10 Golden Rules for Oktoberfest (2024)

FAQs

What is the most important thing on Oktoberfest? ›

Beer Tents

One of the most important things about Oktoberfest are the tents (which are more like permanent looking warehouses than tents). There are fourteen of them scattered around the fair grounds, mostly along the main avenue. Every tent has a different personality.

Leave everything at home that you won't need while partying. It'll be much quicker to get into the Oktoberfest if you don't have a bag or backpack with you. Any bags and backpacks you bring must have a maximum holding capacity of three litres and maximum dimensions of 20 cm x 15 cm x 10 cm.

Beers must contain only malted barley (contains gluten), yeast, hops, and water. Originating in 1487 and enacted as law all the way back in 1516, this 'purity law' (in German: Reinheitsgebot) might seem harsh at first glance but it ensured set quality standards and protected the industry.

Besides the food and beer, the festival is full of traditional Bavarian music, open-air performances, a grand entry and parades, vendor tents, carnival rides, a shooting competition, and traditional German outfits. The two-week fair wraps up in dramatic fashion with a boisterous brass band and a gun salute.

The average Oktoberfest visit does not include a table reservation, hence, without one, you're in good company. All the large tents, except the Weinzelt and Käfer, are obliged to keep large sections unreserved. As many struggle to find free seats nonetheless, we'd like to offer some tips to you.

YES! ABSOLUTELY! 100 %. There were tons of girls there in normal dresses, jeans, and even shorts (y'all it was cold — not sure what they were thinking).

Oktoberfest tents are cash only! Germany is a big cash country, so plan to carry euros with you.

What to bring? Entry to both the Oktoberfest and the tents is free. One exception is the Oide Wies'n – the historical part of Oktoberfest that takes you back in time with old-fashioned beer, food, and rides; to enter, you have to pay a small fee (4 euro). Make sure you bring cash, as credit cards are not accepted.

At Oktoberfest, when cheersing with your fellow beer drinkers, you're supposed to cheers each other, touch your glass to the table, then drink. Naturally, this act has its roots way back in ye olde beer-drinking times. Throughout time, Oktoberfest nobility had come to mix more and more with the commoners.

What is Oktoberfest beer called? ›

One thing is for sure at Oktoberfest everyone is drinking German lager. These are called Oktoberfestbiers in and around Germany. Within this family of German-brewed lagers there are two types: the dark, malt-forward Märzen and the lighter, hoppier Festbier.

Don't chug a stein of beer!

You might think you are the king of beer and can handle it easily but that doesn't mean you can drink a whole liter of beer at once at Oktoberfest.

From pretzels as big as your head to sizzling sausages and heavenly pastries, Oktoberfest is a foodie's paradise. From delicious deep-fried dishes like Kartoffelpuffer or slow-roasted Schweinshaxe (pork shanks) to refreshing beers like Hofbräu Maibock, it's hard to go wrong at this traditional food at Oktoberfest.

Whatever you choose to drink, make sure to enjoy it in a festive atmosphere! You don't have to like beer to enjoy Octoberfest! There are plenty of other ways to celebrate this Bavarian festival. Octoberfest does not have to be held in a traditional bierkeller.

Along with the traditional activities that have persisted since pagan times, modern Midsummer festivalgoers indulge in beer and schnapps, eat pickled herring and boiled new potatoes with chives or fresh dill and sour cream, and wear flower wreaths in their hair. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Oktoberfest".

Oktoberfest, annual festival in Munich, Germany, held over a two-week period and ending on the first Sunday in October. The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

The festival grew to include live concerts, carnival rides, an agricultural fair, horse races, and the famous beer tents. If there is one thing Oktoberfest is most famous for, it is beer. In fact, roughly 7.5 million gallons of beer are consumed each year at the Munich Oktoberfest alone!

Oktoberfest is held annually from the Saturday after September 15 to the first Sunday in October. If October 1 or 2 is a Sunday, Oktoberfest is extended up to and including October 3 (a public holiday in Germany).

For many years, the Oktoberfest served two main purposes: a celebration of the royal family and a showcase of local agriculture. You must imagine that in those days, Munich and the surrounding area was agrarian land. The Oktoberfest was an ideal place for farmers to present, and moreover celebrate, their achievements.