Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Further along the tour route comes the
Queen's Bedroom
, which still contains the
sleigh bed on which Ludwig II was born, and the
King's Chamber
resplendent with 3D
ceiling frescoes.
concession €4.50/3.50; 9am-6pm Apr-mid-Oct, 10am-4pm mid-Oct-Mar)
, displaying
royal coaches and riding gear. This includes Ludwig II's fairy tale-like rococo sleigh, in-
geniously fitted with oil lamps for his crazed nocturnal outings. Upstairs is the world's
largest collection of old porcelain made by the famous Nymphenburger Manufaktur. Also
known as the Sammlung Bäuml, it presents the entire product palette from the company's
founding in 1747 until 1930.
Gardens & Outbuildings
The sprawling park behind Schloss Nymphenburg is a favourite spot with Münch-ners and
visitors for strolling, jogging or whiling away a lazy afternoon. It's laid out in grand Eng-
lish style and accented with water features, including a large lake, a cascade and a canal
popular for feeding swans, and ice-skating and ice-curling when it freezes over in winter.
The park is at its most magical without the masses, ie early in the morning and an hour
before closing. But even in the daytime, you can usually commune in solitude with water
lilies and singing frogs at the
Kugelweiher
pond in the far northern corner.
The park's chief folly - and quite frilly to boot - the
Amalienburg
is a small hunting
lodge dripping with crystal and gilt decoration; don't miss the amazing Spiegelsaal. The
two-storey
Pagodenburg
was built in the early 18th century as a Chinese teahouse and is
swathed in ceramic tiles depicting landscapes, figures and floral ornamentation. The
Badenburg
is a sauna and bathing house that still has its original heating system. Finally,
the
Magdalenenklause
was built as a mock hermitage in faux-ruined style. A combina-
tion ticket to all four park buildings is €4.50/3.50 per adult/child.
GARDENS
Neuer Botanischer Garten
(New Botanical Garden; 1786 1350;
www.botmuc.de
;
Menzinger Strasse 65; adult/
concession €4/2.50, Palmenhaus audioguide €3; 9am-7pm May-Aug, 9am-6pm Apr &
Sep, 9am-5pm Feb-Mar & Oct, 9am-4.30pm Nov-Jan; Schloss Nymphenburg)
Mu-
nich's verdant New Botanical Garden segues smoothly from the north side of the palace
park and ranks among the most important in Europe. About a century old, it boasts some
14,000 plant species from around the world. Highlights include the Victorian-style
Pal-
menhaus
(glass palm house) with its famous collection of tropical and subtropical plants.
BOTANICAL GARDEN
