Beer, Bratwurst & Bavarian Charm

Oktoberfest is Bavaria’s grandest tradition, annually transforming this German city into a  
stage of delightful indulgence for over two weeks

At midday on one long-anticipated Saturday in September each year, people in a Bavarian tent collectively hold their breath. It’s so they can hear the lord mayor of Munich hammer a spigot into a sealed wooden keg of beer with a mallet. When the booze is released and he has confirmed, “O’zapft is” – “It is tapped” – Oktoberfest has begun. For the following few weeks of early fall, when Munich’s streets still hold the heat of the summer sun and the English Garden park’s chestnut trees begin to turn golden, six million people will wander between 38 grand tents to enjoy a celebration of beer and bonhomie without comparison.  

This is one of the world’s great festivals, dating back to 1810. Back then, the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen was commemorated with a days-long party. The revelry was such that it became an annual celebration, and one of Oktoberfest’s defining, and most charming, features is its commitment to maintaining tradition. While there’s no dress code, it’s customary for men to don lederhosen and suspenders, while women wear pretty, colorful dirndls with decorative aprons. On the first Saturday of Oktoberfest, a town’s worth of visitors show off their ensembles during a parade of costumes – last year, as many as 9,000 participants formed a miles-long procession.  

Oktoberfest’s myriad tents are its focal points, each one a motley town square with its own personality. The mayor’s opening ceremony takes place at the Schottenhamel, part of Oktoberfest since 1867. It’s one of the livelier spots, accommodating 10,000 punters who order liters of beer and roasted chickens. A similarly full-bodied experience awaits at the Schützen-Festzelt by the Ferris wheel, where crowds gather under billowing garlands of sunburst-yellow and royal-blue bunting for more beer and feasts of suckling pig with potato dumplings, or stacks of sugared pancakes with stewed plums.   

You should experience those settings at least once during any Oktoberfest, though there are more intimate options. Decorated with elaborate floral displays and antiques, and styled to resemble an Alpine farmhouse, Käfer Wiesn-Schänke is a preferred choice for celebrities and FC Bayern soccer stars. At Kufflers Weinzelt, guests gossip in wooden booths over an extensive selection of champagne, prosecco, and wine.  

There’s no need to fear this is a lurch into inauthenticity: wine has been part of Oktoberfest’s offering since the 1880s.  

Of course, the other lure of the festival is the beauty of its pristine home city. Munich was the capital of an independent Bavaria until 1871, and it is spangled with grand palaces, such the Residenz. A former home to dukes and kings with 14th-century origins, it features a grand golden hall of antiquities flanked by marble busts. Munich’s cultural offerings rival any world city. The Alte Pinakothek’s collection of age-old European masters includes priceless works by Rembrandt, Raphael, and Botticelli (head to the Pinakothek der Moderne if your tastes are more recent to admire pieces by the likes of Picasso and Dalí). One of the largest such institutions on the planet, the Deutsches Museum is a paean to the wonders of science and technology. 

On my visits, I’m just as charmed by Munich’s idiosyncratic everyday offerings and the beauty of its surroundings. At the Neo-Gothic town hall at Marienplatz in the city center, the Rathaus-Glockenspiel still chimes daily as colorful mechanical jesters and dancers reenact moments from a royal wedding in the 1560s; at Viktualienmarkt, about 100 stalls sustain the epicurean needs of a prosperous population with enticing displays of truffled Brie and charcuterie alongside mountains of fruit and freshly baked pretzels, still warm and spongy.  

By train or car, it’s about an hour to Tegernsee on the edge of the mountains, where chocolate-box towns surround a tranquil lake. This is one of my favorite Munich day trips, and the perfect retreat after an evening’s merrymaking when you want to restore yourself with some wholesome living.  

There’s something wonderfully calming about lolling at a picturesque lido shaded naturally by a woodland canopy, jumping from a jetty into glass-clear alpine waters – so refreshing – or renting an electric boat to glide silently over the surface as morning mist rolls across the valley. 

Back in the city and away from Oktoberfest’s tents, several local restaurants mimic the festival’s time-travel qualities while offering a culinary experience that is slow-paced and serene. Launched in 1971 and still with much of its original interior, Tantris is a gloriously retro tangerine-tinged dream with carpeted ceilings and a bathroom in vivid hot pinks. Featuring the likes of red mullet with artichoke and nduja, its menu spotlights elevated French cuisine and has warranted a two-Michelin-Star ranking for almost 40 years.  

At Spatenhaus an der Oper, hearty and nourishing interpretations of old farmers’ favorites might include asparagus with wild trout caviar or pappardelle with a garlic ragout, followed by scoops of pistachio ice cream. Ask your concierge to secure a first-floor window seat, where the coveted opera house views are even better during Oktoberfest. Your aerie provides a discreet view of traditionally attired passersby below. Observing the crowds, it somehow feels as if you’ve been transported to a bygone era.