Things to do in Munich during Oktoberfest

We have four Amercians going to Oktoberfest September 29th- October 7th, Looking for stuff to do besides Oktoberfest.

Hofbrauhaus

and the secret bier championship...but I don't know if americans are invited to that

Aahh, the secret bier championship! Looking forward to it again...brokenm, who provides the password this year?

There are lots of things to do besides Oktoberfest... basically the same stuff that you can do when the Oktoberfest is not there. If you want to get away from it for a day, I'd suggest to visit the surroundings like the lakes or the mountains.
Bear in mind that October the 3rd is a national holiday here, everything is closed that day (except for the Oktoberfest of course and the airport supermarket).

Nymphenburg castle (within city limits) and its grounds are beautiful in September/October. A hike through the Olympic Park with its artificial hills provides a great view of the city plus you can stop by Munich's highest beer garden, the Olympia-Alm. Take the S-Bahn to Dachau to tour the Concentration Camp (if you can take it) and the Old Town, have your afternoon coffee and mouth-watering cake on the castle terrace. Or go south to Lake Starnberg. All of these are accessible on public transport so any residue alcohol after last night's binge shouldn't stop you.

These pocket guidebooks are not too expensive and give you a good idea about what is happening in and around munich throughout the year.

Thanks sarabyrd, that sounds like a full day! I wanted to go to the concentration camp, but everyone else said I was morbid. I definalty want to see the castles too. I am sure i will be able to find things to do there, just didn't want to miss anything and we are there for such a short time.

Hofbrauhaus sounds great too... we will def check it out.

You can definitely do the Olympic Park and Nymphenburg on one day, bus 51 (direction Aidenbachstrasse) takes you straight from Olympiazentrum to Schloss Nymphenburg. Wear comfortable shoes.

@Sarahlizlee - don't worry about visiting the concentration camp and Oktoberfest on the same day. I did exactly this on my very first trip to Munich in '99. We took the train (and then bus) out to Dachau then back into town later to Oktoberfest. We got over the morbidness quick.

"Mike's Bike Tours" of the city are recommended.

We both know that it's a palace not a castle...though it has both castle and palace in the german name...very odd.

I'd recommend heading down to Linderhof for a day, personally. Drive. Or, if you want an actual castle, head up to Landshut.

I have been on Mike's Bike Tour twice and had a blast both times. It is a very relaxing way (if riding a bike is relaxing to you) to see the city. Neuschwanstein is also a nice day trip away from Munich if you are looking to see a castle. If you left around 10 on the train, you would probably be back around 5 depending on how long you had to wait on a tour.

I would be DAMN impressed if you could do Neuschwanstein in that time. On my tours, I leave at 9:51am...get back at 7:08pm...no waiting in lines at all...and that's with absolutely no time to spare! (only a 20min lunch) ...if you threw Hohenschwangau in there, add an extra 1.5 hours.

We took parents to Neuschwanstein yesterday.
We didn't get moving until just after 12 noon and we took a scenic route (via Linderhof) on the way there, we took the motorway back and were home by 8 p.m.
Tour was no more than 45 mins. We gave ourselves an hour to walk up so we could check out Marienbrücke and take some snaps.
Was lovely there at this time of year, leaves are all turning and it has that crispness in the air.
I would totally recommend it as an alternative to beer.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Our trip is so close and I am way too excited! We will be at the fest on Saturday so if you see a really drunk American chick with a bunch of tattoos acting like an ass please forgive me!!