Telling you about the Oktoberfest in Munich is not that unique, but I want to add a little info that you might not know. Perhaps, like me, you’ve never been because you are not a big drinker, or keen on being in a tent with a bunch of drunken um papas. Well, by chance I was in Munich during the fest and I saw a different side to it. I saw no drunks the entire week I was there! I was in Munich with my young daughter and we decided to visit the iconic festival even though I knew I wouldn’t be joining in the drinking fun. What a surprise we had! Oktoberfest is perfect for kids!
Munich Oktoberfest With Kids
The Oktoberfest is ideal for a family with kids. On Tuesdays, 10am-7pm there are reduced prices for kids on the rides and other kinds of discounts. Parents only pay 3 Euros for rides and kids get discount tickets. Every Family Day at the festival kids get to ride the Devil’s Wheel for free. The beer tents offer kids meals and menus at special prices. Throughout the festival – even when it is not Family Day parents can take their kids to the Familienplatzl on Wiesn-Straße 3. Here there will be family-friendly facilities and even a few rides for babies. Check if this is still valid for the Munich Oktoberfest 2024 by visiting the official Oktoberfest site.
How To Visit the Munich Octoberfest 2024
Make sure you arrive in Munich for the festival’s first-day opening parade. The parade passes through the streets of Munich from Sonnenstraße-Schwanthalerstraße to the Oktoberfest grounds. Horse-drawn wagons decorated in flowers, marching bands, a few floats, and everyone in German national costume. You can view the parade from anywhere along the route for free. Alternatively, you can buy tickets to get a seat on raised benches along the side of the road. I don’t think it’s necessary to buy a ticket. on the first Sunday of the Munich Oktoberfest 2024 you can see the costume and rifleman’s parade, where a procession of costumed Germans show off their traditional attire.
Fairground Attractions & Shows
Opening day: noon-midnight
Mondays – Thursdays: 10 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Fridays, Saturdays: 10 a.m. – midnight
Sundays: 10 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
The Munich Oktoberfest 2024, like all previous Octoberfests, will be one enormous amusement park. There will be row after row of roller coasters, haunted houses, shooting galleries, flying swings and more. Alongside the rides will be the beer tents. It is worth stopping at one of these large and colorful tents just to see the traditional um papa bands, the traditional costumes and the decorations.
What Can you Eat at the Octoberfest?
There is of course also the food. Ah, the food! Gingerbread hearts hang from strings outside little wooden stands, and the smell of German sausage permeates the air. Kids will love the many toys and sweet treats being sold at the festival. You can find savory food including traditional sausages, fish and meat dishes as well as traditional sweets and gingerbread necklaces.
Munich Oktoberfest 2024 Events
The official schedule has not yet been published but here are some of the annual events and their times, that you can expect in 2024.
- 09:00 Festival Opening (first day)
- 11:00 Munich Octoberfest Opening Parade (first day)
- 12:00 Beer is now served and the beer tents are open (first day)
- Gay Sunday (first Sunday)
- 10:00 The bigger parade (first Sunday)
- 12:00 beer tents open to all (LGBTQ+ and straight) (first Sunday)
- Family Day (two during the festival) All day until 19:00
- 10:00 Oktoberfest church service
- Outdoor concert
- Gun salute ending the Munich Oktoberfest (last day)
- Official closing of the festival (last day)
Don’t Miss Oktoberfest 2024
Source: Shirley Hirst on Pixabay
The locals dress up in their traditional clothes to celebrate this event, and you can buy your own traditional outfit at the festival. On route to the festival grounds, you’ll locals riding the subway in their costumes!
Where:
Munich fairgrounds,
Munich,
Germany.
Getting there:
You can enter the fairground from Goetheplatz or Poccistraßeunderground stops, which are reached by U3 and U6 or Schwanthalerhöhe and Theresienwiese on the U4 and U5 lines. I would go for Theresienwiese.
When:
The Munich Oktoberfest usually runs for three weekends in September ending on the first Sunday in October. But the 2024 Munich Oktoberfest has been extended and will run from 16 September 2024 to 3 October 2024.
Open hours:
Approximately 10:00 – 12 midnight.
Family day:
Tuesdays
Note:
Oktoberfest accommodation is hard to come by, book early.
Don’t go at peak times (lunch and dinner) to avoid crowds.
take the kids!
Web site:
