Oktoberfest 2026 Opening Times Day by Day
The recurring weekly pattern behind Oktoberfest 2026‘s hours is covered in our opening hours guide. This page does something more specific: every single one of the 16 days of the festival, named individually, with that exact date’s opening hours and whatever special event happens to fall on it. Useful if you’re trying to line up a specific travel date with a specific day’s schedule rather than working it out from the general weekly pattern.
Oktoberfest 2026 runs from Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, October 4, 16 days on the Theresienwiese.
Every Day of Oktoberfest 2026
| Date | Day | Grounds Hours | What’s Happening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | Saturday | 9:00 AM–midnight; beer service from noon | Opening Day. Landlords’ Parade from 10:45 AM, keg tapping and “O’zapft is!” at noon |
| Sep 20 | Sunday | 9:00 AM–11:30 PM | Traditional Costume and Riflemen’s Parade, from 10:00 AM |
| Sep 21 | Monday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Regular weekday, typically one of the calmer days |
| Sep 22 | Tuesday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Family Day 1, reduced ride prices for children |
| Sep 23 | Wednesday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Regular weekday |
| Sep 24 | Thursday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Oktoberfest church service, 9:30 AM in the Marstall tent |
| Sep 25 | Friday | 10:00 AM–midnight | First weekend begins, noticeably busier from the afternoon on |
| Sep 26 | Saturday | 9:00 AM–midnight | One of the busiest Saturdays; tents can reach capacity by mid-morning |
| Sep 27 | Sunday | 9:00 AM–11:30 PM | Wiesn Landlords’ Concert, 11:00 AM at the Bavaria statue |
| Sep 28 | Monday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Regular weekday, second week typically calmer overall |
| Sep 29 | Tuesday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Family Day 2, reduced ride prices for children |
| Sep 30 | Wednesday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Regular weekday |
| Oct 1 | Thursday | 10:00 AM–11:30 PM | Regular weekday |
| Oct 2 | Friday | 10:00 AM–midnight | Final weekend begins |
| Oct 3 | Saturday | 9:00 AM–midnight | German Unity Day, a national holiday; expect the heaviest crowds of the closing stretch |
| Oct 4 | Sunday | 9:00 AM–11:30 PM | Closing Day. Closing gun salute at the Bavaria statue marks the end of the festival |
Good to know: Grounds hours and beer-tent service hours aren’t quite the same thing. Last beer is generally served around 10:30 PM in the large tents and 11:00 PM in the small tents, roughly an hour before the grounds hours listed above, giving guests time to finish up before the tents close for the night.
Reading This Calendar
A few notes on how to use the table above when picking your actual travel dates:
- Opening Day, September 19, is the one true exception to normal hours. Tents open at 9:00 AM, but only non-alcoholic drinks and light food are served until the keg tapping at noon. Beer doesn’t flow until after “O’zapft is!”
- Friday and Saturday always extend to midnight for grounds hours, while every other day of the week closes at 11:30 PM.
- October 3 runs on Saturday-style hours because it’s German Unity Day, a national holiday, even though the grounds don’t literally reclassify the day, expect the crowd level of a busy weekend regardless of what day of the week it happens to be.
- The Oide Wiesn runs a slightly different schedule than the main grounds: 10:00 AM to 11:30 PM Sunday through Thursday, and 10:00 AM to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Picking a Date From This Calendar
| If You Want… | Good Dates |
|---|---|
| The historic opening ceremony | September 19, arriving early |
| A major parade without the ceremony crowds | September 20 |
| The calmest possible visit | September 21–24, or September 28–October 1 |
| A family-friendly day with ride discounts | September 22 or September 29 |
| A free outdoor concert | September 27 |
| Maximum energy, accept the crowds | September 25–26 or October 2–3 |
| The festival’s final, sentimental day | October 4 |
For more on how crowd levels actually shift through the week beyond just the calendar dates, see our weekday vs weekend guide, and for the free events named in the table above, our free things to do guide covers each one in full detail.
FAQ’s
Oktoberfest 2026 runs for 16 days, from Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, October 4.
The tents open at 9:00 AM on September 19, but only non-alcoholic drinks and light food are served until the keg tapping ceremony at noon, after which beer service begins across every tent.
The grounds follow the same Saturday-style hours as any other Saturday that day, 9:00 AM to midnight, but because October 3 is German Unity Day, a national holiday, crowds are typically much heavier than a normal weekday would be.
Two Tuesdays during the festival, September 22 and September 29, offer reduced prices on many rides for children.
The festival closes on Sunday, October 4, with grounds hours running 9:00 AM to 11:30 PM, and a closing gun salute at the Bavaria statue marking the official end of the year’s festival.
