🍺Oktoberfest

About Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest — the world's largest folk festival — traditionally begins in mid-to-late September, when the Mayor of Munich taps the first keg at noon with the cry of "O'zapft is!" (It's tapped!). It opens on the Saturday that falls between September 16 and 22 and runs about two weeks into early October, filling the tents with music, the smell of roast chicken and six million visitors.

The first Oktoberfest was a royal wedding party: in October 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese, and the people of Munich were invited to celebrate on the fields now called Theresienwiese ("Therese's meadow" — locals just say die Wiesn). The party was so good they never stopped, moving the start into September over time for warmer evenings.

Inside the seventeen giant tents, only beer brewed within Munich's city limits by the six traditional breweries may be served, by the liter, in the famous Maß glass — around seven million liters are poured each year. Beyond beer there are brass bands, lederhosen and dirndls, fairground rides, and Bavarian classics from pretzels the size of your head to whole roast ox. Pro tip: weekday mornings are the relaxed local secret; Saturday opening weekend is gloriously chaotic.