, and its student groups range from Amnesty and Arbeiterkind to law, finance and start-up clubs. HM is smaller, with fixed timetables and a stronger link to industry placements.

All three of the large public universities have elected student governments, and it is worth knowing them early. LMU's StuVe has over 350 volunteers, TUM's Studentische Vertretung runs the AStA office in the Mensa building, and both run events, advise on exams and speak for students in the senate and faculties. Both also publish what they decide, so you can see who is working for what.

Housing is the hardest part of Munich. LMU says the majority of the roughly 100,000 students in the city live in private rooms, shared flats and single flats, and only about 13% live in university housing, which is mostly run by the Studierendenwerk. LMU puts the average private room at about 750 euros a month, with rooms and flats between 600 and 1,100 euros depending on location, and says the hunt is hardest in September, October and November.

The Studierendenwerk manages more than 9,000 rooms and apartments in Munich, Freising and Rosenheim. Its price list of October 2026 shows rents with utilities from about 324 euros up to roughly 576 euros for a single room in a shared flat, and studios between about 363 and 538 euros. The catch is the queue: the average waiting period is given per hall and runs from one to seven semesters, and the clock starts the day you apply. Examples from the list: Chiemgaustraße, 248 single rooms at 335 to 444 euros, one to two semesters; Felsennelkenanger, 198 single rooms at 378 to 390 euros, one to two semesters; Garching II, rooms around 340 euros, four semesters; the Olympic Village, 1,879 studios at 391 to 487 euros, four to five semesters; Oberschleißheim, 399 to 420 euros, one semester. Apply on the day you have your admission letter, and apply to several halls.

Because you will probably start in a private room, learn the rules. Advertised prices are usually the basic rent (Kaltmiete) without utilities, and rent that includes them is the Warmmiete. Expect a deposit (Kaution) of one to three months of basic rent. LMU warns about agents who charge up to 2.3 months of basic rent in commission and about agencies that charge a fee for special lists. The Studierendenwerk and LMU both warn that scammers offer cheap rooms and ask for money in advance: never transfer a deposit or send a copy of your ID before you have seen that the room exists. The Studierendenwerk runs a private accommodation service that helps with the hunt.

Where to look: Nepali students interviewed by the Kathmandu Post recommend Giesing (cheaper, older flats, 5 to 7 km from the campuses, with parks like the Ostpark), Sendling (residential, good connections), Moosach in the north-west (calm and family-friendly, longer commute) and Maxvorstadt next to the universities (most expensive, noisy, but with Indian and Nepali restaurants and shops). Freising is cheaper but has fewer international students.

The Studierendenwerk runs the student canteens (Mensa, StuBistro, StuCafé and StuLounge) in Munich, Garching, Freising-Weihenstephan, Großhadern and Martinsried, Pasing, Rosenheim and Benediktbeuern, and has opened a new Mensa in Ottobrunn-Taufkirchen. Prices are posted at each counter and on its website, and in most canteens dishes are self-service and some are sold by weight. You can pay by bank card in selected canteens. There is also a cup-sharing system for take-away drinks.

Outside the canteens, Munich has around 100 Indian restaurants, according to the city, and Maxvorstadt, as Nepali students point out, has Indian and Nepali shops. For special groceries ask your national student group, which will know which shops in Giesing, Sendling and near the main station stock what you miss.

The ZHS is the main sports provider for all Munich universities. It lists about 600 sports events a semester, from ball sports and fitness to climbing, dance, martial arts, water sports and winter sports. Booking for the winter semester 2026/27 opened on 28 September and courses began on 12 October. The site has an eligibility page, so check whether your college is covered. TUM also runs a big campus run on the Garching campus and has a sports campus at the Olympiapark.

For nights out, ask your student council or your ESN group, since the best first-week events are organised by them. ESN TUMi organises nearly 400 events a year, MESA throws a big welcome party every semester, and TUM has a choir and a university chamber orchestra. The English Garden and the Isar banks are where Munich meets in summer, and in winter people go to the cinema, the museums, the canteens and the sports halls.

Non-EU students may work up to 140 full days or 280 half days a year without a separate work permit. This is noted on the residence permit. Jobs as a student assistant (Hilfskraft) inside the university have no day limit as long as your studies do not suffer, but the Ausländerbehörde must be told. Compulsory internships that are part of your degree do not count against the 140 days. Non-EU students may not be self-employed or freelance, and working without permission can cost you your residence permit.

The statutory minimum wage is 13.90 euros an hour in 2026. A working-student job at a Munich employer is how many students pay for the extra cost of the city, but the 140-day limit means a job will not cover a Munich room on its own. Plan your budget from savings and family support first.

For Vietnam, Pakistan and Cameroon the Bavarian State Chancellery's list of consular offices shows no consulate in Munich, and no student or community group with its own website is listed here for them. Bangladesh has an honorary consul general at Residenzstraße 18, whose office hours are Monday to Friday 9:00 to 12:00, covering Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. For all of these, start with the international student groups below and the national groups at TUM and LMU: the TUM Student Clubs gallery lists country and regional clubs, and the Asian-European Society and ESN can introduce you to other students from your part of the world.