Oktoberfest 2026: Dates, Beer Prices and How It Works

From Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, October 4, 2026, sixteen days on the Theresienwiese in Munich. It is the 191st Oktoberfest. The festival is only extended when German Unity Day on October 3 falls on a Monday or Tuesday; in 2026 it is a Saturday, so the run stays at the standard sixteen days. Sources: muenchen.de, City of Munich.

The name comes from the very first festival in 1810, held in October for the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, which is also where Theresienwiese gets its name. Because September weather in Bavaria is much kinder, the start was gradually moved forward during the 19th century. The closing Sunday still lands in October, so the name survives. Sources: muenchen.de, oktoberfest.de.

Between 14.80 and 15.90 euros for a Maß, the one-litre stein, with an average of 15.61 euros. The cheapest pour is traditionally the Augustiner-Festhalle, going from 14.50 up to 14.90 euros this year, while several large tents charge 15.90. That means the 16 euro barrier is not quite broken in 2026. Each tent operator sets the price. Sources: muenchen.de.

They are also priced by the litre and are not cheap: mineral water 11.13 euros, lemonade 12.47 euros and Spezi (cola and orange) 12.84 euros, on average. Alcohol-free beer costs around 15.73 euros, which is essentially the price of the real thing. All of these went up slightly from 2025. Sources: muenchen.de.

No. Entry to the grounds and into the beer tents is free, and there is no general admission ticket. You only pay for what you use: food, drinks, fairground rides and table reservations. The single exception is the Oide Wiesn, the historic section, at 4 euros per person, free after 9 p.m. Sources: muenchen.de, oktoberfest.de.

No, but it changes your day. A fixed share of seats in every tent is kept free for walk-in guests, so arriving early usually works. Your odds are best on weekday mornings; on weekends and evenings the big tents often close their doors by early afternoon because they are full. Reservations are made directly with each tent operator, normally for a whole table and bundled with food and drink vouchers. Sources: muenchen.de.

Tents open at 9 a.m., though on the opening Saturday no beer is served until the noon tapping. Monday to Thursday the Wiesn runs 10 a.m. to 11.30 p.m., and on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. Music and service stop earlier than the closing time, with last orders usually around 10.30 p.m. Sources: muenchen.de.

14 large festival tents and 21 smaller ones, plus more than a hundred rides and fairground attractions. The best known of the big tents are the Schottenhamel, where the opening tapping happens, the Hofbräu tent, the most popular with international visitors, and the Augustiner-Festhalle, where the beer is still served from wooden barrels. Sources: muenchen.de, oktoberfest.de.

Only Munich's six traditional breweries are allowed to pour: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten. The beer must be brewed within Munich under the German purity law, and the Festbier served is stronger and maltier than a standard Helles, usually around 6 percent alcohol. Sources: muenchen.de.

Mayor Dominik Krause, and it is his first time doing it. He taps the first keg at noon on Saturday, September 19, in the Schottenhamel tent and opens the festival with the traditional cry of "O'zapft is!" (it is tapped). Only after that can beer be served anywhere on the grounds. The number of hammer blows he needs is the one statistic all of Munich discusses that afternoon. Sources: muenchen.de.

The historic quarter of Oktoberfest, at the southern edge of the Theresienwiese: vintage rides, folk singers, brass bands and calmer tents, noticeably more family-friendly than the main festival. Entry costs 4 euros per person and is free after 9 p.m. New for 2026: access runs on QR codes instead of wristbands, with a stamp for re-entry and an extra entrance closer to the main grounds. Sources: muenchen.de.

Around 6 million visitors from around the world are expected across the sixteen days. Weekday mornings are the quietest, the two Saturdays and German Unity Day are the busiest. Tuesdays are family day, with reduced prices on the rides until 7 p.m. Sources: muenchen.de, City of Munich.

The Museumszelt at 14.80 euros a Maß, the cheapest on the whole Wiesn. Among the fourteen large tents the Augustiner-Festhalle is cheapest at 14.90, and the dearest big tents sit at 15.90. The outlier is Kuffler's Weinzelt, which is a wine tent rather than a beer tent and charges 18.40 euros for its Maß of wheat beer. Prices rose about 2.38 percent on 2025. Sources: muenchen.de, oktoberfest.de, iamexpat.

Bags are limited to three litres of volume, or 20 by 15 by 10 centimetres, so ordinary backpacks are turned away at the gate. There is an absolute knife ban across the whole Theresienwiese, including the traditional Trachtenmesser worn in Lederhosen, with fines reported up to 1,000 euros. Cannabis is banned on the grounds despite partial legalisation in Germany, with fines up to 1,500 euros. Metal detectors have been in use at the entrances since 2024, and the site is covered by more than 50 cameras. Sources: Abendzeitung, nordbayern.de, oktoberfest.de.

By U-Bahn. Theresienwiese (U4 and U5) is the closest station, but it is regularly closed for crowd control on busy days, in which case Goetheplatz and Poccistrasse (U3 and U6) or Schwanthalerhoehe (U4 and U5) are the alternatives. Munich Hauptbahnhof is roughly a ten-minute walk. There is effectively no visitor parking, and the city is explicit about not driving. Sources: muenchen.de, MVG.

There is no dress code, and plenty of visitors turn up in normal clothes. Most locals wear Tracht: a Dirndl for women, Lederhosen with a checked shirt for men. One detail worth knowing before you buy one: the position of the bow on a Dirndl apron is read as a signal, tied on the left meaning single, on the right meaning taken, at the back meaning widowed or a waitress. Cheap costume-shop versions are noticed and mildly mocked. Sources: muenchen.de, oktoberfest.de.

The tents open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, but nothing alcoholic is served until the mayor taps the first barrel at noon. Snacks and soft drinks are available from 10 a.m., and the rides start turning at the same time as the beer starts flowing. Getting into a big tent on opening morning means being there well before 9. Source: muenchen.de.

A new tent, Bartls Floesserstadl, built around Munich's river-rafting tradition, and three rides worth queueing for: Fisherman's, a three-storey water attraction making its Wiesn debut, Shake & Roll, licensed for the festival for the first time, and the returning Chaos Pendel, which swings riders to 42 metres at up to 80 km/h. Sources: muenchen.de, MUC Blog.

At roughly half the stands and rides, yes. Cashless payment has spread across the Theresienwiese but it is still each operator's own decision, and the tents remain the most conservative on this. Bring cash for the beer and treat card acceptance as a bonus. Source: muenchen.de.

From 2026 the big tents may play music from 11 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. at weekends, earlier than before, with the opening day excepted. Until noon only traditional brass music is allowed, which is why the Wiesn sounds like a different festival before and after lunch. Source: muenchen.de.