© München Tourismus, Werner Boehm The 189th Munich Oktoberfest
from Sat, Sept. 21, – Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024
The biggest festival in the world, now in its 189th year, takes place on the Theresienwiese. The 189th Oktoberfest will be celebrated for 16 days this year. It kicks off with the traditional barrel tapping by Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter on 21 September at 12 noon in the Schottenhamel Festhalle.
Wiesn for families
The two family days, which take place on the first two Tuesdays, are a good opportunity for a stroll around the Wiesn at reduced ticket, admission and sales prices.
The origin
Four years after Bavaria became a kingdom, Crown Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig I, married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The official wedding celebrations lasted five days. The festivities in the city centre, which were already called a “folk fair” at the time, ended on October 17 with a horse race on the grasslands outside the gates of Munich. Children in traditional Bavarian costumes paid homage to the attending members of the royal family with poems, flowers and fruits of the land. In honour of the bride, the fairground was named “Theresens- Wiese”. This is still the name of the Oktoberfest grounds today: “Theresienwiese” – in Munich parlance called the “Wiesn” for short.
Oktoberfest Location: Theresienwiese, München
Opening hours
Beer tent opening times
On the first Saturday of the Oktoberfest, the tents will open at 9 a.m., non-alcoholic beverages (except beer) will be available from 10 a.m., and at 12 noon it will be time to “Ozapft is!” With the tapping, the Oktoberfest is officially opened!
- Monday through Friday, the tents open at 10 a.m. and close at 11:30 p.m.
- On Saturdays, Sundays the public holiday on October 3rd, beer is served from 9 a.m., the last beer tapping is at 11:30 p.m.
- In the big tents the last beer and the last music is at 10:30. p.m.
- In the small tents, such as chicken fryers, snack and café tents, the last beer and music is at 11 pm.
- Exceptions: The Käfer Wiesn-Schänke and Kuffler’s Weinzelt (wine tent) are open till 1 am, last call here is at 12.30 am.
More about the tents
Sales Booths (souveniors, cigarettes, etc.)
Monday – Thursday: 10 am – 11:30 pm
Friday: 10 am – 12 am (midnight)
Saturday: 9 am – 12 am
Sundays and holidays: 9 am – 11:30 pm
Carnival and Rides
Monday – Thursday: 10 am – 11:30 pm
Friday, Saturday: 10 am – 12 am
Sundays and holidays: 10 am – 11:30 pm
Family Days (with reduced prices)
Every Tuesday from 12 pm until 6 pm
Discounted ride, entrance, and sales prices!
For more information: www.oktoberfest.de/en
All about beer…
Among the many attractions, the “liquid gold” is probably the most important thing at the Oktoberfest. As usual, over 6 million liters of beer will be drunk this year.
Price: The beer price for Oktoberfest 2024 is between 13.60 euros and 15.30 euros, an average of 3.87 percent more than in 2023.
Serving times: Beer will be sold in the tents from 10.00 to 22.30 on weekdays and from 9.00 to 22.30 on saturdays, sundays and holidays.
The Bavarian Purity Requirements:
It’s no coincidence that Bavaria has the best beer in the world: Since the 16th century there have been strong regulations about brewing beer and how to keep up the high quality of the final product by choosing the ingredients very carefully. One of the oldest laws concerning food and drink is the Bavarian Purity Requirements, decreed by Duke William IV in 1516: Only water, hops and barley should be used to brew Bavarian beer.
The Schottenhamel tent
One of the most important tents of the Wiesn, as everything starts inside this tent.
On the opening day of the Wiesn, at 12 pm on the dot, the mayor of Munich will tap the first keg and call out “O’zapft is!” confirming that the tapping was successful. It is only after this that all other tents may begin to serve beer.
The Schottenhamel tent, which in 1867 was just a small beer booth with 50 seats, has become the largest Wiesn tent with circa 10,000 seats. The Schottenhamel is the favorite amongst Munich’s young people who meet there to drink and party.