September 2023
Germany’s second largest city hosts the most popular beer festival in the world which includes a fun fair and goes from mid-September to the first Sunday of October.
General Tips / Notes
- Bring plenty of cash. Beers cost about €14.50 each and it’s advised you tip (the servers will like you and come back often)
- We went on the opening day and got in line around 6:45am when Oktoberfest grounds didn’t even open until 9am. The line was insanely long by the time they started letting people in and if we didn’t do this, we wouldn’t have gotten a good spot at a table. Not sure if this was special to opening day or the case for weekend days in general, but worth looking into. If you are going to stand in line for some time, bring some beers and food from a nearby convenience store
- Get a lederhosen or some type of outfit. They are fairly expensive (albeit nicer, but north of €150) at the shops around Munich but fun to get fitted / purchase there. If price is a concern, try looking on Amazon before your trip. But you would stick out like a sore thumb in normal attire
- Hofbräu tent is the “party” tent and has many tourists, worth visiting even if shortly. Also worth wandering between tents as you can see different ones
- Try to get reservations for at least one day and you can be seated for some time and have your own table in a section but otherwise you can probably find tables to stand / sit at in communal areas without much of a problem. The reservations generally get booked out well in advance
- Try the half chicken they serve at the tents
- Take the train from the airport into the city, it’s pretty easy to figure out
Food
Apologies to all my German friends for this statement but you’re probably not visiting here for the food. That being said, it’s a big enough city that you can find nice Michelin-starred places if you have time but should also try the schnitzels / local foods to see what it’s like.
Münchner Stubn
- Best schnitzel I had in Munich
Restaurant Central Café
- Ambience of a fancy restaurant, food was decent
Nightlife
- Lots of beer gardens around Marienplatz (city center square) that are fun to bop around, some of the ones I went to are Hacker-Pschorr, Augustine Stammhaus, and the world-famous HofbrauHaus
- There is a stretch of clubs near Maximiliansplatz that are very Euro-style clubby. Probably best to not show up in lederhosens / Oktoberfest gear or the bouncers may give you a hard time
Activities
Neuschwanstein Castle
- Most visited castle in the world. Didn’t get to go myself as it is a full-day trip (you can take the train)
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- Town near Germany’s highest mountain peak. Can do hiking, enjoy nature views here, and it is a full-day trip (you can take the train)
- Shaka Burgerhouse in town is a solid spot to grab food & drinks
Lodging
Jaeger’s Hostel
- Decent hostel, nothing super special and probably others can be found that are equally as good but it gets the job done and can meet people here
- Probably should book out lodging in advance as it fills up for Oktoberfest (and gets pricy)