Visitor numbers: The Oktoberfest barometer

The best time to visit the Oktoberfest

Over six million people come to the Wiesn every year. Although it is always quite sociable, there are times when it is a little quieter and cosier at the world's largest folk festival - and days when it is particularly busy. Our Oktoberfest barometer provides an overview of visitor numbers.

Paar sitz auf den Stufen der Bavaria in der Sonne und beobachtet das Treiben
Sebastian Lehner

The Oktoberfest barometer - how busy it is on the individual days

When it's green, it's relatively relaxed and cosy on the Wiesn, yellow means an average number of visitors and the darker the red, the more crowded it is on the Festwiese. 2024 Oktoberfest lasts 16 days, from 21 September to 6 October.

10am to 3pm 3pm to 6pm from 6pm
Saturday, 21.09.2024 busy busy very busy
Sunday, 22.09.2024 busy busy well attended
Monday, 23.09.2024 quiet quiet well attended
Tuesday, 24.09.2024 quiet well attended well attended
Wednesday, 25.09.2024 quiet quiet well attended
Thursday, 26.09.2024 quiet well attended well attended
Friday, 27.09.2024 quiet well attended busy
Saturday, 28.09.2024 busy very busy very busy
Sunday, 29.09.2024 busy busy well attended
Monday, 30.09.2024 quiet quiet well attended
Tuesday, 01.10.2024 quiet well attended well attended
Wednesday, 02.10.2024 well attended busy busy
Thursday, 03.10.2024 busy very busy busy
Friday, 04.10.2024 well attended busy busy
Saturday, 05.10.2024 busy very busy very busy
Sunday, 06.10.2024 busy busy busy

Oktoberfest lunches, Oktoberfest weekends and family days

Munich Oktoberfest-goers have their own Oktoberfest experience and know when they can go to the festival meadow for a relaxed chicken and a fresh beer without a reservation and take a leisurely stroll across it. For everyone else, we have summarised these experiences and figures in our Oktoberfest barometer.

The middle Wiesn weekend, for example, is particularly busy, and if the weather doesn't play ball, the tents can get crowded in the morning. The two Tuesdays, the family days, also tend to be busier in the afternoons, although less in the tents than at the stalls and rides for the little ones.

And of course the public holiday, 3 October, traditionally attracts a particularly large number of visitors.