6 Reasons Oktoberfest is the Best Fest

There are countless festivals that take place around the world. I mean, just an infinite number—you can’t even add them up. But among that vast expanse of celebration is one that surpasses all the rest in terms of fun, fanfare, and freaking huge beverages: Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

Maybe I’m biased (I haven’t actually been to all the others… yet) but I think we can all agree that Oktoberfest is the best of the bunch for many reasons. And I’m going to start with these 6:

1. Gemütlichkeit

Gemütlichkeit is one of those great German words that means… well, there isn’t an English translation for it so I’ll do my best. Gemütlichkeit is a general feeling of friendship and comfort. It’s the feeling of good cheer and coziness you get when hanging out with a group of friends you love, doing things you love doing.

It’s the warm and fuzzy feeling of drinking liters of beer with your friends in an Oktoberfest beer tent while dancing to some awesome Oktoberfest music.

It’s a hard concept to explain, but an easy one to understand when you’re there. And there’s so place on Earth to experience gemütlichkeit quite like Oktoberfest.

2. Oktoberfest is world famous

Your small town may host some great festivals, but are they known by millions and millions of people in all corners of the globe? Methinks not.

Of all the festivals that take place around the world, Oktoberfest is one of the most well-known and most recognizable. Almost anyone, anywhere can give you at least a few tidbits of what Oktoberfest is about. And an event like this doesn’t rise to this level of recognition for nothing.

Part of what makes attending Oktoberfest so much fun is for the bragging rights. You’ve been to one of the most famous events in the world, and you can share that proudly because everyone knows what Oktoberfest is.

3. It’s full of tradition

Despite beginning over 200 years ago, Oktoberfest is still as popular as ever. Yet despite two centuries of progress and change, Oktoberfest is still very true to its Bavarian roots.

What many think is merely a beer festival is actually so much more than that. It’s also traditional parades and concerts, traditional outfits (that everyone is encouraged to wear!), classic Bavarian food and beer, and so much more. There are even rules and regulations regarding maintaining this tradition.

There’s even the Oide Wiesn, a special section of Oktoberfest that replicates its original 1810 start. We’re talking old-timey rides, games, and revelry.

Oktoberfest is hip to modern comforts and all but it’s still deep in its traditions—one of the big reasons many festival-goers agree Oktoberfest is the best fest.

4. Oktoberfest is the mother that spawned all the others

Oktoberfest in Munich, grand annual celebration that it is, has been cloned all over the world in just about every aspect.

You can’t swing a dirndl without hitting some sort of local “Octoberfest” celebration. They’re popular the world over—in Brazil, in Australia, in Canada, and probably at your local microbrewery.

People host Oktoberfest parties at home, stores promote their Oktoberfest sales, breweries brew their version of Oktoberfest beers. “Oktoberfest” has become a lifestyle, but Oktoberfest in Munich remains the original—the biggest and best.

5. Munich is awesome

Of all the spots to have an enormous celebration, Munich is a great one. The ease of getting to Munich from just about anywhere and getting around within the city is exceptional.

The city itself is easy to navigate (even for foreigners) with efficient public transportation and seriously walkable areas. Oktoberfest takes place at the Theresienwiese—a centrally-located, easy to get to park in the city, not on the outskirts of some rural town or in an impregnable urban center.

6. The beer and food

Obviously any festival worth its weight in kegs is going to have great beer and food, but Oktoberfest blows everyone else out of the water in this respect.

The food at Oktoberfest is nothing like you’ve ever experienced. The list of offerings is endless and the sheer amounts of these foods being sold will blow your mind. (Over the two weeks of the festival, 124 oxen, half a million roast chickens, and over 120,000 pork sausages are served.)

But more than the numbers, the quality of food and beer at Oktoberfest beats every other festival you’ve ever been to. This isn’t a “festival that serves beer,” this is a festival built on beer. Beer brewed according to official state purity laws, at that.

The food and beer at Oktoberfest simply cannot be beat.

Think you’d like to experience the best fest there is? Join one of our upcoming Oktoberfest tours today!