Botanical Garden Munich

The Botanical Garden in Munich-Nymphenburg is one of the largest Botanical gardens in Germany with an area of 21.2 hectares and over 350,000 visitors a year. It fits to the park of Nymphenburg Palace which is south side. It is also part of the "Bavarian State Natural History Collections". It offers several opportunities for nature-loving people, but also for people who just want to take a walk.

Around the world in one garden

There are many different places to stay within the Botanical garden. To the left of the main entrance is the greenhouse, which contains a total of 15 areas with a wide variety of themes, such as the cold house, which contains flowering ornamental and wild plants, or the tropical plant house, which contains tropical useful and aromatic plants from all over the world that have been and are used for medicinal purposes, for example. The largest area is the outside area. Here you will find the rose garden, the rhododendron grove, the Schmuckhof, the insect pavilion, a fern gorge and much more. Another highlight is the Alpine Garden on the Schachen, although this is located in the Wetterstein mountains. Since 1901, the Munich Botanical Garden has maintained a field station here, which contains over 1000 plant species from the various high mountain ranges.

Experience in the garden

Every winter there is the opportunity to visit the "tropical butterflies" exhibition. In the tropical swamp and water plant house, or greenhouse 4, over 400 butterflies from all over the world fly around freely. They are flown in as pupae from countries such as Costa Rica and Malaysia and then hatch in the hot and humid greenhouse. In addition, various and changing guided tours and exhibitions are offered throughout the year. These may afford a charge in addition to entrance fee. Every Sunday in summer, a visit to the Botanical Gardens is accompanied by music from the Munich Singers' Circle in the so-called Sunday Matinees. The spectrum ranges from Renaissance and Viennese classical music to jazz and pop, and from amateur to professional choirs. So there is something for every taste.

Offside the Botany

There is a café within the gardens, which invites you to relax after a long walk or to share your impressions. There you will find various coffee and cake specialties. The building is visible just a few meters from the garden entrance. The large building to the right of the main entrance houses the "BIOTOPIA - Naturkundemuseum Bayern" and the "BIOTOPIA LAB". The Bavarian Museum of Natural History expands and transforms the Museum of Man and Nature, which was previously located in the north wing of Nymphenburg Palace. In the BIOTOPIA, visitors can go on an interactive journey of discovery in visitor laboratories and observatories. The BIOTOPIA LAB offers monthly changing programs and content spread across the experimental room and small exhibition rooms.

Research at the Botanical Garden

In addition to passing the time, the Botanical garden is also used for research. For example, the effects of climate change in the Alps, the origin and effect of floral scents in nature, as well as the birds breeding in the Botanical garden and the resident wild bee species are being studied. The greatest value of the research, however, lies in the documentation of the origin of its cultivated plants and the corresponding accessibility of the data. It is also used for the education and training of students at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität.

In 1812 the first Botanical garden of Munich was founded. In 1909 it was decided, due to the growth of the city and the bigger interest in scientific Botany from the Ludwigs-Maximilians-University, that the garden has to be moved to the at that time suburb at Nymphenburg. Today the old Botanical garden near Karlsplatz reminds of the original Botanical garden. In 1910 the construction of todays Botanical garden started and was finished in 1913. In May 1914 the garden opened. The iron-wood-glass architecture was inspired by the greenhouses that had been built throughout Europe since the 19th century, especially the Crystal Palace in London, which hosted the 1851 World's Fair.

By car

Opposite the main entrance to the Botanical garden is a free parking lot with space for a few hundred cars. There are three parking lots for people with physical disabilities directly in front of the Botanical institute.

By public transport

The streetcar stop "Botanischer Garten" is 300 meters away from the main entrance. This can be reached by tram line 17. This is recommended for visitors arriving from the main train station, as line 17 also stops there. About 350 meters from the main entrance is the bus stop "Botanischer Garten", which can be reached by lines 143, 180, N78 and N17. The "München, Laim" S-Bahn stop is around two kilometers away, from where the garden can be reached by foot in under 35 minutes.