 Everything you always wanted to know about Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest FAQby Mark ZanzigUpdated October 4th, 2009
Oktoberfest is coming again, and I would like to take the opportunity to give you the hands-on no-frills answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning the original Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. These 34 answers should prepare you for the festival.
The Oktoberfest is taking place in Munich, Germany, on the famous Theresienwiese. You can see a satellite photo on Google Maps, probably shot end July: the beer tents are already present, while the fun rides and souvenir shops are still missing. If you want to see an overview of the big tents, please scroll down to the end of this page.
The Theresienwiese (aka Festwiese) is not a closed-off area. Basically it can be accessed from anywhere. But it is not practical to access it from anywhere, because there are greens and gentle hills, especially at the western side of the fest! (See also question 8.)
2. When does the Oktoberfest happen?
The Oktoberfest begins in September, usually on the second last weekend, and it lasts for at least 16 days. In good years it extended to catch the day of the German unity (3rd October) which is a bank holiday in Germany. The next dates are:
3. Do they charge an entry fee to the festival?
No. The entrance to the festival and to the beer tents is free of charge, and all visitors, German or not, are welcome. Sitting down at a table in a tent is free as well. However, please be prepared to pay for everything you are going to consume - drinks, food, funrides, souvenirs, and so on.
Please note that they just accept cash in the tents, except when you have vouchers for food and drinks (see question 20).
4. Is it allowed to bring your own drinks or food to a tent?
No. Please purchase your drinks and food in the tent. But it's unlikely that anyone is going to say something about the half-empty bottle of water that you have been carrying around all day while visiting the city, or about the small smelly sandwich in your backpack. But if you intend to drink/eat your own stuff within the tent, keep an eye on the waitresses, waiters, and security guys, because officially it is not allowed to bring your own food or drinks.
In 2009, the price range for a liter of beer ranges from 8.10 Euro to 8.60 Euro; the average is 8.44 Euro. This is a 3.8% increase from 2008. If we now apply that to all the drinks and food (which is a safe assumption), a typical evening for one person will probably be:
Who said that the Oktoberfest is cheap? ;-)
6. What would be good recommendations for lodging? When should I book my hotel room?
Oktoberfest is the busiest time for hotels in Munich, so it is a good idea to inquire long before the fest, i.e. already in spring. Be prepared to see higher prices than usual, and don't be surprised to be asked to pay in advance. Hotels have no problems to sell off their rooms for Oktoberfest, so they can afford to demand the money.
If you are thinking of a short-notice trip and reservation, in our experience the hotel room situation really tightens end of August. All of a sudden, hotels report just one or two free rooms even during the week, and the prices tend to increase the closer the fest actually gets. So it's really a good idea to book your room as early as possible.
As for the area, I'd suggest to go for a hotel close to main central station ("Hauptbahnhof"). This allows you to conveniently walk to the festival and back (if you can still walk, that is!). Also the city and the region can be easily explored from here as you have an excellent train connection. And the train to the airport departs here as well. I would go for hotels with a 3-star-rating or better, but that really depends on your budget and requirements.
Booking.com offers a good selection of hotels in Munich. They also offer a number of hotels close to the main central station (i.e. you can walk back from the Oktoberfest). Their online service lists available rooms in real-time, which is very handy when you are planning your trip on short notice.
7. Should I fly to Frankfurt or Munich?
Munich has a big airport with plenty of direct connections to destinations across the world. It is also well connected to the town center by public train or airport bus shuttle, so I'd book a flight to Munich (MUC). When you can find a direct flight, it's certainly more convenient than a connecting flight via Frankfurt (FRA), but that probably depends on your budget, and the flights available.
8. How do I get to the festival? Should I use a car, or public transport?
First of all, forget about getting there by car (taxi is OK). You won't be able to find a parking lot, and it makes no sense to park in the restricted zones surrounding the Theresienwiese - your car will be towed away! Also, keep in mind that you might want a beer or two, so you should better not drive afterwards.
Thus, I recommend to go to the fest by public transport. There are two options to get there: either by suburban train ("S-Bahn"), or by underground ("U-Bahn"). The nearest S-Bahn station is Hackerbrücke. All suburban lines stop there. From there, it's a ten minute walk to the northern main entrance portal. If you decide to use the underground train, you can use either the Theresienwiese station (lines U4 and U5), which will bring you directly to the northern entrance of the fest. Because of this, this station is often packed with people, so you might consider alternatives. For example, you can use the underground stations Goetheplatz or Poccistraße (both served by U3 and U6), from there it's an easy ten minute walk to the eastern/southern entrance of the fest.
If you are not sure where to go once the train stops, just follow the stream of people. They know how to get to the fest.
9. I plan on going with my teenagers. Is there an age limit for getting in?
Bring your kids. The locals bring even their small children (all dressed up in nice Tracht'n) to the fest to enjoy an exciting afternoon at the fest. For younger kids, the fun rides are the real attraction and certainly more entertaining than the beer drinking.
For obvious reasons, young kids or teenagers stay rarely in the evening. However, if they are 16 years or older, there is no problem at all. The German law prohibits to serve strong alcohol to them (beer is OK).
And here are the rules and regulations for all ages:
10. How often should I go to the festival? How long should I stay in Munich? Obviously, you should go at least once. (If you come to Munich during Oktoberfest but don't visit the festival - well, that's a bit dumb, right?) But how many visits can one endure? Three, five, ten? Let's see... It's a good Munich tradition to go at least three times to the fest - once with your family, once with your friends, and once with your colleagues. At least, this was true until companies decided that they won't pay for the visit to the festival any more. Consequently, many people don't go to the fest with their colleagues any longer. For visitors, my recommendation is to aim for two, maybe three visits, ideally distributed over a full week. Take your time to recover! Remember that Munich and Bavaria offer plenty of beautiful places to visit (see question # 33), so you won't get bored when not attending the fest one night. As a side note - in 2008 I've been to the festival seven times. And this was clearly too often. At some point you just don't like the songs any longer, you don't like the hard benches any longer, and you may not even like the beer any longer.
11. Where can we buy second hand Lederhosen? eBay is probably the best place to look for second hand Lederhos'n (leather trousers) if you are still at home. When you are already in Munich, you will find several (outlet) stores selling Trachten (i.e. Lederhosen, Dirndl, and so on). These are new, but you probably will be happy with these, too, as a used Tracht is not so much cheaper than a new one, so why not go with a new one? (Read more about what to wear to Oktoberfest.)
12. Which tent is a "must do"? All the tents have their own mood, so they are all unique in a way. You should try to see them all. But the Oktoberfest is quite popular with locals and tourists, so the real question is - "where do I get a place?" Especially on weekends, the fest gets really crowded, and you can consider yourself lucky to get a seat or table without reservation. On rainy or cold days it is even worse. So if you get a seat, we suggest to stay in that tent for as long as possible. Chances are high that you won't get into other tents, or if you do, you won't get any seats. Typically the people spread across all tents evenly, so you can take your current tent as indicator for the other tents. If there is still a lot of spare room in your tent, the other tents will have room, too. And vice versa. Now, if you have a choice, I recommend the Hacker-Pschorr tent (see photos above), the Schützenfesthalle, and the Schottenhamel. But these are just my personal favorites. In the end, the best tent is the tent where you get in, get a table, and have a nice and peaceful day/evening. 13. How do I get reservations for the ... tent? The good news is: if you are just two or three people, you probably do not need a reservation at all. Just try to get into a tent, then wait patiently (which is difficult, I know) until people get up and leave the fest. Then snatch that space. Try to not hit the other people trying the same. :-) The bad news is: even if you wanted to get a reservation, it would be next to impossible. The tents start to give out reservations as early as March every year, and they are typically serving the German/Munich companies and groups first. You always can inquire with the tents directly (recommended), but do not have too high hopes. If you really need some space, you will find services who re-sell tables and reservations through eBay. Be warned: often these are dramatically over-priced and inofficial. So you might be denied access to the tent if you purchased your reservation through a shady company.
 Mark Zanzig/zettpress
14. How can I get into a tent when it is already closed? Do I really need a tent pass? Sometimes you will find a tent closed during the day ("Wegen Überfüllung vorübergehend geschlossen!") because it's already too full. This happens frequently during weekends and public holidays, and on cold or rainy days. In this case you will need either a reservation, or a good portion of luck. If you have a reservation (or know someone who has), then go to the entrance for reservations of the respective tent. This is usually somewhere in the back of the tent. In former times it was sufficient to just say the name of the person with the reservation, but these days you need an official entrance ticket (tent pass) to get into that tent. If your contact is already in, you will want to call him to check whether he can get you in. But without an official booking it's tough. By the way, you can avoid closed tents by coming early to the festival. If you come in the morning (on weekends), or in the early afternoon (on weekdays), you should be able to get in without problems. It's a very good idea to look for tables that do not have a reservation, so you can stay all day long to the very end.
15. Is the 3rd October a bank holiday, and how will this affect finding space in the tents? Yes, 3rd October is a bank holiday every year (it's the day of German unity), and all the "weekend rules" do apply. Even more so when the 3rd October is a Friday that attracts additional tourists to the town for the long weekend. Sometimes the 3rd October is the last day of Oktoberfest. The fest is then extended to Monday or Tuesday, effectively adding one or two days to the fest. In those years, the fest sees more visitors during the day of the 3rd October, but as it is the last day, the people still leave early. Thus, it's typically not a problem to get seats in the late afternoon and evening. Then again, it's not that much fun, because all the waitresses and waiters are really exhausted and want the fest to be over.
16. Is there an easy way to distinguish reserved tables from the other ones? Yes. They put up signs saying Reservierung or Reserviert at the end of each table, along with the time, name, and number of people for that reservation. Usually the reservation is void if the announced number of people have not shown up 30 minutes after the reserved time, but it depends on the tent and the staff. If really noone shows up, you can occupy the space and start the fun. Should the group appear later, they basically have no rights to claim that space. The waitresses will usually be on your side (as you are generating revenue and the other guys don't). But keep in mind that a peaceful co-existence should be possible between the two parties, i.e. if there is room, just let them sneak in, have a beer and a nice chat.
17. When asking if a seat is available, should I do it in English or German? A polite question in German is always welcome and a good ice-breaker (especially with the Germans), but a polite question in English is also OK. The keyword is polite here. If you are rude or appear too drunk, then you will almost always get a "no" as reply. Also, please do accept a "no" as there is really no point in arguing whether there is space left at a table or not. Oh, and here is what you might say in German: "Entschuldigung, ist hier wohl noch ein Platz frei für mich und meine Freunde?" ("Excuse me, but is there room for me and my friends here?")
18. Are there any tents that are more friendly than others? No. Each tent has its own character and caters to a different crowd, but they are all more or less friendly. You might find that the smaller tents are slightly more friendly, as there is less traffic, less noise, and less drunkyards.
19. How much tip is common? Tricky. If you've got reservations and vouchers, the tip is sometimes included. In this case you do not need to give extra tip, or just if you think the service was extraordinary. If tip is not included, the waitress will tell you what the tip is. In fact, it's not really a tip - it's more like a service fee. It should be not more than 10 to 15%. And yes, giving a bit of extra tip will ensure that the waitress will always serve you in time and in quality. :-)
20. I've heard about beer and food vouchers. What do I need to know? The tent owners typically give out reservations for tables and seats only in exchange for guaranteed minimum consumption. After all, they want to sell food and beers. The typical minimum is two beers and one grilled chicken, per person, with a minimum of ten people sharing the table. In other words: in order to get a reservation, you will need to buy at least 20 beers and 10 chicken (a value of about 265 Euro). Now, the tent owners learned over the years that it is a good idea to sell the beers and food in advance, i.e. when the table is reserved. This ensures that the number of people announced for a reservation will also show up. (And should they not show up, heck, the tent owner does not care - he's sold the beers already.) In exchange for your money, you will receive nice looking vouchers for food and beer. Below you see an example of a chicken voucher from the Hacker Festzelt. Each tent has its own vouchers, and the design varies every year (obviously). In the tent, you order your beer or food, and you hand over the vouchers to the waitress when she delivers the goods. In some tents the tip is already included in the voucher. Then you have a dedicated part of the voucher just for the tip, just like the example below. In this case, you do not have to pay additional tip (but it's nice if you do it anyway). If the tip is not included in the voucher, you will have to tip the waitress with cash, even if you have a voucher for the beer or food. The vouchers are valid throughout the Oktoberfest in the respective tent. Please note that they do not qualify as entry pass, though. If you happen to stay a few more days in Munich, you usually can pay in the tent owners restaurant using some of the vouchers for a limited time (typically until the end of October). You'll need to enquire with the tent to get the full details.
21. Are there any general etiquette tips? Let's see.
22. How can I meet my friends in a tent? Meeting up with your friends in a tent can be difficult as it is very loud and you hardly understand a word on the mobile phone, so calling is out of question. You better text message each other. And then there is the problem with the tables. A group of people without reservation has problems getting in and finding a table. It's not impossible though, especially when your friends show up over time (i.e. your group size incrementally grows). In this case you occupy the table as more guests leave the fest. :-)
23. Where can I see Oktoberfest on German TV? Local broadcaster München TV has the most complete coverage: a live show every night from 6pm to 9 pm. You might as well try Bavarian broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. They run a 30 minutes summary every night.
24. What is the best beer? All the beers are fine, depending on your taste. However, there's that old Augustiner joke... After work, all the brew masters from the Munich breweries sit together in a pub. Needless to say, each brewer orders beer from his own brand, i.e. the Löwenbräu guy orders Löwenbräu, the Hacker-Pschorr guy orders Hacker-Pschorr, and so on. Last one to go is the Augustiner guy. He orders a Coke. Everybody is stunned, asking - "why?" - "Well", he finally says with a wide grin, "if you are not ordering a beer, then I won't, too."
25. I am looking to try great local food. What is the best food? You have a good choice of dishes. A must-try is the classic "Wiesn-Hendl" (grilled chicken), best enjoyed with French Fries. As they are really fresh, they definitely are delicious. There is no difference in quality between the various tents. They all have a high volume, so you won't have any bad surprises. Then you might want to try the ox at the Ochsenbraterei tent. If you are looking for traditional Bavarian cuisine, the Armbrustschützen tent and the Fischer-Vroni are the best places to go. Having said that, we think that all the tents are serving good and fresh food.
26. How much beer do you drink at Oktoberfest? You should try to not drink too much. But how much is "too much"? Well, I'd say that two Mass beers (two liters) are OK. At three Mass beers you approach quickly the borderline. After three beer, you may not feel well the next morning. Four or more Mass beers, and getting home (or in fact, getting anywhere) may become difficult. And the next day will most likely be a mess. There is one hard rule to avoid major complications: do not drink "Schnaps" (shots). Whatever they tell you. However they try to convince you. Just don't do it. Schnaps may send you to the floor within short time, and there is really nothing you can do about it. Just stick to beer, and you probably will be fine (sort of). Yep, I'd say this is the most important rule of all.
27. I do not speak any German. Will this be a serious problem? I'd say - no problem. You will probably bring your mini tourguide book that usually contains the German translation for the most important sentences and phrases anyway. And let's face it - you don't want to discuss the history of German literature with the waitress. You want her to bring some food, and some beer. :-) You can always ask for English menus in the tents. Most of them know that international guests are coming, and they cater for them. Here are the most important phrases, though:
Excuse me, how do I get to the Oktoberfest (to the Festwiese)?
Excuse me, is there space for the (two, three, four, five) of us at your table?
(One, two, three, four, five) beers, please!
(One, two, three, four, five) chicken, please!
We don't speak any German, could you please give us an English menu?
Where are the washrooms?
How much does this cost?
Cheers!
[In the taxi] Could you bring us to the Hotel XYZ, please?
28. How is the bathroom situation in the beer tents? Are there long lines? There are enough facilities, sort of. You will probably have to wait a few minutes in any case. When a tent is really full, and when the action has been going on for a while, say at six p.m. during the week, and at two p.m. during the weekend, people start to use the washrooms for obvious reasons. And they patiently queue up outside the washrooms. For men, this usually means a wait between 5 and 10 minutes in the line. For women, it means a wait between 10 and 20 minutes in the line. If that's the case, you sometimes see women who really can not hold it any longer rushing to the men's washrooms, or bypassing the entire line of waiting women. Not always in full agreement with the other women, I should add.
29. I am going to the festival with my customers, but I do not want to get drunk in front of them. What can I do? That's a good one. I have been in that situation more than once. You are indeed facing a genuine dilemma: if you do drink the beer like your customers do, you get seriously drunk and may do or say things you probably regret later. After all, your guests are still your customers. Not good. On the other hand, you go there specifically for the beer. So if you do not drink beer (or not much) you will be labeled as spoil-sport, sissy, or Mr. Boring. Not good either. Here's the solution: as you are going to pay for all the beers and the food, you grab your waitress at the very beginning, take her to one of the main aisles and explain your rules for the evening: "Look, these are my customers. I can't get drunk in front of them. So, whatever I say or do, you will get a beer without alcohol to me. Even when I order a round of five beers for all of us, you will bring four normal beers and one non-alcoholic beer for me. I am going to pay for all of us, and don't worry - you will get plenty of tip."It's a win-win situation for all of you. The waitress knows that she has just one contact. She will get additional tip, and she knows that you will keep an eye on your group - which means less trouble for her. Your customers get drunk and believe you're getting drunk, too. And you can drink as much as you want while keeping all your senses (and have no headache the next day). The obvious drawback: It is a really depressing experience to see the folks around you getting comfortably drunk while you have to stay sober. So try to keep smiling and try to have fun! Always think about the benefits for your business. :-) 30. Do you have tips for a single woman visiting the fest? First, you do not need a reservation, because as a single person you are much more flexible than groups are. Should you encounter a "closed tent", you just wait a couple of minutes and sneak in once the tent is open again. Even in front of a closed tent, a single woman (who is not drunk yet!) can always tell the security guy that her colleagues are inside. Just be sober and friendly, you know the drill. He might actually let you in. :-) Meeting new people is no problem. As a woman you will have to actually fend off the guys. Pick one of the tables where the guys are not too drunk, with plenty of normal people around (families, business guys, younger folks). It's not a good idea to inquire at a large table with just (drunk) males. They certainly will find a place for you, but will you have a fun time? Anyway, visitors to the fest come from everywhere in the world, with lots of English speakers around. So you have a good chance to meet someone. But also the locals like a nice chat. If getting a seat is a problem in a packed tent, just ask the waitress politely for a place. She will almost always be able to assign a seat for you. You will want to avoid the darker corners of a tent. While you will not feel unsecure there (security is omnipresent), you will just experience half of the action (band, people, etc.). A good place is somewhere in the middle of the tent, not too close to the band, but not too far away either. When asking for a seat at a table as a single woman, it is always a good idea to stay close to the aisle until you are more comfortable with the situation. That will make it more easy to get away should the need arise (because the guys can't behave). Alternatively, try to sit next to another woman in the group. The mood on a table can change quickly! It's just a matter of one additional round of beer. In such situations just grab your beer and leave the table. It is not unsafe at the festival, but sitting at a table among a bunch of drunk guys is not genuine fun either. For a single woman, I do not think that all the tents are equally suitable. I'd avoid the Weinzelt (wine tent) which is not strictly a beer tent. A lot of older folks can be found here, so it's not that much fun anyway. Also they cater a very limited selection of beers. The Käfer tent is the place where the German celebreties hang around, but it's quite hard to get in, and it's not your typical tent either. The Hofbräu drowns in tourists (well, well). Hippodrom is interesting with its circus like interior design, but it's again not typical. Gay people tend to like the Bräurosl. That leaves the following tents for your purposes:
31. What time do tents close the doors? The Beer Serving Hours are 10am to 10:30pm on weekdays, and 9am to 10:30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (exception: on opening Saturday they will start beer serving at noon). At 10:30pm the band will stop playing, the lights will go on, and the waitresses will clean the tables around you. Typically you will have left by 11pm. Only exception to this is the Käfer tent which closes at 1am (last orders at 12:15am).
32. Where are the best places to go after the fest closes in the evening? When the major tents close, everybody heads to the Käfer first. They are allowed to open longer in the night (dunno why though). As you can imagine, the whole fest rushes there, so chances are close to nil to get in once all the tents are closed. You might be better off looking there about an hour before closing time. If you can't get in to Käfer tent, then you might consider Kultfabrik (close to Ostbahnhof) with several pubs, discos and bars, or the Parkcafe (close to Stachus). Some people are heading straight for the P1 club, but getting in might be difficult. If you just want to continue the night in the Oktoberfest mood, you will want to check out Das Wiesnzelt, which features a genuine Oktoberfest beer tent located in the traditional Löwenbräu Keller at the Stiglmaierplatz [U1], complete with waitresses in Dirndls, lots of Maßbier, and a traditional band. The venue is run by the Schottenhamel brothers who also run the Schottenhamel tent on the Oktoberfest, so they know exactly what they are doing. During Oktoberfest, the Wiesnzelt opens every day until 3 a.m. in the morning. Reservation is highly recommended, but it can be done easily through an online form.
33. I will stay for a couple of days in Munich - what are the must-see's? Munich has plenty of attractions for the visitor. With its surroundings, you can easily spend four or five days here without getting bored. Here is -in no specific order- a list of attractions you should not miss when you are in Munich:
34. My question is not listed. How can I get an answer? Well, well, you can always send me a mail with your question. I try to answer each serious question as good as possible. But please do not hold your breath waiting for a reply. After all, I've got some photos to shoot in the first place. :-) * * * Map of Oktoberfest Munich 2009
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