I'd always quite fancied a trip to Munich during September to experience the event known around the world as Oktoberfest. I'd pretty much ruled it out for this year what with moving house and was aiming to go next year till my Dad suggested I go with them this year. So on the 15th September we set off for Munich to visit the most famous and probably biggest beer festival in the world. From the moment you get on the plane you know it's going to be busy as the plane from Stanstead was packed full of groups of Australians, Americans and English all heading over for the weekend.

The festival itself runs from the 16th September to the 3rd October every year. It's held quite close to the centre of Munich on the Theresienwiese (Theresa's Fields) in front of the city gates with the watchful statue of Lady Bavaria in the background. Getting to the site is simple enough with the U Bahn and S Bahn running quite close to the site. With the U Bahn there is actually a station that opens out onto the site at Theresienwiese station, but this does get very crowded. We chose instead to get the S Bahn from our hotel which stops at Hackerbrücke and it's only about a 5 minute walk from there to the site, made all the easier by following all the locals.

The biggest challenge of Oktoberfest seems to be finding a seat inside one of the Beer Halls as it was incredibly busy, especially as it was the opening weekend. The best idea seemed to be to get there around the middle of the day as they open at around 10 but trying to keep a seat in one all day will prove difficult as generally after 4 or 5 hours you will be incredibly drunk. Each tent has a variety of live bands playing a mixture of traditional Bavarian Oompah music and more universally known tracks like "Let Me Entertain You" and "Sweet Home Alabama".

While each brewery has at least one tent, they also brew a special, stronger beer just for the occasion. The normal 5% beers aren't served on the site and instead they tend to go for something between 6 and 8% in content. So when you consider a litre (about 2 pints) stein is around €7 (£5) it's not too bad. All you have to do is find a table inside one of the Halls or in the beer gardens and someone will come and serve you. It can get quite busy and obviously the better tip you give them later in the day usually results in quicker service as it gets a lot busier. Of course one sure fire way to get a table in the evening is to book advance using the Munich tourist directory, which I've got a link to at the end. This makes it a much simpler way to get into the tent and ensure you have somewhere to enjoy the festivities.

Obviously the main reason for Oktoberfest is to enjoy the traditionally brewed Bavarian beers there is something for everyone. During our first two days there they held a parade with all the breweries represented and as a showcase for the Bavarian national dress, something people in Bavaria are very proud of. These parades are only on the opening two days but are well worth seeing if you can be there on one of those days. If you miss them or can't make those days you'll still be able to enjoy the delights of the biggest funfair in Europe, scattered around the edges of the beer halls. There are some 200 rides and side attractions catering for all levels of thrill seekers, just watch what you drink before hand. The rides again are quite reasonably priced at around 2 - 4 Euros (£1.40 - £2.80).

Having arrived there on the Saturday morning unsure of what exactly to expect it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The streets are lined with these semi permanent structures filled with people drinking and having a good time, something we could never do in Britain without it resorting in a mass brawl, something that we didn't see happen at all over the weekend. For an event this size to be largely trouble free shows that the German police handled it right and it means everyone can have a worry free, good time.

Advance bookings: www.muenchen-tourist.de
Useful site for Hotels: www.hotel.de