Germany is the place to experience beer while having loads of fun. Visit these German beer festivals while you are in Germany.
Get familiar with the drinking culture in Germany to avoid making obvious expat mistakes. 😉
Table of content
#1 Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is the biggest beer festival in Germany, considering the number of people visiting it every year and the amount of beer consumption.
- Official website: https://www.oktoberfest.de/en
- Date: 21.09 to 06.10.2024 (dd.mm.yyyy)
- City: Munich, Germany
- Number of people: 6.3 million visitors (Source: oktoberfest.de)
Timely book a place in one of the brewery tents. Otherwise, you won’t be able to enter the tent and enjoy the fest to the fullest. Each brewery has its own booking portal.
The breweries usually open the October Fest bookings in April or May. You can read more about how to make reservations for the October fest here.
Remember to get your traditional Bavarian dress. The traditional men’s dress is called “Lederhosen*,” And the traditional women’s dress is called “Dirndl*.” You can buy them on Amazon.
#2 Starkbierfest
- Official website: https://paulaner-nockherberg.com/strong-beer-festival/
- Date: 01.03 to 24.03.2024
Traditionally Starkbierfest in Bavaria happens during fasting time. It starts on Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch) (March 5, 2025) and can last till Easter Sunday (April 20, 2022). Source: muenchen.travel - City: Munich, Germany
- Number of people: 4500 visitors during peak time on weekends (Source: sueddeutsche.de)
NOTE: If you are traveling to Germany, remember to get travel health insurance. It covers medical costs and hospital stays during your time in Germany and other countries in the Schengen area.
We find getting travel insurance from a German company better than from your home country.
- Many doctors and hospitals in Germany recognize these travel health insurance companies and can bill them directly. So you don’t have to pay anything out of your pocket.
- The German regulatory authorities (BaFin) closely regulate the insurance companies in Germany.
- Our research found that Dr. Walter’s “Provisit Visum,”* travel health insurance plan is better than those of countries like India, the USA, etc.
Even if you are traveling from another EU country, you should still get travel health insurance. The coverage of your home health insurance will not be as comprehensive as that of travel health insurance.
Dr-Walter
- No deductible, no age limit
- Unlimited coverage of medical costs
- Cancellation and rebooking free of charge
- Contract and services in English
#3 Stuttgart Beer Festival (Cannstatter Wasen)
Cannstatter Wasen is the second largest beer festival in Germany, based on the number of people visiting it every year.
- Official website: https://www.cannstatter-volksfest.de/de/landing-page/
- Date: 27.09 to 13.10.2024
- City: Stuttgart, Germany
- Number of people: In the past, around 3.5 to 4.2 million visitors visited the Stuttgart Beer Festival. As per ZeitOnline, the number may increase to 5 million in 2022.
#4 Gäubodenvolksfest
Source: DALIBRI, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Official website: https://www.ausstellungs-gmbh.de/gaeubodenvolksfest/
- Date: 09.08 to 19.08.2024
- City: Straubing, Germany
- Number of people: 1.2 million (Source: Gäubodenvolksfest.de)
#5 Bergkirchweih
- Official website: https://erlangen.de/themenseite/thema/bergkirchweih
- Date: 16.05 to 27.05.2024
- City: Erlangen, Germany
- Number of people: 700k to 1 million (Source: nordbayern.de)
#6 Hamburg DOM
- Official website: https://www.hamburg.de/dom/
- Date: It occurs 3 times a year
Winterdom: 08.11 to 08.12.2024
Frühlingsdom (Springdom): 22.03 to 21.04.2024
Sommerdom (Summerdom): 26.07 to 25.08.2024 - City: Hamburg, Germany
- Number of people: 1.2 million people visited Hamburgdom this spring. (Source: ndr.de)
#7 Freimarkt (Ischa Freimaak)
Source: Tarawneh, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Official website: https://www.freimarkt.de/en/
- Date: 18.10 to 03.11.2024
- City: Bremen, Germany
- Number of people: 1.2 million people visited Hamburgdom this spring. (Source: ndr.de)
#8 Oktoberfests in Berlin
Several mini Oktoberfests take place in Berlin. Breweries in Berlin host these wonderful festivals for beer lovers.
- Official website: https://www.berlin.de/en/events/folk-festivals-fairs/
- Date: From mid-September to the first week of October
- City: Berlin, Germany
#9 International Berlin Beer Festival
- Official website: https://www.beerweek.de
- Date: 30.08 to 08.09.2024
- City: Berlin, Germany
#10 Kulmbach Beer Week (Kulmbacher Bierwoche)
- Official website: https://www.kulmbacher-bierwoche.de/
- Date: 27.07 to 04.08.2024
- City: Kulmbach, Germany
- Number of people: 120k people (Source: Kulmbach Tourism)
#11 Regensburg Dult
- Official website: https://www.r-dult.com/
- Date: It occurs twice every year
Maidult Regensburg: 09.05 to 26.05.2024
Herbstdult Regensburg: 25.08. to 10.09.2024 - City: Regensburg, Germany
- Number of people: 800k people (Source: Wochenblatt)
#12 Nuremberg’s Frühlingsfest
Nuremberg’s Frühlingsfest is the third-largest beer festival in Germany. Every year, 2 million people come here to enjoy beer and the beautiful city.
- Official website:https://www.volksfest-nuernberg.de/
- Date: 30.03 to 14.04.2024
- City: Nuremberg, Germany
- Number of people: 2 million people (Source: nürnberg.de)
#13 Annafest Forchheim
- Official website: https://www.annafest.bayern/
- Date: 26.07 to 05.08.2024
- City: Forchheim, Germany
- Number of people: 300,000 people (Source:BR24)
#14 Fränkisches Kirschenfest Pretzfeld
- Official website: https://www.kirschenfest-pretzfeld.de/
- Date: 19.07 to 24.07.2024
- City: Pretzfeld, Germany
#15 Walberlafest
- Official website: https://www.walberla.de/
- Date: It was canceled in 2022 due to concerns about the Corona pandemic. Otherwise, it occurs yearly in the first week of May.
03.05 to 05.05.2024 - City: Walberla, Germany
#16 Mendiger Gambrinusfest
- Official website: https://www.gambrinusfest-mendig.de/
- Date: 17.05 to 21.05.2023
- City: Mendig, Germany
#17 Honky Tonk Kneipenfestival
18 different German cities celebrate Honky Tonk festivals on different dates.
- Official website: https://www.honky-tonk.de/
- Date: The festival occurs in the following months; Jan, Feb, March, April, May, Sept, Oct, and Nov
- City: Bad Lauterberg, Villach, Weiz, Höxter, Poppenhausen, Leipzig, Rheine, Wolfsburg, Gifhorn, Braunschweig, Goslar, Bad Salzuflen, Paderborn, Schwerin, Wismar, Eisenach, Stralsund, Peine, Celle, Mühlhausen, Rostock
Beer festivals organized by breweries in Germany
Each brewery organizes its own beer festivals throughout the year. You can find the schedule of such beer festivals in Germany on Beer Universum (German).
What are the largest beer festivals in Germany?
Oktoberfest, Stuttgart Beer Festival (Cannstatter Wasen), and Nuremberg’s Frühlingsfest are the top three most visited beer festivals in Germany.
Every year, millions of visitors enjoy several mugs of beer here. Volk music, big tents, and happy faces make the beer festivals in Germany a must-visit.
You should also get familiar with the drinking culture in Germany so you can enjoy beer festivals even more.
References
- https://www.tripstodiscover.com/top-beer-festivals-germany/
- https://www.rosotravel.com/blog/famous-beer-festivals-in-germany/
- https://www.discovergermany.com/top-ten-beer-festivals-that-rival-munichs-oktoberfest/
- https://www.wanderingermany.com/festivals-in-germany-other-than-oktoberfest/
- https://www.bier.de/wissen/deutsche-bierfeste/
