Nymphenburg Palace and Park
Nymphenburg Palace was built in 1664 as summer residence of the Bavarian Kings and Dukes.
In the 17th century Munich was still a tiny village, not much bigger than the area from Stachus (Karlsplatz) to Marienplatz. Nymphenburg was pure "countryside", far away from the hassles of the capital. It would take almost half a day to get there either by walking or by horse coach.
Nowadays Munich has grown much bigger and Nymphenburg Palace lies almost in the heart of the city. You can reach it easily in 15-20 minutes with Tram 17 from Hauptbahnhof (central station).
The short walk from the Tram station Schloss Nymphenburg along the Auffahrtsallee
towards the palace is simply amazing!
Nymphenburg complex was inspired heavily by Versailles near Paris. You walk along an artificial water channel, green pastures with blossoming flowers until you finally reach the breathtaking main building in baroque style with its huge side buildings.
The Nymphenburg gardens have been converted into a public park, consisting of several attractions:
- Main Palace
- Gardens and Park
- Public Greenhouse with exotic plants
- Cafe with small beer garden
- Botanical gardens
- Pavilion Pagodenburg
- Badenburg
- Magdalenenklause Castle
- Amalienburg Hunting Lodge
Entrance to the park is free, but you have to buy a ticket, if you want to visit some of the attractions.
By the way, if you plan to stay longer in our beautiful country and want to visit more than 4 or 5 palaces in Bavaria, you can buy a Annual Season Ticket or 14-Day Ticket.
The annual season ticket is valid for one year after your first visit and allows you to enter all of the state-owned
Bavarian
palaces, castles, fortresses and residences. It costs around 45 Euro for
one person and 65 Euro for a family.
The 14-day Ticket costs 20 € (single) and 36 € (family).
Many habitants from Munich visit Nymphenburg Palace gardens to sit down on the grass and enjoy themselves.
This is something very special to Munich: as soon as the sun shines (winter or summer!), everyone flocks to the
many public parks and to be outside with friends and families.
I personally like Nymphenburg Palace best during summer time, because of the wonderful flowers planted artfully in the gardens.
But it is also a great place during winter, especially when the water ways are frozen and you can do ice skating or curling.
Do it like the locals, bring food and drinks, your favorite book and enjoy the day relaxing!
The botanical garden adjacent to Nymphenburg park is very famous and considered one of the best in Germany.
On the picture you can see Tobi in one of the greenhouses, with exotic plants and an exhibition of local artists.
The small Amalienburg was built from 1734 to 1739 by Elector Karl Albrecht as a hunting lodge for his wife Maria Amalia
(therefore the name Amalia's castle).
The single-storey building with its unique hall of mirrors decorated partly in silver is a masterpiece of European rococo
art.
Don't miss at least a glimpse through the windows into this amazing gem.
