Every autumn, Munich turns a large meadow into the biggest folk festival on earth. Around six million people arrive for brass bands, roast chicken, and beer served by the litre. It is easier to reach from India than most travellers assume, and the costs are more predictable too, provided you plan the visa and the euros before you fly.
Oktoberfest 2026 runs from 19 September to 4 October at the Theresienwiese in Munich, the 191st edition of the festival. Entry to the grounds is free, and a one litre Maß of beer officially costs €14.80 to €15.90. Indian visitors need a Schengen visa and should carry euros on a forex card.
This guide covers the history, the 2026 facts, what a day costs, what to see and eat beyond the tents, shopping and VAT refunds, transport, luxury options, medical cover, and how to carry euros.
A Short History of Oktoberfest
The first Oktoberfest was not about beer at all. In October 1810, Munich celebrated the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese with a public horse race outside the city gates. The meadow was later named Theresienwiese in her honour, and the party simply kept happening.
The festival has been called off roughly two dozen times since, for war, cholera, hyperinflation, and most recently a pandemic. Everything else about it has grown.
The 2026 edition is the 191st, and the start date drifted into September over the years for a simple reason: Munich evenings are warmer then, and a beer garden in early October is a colder proposition.
The Key Facts for Oktoberfest 2026
The festival runs for 16 days, from Saturday 19 September to Sunday 4 October, on the Theresienwiese, a 42 hectare ground about a ten minute walk from Munich’s main railway station.
Opening day starts with the landlords’ parade, followed by the mayor tapping the first keg at noon; nothing is poured before that moment, so the first morning is about position rather than drinking. Only six Munich breweries may pour at the festival, spread across fourteen large tents and around 21 smaller ones, plus food stalls and fairground rides.
1. Entry Fees
Entry to the grounds and to the regular beer tents is free. The historic Oide Wiesn section charges €4 for visitors aged 15 and over, children of 14 and under go free, and entry is free for everyone after 9 pm.
2. What a Day at the Wiesn Costs
A Maß, a full litre, runs €14.80 to €15.90 depending on the tent. A roast half chicken is about €15 to €20, a large pretzel €5 to €7, and pork knuckle can cross €25. A day on the grounds, including transport and a ride or two, lands around €70 to €120 per person before accommodation, and adding a table reservation pushes that up quickly.
3. Getting a Table
Reservations inside the big tents are free to make but usually require you to buy food and drink vouchers in advance, often €40 to €50 per person, and weekend slots go months earlier than anyone expects. Without one, arrive before 10 in the morning on a weekday and take an unreserved table.
Dress is part of the fun rather than a rule. Many visitors buy a dirndl or lederhosen in Munich, and a decent set costs upwards of €100, but ordinary clothes are perfectly fine in every tent.
What to See Beyond the Tents
Marienplatz and its Glockenspiel are the heart of Munich, the Residenz was the royal palace and holds a treasury worth an hour, and Viktualienmarkt sits a two minute walk away.
The English Garden is larger than Central Park, and surfers ride a standing wave on the Eisbach at its southern edge; the Deutsches Museum is one of the world’s great science collections, the Pinakothek galleries cover the art, and BMW Welt is free to enter.
For day trips, Nymphenburg Palace sits in parkland a tram ride from the centre, while Neuschwanstein Castle and Salzburg are both comfortable train trips, with the Bayern-Ticket making regional travel cheap for a group.
1. Food Worth Planning Around
Weisswurst is the local ritual, eaten before noon with sweet mustard and a pretzel. Schweinsbraten, obatzda cheese, and dampfnudel round out the list, and Viktualienmarkt is the place to graze between stalls.
Hofbräuhaus is the famous beer hall, though locals lean towards the Augustiner halls and the big beer gardens, both of which run year round. For fine dining, Munich has a strong Michelin scene with Tantris the most famous name. Book those tables well before the festival, because the entire city fills up for a fortnight.
2. Shopping in Munich
Kaufingerstraße is the main pedestrian run for high street names, Maximilianstraße holds the luxury houses, and Oberpollinger and Ludwig Beck are the grand department stores. Dirndl and lederhosen shops do brisk trade all fortnight; expect €100 upwards for a decent set, and considerably more for handmade leather that will outlive you.
3. Claiming Your VAT Back
German VAT is 19 percent, and non EU visitors can reclaim it. You need to spend at least €50.01 in one shop on one receipt, ask for the export form at the till, and get the customs stamp when you leave the EU. Goods must leave before the end of the third month after purchase, and the stamp is mandatory, so keep purchases in hand luggage.
Getting Around
Munich’s U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams, and buses run on one MVV ticket, and central Munich is Zone M. In 2026 a single ride is about €4.20 and a day ticket about €10.10, with a group day ticket for up to five people around €19.70, bought in the MVGO or MVV app.
For the Theresienwiese, use Theresienwiese, Goetheplatz, or Poccistraße stations, and expect heavy crowding at closing time; walk a stop further out if the platform is full. From the airport, the S1 and S8 trains run into the city in about 45 minutes, with a single ticket around €15 and an all day version around €18.
1. Travelling at the Top End
Munich has proper luxury. The Bayerischer Hof, Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood, and Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski are the classic addresses, and all sell out for the festival so book a year ahead, or take a suite in a quieter district and use a car.
Inside the grounds, Käfer Wiesn-Schänke and Kuffler’s Weinzelt are the upmarket tents, serving wine and champagne alongside beer, with better food and later hours; reservations there are the hardest on the Wiesn to secure, so plan a year in advance or go through a hospitality agency.
Inside the grounds, Käfer Wiesn-Schänke and Kuffler’s Weinzelt are the upmarket tents, serving wine and champagne alongside beer, with better food and later hours; reservations there are the hardest on the Wiesn to secure, so plan a year in advance or go through a hospitality agency.
2. Pairing It With a River Cruise
Munich pairs neatly with a Danube cruise. Sailings leave from Passau, about two hours away by train, and run east towards Vienna and Budapest, a festival weekend followed by a week on the river is a common high end itinerary.
Visa Requirements for Indian Visitors
Indian passport holders need a Schengen short stay visa, and Germany is the country to apply to if Munich is your main destination. The adult fee is €90, plus a VFS service charge. Standard processing is about 15 calendar days, though 30 days is common in peak season and German consulates in India often take longer. You may apply up to six months before travel, so apply early rather than close to the festival.
Medical cover is part of the visa, not an optional extra. Your policy must be worth at least €30,000, cover emergency treatment and repatriation, and stay valid across all 29 Schengen countries for your whole trip. The consulate will turn down a file without it, so buy the policy before you apply and file the certificate with your documents. It earns its keep at the Wiesn too. Sixteen days of crowds, uneven ground and full beer tents produce a steady stream of small injuries.
The Entry and Exit System is now in force at Schengen borders, so your fingerprints and a facial scan are recorded instead of a passport stamp. ETIAS applies to visa exempt nationalities, not to Indian passport holders, who still need a full visa.
The Currency Question: How to Carry Euros
The euro traded around ₹111 in late August 2026. Card acceptance in Munich is good and the big tents take cards, but your bank still adds a forex markup of about 2 to 3.5 percent, plus 18 percent GST on that markup, and networks add a cross currency charge.
Airport counters are among the least competitive places to buy notes, in Munich as much as in Delhi, so buy in India instead, at a live rate, from a regulated dealer with doorstep delivery.
A forex card loaded with EUR locks the rate on the day you load it and removes the markup on each swipe. The BookMyForex multi-currency forex card holds euros with zero issuance, reload, or annual fees, and you can top it up from the app if the Wiesn runs longer than planned. Even so, keep €100 to €150 a day in notes, smaller stalls, side stands, and fairground rides still prefer cash, and tent staff serve faster with it.
1. FEMA Rules Every Traveller Should Know
Your trip sits under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which allows USD 250,000 per person per financial year across travel, education, and investments together.
Currency notes are released up to USD 3,000 per visit, with the balance on a forex card; you may keep up to USD 2,000 in foreign currency notes for as long as you like, and anything above that must be sold back within 180 days of your return.
Forex can be bought up to 60 days before departure but if the trip doesn’t happen within those 60 days, the forex must be surrendered.
TCS applies above ₹10 lakh of LRS spending in a financial year, and the rate then depends on the purpose. One exception is worth knowing if you book a package: an overseas tour package is taxed at 2 percent from the first rupee, with no threshold.
2. Where to Check the Real Cost
The rate on a counter board is rarely the rate the market is trading at, and nobody shows you the difference. The BookMyForex EUR to INR converter shows the live interbank euro rate through the day.
Check it before you book, then compare it with your bank’s quote for the same amount. Get the visa early, lock the room, load euros at a fair rate, and the only queue that matters is the one outside the tent.
About the Author
Kshitij Pandey is the Content Manager at BookMyForex with over 7 years of experience in content marketing, blogging, and social media strategy. He has worked extensively on building engaging campaigns and informative resources that help users understand forex, international money transfers, and travel-related financial services.
