Wave of visitors from Italy for the “Festa d’ottobre”
Italians love the Munich Oktoberfest – or the “Festa d’ottobre”, as they call it. Traditionally, the second weekend of the Wiesn has become established as the “Italian weekend”. Italians arrive from all over Italy and often travel the length of the country to experience the thrill of the Wiesn. Many travel in camper vans, so don’t be surprised if you see Italian campers parked all over the city on Italian weekend. The travel rush often causes traffic jams, to the extent that local radio stations also make traffic announcements in Italian during the second week of Oktoberfest. Many local newspapers welcome Italian guests with a bilingual title page on Italian weekend. According to statistics from the Munich Department of Tourism, Italians made up the majority of foreign visitors to the Wiesn, at almost 20 percent.
