It won’t be long before the world’s largest folk festival once again draws millions of visitors to Munich. And you won’t just encounter the crowds at the festival grounds—you’ll run into them on the way there, too. DB expects up to 100,000 additional passengers on the S-Bahn, while MVG anticipates passenger volume four times higher than usual. Fortunately , though , there are a few alternatives you can use to get to Oktoberfest more comfortably via public transit.
Getting to Oktoberfest by Public Transit: Here Are the Alternatives
If you want to get to the Wiesn by public transit, in the vast majority of cases you’ll take the U4 or the U5, both of which stop right at the Theresienwiese. Just take the escalator back up to ground level, and you’ll be right in front of the entrance. It doesn’t get any more convenient than that—or so you’d think. In reality, the subways are hopelessly overcrowded on weekdays starting in the afternoon and all day on weekends, because hundreds of thousands of people flock to the Wiesn every day. Being squeezed between elbows and backs is really anything but comfortable. The situation is similar on the S-Bahn trains that stop at Hackerbrücke.
But don’t worry—there are several alternatives you can use when traveling to Oktoberfest by public transit:
- U3 and U6: Just in time for the start of Oktoberfest, the subway stations at Poccistraße and Goetheplatz are reopening. Both stations are within walking distance of the Theresienwiese and are less crowded than the U4 and U5. For visitors to the Oidn Wiesn, Poccistraße is actually closer.
- Bus 62 and CityRing 58/68: Bus 62 also stops at Poccistraße, while the CityRing stops at Goetheplatz and Georg-Hirth-Platz
- Buses 134 and 53: There’s also an entrance to the festival grounds on the Theresienhöhe side, which you can easily reach with the 134. This bus normally stops right at Theresienhöhe, but during Oktoberfest, it terminates at Schwanthalerhöhe. The 53 also stops here.
- Trams 16 and 17: Instead of taking the S-Bahn, you can also take the tram to Hackerbrücke and walk the last few meters from there.
- Trams 18 and 19: The nearest tram stops to Theresienwiese are Holzapfelstraße and Hermann-Lingg-Straße. Both stops are served by both the 18 and the 19.
- Trams 20 and 21: Last but not least, you can take these two tram lines to Hauptbahnhof Nord, which is also not far from Oktoberfest.
Travel Options Beyond Public Transportation
If you’d rather avoid public transit altogether, there are other options for getting to the Wiesn. However, we generally do not recommend traveling by car, as there are hardly any parking options in the immediate vicinity. It’s better to park your car at a Park & Ride (P+R) lot and then take one of the public transit options to the festival. If you’re arriving by train from another city, you can simply walk from the main train station to the Wiesn . The route is clearly marked, and it only takes a few minutes to get there.
Another option is to get there by bike or e-scooter. The City of Munich’s new bike-sharing system, MyRadl, is particularly affordable—especially if you have a valid public transit pass like the Deutschlandticket. However, make sure you don’t block the sidewalks when parking the vehicles. Also, if you’ve been drinking, don’t ride yourself—switch to another mode of transportation instead.
The MVG deploys 230 additional staff members every day throughout the Wiesn and operates around 9,000 extra trips. Nevertheless, especially on the U4 and U5, service may be temporarily suspended due to overcrowding, and some trains may pass through stations instead of stopping. That’s why we recommend switching to one of the alternatives mentioned above whenever possible if you plan to take public transit to the Wiesn. And of course: The “foot bus” is always running!
