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Spectacular ways to celebrate Oktoberfest around the world

Munich’s great beer celebration is back for its latest edition - This content is subject to copyright.
Munich’s great beer celebration is back for its latest edition - This content is subject to copyright.

The German beer festival has outgrown Munich and is now a worldwide event.

Munich's great beer celebration

Never let it be said that Germans don’t have a sense of humour. Not only did they invent a festival that skips all that dull stuff like art-house cinema and black-and-white photography in favour of sitting in a huge tent, knocking back vast steins of lager and periodically shouting “hurrah” if you still have the capacity for speech, they called it Oktoberfest, then – here’s the punchline – scheduled it to start in September.

The interior of Loewenbraeu brewery's festive tent at Oktoberfest in Munich in 2016 - Credit: istock
The interior of Loewenbraeu brewery's festive tent at Oktoberfest in Munich in 2016 Credit: istock

Yes, Munich’s great beer celebration (oktoberfest.de) – which has been falling down stairs and struggling to hail a taxi at closing time since 1810 – is back for its 2018 edition. It begins next Saturday (Sept 22), and runs until Oct 7, so there’s still time to plan a trip.

Visitors in Munich at the Oktoberfest fairgrounds - Credit: istock
Munich's great beer fest takes place at the Theresienwiese fairground Credit: istock

Getting there 

Easy tiger. Let’s not order a round before we know what we’re doing. We need to get to Munich first. The good news is, there are lots of flights – BA (ba.com), easyJet (easyjet.com), Eurowings (eurowings.com) and Lufthansa (lufthansa.com) all fly in from UK airports. We also need the facts. The festival takes place south-west of the centre, at the Theresienwiese fairground. There is no admission fee, but you may need reservations for a seat in one of the 14 main tents (eg schuetzen-festzelt.de). Cash is king.

Where to stay 

Hotel rooms tend to be a rare commodity when the festival is on. But if you want to slip away from all that beer into something more refined, then there is always the Mandarin Oriental (mandarinoriental.com/munich). This five-star palace offers a “Celebrate Oktoberfest” deal – two-night stays from €895 (£798) a night, including reserved seating in the Schuetzen-Festzelt tent and transfers to the venue.

A room at the Mandarin Oriental in Munich
A room at the Mandarin Oriental in Munich

See one of the world's oldest beer halls

Munich takes its beer seriously. Eternally committed to the hops and high times of Oktoberfest, it is also home to one of the world’s most feted beer halls – the Hofbräuhaus am Platzl (hofbraeuhaus.de), which has been filling the Altstadt with the noise of clinking tankards since 1589 (though the public was not admitted until 1828). Would it be overkill to visit this as well as the festival? I’m shhorrry, what? Hiccup.

Hofbräuhaus am Platzl - Credit: istock
Hofbräuhaus am Platzl Credit: istock

Booze up in Berlin

It’s a familiar family problem. No sooner have you come up with something cool of your own making than your sibling is whining about wanting the same. So it was that, in 1949, Berlin launched an Oktoberfest. This year, it will be in its favoured spot near Tegel airport from Sept 21 until Oct 14 – and should be less busy (schaustellerverband-berlin.de/oktoberfest-berlin.html).

Oktoberfest on the Alexanderplatz square in Berlin - Credit: Getty
Oktoberfest on the Alexanderplatz square in Berlin Credit: Getty

Celebrate in posh Paris 

Of course, France is far too civilised for a big beer boozefest. It prefers glasses of fine wine, very tiny cakes and the murmur of civilised conversation. Oh hang on, what’s this? There’s an Oktoberfest France (oktoberfestfrance.fr) – which, not content with bringing its bad influence to Paris (Oct 4-14), will also be turning up in Marseille (Oct 25-Nov 3), no doubt slurring its words. Sacré bleu, mon dieu.

Autumn 'drinkathon' in the US

The largest Oktoberfest in the US is not in New York or a hipster city like Portland – but in Cincinnati, where a 19th-century tidal wave of German immigration created a brewing culture that lingers today. You’ll need to be quick to get to its autumn drinkathon (Sept 21-23; oktoberfestzinzinnati.com), which attracts half a million revellers a year – but you can fly to the city with Wow Air (wowair.co.uk), via Reykjavik.

A Glas act in Scotland

Like Australia, right, Glasgow would be appalled at the suggestion that a drop of the demon ale has ever touched its lips, so its forthcoming Oktoberfest (Oct 17-21; glasgow-oktoberfest.co.uk) is sure to be a washout. Brilliantly, its website has a lederhosen shop selling “traditional Oktoberfest outfits”. What could possibly go wrong?

Australian Oktoberfest drive

Australia is a place that, famously, doesn’t like a drink in the slightest – so quite why it has an Oktoberfest in Brisbane (oktoberfestbrisbane.com.au; Oct 5-7 and 12-14) is anyone’s guess. Perhaps they just serve water. You could slot it into the 14-day “Southern Queensland Self-Drive” touted by Wexas (wexas.com), from £2,495pp with flights.

Gingerbread heart biscuits on display at the Oktoberfest in Brisbane - Credit: Getty
Gingerbread heart biscuits on display at the Oktoberfest in Brisbane Credit: Getty

London Oktoberfest

You don’t need to go as far as Munich, or even Glasgow, to glug frothy liquid from a giant glass. Fulfil your dreams in the capital, via London Oktoberfest (london-oktoberfest.co.uk), scheduled for Oct 4-14 in Canary Wharf, with an inevitable Hallowe’en reprise in Finsbury Park (Oct 18-31).