Oktoberfest is a great reason to travel to Bavaria. The atmosphere is out of the commun : music groups, brass bands, cantonal songs, rituals that are strange to us and traditional costumes make this festival an astonishing cocktail. The Oktoberfest will then lead you to discover a no less surprising Bavaria. Between plains and mountains, baroque architecture and contemporary art, Bavaria is contrasting. When the campaigns are in Conservative hands, Munich remains reformist. And when a sovereign leans towards madness, it is in architecture that it finds its outlet. This is Bavaria, both wise and eccentric but always warm.
It's time to celebrate the beer!
It will be noon next 21 septembre, when the first barrel of beer will be pierced by the mayor of the city. The collection will then open the Oktoberfest festivities! This event dates back to the celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Louis with Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on 12 octobre 1810. It is a gathering that has no equivalent in the world today. Every year, it brings together six visitors at sept millions for as many litres of beer.... On the Theresienwiese, the " pré of Thérèse ", about fifteen huge tents can accommodate up to 8 000 personnes for the more grands ; each Bavarian brewer has one. Many restaurants and sausage snacks perfume the surroundings and a carnival completes a surprising picture for the novice.
A few festivities punctuate this fête ; among them, the " Trachten und Schützenzug " is unmissable. On Sunday 22 septembre from 10 h, between 7 000 and 8 000 participants, including a few hundred hunters, will march and " tireront " through the streets of Munich to Theresienwiese. In large festive costumes, they come from Bavaria, the Swabian country, Franconia and also from all over Europe. The colourful procession will take you up Maximilianstraße to the Odeonsplatz to music, then head for Theresienwiese. Occasionally, paying stands are dressées : it is a comfortable way to observe défilé ; count 35 € per square
A palace in the heart of Munich
Between the festivities and agape of the Oktoberfest, it is impossible to avoid the castle of Nymphenburg ! This one transports us to Europe from XVIIe siècle. At that time, Prince Ferdinand Marie of Bavaria built this castle. It became the summer residence of the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty. From prince voters, they became kings of Bavaria from 1806 until the abdication of Louis III from Bavaria in 1918. Over the centuries, the building has established itself as the masterpiece of German Baroque architecture.
Since 1674, new pavilions have been added on either side of the original building. The facade now stretches over more than 600 mètres. The view is stunning when the castle is discovered by the visitor arriving from the city. The general layout is reminiscent of Versailles ; here, charming pavilions replace the Sun King's stables.
On the park side, long perspectives refocus the view on the original pavilion. The castle combines classic French influences, with a taste for baroque and rococo in interior decoration. The soft curves of the English landscape park from XIXe siècle provide a setting for this remarkable ensemble
Lake Starnberg, mirror of the Alps and the fate of Ludwig II
Bavaria is deeply marked by the characters of Louis II and Sissi. To the south of Munich, the shores of Lake Starnberg are the setting in which part of Bavaria's Louis II history has been written. Sissi stayed there regularly during her childhood but also after her coronation. As young people, Louis and his confidante met on Île des Roses. But it was also on the shores of this lake that Louis lost his life in conditions that are still obscure today. A cross marks the place where the body was found in the water, at the foot of the chapel that now bears his name.
Accessible by S-Bahn from the city centre, a cruise then seems the ideal way to discover the lake comfortably. On the way to the Alps, the observer can only be struck by the suddenness with which the mountains rise. Here, no Pre-Alps but immediately slender mountains, with sharp ridges and high peaks. It is in this context that the first slope of the mountain is decorated with Neuschwanstein Castle. As you approach the plain, you will discover it in the heart of a fir forest, clinging to a rocky peak. At its feet, the sensation is dizzy and already enchanting. It is impossible not to think of the castle of Sleeping Beauty.
Louis II from Bavaria had this stone ship built from 1869 onwards. The architecture is striking for its lightness and verticality. This curiosity is mérite : it is difficult to reach by foot, a steep path leads to it. It is that Louis II most often wanted to isolate itself in this palace. He would even have liked the castle to be razed to the ground when he died. From the bridge of Mary, the palace takes on its full measure. The architecture is at the height of paysage : on one side, the Alps and their high peaks, and on the other, below, the vast Bavarian plain. The architecture mixes Byzantine style with medieval inspiration. The interior is extraordinaire ; the rooms are decorated according to the many myths that inspired Wagner, such as Tristan and Isolde, the legend of Tannhäuser or the epic of Lohengrin.
To access this gem and if walking is not suitable for you, you will prefer to use horse-drawn carriages from the Ticket Center. Minibuses also provide ascent but you will still have to walk to reach the nest of Louis II. In both cases, be careful not to choose the wrong starting station with that of the neighbouring castle, Hohenschwangau. The latter is also beautiful but for a short stay, choose Neuschwanstein
A romantic landscape
Bavaria is a very romantic country. The hills follow the lakes, the villages and their churches with their bulbous bell tower punctuate the landscape. Here and there, a forest of beech and fir trees punctuate the panorama. And, in the distance, the Alps emerge. The steep slopes overlook a monastery with baroque architecture, and there is a valley where cows and goats graze. Further on, a waterfall draws a line on a vertiginous cliff. This landscape is also Bavaria. Enter the interior of this massif to explore the wilderness. Stop at Ettal Abbey, 100 kilomètres in Munich. Nestled between the forested mountains, the abbey conceals treasures of rococo stucco. This Benedictine abbey dates back to 1300. Since 1900, it has been reborn and now hosts a public high school and a boarding school. It is a pleasant drop-off point not far from the castles of Louis II in Bavaria and close to the road that leads from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was in this ski and resort that the 1936 Olympic Winter Games were held. It is a small regional capital that combines mountain rural activities and traditions with rather chic but never snobby tourism development. From there, you will take a funicular that climbs to Germany's highest peak, the Zugspitze, at 2 962 mètres above sea level. The view is breathtaking both to the north towards the Bavarian plain and everywhere else on the German, Austrian, Swiss and Italian Alps, no less than 400 sommets !
At the end of your stay, you can say " Aus is !" " ("It's over!"), the Oktoberfest's jubilant closing cry. And like all the people of Munich at the end of the beer festival, you will leave home with a smile on your face, happy to have participated in the celebrations or to have discovered a welcoming country, far from stereotypes and yet so " typisch " !
Smart info
When? When? This year, the Oktoberfest is taking place from 21 septembre to 6 octobre
Getting there. Everything is possible: by plane, train, bus or car (there is 841 kilomètres between Paris and Munich).
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Useful. To prepare your escapade as well as possible
OKTOBERFEST OFFICIAL SITE - More information on the website
BAVARIAN OFFICE OF TOURISM- More information on the website
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