When Is Munich Oktoberfest: 2027 Dates and Opening Day

Oktoberfest is over for this year, so 2027 is the next chance. This guide covers the dates, the opening day, the grounds and what the festival does to your hotel bill. The next step, tables and tickets, has its own guide: read it on Oktoberfest tickets once your dates are set.

When is Munich Oktoberfest in 2027?

Munich Oktoberfest 2027 runs from Saturday 18 September to Sunday 3 October 2027. The festival's own site announces it for the Theresienwiese. That is 16 days, the same length as in 2026.

The 2026 festival ended on Sunday 4 October, so there is nothing left to visit this year. Plan for 2027.

Key Takeaway Oktoberfest 2027 starts on Saturday 18 September and ends on Sunday 3 October. Book your bed for those 16 days first, because the table can wait until spring.

The festival's own site lists the 2027 dates now, so you can plan almost a year ahead.

When does Oktoberfest start each day, and what happens on opening day?

On opening day the beer tents open at 9 am, and the first non-alcoholic drinks are served from 10 am. At 12 noon the Lord Mayor taps the first barrel in the Schottenhamel tent and calls "O'zapft is!". Only after that is beer poured in the other tents.

On normal days the big tents open at 10 am from Monday to Friday. On weekends and on 3 October they open at 9 am. The opening times give the last beer and music at 10:30 pm in the big tents.

Pro Tip Go on a weekday if you want a seat without a reservation. From Monday to Friday, 25 percent of the seats in the big tents stay unreserved. On weekends and holidays it is 40 percent until 3 pm, then 25 percent.

Some tents close at lunchtime on weekends and on 3 October when they are too full. Arrive early on those days.

Oktoberfest lasts 16 days. The official visitor barometer rates every weekday of 2026 as quiet for most of the day, and every weekend as busy to very busy; it has not published 2027 ratings yet. The seat rules above point the same way, with 25 percent of big-tent seats unreserved against 40 percent until 3 pm on weekends. Between about 4 and 6 pm the main entrances of the large tents are usually closed for the change of reservations, so visitors without a reservation have little chance of getting in then.

Its name comes from October because the first one was the royal wedding feast of 12 October 1810, according to the official history. That page does not say when or why the start moved to September, and no other official page does either, so we cannot give a reason; the 2027 festival simply starts in September and ends on 3 October.

Where is Oktoberfest held in Munich?

Oktoberfest is held on the Theresienwiese, in the middle of the Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt district and not far from the old town. The location page of the festival describes it as an open space of about 100 acres. The Bavaria statue stands on its west side and St Paul's Church on its north side.

Entry to the grounds and to the tents is free. You pay only for food, drinks and rides.

How do you get to the Theresienwiese?

Take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn, because there are no parking spaces for cars anywhere in the Oktoberfest area. The festival's arrival page lists these stops:

From Hackerbrücke the official page says it is a 10-minute walk. The Theresienwiese station itself is the busiest one during the festival. With children, the page suggests Goetheplatz, Poccistraße or Schwanthalerhöhe instead.

A single day ticket for zone M, the city, costs €10.10 for one adult according to the MVV fare list. Our guide to Munich public transport explains zones and tickets.

What does Oktoberfest do to hotel prices in September?

Hotels cost more in the Oktoberfest month, and the study measured it. In September 2027, the next Oktoberfest month, a 4-star hotel night in Munich had a median of €169 per room for two, and all hotels that month were 76% above the median of all months, according to the 2026 Munich Travel Cost Study.

Book the bed first. Neither the official Oktoberfest pages nor the city publish how many weeks ahead to book a hotel, so the safest plan is to reserve as soon as your dates are set, and to choose a rate with free cancellation so you can still change plans. Tables are the later step, because tent reservations open by April or May. The 2027 dates are already published, so you can book now. Our guide to Munich Oktoberfest accommodation shows which areas work best. Two options near the main station are Numa Munich Ludwigsvorstadt and Hotel Cocoon München Hauptbahnhof. Both are within a 15-minute walk of the Theresienwiese, according to Trip.com.

Do you need a tour or a reservation for Oktoberfest?

No. Entry is free, and you can walk in and look for a seat. Reservations are only needed for a guaranteed table. They are made with each tent, mostly online, and for 2027 they open for most tents by April or May. Reservations are only possible inside the tents, not in the beer gardens.

A reserved seat in a main aisle usually comes with a minimum spend of two Maß and half a roast chicken. There is an official table exchange where unused reservations are resold at the original price.

If you would rather have the table sorted by someone else, a reserved table in a large beer tent is sold from €249 per person. It includes a welcome drink, vouchers for 2 litres of beer and half a roast chicken, and a guide who walks you to the table. The price is the one shown now; it is seasonal, so check the 2027 dates and price on the booking page before you pay. The listing is run by EUROSTAR EVENT TICKETS MÜNCHEN and rated 4.3 from 157 reviews on GetYourGuide on 28 October 2026. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours ahead, and it is not suitable for wheelchair users. We have not met this operator; judge it by the rating, the review count and the written terms on the booking page.

Before you book, know the practical details. The tour lasts 5 to 7 hours and meets at Ristorante Ottantanove, Bayerstraße 89, 80335 München. Hotel pickup and drop-off, transport to the meeting point and any food or drinks beyond the vouchers are not included. The listing gives no group size.

The honest limit: doing it on your own is the better choice for most readers. On your own you pay nothing to enter, you choose your tent and hours, and you book the table yourself with the tent, mostly online, at the original price. The tour costs far more than walking in on a weekday, and you spend 5 to 7 hours on its schedule, but it gives you a sure seat, a meeting point with a guide and no booking work. Book it only if a guaranteed table matters more than the price, and do it before the tents fill; the 2027 dates are not yet on the booking page. The festival has 16 days, and the official pages do not name the least crowded one, so a weekday is the best bet for a free seat.

A free seat at a festival is easiest to find early on a weekday.

What can you do if you miss Oktoberfest?

You can still get a taste of the festival in Munich all year. A beer and food tour with the Oktoberfest Museum runs for 3.5 hours with a guide, a beer tasting and a Bavarian platter. It starts from €72 per person, has a rating of 4.7 from about 1,200 reviews on GetYourGuide, and groups are up to 20 people. It is run by Radius Tours GmbH, meets at Dachauer Str. 4, 80335 München, and does not include hotel transfers. The table tour above is run by EUROSTAR EVENT TICKETS MÜNCHEN, with a rating of 4.3 from 157 reviews. For most readers this tour is worth it only if you want a guide and food in one evening; otherwise a self-guided walk to a beer hall costs less. See also our guides to beer tours in Munich and walking tours in Munich.

The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Munich on 28 October 2026 found 5 listings that name Oktoberfest in their title, with prices from €72 per person. Prices and ratings are as shown on GetYourGuide on 28 October 2026.