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Oktoberfest Beer Festival in Munich

🍺 Oktoberfest is the most famous beer festival in the world. (Locals also use the word Wiesn.) Oktoberfest is held annually in autumn (September - October), in Munich (Germany, Bavaria). The 189th Oktoberfest is scheduled to take place from September 21 to October 6, 2024.

About 6 million people attends Oktoberfest every year. Beer lovers from other cities of Bavaria and all regions of Germany come annually to the festival in Munich. Approximately 70% of the festival visitors are residents of Germany. Many tourists from other EU countries (Austria, Switzerland, Italy), and even from the USA, Japan and Australia also come to this event.

Oktoberfest - try beer and brezel

Opening hours of beer tents 2023:

  • On September 16, 2023, on the first Saturday of Oktoberfest, the beer tents will open at 9 am, but soft drinks will be available from 10 am. Beer will be on sale from 12 noon.
  • From Monday to Friday, tents open at 10:00 and close at 23:30.
  • On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, beer is served from 9 am to 11:30 pm.
  • In "Big Tents" beer and music will be available until 22:30.
  • In smaller stalls, such as snack stalls, beer sales end at 11:00 pm.
  • There are exceptions: Käfer Wiesn-Schänke and Kuffler's Weinzelt (wine tent) are open until 1 am. Place your order no later than 01:30.

Oktoberfest Venue

The Oktoberfest beer festival is held in the center of Munich, on the so-called Theresienwiese. Theresienwiese is an open space, located slightly south-west of the city center, about 800 meters south of the main railway station. The area is located between the Bavariapark (in the west) and the Esperantoplatz square (in the east).
Theresienwiese metro station (lines U4 and U5) is located slightly north of the square, Schwanthalerhöhe station to the west, Gotheplatz station (U3 and U6) slightly east. You can walk to the Oktoberfest site from the central station (also Hackerbrücke station) and the nearby Munich bus station.

The airport of Munich is located about 40 kilometers from the city center. You can get to festival area by various types of public transport (by rail, bus or taxi) from the Munich airport.

About the Festival

Oktoberfest is dedicated to beer, but even more to good mood and communication with friends. For the duration of the festival, large tents are installed on the square, in which tables for beer lovers are installed. Munich breweries brew special beer for the festival (German Oktoberfestbier) with an alcohol content of 5.8-6.3%.

All the Munich breweries are represented on the Oktoberfest: Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau and Lowenbrau. According to the rules, only Munich beer brewed in accordance with the Munich law on the purity of beer in 1487 and the German law on the purity of beer of 1516 are sold at the festival. There are 17 large tents and 21 smaller tents for visitors.

The festival would not have become so famous if only beer was sold and drunk at this event. Entertainment attractions for children and adults are installed at the time of the festival on the meadow. Several colorful events are also traditionally held during the festival.

The procession of the owners of beer tents (German Einzug der Wiesnwirte) is the official opening of the holiday.
The opening ceremony of the first beer barrel takes place after the procession of the hosts of beer tents, exactly at 12:00. By tradition, the Mayor of Munich opens the festival.

Oktoberfest 2023 main events calendar

(Preliminary information, changes are possible.)

  • 16.09.2023 (Saturday) 10:45 a.m. Opening of the festival - Festive parade. Festive carriages, orchestras and, of course, horse-drawn carts from the Munich breweries will travel through Munich to the festival site. Route: Josephspitalstraße - eastern Sonnenstraße - Schwanthalerstraße - Hermann-Lingg-Straße - Bavariaring - Theresienwiese - Wirtsbudenstraße
  • 16.09.2023 (Saturday) 12 p.m. The ceremony of opening the first Oktoberfest beer barrel by the Munich mayor in the Schottenhamel Tent. The mayor will open Oktoberfest at noon. In keeping with tradition, Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter opens the first Oktoberfest beer keg in the Schottenhamel festival hall. For a peaceful Oktoberfest!
  • 17.09.2023 (Sunday) 10:00 am. The traditional costume and hunters’ parade through Munich. Hunting clubs, historic costume groups, bands and flag wavers will parade through Munich city center to the Theresienwiese. Stands for spectators will be installed in several places along the parade route. If you want to get the best view of the parade, then you need to buy a ticket to enter the stand. Or you can watch the parade from the sidewalk for free. It will be a colorful event! Don't miss the opportunity to see!
  • 19.09.2023 (Tuesday) until 7 p.m. Oktoberfest family day. Attractions and eateries offer special prices for children and families until 19:00. The large festival tents also have baby food and a children's menu at special prices.
  • 21.09.2023 (Thursday) 09:30 a.m. Traditional religious Oktoberfest mass. On September 21, 2023, Oktoberfest guests are also invited to pray together in the Marstall tent for a peaceful Oktoberfest.
  • 24.09.2023 (Sunday) 11 a.m. Traditional concert of the Oktoberfest brass-bands will be held next to the Bavaria monument. On the second Sunday of the festival, September 24, 2023, a big concert will traditionally take place at the foot of the Bavaria monument. The orchestras of all festival tents play together from 11 am and offer Oktoberfest visitors a Bavarian concert for free!
  • 09.26.2023 (Tuesday) Every September 26, Munich commemorates the 1980 Oktoberfest attack by far-right extremists with a commemorative event in Theresienwiese.
  • 26.09.2023 (Tuesday) until 7 p.m. Oktoberfest family day. Tuesday is family day for Oktoberfest. Attractions and eateries offer special prices for children and families until 19:00. The large festival tents also have baby food and a children's menu at special prices.
  • 03.10.2023 12 p.m. Traditional gun-salute will be held next to the Bavaria monument. According to this old tradition, Oktoberfest ends with loud gun salute. Festival will continue until late in the evening in tents.

Entrance to the festival grounds and festival tents is free. Entrance to the historical part of the Oktoberfest "Oide Wiesn" costs four euros (2022).

Beer prices are set by restaurants. The price of a beer mug in 2023 ranges from 12.60 to 14.90 euros.

You are allowed to bring your own snacks to the beer tents, but not your own drinks.

Recommendations

What to do during the Oktoberfest? Try beer of different breweries and try to decide which one you like best. Do not make beer tasting your main goal. A much more interesting pastime is communication: get acquainted with local residents and tourists from other countries.

What not to do during the Oktoberfest? Do not drink too much beer. Do not drink stronger alcoholic beverages. You should not bring your own beer (beer at the festival is quite expensive). The most popular souvenir that tourists seek to bring home is a beer mug. Do not try to take the mug from the festival site. It is better to buy a mug in a souvenir shop.

The Theresa meadow also hosts: the lesser known analogue of the Oktoberfest, the Spring Festival, (Frühlingsgfest) in the spring, the Tollwood winter festival, an agricultural exhibition every four years.

How to visit Oktoberfest

It is better to prepare in advance to visit the Oktoberfest festival. The best places in Munich hotels are booked long before the start of the fest. In most cases, the reservation can be canceled if you change your mind.
Tickets for the plane can be bought later. If you want to buy tickets for the best price, then this should also be done in advance, as soon as you know the dates of the trip.

In 2021, the Oktoberfest in Munich will be held from September 18 to October 03.

Useful link Useful links for tourists heading to the festival in Munich:

Useful link Tickets for Oktoberfest can be ordered later, online.

Accommodation

It is best to choose a hotel near the venue of the festival. We have prepared a selection of hotels that are conveniently located near the Theresienwiese meadow (venue of the Oktoberfest beer festival) in Munich.

Info Book a hotel room in advance if you are going to visit the festival.

5-star hotel Sofitel Munich Bayerpost (5 stars). The hotel is located in a historic building, just 100 meters from Munich Main Station. The distance to the venue of the Oktoberfest festival is 550 meters.
Address: Bayerstraße, 12, Ludwigsvorstadt, 80335 Munich, Germany.
Check the price of accommodation and room availability.

4-star hotel Hotel Atlas München (4 stars). The distance is 400 meters. Just 300 meters from the Atlas, the Theresienwiese metro station (U-Bahn), from which you can reach all of the city's main attractions, is located.
Address: Landwehrstraße, 65, Ludwigsvorstadt, Munich, Germany.
Check the price of accommodation and room availability.

3-star hotel Bavaria Boutique Hotel (3 stars). The hotel is located in a quiet area, near the venue of the beer festival (approximately 150 meters).
Address: Gollierstraße, 9, Schwanthalerhoe, Munich, Germany.
Check the price of accommodation and room availability.

Hostel Smart Stay - Hostel Munich City. The distance to the venue of the festival is about 300 meters. You can book a bed in a dormitory. The hostel also has a four-bed room with bunk beds. Address: Mozartstraße 4, Ludwigsvorstadt, 80336 Munich, Germany.
Check the price of accommodation and room availability.

You can choose a hotel with a good location in Munich on the map. (Theresa's meadow is located in the center of the map, east of Bavaria Park.) On the map you can see not only the location of the hotel, but also the estimated cost of living per night.

Munich Airport

Munich Airport (IATA: MUC) is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic. The airport is located 28.5 km (17.7 mi) northeast of Munich. The airport is connected to the city by Munich suburban railway (S-Bahn) lines S 1 and S 8. The ride takes approximately 45 minutes to the Marienplatz station in the city centre. Lufthansa Airport Bus provides an alternative to the S-Bahn.

Memmingen Airport (IATA: FMM) is located about 110 km (68 mi) from the city centre of Munich. The airport is also used as alternative to Munich Airport and therefore is sometimes referred to as Memmingen/Munich-West Airport or similar by some low-cost airlines.

Flights Find flights to Munich for Oktoberfest dates.

🚕 Book a taxi from the airport to the hotel.

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