A morning in Nymphenburg Palace Park
The Nymphenburg Palace Park ranks among Germany's finest and most important garden design examples. It's also my favorite one in Munich.
I visited Munich for the first time 11 years ago when I traveled to San Francisco. We had an 8-hour layover and decided to stroll in the city center. Since then, I've visited Munich several times, and one of the places that stuck with me was the Nymphenburg Palace Park. I have visited the Park several times since then. I especially like the mornings when there are not many people around.
Because it has a special place for me, I wanted to share a typical stroll whenever I visit Munich. Another thing to add, the park is free. If you want to visit the palace building, though, you'll have to buy a ticket. This article is about the park.
(nit: you'll see two different color themes in the photos; the photos are from November 2023 and May 2024, so you'll see Autumn and Spring photos)
The park's iconic canal divides it into a northern and a southern sector. Water is provided by the Würm River in the west (ca. 2 km (1.2 mi)). I always start my walking from the main gate and then move to the left side towards the Badenburg Lake, in the Southern side of the park.
Initially, you feel like you're walking inside an untouched forest. It's very serene. You walk by the Crown Prince's garden, which has several seating areas.
After a half km, you arrive at the Amalienburg building (constructed between 1734 and 1739). It's the first building that greets you at the park from nowhere.
Walking further down the road, you reach a small village with the Green Pump House and Deer Pump House.
From there, you have two paths: walk directly, which leads you to Badenburg Lake, or take a detour into the Lion Valley. Depending on my mood, I usually detour until I reach Badenburg Lake.
Badenburg Lake. The Monopteros can be seen from different angles.
The park has two handmade lakes, and Badenburg Lake is the larger one. Especially in the morning, there are very few people here, and you can enjoy being alone in a fairy tale.
From Badenburg Lake, you walk the South Vista and then reach the Central Canal, from which you can see the Palace from a far distance.
The Central Canal divides the park and has raised walking paths with beautiful trees aligned on both sides.
At this point, I usually sit on one of the benches, eat a sandwich, drink some water, and watch the surroundings. After enjoying the bird chirpings, I continue walking into the Northern Park alongside the North Vista.
The North Vista leads to Pagodenburg Lake, which is the second, smaller Lake of the Nymphenburg Palace.
A small bench is overviewing Pagodenburg Lake.
The Northern side is quiet and has fewer things going on than the Southern part of the park. It's more serene, at least that was the case whenever I walked through it.
Finally, you reach back at the palace and finish walking. In total, it takes around 2 hours, sometimes less or more, depending on how much detour you make or rest in the park.
It's quite a beautiful park. There are many such parks in Germany, but what makes Nymphenburg Palace Park unique is its size and location in the city. It's not exactly in the city center, but it's also not very far away from it.
Another interesting information: Riding the bike is forbidden in the park, so it's just people walking around.
You see people flocking in, but at a very slow rate. Combined with the large size of the park, especially in the morning, you feel alone in the woods in 1800s Germany, with no one around you.
It's my favorite place in Munich.
Photography details
All the photos were shot with a Leica M11, paired with 21 SEM and 35 LUX.