It’s one of the biggest events in Europe’s calendar and now Oktoberfest revellers can experience a second capital city while experiencing the beer-soaked festival.
It’s been announced ahead of the 200th festival this year that a special new train route will be laid on to help beer-loving weekenders get across Europe.
Millions of tourists from around the world flock to Germany’s Bavaria region each year to take part in the festivities; playing games, sampling local food and drink, and dressing up in traditional clothes.
The new night train will run from Rome to Munich, the heart of the festival, on a Friday evening, departing Termini station and then returning back to the Eternal City on Monday – with many hungover passengers likely on board.
Dubbed The Munich Express, the train can be booked via RailBook on two consecutive weekends: 26th September and 3rd October.
Tickets booked before 7th September start from €99 (£85.81) and the service leaves at 8pm sharp – but can also be booked from other Italian stops including Verona, Trento, Bolzano, Bressanone, Fortezza, Vipiteno, Colle Isarco and Brennero.
The Italian tourism initiative running the service, FS Treni Turistici Italiani, says the journey will be ‘comfortable and effortless’, with plenty of the refreshing amber stuff available to drink on board.
Passengers can book up seats, or pay a little more for a couchette or sleeper car should they fancy saving the partying for Germany and getting some shut-eye.
Start the party early: Plans for a new overnight train route from Rome – and a host of other Italian destinations – to Munich for Oktoberfest have been announced
The adverts for The Munich Express read: ‘Forget the stress of driving and unnecessary stops: with us, the fun begins as soon as you step on board.’
They also outline what’s in store as you cross countries, explaining: ‘On board our train, you’ll find Bavarian-themed entertainment ready to get you into the Oktoberfest spirit.
Millions of people descend on the Bavarian capital to celebrate the official opening of Oktoberfest every year.
This year, the festival runs from Saturday 20th Sept to Sunday 5th Oct.
The city’s mayor gets the beer celebration underway with the traditional cry of ‘O’zapft is’ – ‘It’s tapped’ – after inserting a tap in the first keg at noon on the first Saturday.
Partygoers decked out in traditional lederhosen and dirndl dresses head to Munich’s festival grounds to drink in traditional tents – with many imbibing 1-litre (2 pint) mugs of beer.
Oktoberfest typically draws about six million visitors every year – with a two-pinter costing around €15 (£13) a pop.
Leaving Rome on a Friday night at 8pm, the train has seats, couchettes and sleeper cars from €99 (£85.81)
And after you’ve drunk those famous two-pint jars, there’s a return train back to Italy on Monday
The festival, with history spanning back more than 200 years, has produced some spectacular scenes of excess over the years as Munich’s premiere food and drink festival.
The advent of mobile camera tech has introduced the world to the Munich style of partying – and since brought watered-down clones to other European cities, including London.
The first ever Oktoberfest began as a celebration of the wedding of Prince Regent Ludwig of Bavaria, the later King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in 1810.
Festivities for the wedding saw Bavarian citizens celebrate with an enormous horse race.
The region’s population liked the race so much that they decided to do another one every year after that, with the festival evolving to include fairground rides and attractions in the years to come.
In 2019, before the pandemic, Oktoberfest was said to have brought north of one billion euros to the Germany economy.
