Oktoberfest – known locally as die Wiesn – was first held on 12-17 October 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria wanted to entertain people during the celebrations of his marriage to Princess Theresa of Saxony. So horse races were organised in a meadow located on the outskirts of Munich, which would later be known as Theresienwiese in honour of the bride. The festival, attended by thousands of people, was a resounding success and became the most famous event in the young Kingdom of Bavaria, which had been founded just four years earlier. The Bavarians continued to talk about and remember the festival for months, so the Bavarian Farmers’ Association held it again the following year, adding exhibitions and cattle competitions to the horse races. In the following years, the Munich authorities took care of the costs and the organisation, and thus was born one of the youngest – but also most popular – festivals in all of Germany.

Every year, more than six million people visit Oktoberfest and drink 7.7 million litres of beer, which is highly regulated. Beer can only be served if it has been brewed within the boundaries of Munich and complies with the so-called Law of Purity, which specifies which ingredients can be used to brew it. In addition, the beer served at Oktoberfest must always contain a minimum of 13.5 per cent Stammwürze, which translates into six per cent alcohol. Given these regulations, only six breweries can serve their produce at this festival. The oldest of them is the famous Augustiner-Bräu, founded by Augustinian monks in 1328. Then there’s Hacker-Pschorr, a brewery founded in the 15th century that was divided over the centuries due to inheritance and reunified in 1972. The well-known Paulaner, also founded by monks in 1634, is the youngest of the six. Hofbräu has left its mark throughout the city of Munich, Löwenbräu has the greatest sense of humour and Spaten provides the beer that always kicks off Oktoberfest.

At first, beer was not an indispensable part of the festival. In fact, it was not until the late 19th century that different attractions such as beer tents, rides and food stalls were added to horse races, making the Theresienwiese a place to have fun. In 1887, the Wirte, or brewers, left the city together, heading towards Theresienwiese before the start of the festival to meet up with the fairgoers. Oktoberfest’s opening ceremony has been gradually refined ever since. Every year a parade is held in which the Wiesnwirte are led by Munich’s mayor until they reach the fair where, since 1950, the city councilman enters the Schottenhamel tent and ‘uncorks’ the festival’s first barrel of Spaten beer. This is not as easy as it sounds, and the Germans usually make a lot of jokes about the number of times that each mayor needs to hit the barrel to open it (some have taken up to 20 attempts). When he is finally successful, the mayor shouts “O’zapft is!” which, in the Bavarian dialect, means “It’s open!”, marking the official start of Oktoberfest.

The official opening of Wiesn always occurs on the first Saturday after 15 September, which this year falls on the 21st, and the celebrations extend until the first Sunday in October, in this case the 6th. In the 19th century, at the request of the people, the authorities began to organise the event a few days earlier than its original dates, while the sun still shines and the autumn rains have not yet begun to fall. Nowadays, the Oktoberfest calendar also includes a very special date for Germans: 3 October has been celebrated since 1990 as the Day of German Reunification, one of the country’s most important holidays and which – like almost everything – Germans take very seriously. On this date, apart from various political events, you will not find any open supermarkets, museums or restaurants. The only refuge is in the Oktoberfest tents.

The good news is that a multitude of activities can be enjoyed within the venue. Although horse racing was eliminated in 1960, many other traditions have been maintained and new ones have been adopted. In addition to drinking beer, you can taste some pinnacles of German cuisine such as Pretzels, Vienna sausages, or frankenfurters and sauerkraut. However, the most delicious options are the recipes designed specifically for Oktoberfest, such as Schweinshaxe – roasted ham knuckle, very popular in traditional German taverns – Käsespätzle as a vegetarian option and, above all, Wiesnhendl (butter-grilled chicken). Other great Oktoberfest attractions include classic fair rides, such as the Toboggan, a Ferris wheel, a tunnel of terror, an Olympia Looping roller coaster and a music hall, among many others. The Toboggan – a favourite for decades – is the most famous attraction as it causes more fun for those who watch from below than for those riding on it, since to reach its tower, you have to climb a moving conveyor belt, so the falls are quite a spectacle. Another symbol of Oktoberfest is the Ferris wheel, an icon since 1970. At 50m high, it offers a panoramic view of Munich, although the intense roller coaster also has a good number of fans.

For the full experience, many visitors rent or buy a Tracht, or traditional costume, from southern Germany. Although in the second half of the 20th century it was considered quite old-fashioned to wear traditional clothes to Oktoberfest, fashions always return and today there is nothing more associated with this festival than the image of men wearing their Lederhosen and women in their Dirndls. The men’s outfit consists of short, embroidered leather breeches along with traditional braces – which should match the breeches – and a waistcoat. In the case of women, the dirndl consists of a richly embroidered skirt and bodice, which are nowadays joined into a one-piece dress, to which an underblouse and a belted apron are added. Original trachten, made according to the traditional designs in local workshops, cost thousands of euros and the Bavarians – who also use them for celebrations such as weddings – pride themselves on detecting the quality of each costume. However, in recent years the popularity of traditional costumes has spread so much that many stores offer good quality options at moderate prices for those who want to get a garment that lasts a lifetime (and avoid the ridicule of the Bavarians). Brands such as Angermaier or the centuries-old Hirmer are very popular options where people looking at these regional costumes for the first time can find specialists to advise them. The option to rent is tremendously popular in Germany and some companies, such as Lederhosenverleih, have traditional models of the finest quality.

Oktoberfest is a very busy event and admission is always free, so some tips for enjoying it to the fullest are always welcome. If you ask the locals who visit the festival every year, the first thing you will hear is that it is essential to make a booking in one of the tents. It’s not an easy task, as most bookings are for local clubs or groups of lifelong friends (if you plan to visit Oktoberfest in 2025, remember that many of the tents open their booking period between December and April before the festival), but Armbrustschützenzelt tents offer bookings for every Saturday at Oktoberfest, one of the busiest days of the week, while Ochsenbraterei usually opens new bookings 24 hours in advance for each day of the festival and currently accepts bookings for meal times. It is important to remember that the tents remain open all day, but they have different shifts from 9am to 11pm and, depending on the time of day when you access each of them, you will find different ambiances. For those who have been able to make a booking, it is ideal to find out at what time each tent changes shifts to get in the queue as soon as possible, remembering that the side entrances are usually less crowded. In each tent – the largest have capacity for up to 10,000 people – there are many spaces intended for visitors without a booking, but in such a case it is important to ensure that you carry as much cash as possible and are prepared to hand out a lot of tips. Once you’ve sat down and received your beer, all you have to do is learn how to toast: every time they do, the Germans exclaim “Prost!” and, as a sign of respect, they look into each other’s eyes as they lift their steins.