Große Zelte
For many Oktoberfest goers, the beer tent is, understandably, the most important part of their visit. Here’s where you socialize, propose to your partner, gossip, dance, dress up, eat, drink, and sing. Here’s where you tease and flirt, slander and exclude, love and trust, and desire and regret. In short: the beer tent is where you’ll find real life.
Near the main and side entrances of the large beer tents there are over a hundred ‘bread ladies.’ Aside from giant pretzels, they also sell rolls, pretzel sticks, beer pretzels, and other baked goods that go well with beer. By the outside walls and in front of the tent entrances there are over 40 booths and 7o stalls where you can get snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, tobacco products, wurst, cheese, fruit, deli food, sweets, and many nice souvenirs.
There are over 30 beer tents peppering the Oktoberfest grounds, but it’s really only the 14 large sized tents plus the after party that are considered the main tents. These 14 main tents are massive with seating from 4,000-10,000 people plus outdoor beer gardens holding thousands more. Table reservations sell out up to 8 months in advance, but each tent does keep some seats open on a first-come-first-service basis. Incidentally there are only six types of beer at Oktoberfest because there are only six purely Munich-based breweries, so that Oktoberfest stays a Munich event.
Sources Referenced: München Betriebs-GmbH & Co. KG - Mit and Wiesnkini Project