Experiencing Oktoberfest in Munich
For over 200 years now beer drinkers from all over the world have been making their way to Munich in order to sample the liquid delights of September’s Oktoberfest celebrations. Every year, the Bavarian capital welcomes over 6 million visitors, a quarter of which travel from outside Germany to join in the festivities. In this blog you will read all information about this event. We also give you tips to find the best German hotel deals in Munich.
Beer Field
Theresienwiese, the large park in Munich’s old town centre is the main focus of the action. Here visitors will find the fourteen main tents and twenty smaller ones erected to cater for the hordes of drinkers that swarm to the city each day. The tents all have their own special atmosphere, ranging from the young, lively Hippodrom tent to the Kafers tent favoured by celebs. The Schottenhamel tent is the centre point to the festival and here the first barrel is tapped and hungry visitors will love the ox menu specialities on offer in the Ochsenbraterei tent.
Afternoons and early evenings are more sedate affairs so that families and older visitors can enjoy themselves but after 6pm the party really kicks off with traditional oompha bands, electro Euro pop and American/ Brit rock music filling the air. Food is also the other attraction for guests and there is no shortage of sausages, pretzels and roast chicken sandwiches, with which to fill yourself, washed down with liberal amounts of beer.
Traditional Beers
The six breweries of Munich all have their brightly coloured and packed tents and these are the focus of much entertainment. Augustine Brau is the oldest continuous brewery dating back to 1328, while Hofbrau, brewers to the Bavarian royalty, has the biggest tents on the field. This is the time when the summer brews were finished off and drinkers can sample dark malty Dunkels, strong tankards of Brock or the golden coloured Helles brews.
Munich is a wonderful city, full of sights to captivate during the calmer daytime hours, such as the BMW Museum, the luscious, verdant Englischer Garten or a tour of the HofBrauhaus Brewery and museum that documents the history of beers down the centuries. There is also the stark Gothic cathedral and the beautiful palaces at Linderhof, Lustheim and Nymphenberg to relax and gather your sense again.
Munich Hotels and Flights
Local Munich hotels vary between prestigious, high quality rooms and friendly, busy hostels. Those looking for luxury and elegance will have no problems finding accommodation, whilst those traveling on a budget to the Oktoberfest will equally find there are plenty of options on offer. Even those under canvas are well catered for and the Thalkirchen site is an institution in itself, with good transport links to the October Festivities.
Budget airlines fly direct to Munich’s airport but you may also find that cheap flights are available to Frankfurt or Vienna in Austria and a reasonably priced train trip to Munich provides a good alternative.
Oktoberfest provides a perfect end to the summer, the weather in Bavaria in September is still relatively warm but evenings can become a little cooler. Visitors during the festival will find a memorable trip of beer, food, crazy music and wild friendly people all having a great time. Oktoberfest is one of Europe’s premier, must try, unique trips that you’ll never forget.