From the end of September to the beginning of October each year all roads in Munich lead to the Theresienwiese; a giant grass meadow about the size of 20 football fields near the centre of the city.

The occasion is the world's biggest party, the Munich Oktoberfest. The field becomes a beer-drinking city, complete with its own post office, police force and fire department, and — most importantly — numerous huge tents, erected by the various Bavarian breweries, that serve as massive beer halls.

The first keg is tapped in ceremonial style to open the two-week celebration which attracts some six million visitors a year, who swallow as many litres of beer and bring in €830-million to the southern German city.

Apart from the rollicking beer halls where traditional Bavarian bands belt out their old favourites, the festival offers a host of carnival games and fun park rides, as well as stalls selling a range of German delicacies.

The Bavarian city of Munich, centre of southern Germany, is one of the country's favourite tourist destinations offering a unique combination of modern flair and traditional charm, all mixed together with a heavy helping of 'Gemutlichkeit', the special German term for hearty, happy, healthy togetherness.

Traditionally the city, famous for its breweries and beer halls, conjures up images of jolly red-cheeked, portly men in lederhosen, downing steins of beer. There is plenty of this fun to be had, but Munich and the Bavarian region has plenty more to recommend it to visitors. The city has numerous great museums, art treasures, hi-tech industries and gems of Gothic and Baroque architecture. It is also the gateway to the Bavarian Alps, drawing winter sports enthusiasts from near and far.

Munich itself was founded in 1158 on the River Isar, and acquired its name, Munchen (home of the monks) from its first monastery. It was the monks that started the beer brewing tradition for which the city is now world famous, particularly since it started celebrating an annual beer festival in 1810. Today close on six million people visit the Oktoberfest every year, and consume more than five and a half million litres of beer during its two-week run.

Get a taste of this year's Oktoberfest in the gallery below, or visit our Munich Travel Guide to find out more about the capital of Bavaria.

GALLERIES > Oktoberfest 2009
Start Slideshow PicLens