Munich’s green west

RIEDEL Magazine, Issue 01 Spring 2025 | Text: Stephanie Geiger | Reading time: 6 minutes

If you were to ask an AI which sights a visitor to Munich absolutely must see, there is a strong likelihood that Nymphenburg Palace would be mentioned among the very first. The summer residence of the Bavarian electors and kings until 1918, it is one of the landmarks of the Bavarian capital. Text: Stephanie Geiger

Note on the edition

This article is taken from the Spring 2025 issue of RIEDEL Magazine. The businesses, programmes and offers mentioned are correct as at the time of publication.

A castle with a romantic history

There is a romantic reason why this palace still stands today: overjoyed and entranced, Elector Ferdinand Maria presented his wife, Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, with the plot of land on which construction of the present-day palace began in 1664, to mark the birth of their heir to the throne, Max Emanuel.

Picturesque residential area

Two adjoining town villas with curved gables and oriel windows behind trimmed hedges. — Magnificent historic villas characterise the townscape of Gern.

Just as magnificent as the Rococo palace is the neighbourhood that has developed to the west of Munich city centre, near the imposing palace complex. Magnificent Wilhelminian-style residential buildings and stately villas, along with parks and beer gardens, give Nymphenburg-Gern its charm. This district, one of Munich’s most exclusive residential areas, boasts more than just the avenues leading up to the palace.

As it was fashionable in the 19th century to live in the immediate vicinity of the Wittelsbach summer residence, picturesque Gründerzeit villas were built near the palace grounds towards the end of the 19th century; these can still be seen today, for example, in the area around the Neuwittelsbach roundabout. But even north of the Nymphenburg Palace Canal, in the Gern villa colony, there is still a respectable number of historic buildings from the Art Nouveau period and particularly beautiful villa complexes.

Munich’s ‘Notting Hill’

Multi-storey corner building with an oriel tower and a rooftop structure at a tree-lined crossroads. — Corner building on Nymphenburger Straße

From an architectural history perspective, a visit to Wilhelm-Düll-Straße is well worth it. This, Munich’s very first terraced housing estate, is definitely worth a stroll. Don’t be surprised if it reminds you a little of the London neighbourhood of Notting Hill. Built after the First World War, it was one of the first terraced housing estates modelled on the English style. A particular gem on the border between Neuhausen and Gern is Bothmerstraße, where almost all the old Art Nouveau buildings have been preserved. It branches off from Nymphenburger Straße just before the canal.

Gern, first mentioned in records in 1025 and thus one of Munich’s oldest districts, is, incidentally, the least well-known of Munich’s neighbourhoods. Yet Gern is one of the trendiest – and also most expensive – districts in the city.

Life is also absolutely wonderful north of Nymphenburg Palace. And there are some magnificent houses to be found west of the palace grounds, towards Pasing and Obermenzing, along the feed canal, which supplies not only the ‘Große Kaskade’ but also the park’s entire water system, including the lakes.

Pure nature in the castle grounds

Crowded beer garden benches under old chestnut trees, with open blue-and-white parasols in between. — The beer garden at the Hirschgarten, which was the first of its kind in Munich, is very cosy despite its size.

It is not only because of this wealth of property in one of Munich’s most exclusive residential areas that RIEDEL has close ties to the Nymphenburg district. Nymphenburg-Gern is, so to speak, RIEDEL’s home. Heiner and Ingrid Riedel founded their company in this very district in 1982. RIEDEL’s staff, too, know the area inside out and are well aware of the best places to spend their free time.

For example, in the 180-hectare palace park with its picturesque summer pavilions, where wildlife such as deer and swans find an idyllic home. Or in the Botanical Gardens with their palm house, which adjoins the palace park to the north. The sprawling Hirschgarten is also popular, featuring – as the name suggests – a deer enclosure, numerous play areas and barbecue facilities, and the largest beer garden in the state capital. Incidentally, the Hirschgarten was also the very first beer garden. As early as 1791 – twenty years before the actual birth of Bavarian beer gardens – the local gamekeeper was permitted to serve beer here.

Steam rises from the heated outdoor pool, with a few swimmers in the violet twilight. — The Dantebad is an important place for the people of Nymphenburg to relax and have fun, both in summer and winter.

Given its abundance of green spaces, Nymphenburg is rightly described as a ‘green oasis’ in Munich city centre, where fitness enthusiasts are already doing their laps in the early hours of the morning. At the Dantebad, a heated outdoor winter swimming pool, swimmers do their laps in the stadium pool, whilst massage jets in the leisure pool invite visitors to relax. Tennis enthusiasts can put the finishing touches to their game at the Sergio Funes Tennis Academy on the grounds of the ESV Sportpark München.

Incidentally, Nymphenburg Palace isn’t just beautiful to look at from the outside; its extensive park is a place of relaxation.

Art and Culture

Round colonnaded temple with a green domed roof, backlit among tall trees on the lakeshore. — On a stroll through the beautiful Nymphenburg Palace Gardens, you can admire this impressive monopteros on Lake Badenburg.

Incidentally, Nymphenburg Palace is not only beautiful to look at from the outside; its extensive grounds are a place of relaxation, and, with the famous Marstall Museum – which houses forty ceremonial carriages, sleighs and equestrian accessories, and the widely renowned ‘Mensch und Natur’ museum, it is also a place of learning. In the unique atmosphere of the Johannissaal, the palace regularly hosts high-calibre concerts, featuring performances of both classical and world music.

Alternative music, on the other hand, can be found at the Backstage Cultural Centre, which has been based at the Friedenheimer Brücke since 1991 and brings both established and unknown artists to the stage. And cinema enthusiasts have found a home at the Neues Maxim, which opened in 1912 and survived the Second World War virtually unscathed. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, films are shown at the Neues Maxim in their original language with German subtitles.

The Brauseschwein on Frundsbergstraße opens up a world of fun, games, sweet treats and lovingly curated gifts. Sweets, novelty items, soft toys and craft supplies are sure to make the hearts of not only children but also the young at heart beat faster. Exquisite gifts for christenings or weddings can be found at the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. Since its foundation in 1747, the manufactory of the Bavarian kings has cultivated the fine art of porcelain-making. Today, it is the last pure manufactory of its kind.

If you need a little break from so many artistic impressions, Blutenburgstraße is the place to be. Suuapinga isn’t just about high-quality coffee and transparent, traceable supply chains; it also tempts you with delicious organic open sandwiches and homemade cinnamon buns.

Nymphenburg-Gern also has plenty to offer in terms of dining. You’ll find the best culinary tips from page 76 onwards.

RIEDEL’s perspective

The article itself explains why properties rarely come onto the market here: the stock is old, has grown up over time and is limited. Wilhelminian-style villas at the Neuwittelsbach roundabout, Art Nouveau houses on Bothmerstraße, the terraced houses on Wilhelm-Düll-Straße – each of these locations comprises just a handful of properties. Anyone wishing to buy here should be familiar with the available stock before it is advertised. Our head office has been located in this neighbourhood since 1982.

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We would be happy to advise you in a personal conversation. Contact us.