Is Munich crazy at Octoberfest?
 

We are planning to arrive in Augsberg September 20th and use it as our base for munich. We would like to see Octoberfest at the openning but then we would like to do other things in Munich. Will everything be open - museums etc.? Will lines be long? Is four (4) days too much time or is there enough to do? We will leave Augsberg and go toFussen, Meersburg, Gutach, Stuttart and then fly out of Frankfurt.

Sorry - Stuttgart!!!!!

Frankly, I never noticed a difference in Munich between Octoberfest and non-Octoberfest except that hotels are harder to come by and are more expensive. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but that's the way it seemed to me.

I like the idea of using Augsburg as a base. I was there for a few days last summer and was really impressed by the architecture--and by the lack of tourists. I especially enjoyed wandering around the Fuggerei. I went to the chapel for a Mass in Italian, but the priest didn't show up. Oh, well, I don't understand Italian, anyway.

I was there last year for the first time and I didn't find Munich to be too crowded. Oktoberfest is packed, but there were no lines anywhere else.

JAHVOLD!

Was haben Sie gedenken?

The Oktoberfest itself will be crazy and packed full, especially at night. Munich town center is always packed whether Oktoberfest is on or not. There may be more tourists then but I have not noticed a difference. If you avoid Saturday, there might be less of a crowd (but there will still be a crowd). Museums are usually closed on Mondays. Check the Internet for opening times before making the trip. Four days for Augsburg and Munich is not too long. It is not enough - although I've known people to see Munich in one day -running from one place to another and having no time to go in anywhere! :)

Odd....the first time we were in the Munich area for Oktoberfest we stayed in Augsberg because we couldn't GET a room in Munich.

We took the train into the city in the early evening and wondered where everything was..nobody seemed to know until someone finally gave us directions out to the tents, ferris wheel, etc., where everything WAS happening.

No, there were no mobs at the Marienplatz or anywhere else but may well have been during the earlier hours.

We were in Munich for Oktoberfest just this past year (2006). We arrived the weekend it started and left the following weekend. We went to the Oktoberfest on a Tuesday and got there at about 1. It was raining, so that probably made it less crowded but it was almost empty when we arrived. We enjoyed that because it gave us time to get our bearings, find a tent, eat and then wander. By about 4pm it got more crowded and we went to a busier tent and really enjoyed ourselves. It's very crowded but not unbearable.

Having spent the week in Munich we noticed a significant increase in the number of people in the city for Oktoberfest (many wear the traditional Bavarian clothes) by Friday night and we were glad we weren't going to Oktoberfest on the weekend. The Viktualien Market also got much busier (this was noticeable when trying to get something to eat at one of the surrounding restaurants) on the weekend.

It's a fun time to be around Munich though and I was surprised by how much we enjoyed the Oktoberfest. Have fun!

I'm going this year. I'm VERY excited.

Apparantly it's fun for about 48 hours (according to my husband who went every year in his student days and beyond). I would imagine 4 days is too much and stick to my husbands 48 hour rule.

I think 48 hours at Oktoberfest would be enough, but there is definitely plenty to do in Munich itself to fill 4 days.

I pray hard for gusty winds and never ending rain, blizzards and temps well below freezing! :D

The nice fatty food will keep us warm.

logos999,

I know you can't wait every year. For the end!

Yes, it's a real pain. :-(. You forget about it and suddenly it's there again. Hope I find a possibility to travel somewhere abroad during those weeks.

You will have fun. I lived in Munich years ago and have been to Oktoberfest 5-6 times in the past 30 years. The last time in 2006 for 2 days. Actually, 48 hours is perfect, as others have said. That will give you 2 days at the fest, maybe with a day apart, since you will be there 4 days. Try to stay way from Friday and Saturday at the fest. The other days got to the museums, the zoo (one of the best), or the Englisher Garden. The city has a constant flow of people but is never crowded, even during Oktoberfest. The busiest and craziest I have ever seen it was on a November 11, the beginning of Fasching.

My husband and I were in Munich for Oktoberfest last year. We arrived on a Monday. We followed the crowds off of the U-bahn around 4pm and had no trouble finding a seat inside a tent. Later, in the evening, it was quite crowded, but there were spots open in most tents. We remained in Munich for two full days after that and kept extremely busy. There are great museums, the Alte Pinakotek and Residenz, and churches galore to visit.

It's on Faschingsdienstag (in February) not Nov.11, you mixed up the dates. ;-). Nov 11 is pretty "lame".

You are correct Faschingdienstag is the day before Ash Wednesday and the last day of Fasching. It is a day full of parties as are the days immediately before. All this ends at midnight on Ash Wednesday. This year this happens next week.

The Fasching season in Munich actually starts at the 11 second of the 11 minute of the 11 hour of the 11 day of the 11 Month. At that time in the Marienplatz the mayor (I think) has the opening ceremony and the place goes crazy all along the fussganger zone for the rest of the day into the afternoon.

Fasching is then quickly over shadowed by Christmas and does not take off again until after January 7. Then the fasching parties start until Faschingdienstag.

Fasching is Carnival/Mardi Gras in Munich. Instead of parades as New Orleans, Mainz, and other places in Munich it is costume parties and formal balls.

>and the place goes crazy all along the fussganger zone for the rest of the day into the afternoon.
Nope, not in Munich on that day.

logos999,

I'm due to go to Oktoberfest in 2010 if not before. I will sing loudly in the tent (sorry) but I'll remain quiet as I find my way to the U-Bahn and head home at night. My small part to help.