With its soothing streams, miles of peaceful pathways and lawns loaded with lazy loungers, Munich's Englischer Garten (English Garden) is an oasis inside the busy Bavarian city.
Especially if you happen to be in town during Oktoberfest.
The English Garden-one of the biggest urban parks in the world-offers miles for locals and tourists alike. No trip to Munich can be "done right" without a stroll through its wooded walkways.
Here are the highlights of this superb city park:
Hang "Zehn"
Surfing in Munich? Surely the Germans can't be serious? (They are serious and they'd prefer if you stopped calling them Shirley.)
Near the southern entrance to the English Garden, you will find the Eisbachwelle, a man-made permanent wave that provides the chance to surf inside the city. Even though the water is only about a foot deep, the current can be strong, so only experienced surfers are allowed to take to the waves.
If this isn't you (or you forgot to pack your wetsuit), there's plenty of space for spectators to take in the action and sneak a selfie.
Tip One Back Under the Trees
This is Munich, so you know the city's most popular park is going to provide a spot for people to sip a local beer, right?
You will find a few beer gardens inside the English Garden, each with their own distinct ambiance. The most popular are the Chinese Tower, Seehaus and Hirschau.
The Chinese Tower beer garden has approximately 7,000 seats and is the second largest beer garden in the entire city. Here, you can sip some suds in the shadow of a 75-foot-high wooden Chinese pagoda.
The chic Seehaus sits near the middle of the park and right beside the Kleinhesseloher See (lake). What the Seehaus lacks in seating space, it more than makes up for in trendiness. This is where the "beautiful people" drink their beer al fresco, (though it somehow still manages to be a laid-back place where visitors feel welcome).
The Hirschau beer garden lies at the quieter north end of the park and feels a bit hidden. Here you can sip brews under leafy chestnut trees to the sounds of live jazz performances.
If beer isn't your thing, then make a beeline for the Japanisches Teehaus (Japanese Teahouse) where traditional Japanese tea ceremonies have been taking place since 1972.
[READMORE]READ MORE: A Foodie's Guide to Oktoberfest in Munich[/READMORE]
Frolic in the Fields
While some sections of the English Garden make you feel like you are hidden deep inside a forest, others are full of sprawling open fields. On these meadows, you will find soccer games, picnics and even a bit of nude sunbathing going on. (The practice is tolerated in the English Garden, so consider yourself warned when you go to retrieve that frisbee.)
See Munich from the Monopteros
A monopteros are grand rotunda-like structures reminiscent of Greek temples. Europeans love putting them in parks, and the English Garden's monopteros sits atop a man-made hill, providing spectacular views of the Munich.
The most notable sight on the skyline? That's surely the double "onion domes" of the stately Frauenkirche, Munich's beloved cathedral.
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