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Oktoberfest and the Residenz

Hello everyone!

My mother and I will be in Munich for about a day and a half (we'll arrive mid-afternoon on Friday and be driving to Salzburg the evening of Saturday after 7pm - please don't comment on it being rushed, we enjoy the quick sites and are spending more good quality time in Venice and Salzburg).

We want to essentially do the RS Munich Walk and maybe go inside one or two of the churches for a Quick Look. My mother may want to tour the Residenz - is that worth it for us after also seeing Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Hohenschwangau in the days before? We won't have time for any of the other wonderful palaces in and around Munich. I'm concerned that touring the Residenz would make the rest of the day even more rushed.

We also found out that Saturday is the opening day of Oktoberfest. We intend on quickly seeing the opening parade as it passes by our hotel around 10:45am and maybe going to the fairgrounds for an hour or so to people watch. We don't drink and don't even like non-alcoholic beer, so we wouldn't be interested in going into any tents or riding any rides. Would 1 or 2 hours give us enough time to get the feel of the festival and then head out?

Thank you!

Posted by
9175 posts

We lived in Germany for four years and did the Oktoberfest in Munich three times. Once, we went to see the parade, it was great. It is a longer and slower parade than you might think. We got to the street an hour early and it was already crowded with people.

Go early.

You might need to stay a couple of hours just at the parade if you go early.
Going to the fest at lunch, you can have some great roast chicken (that is the specialty on the fest days) and listen to some of the music for an hour.

Posted by
7613 posts

"...after also seeing Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Hohenschwangau in the days before?"

That is extreme palace-overkill as it is, IMO.

Not sure this matters to you, but I would opt instead for the Residenz + King Ludwig II's Herrenchiemsee Palace (right on the route to Salzburg from Munich), which includes a lovely ferry crossing on Lake Chiemsee to the island where the palace is situated.

https://www.experto.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/AdobeStock_118569247-810x540.jpg
https://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/hch_ns.htm
https://www.chiemsee-schifffahrt.de/en/home

The time you save touring to all those other palaces could well be spent in the Alps near Salzburg.

https://www.werfen.at/en/holiday-themes/the-sound-of-music
https://www.burg-hohenwerfen.at/en/
https://www.berchtesgadener-land.com/cdn/uploads/jenner-gipfelblick-thseoimagefacebook.jpg

Posted by
31 posts

We did Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau and much prefer Residenz. N and H are pretty on the outside with the beautiful mountain setting, not much to see inside. Where R gives impressive interior and arts and culture, it is gigantic and it needs at least 2 hours (very rush), plus one hour for Treasury. You can do RS walk the first day, some churches close at five but open for service. Octoberfest next day AM and Residenze PM.