Garden sights in Germany
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Gärten der Welt im Erholungspark Marzahn
Poetically named ‘Gardens of the World’, this sprawling recreational park offers just that: an exotic escape into global garden architecture. Europe is represented with an Italian Renaissance garden, a German country garden and an English maze, but it’s the five Asian gardens that steal the show. Cream of the crop is the Chinese Garden, the largest of its kind in Europe and a collaborative effort between Berlin and its sister city Beijing. It takes up 2.7 hilly hectares in the southern park and is anchored by a large lake. At an authentic teahouse you can relax over green tea or take part in a traditional tea ceremony (0179-394 5564; per person €6), reservations req…
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Britzer Garten
This super-pretty garden puts on a dazzling show from spring to autumn but especially so during ‘Tulipan’, when thousands of tulips in a rainbow of colours brighten early spring, and in summer when the Rose Garden is at its redolent best. But actually any time is a fine time to spend an afternoon amid the greenery, spring-fed lake and flower fields of this fantastic, rambling park that originated as the 1985 Federal Garden Show. It’s so big, there’s even a miniature train to carry around the foot-weary. There are plenty of places for kids to let off steam, including a water playground, a petting zoo and Makunaima, an entire village made of clay. The old windmill o…
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Hofgarten
Office workers catching some rays during their lunch break, stylish moms pushing prams, seniors on bikes, a gaggle of chatty nuns - everybody comes to the Hofgarten. The formal court gardens with fountains, radiant flower beds, lime tree-lined gravel paths and benches galore sits just north of the Residenz. Paths converge at the Dianatempel, a striking octagonal pavilion honouring the Roman goddess of the hunt. In summer it's a favourite spot for classical music recitals.
Boules players gather by the arcades on the park's north side, where the Deutsches Theatermuseum (German Theatre Museum) trains the spotlight on theatre in German-speaking countries with sets, props, cos…
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Englischer Garten
The sprawling Englischer Garten is among Europe's biggest city parks - bigger than even London's Hyde Park and New York's Central Park and a favourite playground for locals and visitors alike. It stretches north from Prinzregentenstrasse for about 5km and was conceived in 1789 - coincidentally (or perhaps not) the year of the French Revolution - as a 'garden for the people' by Elector Karl Theodor.
The design job went to Benjamin Thompson, an American-born scientist working as an advisor to the Bavarian government and at one time as its war minister.
Paths piddle around in dark stands of mature oak and maple before emerging into sunlit meadows of lush grass. Locals are min…
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Schloss Nymphenburg Gardens
The sprawling park behind Schloss Nymphenburg is a favourite spot with Münchners and visitors for strolling, jogging or whiling away a lazy afternoon. It's laid out in grand English 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 waterlilies and singing frogs at the Kugelweiher pond in the far northern corner.
The park's chief folly - and quite frilly to boot - the Amalienburg i…
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Alter Botanischer Garten
Alter Botanischer Garten is a nice place to cool your heels after an Altstadt shopping spree. Created under King Maximilian in 1814, the tender specimens were moved after WWII to a clean-air spot behind Schloss Nymphenburg. All remaining 'foreign' plants were removed under the Nazis in 1935, who turned it into a pleasant, if rather generic, park.
The ferocious Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain), on the south side, dates back to the same year. The neoclassical entrance gate is called the Kleine Propyläen and is a leftover from the original gardens.
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Neuer Botanischer Garten
Munich's vivacious Neuer Botanischer Garten 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 Palmenhaus (palm pavilion) with its famous collection of tropical and subtropical plants. Other greenhouses shelter cacti, orchids, ferns, carnivorous plants and other leafy treasures.
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Körnerpark
This elegant sunken baroque garden is a surprising jewel and comes with a secret: strolling past the flower beds and the cascading fountain, you are actually standing in a reclaimed gravel pit! Ponder this as you grab a coffee in the elegant orangery, then check out the latest exhibit in the adjacent gallery. In summer you can join the locals for free classical, jazz and world-music concerts.
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Hofgarten
Behind the Residenz, the Hofgarten has whimsical sculptures of children, mostly by court sculptor Peter Wagner. Concerts, festivals and special events take place here during the warmer months. Enter through intricate wrought-iron gates into the French- and English-style gardens, partly built on the old baroque bastions.
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Hofgarten
When you've had your shopping fill, head on over to the pleasant Hofgarten dotted with statues of Heinrich Heine, Robert Schumann and other German greats. Thespians might get a kick out of the Theatermuseum, which looks back on Düsseldorf's centuries-old theatre tradition.
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Botanika
Plant-lovers shouldn't miss a trip to Botanika and its replicated Asian landscapes from the Himalayas to New Guinea. Admission to the rhododendron park itself, where you find 2000 rhododendron and azaleas, is free. To get here, take tram 4 to Horner Kirche.
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Kurhaus
Corinthian columns and a frieze of mythical griffins grace the belle époque facade of the monumental Kurhaus, which towers above well-groomed gardens. An alley of chestnut trees, flanked by two rows of boutiques, links the Kurhaus with Kaiserallee.
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Botanischer Garten der Universität
Orchids, ferns and Madagascan succulents thrive in the verdant Botanischer Garten der Universität, part of the university's largest campus area. Take tram 4 or 5 to reach the garden, around 1km north of the Hauptbahnhof.
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Herrenhäuser Gärten
Largely modelled on the gardens at Versailles, the Herrenhäuser Gärten truly rank among Hanover's most memorable attractions. You need a couple of hours to do them justice, but they combine a couple of treats.
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Regenwaldhaus
Along with the Berggarten (north of the Grosser Garten) is the Regenwaldhaus. Inside there's a fairly gimmicky and contrived virtual 'journey' to the Amazon. Things are much more pleasant in the attached tropical greenhouse.
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Hofgarten
The south side of the Kurfürstliche Residenz opens up to the expansive Hofgarten, a popular gathering place for students. At its far end lies the recently renovated Akademisches Kunstmuseum.
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Unterer Schlossgarten
The Unterer Schlossgarten stretches several kilometres northeast to the Neckar River, where it links up with the Rosensteinpark, home of the zoo.
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Berggarten
North of the Grosser Garten lies the Berggarten (Mountain Garden), with its great assortment of flora from around the world.
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Schlossgarten
Behind the Schloss, the Schlossgarten is a delightful place for a stroll.
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Botanischer Garten
At Grosser Garten's northwestern corner is the Botanischer Garten.
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