What To Wear To Oktoberfest + What To Pack & What To Do In Munich & Salzburg

Ten days, two countries, one very happy stomach. I started my Germany and Austria trip at Oktoberfest (October 3–4), hopped over to Salzburg (October 5–7), then ended in Munich (October 8–12) with a day trip to Lake Tegernsee. It was unseasonably warm this year, so check the forecast right before you pack. Below is everything I loved, everything I’d skip, and everything I wish someone had told me before I went, as well as my full packing list. 

General Tips For Germany & Austria

1. Everywhere you go, start with this sentence: “Hallo, sprechen Sie Englisch, bitte?” (Hello, do you speak English, please?) Most everyone speaks English, but if you open with this, people will be so nice to you instead of being brisk and rude. I made that mistake only once!
2. There are no hosts at restaurants. Servers come and get you when they are ready to take you. So prepare to stand around confused when you first enter an eating establishment.
3. The food was amazing everywhere I went. Period. I ate anything and everything with zero stomach aches, and I came home lighter than I left. I’d go back for that reason alone.

What I Packed For 10 Days In Germany & Austria

Here are my favorite pieces I wore on my trip that are still available to shop:

Shoes & Bag

• My favorite waterproof Nike running shoes
• FitFlop’s Gracie sandals in black and brown
• Apatchy London Leather Crossbody Bag in tan

Jackets & Layers

• The new Thea Faux Fur Collar Jacket from Fabrique. Obsessed.
• Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Jacket in black (The best affordable puffer that folds up so small for easy packing.)
• Beyond Yoga Featherweight Daydreamer Pullover in Nocturnal Navy

Bottoms

• Fabrique Quinn Topstitched A-Line Shorts in black vegan leather
• Frank & Eileen Galway 26″ Wide-Leg Jean in the dark 1999 wash
• On Leggings 7/8 in black
• Skinny jeans (Yes, skinny jeans! They never did go out of style like some people were saying, and they are an incredible winter jean because they’re warmer and work well with bulkier sweaters. Plus, you need a slimmer leg for bike riding, which we did quite a bit of on this trip.) 

Jumpsuit

• Farm Rio V-Neck Sleeveless Floral Jumpsuit

Tops

• Halogen Fitted Ribbed Tank Tops in black and brown
• American Apparel Bodysuit (My all-time favorite bodysuit. Luckily it’s always for sale on Poshmark — I just bought 3 more!)

Lounge & Sleep

• Nuuds Slinky Rib Long Sleeve Shirt and matching Slinky Rib Streamline Pant in navy
• Gap Mid-Rise Cotton Gauze Joggers and Cotton Gauze Tank in black

Basics

• Subset Mid-Rise 100% Cotton Thongs
• Hue Air Cushion Mini Crew Socks

Accessories

• On Ball Cap in black
• Louise Carter Bethany Pearl Drop Hoops

The Bracelet Stack I Wore The Whole Trip

• Mejuri Janis Flexi Bangle Set
• Nadri Love All Cubic Zirconia Slider Bracelet
• Monica Vinader Mini Nugget Pearl Beaded Bracelet

Beauty

• Sun Bum Mineral SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Face Lotion
• Nudestix Nudescreen Blush Tint SPF 30 in Pink Sunrise
• DRMTLGY Brightening Eye Masks (I used these as often as I had time, and I wore them on the flights.)

What To Wear To Oktoberfest (Dirndl Or Casual)

I highly recommend you dress up! It is so fun, and the outfit watching is a highlight of the day. But if you don’t own a high-quality dirndl (those traditional Alpine dresses you associate with Oktoberfest), don’t waste your time and money renting a cheap one. Just wear a cute, casual outfit you would wear to a world-famous fair. If you go casual, you can add a festive touch, like a statement jacket or braids, so you still feel part of the fun.

My best friend Jen, who I traveled with, wore a gorgeous dirndl she bought in Salzburg (more on that below), but I wore a black bodysuit with skinny jeans, a belt, good walking sandals, and my fabulous new Fabrique jacket that I am obsessed with. She felt great in her outfit, and I felt great in mine.

Here are some more tips for what to wear as a woman to Oktoberfest:

1. Wear comfortable shoes: I wore high-quality walking sandals, my FitFlop Gracies. Most women in dirndls wore comfy booties, and the boldest were in heels. There’s a lot of slow walking and a lot of sitting, but you’re still on your feet for hours between tents and lines, so comfortable shoes are the way to go.
2. Know the dirndl bow code: If you wear a dirndl, where you tie the apron bow sends a message. Tied on your left means single, on your right means taken, front and center is mostly for little girls, and in the back is for waitresses (and traditionally widows).
3. Bring a small bag: Bags can be no bigger than 3 liters (about 20 x 15 x 10 cm). Anything larger has to be checked at a left-luggage office at the entrance for a fee, so a small crossbody is perfect. I carried a tan camera bag, similar to the Apatchy London Tassel crossbody.
4. Bring a layer: The tents get hot and packed, but it cools off fast once the sun goes down.

What guys wear to Oktoberfest: Lederhosen (the leather britches) with a checked shirt and suspenders is the classic look, but jeans and a checked button-down are totally fine too.

Where To Get A Chic & Flattering Dirndl

Start your trip in Salzburg, before Oktoberfest, so you can pick up a high-quality dirndl and have a glorious shopping experience. They are sold everywhere, and they are so chic and beautiful. Just make sure your suitcase is big enough to bring it home.

What to spend: A full dirndl is three pieces: the dress, blouse, and apron. The cheap costume versions run about €50 to €150, but a well-made dirndl from a real Tracht shop is more like €250 to €500, and hand-tailored designer pieces can go well past that. If the blouse and apron are sold separately, budget another €50 to €150.

Five Salzburg shops worth browsing:

• Salzburger Heimatwerk (Residenzplatz 9): Dirndls sewn in their own tailoring workshop from local fabrics, right on the main square.
• Trachten Stassny (Getreidegasse 35): Their own designs in Austrian fabrics, with custom tailoring. The splurge.
• Trachten Wenger (Getreidegasse 29): A family shop since 1969, with everything from classic knee-length styles to trendier lace-trimmed ones.
• Trachten Forstenlechner (Mozartplatz 4): Modern meets traditional, in lots of colors, at a more mid-range price.
• Lanz Trachtenmoden (Schwarzstraße): A Salzburg classic for fitted dirndls and felt hats, just across the river from the Old Town.

What To Do At Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest ran from September 19 to October 4 this year, and I was there for the last two days, October 3 and 4. But if you want to go next year, now is the time to plan.

The morning of, eat a big breakfast at your hotel, then show up right when it opens (9am on weekends, 10am on weekdays). The outdoor festival itself is free to enter. Head straight to the espresso martini café to cure your jet lag and energize yourself for a long day of drinking and merriment.

You can buy tickets for the individual rides. I recommend riding the carousel during peak festivity hours so you can see the views and the massive crowds. But you are really there for the beer tents and their corresponding music. These beer tents aren’t really tents, by the way. They’re enormous halls that look like permanent buildings, but they’re actually rebuilt every year. They have long communal tables, live music, beer poured into gargantuan mugs called a “stein”, and food — if you’re lucky enough to get served. Tent hopping is essential.

The beer (even if you don’t like beer): Beer is basically all you’ll see on the tables, and it comes by the liter. (Water, Spezi, and non-alcoholic beer are technically on the menu too, but that’s not what you’re there for.) I can’t tolerate beer in the States, but I had no problem guzzling German beer. I was absolutely shocked. Augustiner was the best! Founded by monks in 1328, it’s the oldest brewery still operating in Munich, and its beer is light and crisp. So if you love dark and heavy beers, you won’t like it. Find it at the Augustiner-Festhalle, the only tent that still taps its beer from traditional wooden barrels.

Timing is everything. Here are 7 tips to get the most out of Oktoberfest:

1. Arriving before noon is your best shot without a reservation. Weekdays are easiest, and you should have no issue getting into a tent, in general. Saturday, tents can close off to walk-ins before noon if it is a wild day.
2. After 1pm, it gets hard to get in without a reserved table, especially on Saturdays. Did I mention Saturdays are insane?
3. Go on a Sunday. We had no reservation and still snuck into almost every tent.
4. Watch the turnover. Tents clear out and turn over about 3 times a day: 11:30am, 3pm, and 8pm. At one tent, we dodged getting kicked out by tucking into a tiny Prosecco bar inside. Watching the whole hall empty and refill was one of the coolest things I saw all weekend.
5. Want a guaranteed seat? Each tent takes its own reservations, months in advance, and a reservation wristband gets you in even when doors close to the public. Start at the official beer tent page.
6. The music changes at 6pm. Until 6pm, the tents keep it traditional, with Bavarian brass bands at a lower volume. That’s the rule. After 6pm, the party bands come out and play pop and party covers, which is when it gets really fun.
7. If you want to skip the part where people start vomiting in the streets, leave between 4pm and 6pm.

Oktoberfest tents to book if you’re American: We had the most fun in the tents deeper into the festival, toward the Bavaria statue at the far end. If you’re booking ahead, these are great picks:

• Hofbräu-Festzelt: The most international tent and the go-to for Americans. Loud, packed, and high energy. This one is closer to the entrance.
• Hacker-Festzelt: A party tent known as “Bavarian heaven” for its painted sky ceiling. People stand on the benches and sing until closing. I really wish we had come here earlier, before I got so drunk, so I could remember it better. 
• Paulaner Festzelt (Winzerer Fähndl): A great mix of locals and tourists of all ages, toward the back of the festival.
• Löwenbräu-Festhalle: Another good mix of locals and tourists, near the Bavaria statue.
• Marstall: Hostesses help you find an empty seat, which makes it easy for first-timers, so I hear.

What To Wear In Salzburg

I was in Salzburg October 5–7, 2026. If you do Salzburg the way I did it, with endless walking along the river, cobblestones, steep stairs, and biking, pack lean or skinny pants, good walking shoes, and layers. You should never really use a car there. Be casual chic, and feel free to dress up for dinner, but watch those shoes. Walking is the joy of this city, and your shoes have to be ready for it. I wore my FitFlop Gracie sandals the entire time, and I packed them in both brown and black.

What To Do In Salzburg

Bike Ride To Schloss Hellbrunn & The Trick Fountains

Renting bikes was my favorite part of Salzburg. aVelo rents them by the hour from a stand at the Staatsbrücke bridge, from April through October. You can rent up until 4pm, and then return the bikes by 6pm. We rode to Schloss Hellbrunn, my favorite palace I’ve ever visited, and its famous Trick Fountains (Wasserspiele), which were so much fun. They’re designed to play practical jokes on guests and include optical illusions and surprise water features when you least expect it.

Below are my top tips for ensuring you have the best experience biking and visiting the palace: 

• One ticket covers everything. The Hellbrunn ticket includes the Trick Fountains tour, the palace exhibition, and the folk museum. Buy it online or at the ticket office (I got mine at the gift shop), not at the palace itself.
• Time your visit around the Trick Fountains tour. Tours start every 15–20 minutes and last about 50 minutes. Hellbrunn is open late March through November 1, and the last admission in October is at 4:30pm.
• Wear waterproof shoes and clothes that can get wet. I really wish I had worn my On leggings, my waterproof running shoes, and a rain jacket, instead of my beloved leather sandals and jeans — ack! I would have loved to play in the water more instead of running away, screaming for my life, while trying to preserve my original edition FitFlop Gracie sandals that you can’t get anymore.

From Hellbrunn, we rode to Schloss Frohnburg, the Mozarteum University building whose facade was used for the von Trapp house in The Sound of Music. You can only view it from the outside, but the bike ride along the road is worth the visit. 

Tip: Make your ride back a loop by riding out along the river. Don’t let Google Maps pull you off the river path onto a faster route. The other route is barely quicker, uglier, and more dangerous. Instead, ride back on the dirt road past the von Trapp house for a great view of Hohensalzburg Fortress. 

Dinner & A Mozart Concert At Hohensalzburg Fortress

We booked the Dinner & Fortress Concert package, which includes the funicular ride up. The food was nothing to write home about, but the view was incredible, and it was fun chatting with other Americans who’d been talked into buying the package. Arrive on time or early so you get a table by the window. The concert was a delight. The performers and audience were so alive, and the fortress is just incredible to be inside. My one complaint: no piano that night.

Walk The Mönchsberg

I loved the Mönchsberg walking route toward Richterhöhe. I could have spent hours up there, looking down over the city and out to the mountains. Walk up from the Old Town, or take the MönchsbergAufzug elevator up in 30 seconds. Don’t rush it. Reserve 2-3 hours to wander along the paths and cliffside trail.

Skip: Mozart’s Residence

Apparently, there are two Mozart museums there. We went to the Mozart Residence (Mozart-Wohnhaus), which doesn’t have much to see. Spend that time on the Mönchsberg instead.

What To Do In Munich

I was in Munich from October 8–12, 2026. You can walk everywhere, and every other block has something gorgeous: a statue, a park, a museum, live classical music drifting out of an open window. The modern buildings are grey and not especially pretty, but the preserved history and green space more than make up for it. Our running gag was “What the hell?!” because we’d turn a corner and something amazing would appear. All. The. Time.

My Favorite Thing To Do In Munich: The English Garden

Rent a bike and ride the whole massive park (bike rental shop info here). Some stretches feel like you’re deep in the woods. I felt at home there. Don’t miss the Eisbach wave at the park’s southern entrance, where surfers ride a standing wave right in the middle of the city.

The Residenz Museum & Treasury

The museums are world-class. The Residenz Museum and the Treasury are in the same enormous palace, but each needs its own ticket. My advice: arrive by 2pm, buy the combo ticket, and give yourself at least three hours to do both. The last entry is one hour before closing, and the hours get shorter from mid-October. They are strict, and they caught us trying to sneak in to see the jewels — oops!

Comedy Night At The Jungle

We caught the grand opening of The Jungle, Munich’s first dedicated English-language comedy club, at its new venue on Arnulfstraße near the S-Bahn Hirschgarten stop. It was a super fun night out. Shows run on Fridays.

Best Day Trip From Munich: Hiking Lake Tegernsee

One of the best things about Munich is that stunning outdoor adventures are only an hour or two away. My hike at Lake Tegernsee on October 9 was the best day of the whole trip. This route is poorly explained online, so below I explain exactly how to do it. It’s about four hours of walking total. (There’s also a shorter one-hour hike, which is what I did, but this is the one I wish I had done!) 

Before You Go

• Start by 11am to reach the water around 3pm, so you have enough time for a lake walk and the boat back.
• Pack a warm layer, a rain jacket, and shoes with grip. It’s colder at the top, and the steep sections get muddy and slippery when wet.
• Bring water, snacks, and euros. The Neureuth Inn is the only stop on the trail for food, water, and toilets, and it’s cash only. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday, 8:30am to 6pm (closed Mondays).
• I took an Uber from Munich for $100 for less stress and to save 30 minutes. It was just an hour’s drive from my hotel. But if you want to save money (or you love taking public transit), you can take the BRB train from Munich. Check brb.de for timetables, closures, or replacement buses on the Tegernsee line before you go. If the line is closed, look for the “Schienenersatzverkehr” (SEV) replacement bus signs at the station.

Getting To The Trailhead

Start at Oberbuchberger’s, a café and farm shop at Gasse 40a, Gmund am Tegernsee. It’s a 45-minute uphill walk (3 km) from Gmund station, so a taxi or Uber straight there saves time. The café is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm. I showed up on a Friday and had a bowl of soup before my hike, which was delicious. 

The Route

• Read the signs. The trail signs out here are yellow, arrow-shaped plates with black lettering. Each one points toward a destination and names it.
• Take the far-left road at the fork. Stand with your back to the café entrance, as if you just walked out, and turn right. You’ll come to a fork with three options:
  • Far left: The forest road to Neureuth. You pass a wooden barn just before it enters the woods. This is the longer hike I wish I had taken, so take this one.
  • Middle: I believe this is just a neighborhood road.
  • Far right: The road to the shorter path I took. Super cool, but only an hour.

• Climb the forest road for about 1 hour 10 minutes. Stay on the wide track the whole way. The signs you want on this stretch read “Neureuth über die Rodelbahn.”
  • The track bends left and crosses a clearing. Ignore the cart track that goes to the left.
  • Back in the forest, the trail curves and gets steeper. At a rest bench with a signpost opposite, keep going straight.
  • You’ll reach a meadow slope with an alpine hut (the Berger Alm). Ignore the cart track that branches off there too.
  • After a right-hand bend, there’s a signposted junction. Turn left, and about 30 meters on you’ll reach another bench.
• Take the steep path to the top, about 20 minutes. At that bench, a stony path leaves the track on the right, marked “Schlechte Wegbeschaffenheit” (poor trail condition). Take it. It’s steep and rooty, and it gets muddy and slippery when wet.
  • It crosses a clearing, then climbs steeply and winds up over roots to the edge of the forest.
  • Go through the gap in the fence and head for the signpost standing in the meadow.
  • Slip through the cattle barrier and turn left on the wide track. The chapel and the Neureuth Inn (1,264 m) are right there.
• Optional: Add the ridge, about 1 hour round trip. Continue past the inn on the wide track into the forest toward Gindelalm.
  • You pass through a clearing and more forest. Ignore all the side turnoffs.
  • When you come out of the trees, a path climbs the grassy slope on your right to the ridge and the large summit cross on Gindelalmschneid (1,335 m).
  • Walk back the same way to Neureuth. Skip this part if you’re running late. In October it gets dark around 6:30pm, and you want to be out of the forest well before then.
• Descend the Sommerweg, about 1 hour. From the inn, go back to the cattle barrier and continue straight, following the yellow signs for Tegernsee. This path is rooty too, so take it slowly if it’s wet.
  • Walk down the gentle meadow ridge to the forest edge and follow the wide path into the woods.
  • After about five minutes, there’s a signposted junction. Turn right, toward Bayernweg and Sommerweg.
  • You pass a shelter, then zigzag down to a fork. Keep right for the Sommerweg. If you take the Bayernweg by mistake, don’t worry: the two paths join again lower down.
  • Many switchbacks later, you hit a forest road. Go left for a short stretch, then turn right back onto the Sommerweg.
  • The path widens into a cart track and brings you down to a wider trail, the Tegernseer Höhenweg.
• Follow the Höhenweg into town. Follow it a short way to a fork and turn right at the sign for “Tegernseer Höhenweg nach Tegernsee.” Don’t follow the Gmund sign; that’s the way back north.
  • Go down the steps and past an underground garage entrance.
  • Cross a meadow slope to the entrance of Hotel Das Tegernsee. This is where the trail meets the first street, Nigglweg.
• Follow the red number 4 arrows to the lake. Once you’re off the trail, look for small red arrow signs numbered 4 or 6. I needed them near the station. When in doubt, just follow the red 4.
  • Nigglweg: walk downhill to Klosterwachtstraße. Look for a red 4 arrow at the corner.
  • Klosterwachtstraße: turn left and walk about two minutes downhill to Bahnhofstraße. The train station is across the street.
  • Look for the next red arrow at a fork in the road on your left, and keep following them. I loved this little path.

At The Water

You’ll land at the Herzogliches Bräustüberl Tegernsee (Schloßplatz 1), a beer hall in the old monastery at the start of the waterfront where a lot of us hikers ended up. It’s open daily, 10am to 10pm. The promenade and boat pier are steps away. Follow the red arrow signs with the number 4 on them along the lake for a gorgeous walk. (I’m not sure where the #6 arrows go.) I stopped where the lake path turns into a sidewalk along the road with cars going by. The sidewalk still gives you more lake views, but by that point you might be done.

Getting Back

• By boat: You don’t need to take the boat, but I love boats. Boats leave the Bräustüberl pier hourly at 44 minutes past and reach the Tegernsee Rathaus pier six minutes later. In autumn, the last one leaves at 4:44pm; check the boat timetable before you set off. From the Rathaus pier, cross the main road and walk up Prinz-Karl-Allee and Königin-Caroline-Weg to the station.
• By train: Walk back up Bahnhofstraße to the station, about 15 minutes, and take the train to Munich.

What Not To Miss

If you only do three things on my full list, pick these: In Salzburg, bike to Hellbrunn’s Trick Fountains (in clothes that can get wet), ride every corner of Munich’s English Garden, and hike Tegernsee. And don’t forget to eat everything. Your stomach will thank you.