If you’re going to drink beer, buy a ticket to the tents, the bier gardens were taken up well before we arrived for the opening! If you’re too cheap, arrive at around 8am (or earlier!) and be prepared to sit a while; the fest opens at noon. :) Even if you can’t get a seat in one of the open-entry beir gardens, Munich is still a great place to wander around. And there’s always the monastary and the Pauliner Haufbrauhaus!