Oktoberfest 2026 Dates & Schedule: Full Guide

Planning a trip to the world’s largest folk festival? Here’s everything you need to know about Oktoberfest 2026, including the official dates, the full schedule of events, daily opening hours, what a beer will cost, and the traditions that make the Munich Wiesn unlike anything else on earth.

When is Oktoberfest 2026?

Oktoberfest 2026 runs from Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, October 4, 2026 — 16 days of Bavarian beer, music, and tradition on Munich’s Theresienwiese fairgrounds. This will be the 191st Oktoberfest.

If the September start date surprises you, you’re not alone. Despite the name, the festival has always begun in mid-to-late September, when Munich’s weather is warmer and the long beer-garden afternoons are at their best. It simply runs into early October — and in 2026 it stretches to October 4 to include the first weekend of the month.

One date worth circling: Saturday, October 3 is German Unity Day, a national holiday. Expect the grounds to be especially packed that weekend.

Quick-reference: Oktoberfest 2026 at a glance

• Dates: Saturday 19 September – Sunday 4 October 2026 (16 days)
• Edition: 191st Oktoberfest
• Location: Theresienwiese, Munich, Germany
• Opening tap: Saturday 19 Sept, 12:00 noon (Schottenhamel tent)
• Costume parade: Sunday 20 Sept, 10:00 a.m.
• German Unity Day: Saturday 3 October — national holiday, extremely busy
• Closing day: Sunday 4 October
• Entry: Free; table reservations recommended for busy days
• Beer: Served by the litre (Maß); €14.80–€15.90, averaging €15.61

Which day should you go? Best and worst days at Oktoberfest 2026

Not all 16 days are equal. This is the most important planning decision most visitors overlook.

The sweet spot: a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in the second week (September 29 – October 2). Crowds are thinner, walk-in tables are available through the afternoon, and the festival has hit its full stride without the opening-week frenzy.

Weekend-by-weekend: what to expect at Oktoberfest 2026

The 16 days are not interchangeable. Here’s how the three weekends and the weekdays between them actually differ.

Opening Weekend — Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 September

The most ceremonial and most crowded weekend of the entire festival. Saturday opens with the mayor’s noon keg tap in the Schottenhamel tent; no beer is poured anywhere on the grounds until that moment. The Schottenhamel tent itself is reservation-only for the opening ceremony — locals and city officials fill most seats. Other tents are technically open from 9 a.m. but beer service also starts only at noon.

Sunday 20 September brings the Traditional Costume and Riflemen’s Parade (Trachten- und Schützenzug) — approximately 9,000 participants, 40 bands, and dozens of horse-drawn carriages in traditional Bavarian dress parade 7 km through Munich city centre, starting at 10 a.m. The route runs along Maximilianstraße and into the fairgrounds. This is the most-watched free event at the entire festival; stake a spot on Maximilianstraße by 9:30 a.m. for a good view.

Strategy: If you’re attending opening weekend, arrive before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday and head straight to your reserved tent. Walk-in visitors should come Monday onwards.

Second Weekend — Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 September

Traditionally the “Italian weekend” — by long habit, this has become the weekend when large numbers of Italian visitors travel up to Munich, making the Hofbräu and Paulaner tents in particular feel more Mediterranean than Bavarian. Energy is high, tents fill quickly, and Saturday 26 September is consistently among the three or four busiest single days of any Oktoberfest. The full festival is at its stride by now: bands are tight, service is smooth, and the weather is still reliably mild.

Strategy: Reservation strongly recommended for Saturday evening. Sunday morning walk-ins are possible at larger tents (Paulaner, Spaten) if you arrive before 10:30 a.m.

Final Weekdays — Monday 28 September to Friday 2 October

The underrated sweet spot. The festival has been running for 10 days and everything is working smoothly — bands, service, atmosphere. Crowds drop sharply after the Italian weekend, and Tuesday through Thursday in particular offer the best walk-in prospects of the whole 16 days. Locals who couldn’t get a reservation earlier often come in this window. You’ll find genuine Munich residents who avoided the first two weekends.

Final Weekend — Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 October

Saturday 3 October is German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), a national holiday. Public transport runs a holiday schedule, many Munich residents have the day off, and this is typically the single busiest day of Oktoberfest 2026. Walk-ins are essentially impossible in the large tents by mid-morning. Reservation essential.

Sunday 4 October is the closing day. The atmosphere shifts over the course of the afternoon — sentimental, celebratory, slightly melancholy. The Hacker-Pschorr tent traditionally closes with a sparkler and farewell-song ceremony as the last Maß is served. Tents close at 11:30 p.m. exactly; there is no gradual wind-down.

The Oktoberfest 2026 opening day (Saturday, September 19)

Opening day follows a centuries-old ritual worth seeing in person:

• 9:00 a.m. — The beer tents open their doors.
• ~10:45 a.m. — The Grand Entry of the Oktoberfest Landlords and Breweries begins: horse-drawn beer wagons, brass bands, and decorated carriages wind through the city to the fairgrounds, led by the Münchner Kindl on horseback.
• 12:00 noon — Munich’s Lord Mayor taps the first keg in the Schottenhamel tent and shouts “O’zapft is!” (“It is tapped!”). Twelve gun salutes signal to the other tents that serving can begin.

No beer is served before noon on opening day. Plan your morning around the ceremony rather than a 9 a.m. Maß.

Oktoberfest 2026 schedule: key events by date

Daily opening hours

The large tents wind down and serve the last Maß around 10:30 p.m., with tents emptying by 11:30 p.m.

End-of-night logistics: leaving Oktoberfest

First-timers consistently underestimate how chaotic departure can be. Beer service ends at 10:30 p.m. and all tents close at 11:30 p.m. — meaning 100,000+ visitors hit the exits within the same 30-minute window.

• Theresienwiese U-Bahn station becomes extremely congested from 11:00 p.m. onwards. Queues to get on a train can run 20–30 minutes on weekends.
• Goetheplatz station (U3/U6, about 10 minutes’ walk north of the grounds) is the local’s escape route. The walk is flat and well-lit; the platform is dramatically less crowded.
• Schwanthalerhöhe station (U4/U5, slightly west) is another good alternative.
• If you’re staying nearby: walking home is the fastest option for anyone within a 20-minute walk of the grounds.
• Taxis are essentially unavailable at closing time — order an Uber or walk to a quieter pick-up point at least 10 minutes from the main exit before calling one.

The best exit strategy: start walking to Goetheplatz at 10:45 p.m., just before the rush, rather than waiting for the tent to clear.

How much does a beer cost at Oktoberfest 2026?

A Maß (one litre) costs between €14.80 and €15.90 in 2026, averaging €15.61. The cheapest is at the Augustiner-Festhalle (€14.90); the most expensive is €15.90 at Armbrustschützen-Festzelt, Bräurosl, and Löwenbräu-Festzelt. Prices rose roughly 2.6–2.8% on 2025.

Kufflers Weinzelt is the outlier at €18.40 — it pours Paulaner wheat beer rather than standard Oktoberfestbier. The cheapest beer on the whole Wiesn is in the Oide Wiesn’s Museumszelt at €14.80.

Oide Wiesn prices

The historical Oide Wiesn section is consistently cheaper: Museumszelt €14.80, Volkssängerzelt €14.90, Musikantenzelt €15.30, Festzelt Tradition €15.80. Traditional atmosphere at a lower price — worth knowing about.

Beer prices confirmed for Oktoberfest 2026 (19 September – 4 October 2026). Last checked August 2026.

Entry, tents, and reservations

Entry to Oktoberfest is free. You don’t need a ticket to walk the grounds or enter a tent — but a seat is another matter.

There are 14 large beer tents plus numerous smaller tents and the Oide Wiesn (a quieter historical section with a small entrance fee). On weekends the big tents fill quickly and close their doors when full:

• Arrive early (late morning on weekends) if you don’t have a reservation.
• Table reservations are made directly with each tent, are free but require a minimum voucher purchase, and sell out months in advance for popular sessions.
• Weekday mornings and afternoons are the easiest time to walk in without a booking.

See our complete Oktoberfest table reservations guide — including how to book, what the consumption vouchers cost per tent, and how to get a seat if reservations are already gone.

Getting to the Theresienwiese

• U-Bahn: Theresienwiese (U4/U5), Goetheplatz (U3/U6), or Schwanthalerhöhe (U4/U5).
• S-Bahn / regional: Hauptbahnhof (Munich Central Station) is a roughly 15-minute walk.

Driving is strongly discouraged — no visitor parking at the grounds, and Munich’s transit network is fast and frequent. See our guide on where to stay in Munich for Oktoberfest for the full neighbourhood and transit breakdown.

What’s next after Oktoberfest? Bavaria’s Christmas markets start in late November. See our guides to Nuremberg, Rothenburg and Regensburg.

Heading to Munich? See our Beer Tent Guide to pick the right tent, our Reservations Guide to secure your seat, our What to Wear Guide, and Where to Stay in Munich.