English Garden Munich: A Step-by-Step Guide

A first visit fits into half a day. This table shows the five steps of the guide below.

Step 1: Get to the English Garden in Munich

The park has no single gate, so you choose the entrance by the sight you want. The park starts at Odeonsplatz, a short way north of Marienplatz in Munich, and runs about five and a half kilometres to the north.

Here is how the City of Munich lists the ways in:

• Eisbach wave and Haus der Kunst (south): bus 100 to Nationalmuseum/Haus der Kunst or Königinstraße.
• Monopteros hill: U3 or U6 to Universität or Giselastraße.
• Chinese Tower: bus to Chinesischer Turm.
• Kleinhesseloher See and the Seehaus: tram to Tivolistraße.
• Northern part: U-Bahn to Studentenstadt.

If you need fares and day tickets, see the guide to Munich public transport. Entry to the park is free and it is open all year. The address is Englischer Garten, 80538 München.

Pro Tip Start at the Eisbach in the south and finish at the Chinese Tower. You walk with the park getting greener, and a beer garden with about 7,000 seats waits at the end.

Step 2: See how big the park is and walk it south to north

The English Garden covers 376 hectares, so plan half a day for a first visit. The Bavarian Palace Administration says it is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world, larger than Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London. About 170 hectares are woodland, 187 are meadow and 16 are water. Paths add up to 78 km, and the park has more than 100 bridges.

The City of Munich suggests this route from south to north:

1. The Eisbach wave at Haus der Kunst
2. The Japanese tea house
3. The waterfalls on the Eisbach
4. The Monopteros hill
5. The Chinese Tower
6. The Kleinhesseloher See and the Seehaus

The city's walking tour gives about 1.5 to 2 km and 1 to 1.5 hours for the short loop. Walking to the lake is about 3 to 3.5 km and takes 2 to 3 hours. The city calls these figures rough guides.

The Chinese Tower is 25 metres high and was built in 1790. The Monopteros temple was built in 1836 and 1837 on a man-made hill. The path up has a slope of more than 6 percent, so it is not step-free. The Kleinhesseloher See covers about 8 hectares, and you can rent rowing and pedal boats on its north shore near the Seehaus. The lake was begun in 1804.

The park has four restaurants: Aumeister, Chinese Tower, Hirschau and Seehaus. Hirschau is a beer garden where the northern part begins. More than 5 million people visit the park every year, so summer weekends are busy.

Key Takeaway The English Garden is 376 hectares of free park. The short loop from the Eisbach to the Chinese Tower takes one to one and a half hours.

A big city park works best when you do not try to see all of it in one visit.

Step 3: Watch the Eisbach surfers

The Eisbach wave is a standing river wave at the south end of the park, next to Haus der Kunst, and it is one of the park's best-known sights. The City of Munich allowed surfing on the wave again on 8 May 2026 under conditions.

The rules are short:

• Surfers must use a self-releasing leash.
• Surfing is banned from 10 pm.
• You must follow the signs and safety notices at the wave.

The city also says the wave can be closed again if people break the rules. The park page says surfing is at your own risk and is meant for experienced surfers. Beginners should practise at the Floßlände. The city page does not say whether you can surf alone, so check the signs on site.

A bike tour that passes the wave is a good way to see it without a long walk. The 4-hour bike tour with a beer garden break lists the river surfers among its stops.

Step 4: Check the swimming rules before you pack

Swimming is not allowed in the English Garden. The City of Munich says swimming and bathing are not allowed anywhere at the Eisbach or at the Floßlände, and calls swimming in the water life-threatening. Swimming is also not allowed in the Kleinhesseloher See.

The palace administration notes that some visitors sunbathe nude on the meadows. The Schönfeldwiese, on the far side of the Schwabinger Bach stream, is the park's marked nudist area. If you prefer not to see nude sunbathers, walk in the south or around the lake.

Dogs must stay on a leash, and rubbish goes in the bins. The palace administration says about 120 tonnes of rubbish are collected in the park each year.

Pro Tip A cold dip is not an option here. Spend the heat of the day in the shade at the Chinese Tower beer garden or on a rental boat on the Kleinhesseloher See.

Step 5: See the English Garden by bike

A guided bike tour is the easy way to see more of the park than a walk allows. The Munich bike tour options cross the English Garden as part of a longer city ride, so you also see the old town and the Isar river.

The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Munich on 28 October 2026 found 11 bike tours, from €39 per person, with a median rating of 4.9 out of 5 among those with reviews. Three of them fit this reader best:

• The 3-hour guided bike tour starts at Marienplatz and runs about 3.5 hours. It is from €39 per person and rated 4.6 from 1,999 reviews. Munich Walk Tours runs it. It does not suit people with mobility problems.
• The half-day bike tour with a local guide takes up to 15 people and lasts 3 hours. It is from €45 per person and rated 4.7 from 420 reviews. Radius Tours GmbH runs it. It is not for children under 16.
• The 4-hour bike tour with a beer garden break is from €40 per person and rated 4.9 from 636 reviews. Fat Tire Tours - Munich runs it. Drinks and food cost extra, and it is not for pregnant women or people with low fitness.

All three offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Prices and ratings are as shown on GetYourGuide on 28 October 2026, and we did not check them anywhere else. Before you book, note the basics. The 3-hour tour starts at Marienplatz and runs about 3.5 hours; the half-day tour lasts 3 hours; the beer garden tour lasts 4 hours. For the half-day and beer garden tours, the listings we used give no meeting point, so read it on the booking page before you pay. Group size is published only for the half-day tour, which takes up to 15 people. The only extra cost the listings name is drinks and food on the 4-hour tour.

Tour or do it yourself? A tour gives you a guide, a longer route and the old town; walking gives you your own pace and costs nothing. A bike tour is the wrong choice if you want to stand at the Eisbach for an hour or sit by the lake. The tours keep moving, and they cover only part of the 376 hectares. For a slow day, walk the route from Step 2 on your own. If the beer garden and the old town matter to you too, a tour packs more into one morning. If a beer garden stop is your goal, see the beer tours in Munich too.