Schwabing & the Englischer Garten
Once the haunt of Kandinsky and Mann, fashionable Schwabing remains a pleasant place to stroll. The area has some of the highest rents in town and is populated by well-heeled professionals who live in beautifully restored Jugendstil (art nouveau) buildings. This is also a student area – the neighbourhood’s south bustles with uni life and undergraduates laze on the lawns of the huge Englischer Garten.
Schwabing is split into three sections: the residential north; the studenty south; and the Englischer Garten. Spend your morning in the latter, strolling the widescreen lawns, scrambling through the follies and perhaps taking a rowboat out onto the Kleinhesseloher See. Grab lunch at the tree-shaded Hirschau beer garden before heading to the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum and/or the fascinating Haus der Kunst, Hitler’s purpose-built gallery. End the day in the student area where aimless wandering will take you to many a cafe, bar, bookshop and vintage-clothing store.
Getting There & Around
X The U3 and U6 stop at Universität, Giselastrasse and Münchner Freiheit, all on Ludwigstrasse/Leopoldstrasse.
g Service 100 stops along the southern end of the Englischer Garten.
Top SightsEnglischer Garten
The sprawling English Garden is among Europe’s biggest city parks – it even rivals London’s Hyde Park and New York’s Central Park for size – and is a popular playground for locals and visitors alike. Stretching north from Prinzregentenstrasse for about 5km, it was commissioned by Elector Karl Theodor in 1789. It’s a superb place to escape Munich’s hullabaloo to ride a bike, picnic or just laze on the grass.
MAP GOOGLE MAP
English Garden
XUniversität
South Park
The very south of the Englischer Garten is arguably its most interesting part. Here you can join the groups of spectators leaning over a bridge to watch surfers riding the Eisbach’s artificial wave. Or wriggle into a wetsuit and have a go yourself. All this goes on in the shadow of the Haus der Kunst, the gallery Hitler famously built to display Nazi-approved art. Just behind the gallery is the Japanisches Teehaus, built for the 1972 Olympics, by an idyllic duck pond.
Park Follies
Two towering pieces of folly architecture dominate the park’s middle section. Rising above the main lawns is the Monopteros (1838), a small Greek temple with interesting views of the city centre. A short walk north brings you to the Chinesischer Turm, another folly, though this time in the shape of a multi-tiered Chinese pagoda. This is the unlikely setting for Munich’s oldest beer garden.
Northern Stretches
The further north you go, the wilder the English Garden becomes, though there are two spots where nature has been tamed for human enjoyment. The Kleinhesseloher See is a lovely lake where you can boat around three little islands, then rewarding your efforts with a beer at the Seehaus. Some day soon a tunnel will take the motorway just north of the lake under the greenery, reuniting the two halves of the park. For now a footbridge is needed to reach the Hirschau beer garden, one of Munich’s best.
Walking TourBohemian Bolthole
Centred around the University and the Art Academy, this erstwhile bolthole for 19th- and early-20th-century artists and writers still has a bohemian feel, despite much postwar gentrification. Join the students for a bite to eat, peruse vintage-clothes shops and admire the art nouveau architecture in Schwabing, Munich’s most characterful quarter.
Walking Facts
Start Munich University; XUniversität
End Wedekind-Platz; XMünchner Freiheit
1Munich University
From morning till dusk the area around Munich’s Ludwig Maxmilian University bustles with students, many of whom tie up their rattling two-wheelers along Ludwig Strasse. The top attraction for visitors within the uni building is the DenkStätte Weisse Rose, a couple of rooms dedicated to students who were executed for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets.
2Schellingstrasse
Running next to the uni, Schellingstrasse funnels students to various watering and feeding spots throughout the day. In addition to its many cafes, it’s also the location of Words’ Worth Books, the city’s best English bookstore, and the uni bookshop.
3Amalienstrasse
Running north-south, Amalienstrasse bustles like a United Nations of edibles, with cafes, delis and restaurants that serve a multitude of cuisines lining its arrow-straight length. It’s one of the best places to head come the lunching hour, though things get very busy with hungry students.
4Türkenstrasse
Türkenstrasse is the place to head for more interesting shops, including shops stocking antiques and vintage clothes, and even an Oxfam shop at No 81. But the highlight here is Alter Simpl, one of Munich’s most famous historical pubs where Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse and many other Schwabing writers, poets and artists once drank.
5Leopoldpark
Take a break at this neighbourhood park, especially good for kiddies with its large playground. Normally packed with students from the nearby Art Academy lazing on the grass or writing a last-minute essay, it’s a relaxing place to occupy a bench and soak up the atmosphere.
6Ainmillerstrasse
Schwabing becomes more gentrified the further north you stroll, but it wasn’t that way when Wassily Kandinsky and Rainer Maria Rilke lived at Nos 36 and 34 respectively on Ainmillerstrasse. Seek out their brass plaques, admire the perfectly renovated art nouveau facades, then head east.
7Wedekind-Platz & Around
Beyond the Münchner Freiheit transport hub, the area around Wedekind-Platz is a real nightlife hotspot, with bars, cafes and quirky German-language comedy theatres aplenty. On Wedekind-Platz, look out for the crooked lamp post, the Schwabinger Laterne, once made famous by local chanson singer, Schwabinger Gisela.
1Top Sights
1Sights
5Eating
6Drinking
Sights
1Bayerisches Nationalmuseum MUSEUM
Picture the classic 19th-century museum, a palatial neoclassical edifice overflowing with exotic treasure and thought-provoking works of art, a repository for a nation’s history, a grand purpose-built display case for royal trinkets, church baubles and state-owned rarities – this is the Bavarian National Museum, a good old-fashioned institution for no-nonsense museum lovers. As the collection fills 40 rooms over three floors, there’s a lot to get through here, so be prepared for at least two hours’ legwork. (www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de; Prinzregentenstrasse 3; adult/concession/child €7/6/free, Sun €1; 
h10am-5pm Tue, Wed & Fri-Sun, to 8pm Thu; gNationalmuseum/Haus Der Kunst, 
jNationalmuseum/Haus Der Kunst)
1Surfing in the Eisbach SURFING
At the southern tip of the Englischer Garten, you’ll see scores of people leaning over a bridge to cheer on wetsuit-clad daredevils as they ‘hang 10’ on an artificially created wave in the Eisbach. It’s only a single wave, but it’s a damn fine one. The surfers are such an attraction that the tourist office includes them in its brochures. (www.eisbachwelle.de; Prinzregentenstrasse; jNationalmuseum/Haus der Kunst)
1DenkStätte Weisse Rose MEMORIAL
This memorial exhibit to the Weisse Rose (White Rose; a nonviolent resistance group led by Munich University students Hans and Sophie Scholl to oppose the Nazis) is within the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. It’s a moving story, and one of Munich’s most heroic, told in photographs and exhibits from the period. (www.weisse-rose-stiftung.de; Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1; admission free; h10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4.30pm Sat; XUniversität)
The White Rose Resistance Movement
Open resistance to the Nazis was rare during the Third Reich; after 1933, intimidation and the instant ‘justice’ of the Gestapo and SS served as powerful disincentives. One of the few groups to rebel was the ill-fated Weisse Rose (White Rose), led by Munich University student siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl.
The nonviolent White Rose began operating in 1942, its members stealing out at night to smear ‘Freedom!’ and ‘Down with Hitler!’ on the city’s walls. Soon they were printing anti-Nazi leaflets on the mass extermination of the Jews and other Nazi atrocities. One read: ‘We shall not be silent – we are your guilty conscience. The White Rose will not leave you in peace’.
In February 1943, Hans and Sophie were caught distributing leaflets at the university. Together with their best friend, Christoph Probst, the Scholls were arrested and charged with treason. After a summary trial, all three were found guilty and beheaded the same afternoon. Their extraordinary courage inspired the award-winning film Sophie Scholl – Die Letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl – The Final Days; 2005).
A memorial exhibit to the White Rose, DenkStätte is within the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität.
1Monopteros NOTABLE BUILDING
At the top of a gentle hill in the Englischer Garten stands the heavily photographed Monopteros (1838), a small Greek temple built by 19th-century star architect, Leo von Klenze. From here you can admire the view of the Munich skyline, which is particularly attractive at sunset. (Englischer Garten)
1Haus der Kunst MUSEUM
This austere fascist-era edifice was built in 1937 to showcase Nazi art, but now the Haus der Kunst presents works by exactly the artists whom the Nazis rejected and deemed degenerate. Temporary shows focus on contemporary art and design. (House of Art; www.hausderkunst.de; Prinzregentenstrasse 1; adult/concession €12/5; h10am-8pm Fri-Wed, to 10pm Thu; gNationalmuseum/Haus Der Kunst, jNationalmuseum/Haus Der Kunst)
Degenerate Art
Expressionism, surrealism, Dadaism…modern art of all stripes was anathema to Hitler and his honchos. Internationally renowned artists such as Klee, Beckmann and Schlemmer were forced into exile, their work was removed from museums and confiscated from private collections. The Nazis then sold off the works to rake in foreign currency; about 4000 works were publicly burned in Berlin.
However, in July 1937 Goebbels gathered about 650 paintings, sculptures and prints in the cramped and poorly lit Galerie am Hofgarten, calling it an exhibit of Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art). Organised into such themes as Mockery of God and Insult to German Womanhood, it was intended to portray modern art as debauched and decadent. The propaganda show opened on 19 July 1937, just one day after the Great German Art Exhibition of Nazi-approved works premiered in the nearby, custom-built Haus der Deutschen Kunst. Ironically, the Nazi art was largely reviled by the public, while over two million people came to see the Entartete Kunst, more than any other modern art show in history.
1Kleinhesseloher See LAKE
Sooner or later in the Englischer Garten you’ll find your way to the Kleinhesseloher See, a lovely lake at the centre of the park. Work up a sweat while taking a spin around three little islands, then quaff a well-earned foamy one at the Seehaus beer garden. (Englischer Garten; XUniversität)
1Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität UNIVERSITY
Bavaria’s oldest university, the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität started out as a political football for its rulers. Founded in Ingolstadt in 1472, the university moved to Landshut in 1800 before being shifted to Munich in 1826 by newly crowned King Ludwig I. It has produced more than a dozen Nobel Prize winners, including Wilhelm Röntgen in 1901 (Physics) and Theodor Hänsch in 2005 (Physics). The main building, by Friedrich von Gärtner of course, has cathedral-like dimensions and is accented with sculpture and other artworks. A flight of stairs leads to a light court with a memorial to Die Weisse Rose, the Nazi resistance group founded by Hans and Sophie Scholl. To get the full story, visit the small DenkStätte in the vaulted space behind. (LMU; www.uni-muenchen.de; Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1; 
bUniversität)
1Siegestor HISTORIC BUILDING
Munich’s massive Siegestor was modelled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome and looks like a miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Built to honour the Bavarian army for sending Napoleon packing, it’s crowned by a triumphant Bavaria piloting a lion-drawn chariot. Severely damaged in WWII, the arch was turned into a peace memorial. The inscription on the upper section reads: Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Kriege zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend (Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, calling for peace). (Victory Gate; Ludwigstrasse; bUniversität)
1Akademie der Bildenden Künste ARTS CENTRE
The Academy of Fine Arts is housed in a three-storey neo-Renaissance building. Founded in 1808 by Maximilian I, it advanced to become one of Europe’s leading arts schools in the second half of the 19th century and still has a fine reputation today. (Academy of Fine Arts; 
%089-385 20; www.adbk.de; Akademiestrasse 2-4; bUniversität)
1Ludwigskirche CHURCH
The sombre twin-towered Ludwigskirche, built by Friedrich von Gärtner between 1829 and 1844, is a highly decorative, almost Byzantine, affair with one major showpiece: the Last Judgment fresco by the Nazarene painter Peter Cornelius in the choir. It’s one of the largest in the world and an immodest – and thoroughly unsuccessful – attempt to outdo Michelangelo’s version. (Church of St Ludwig; Ludwigstrasse 20; h8am-8pm; bUniversität)
Munich’s Top Architects
Asam Brothers Cosmas and Egid were two of nine children. Sent to Rome for their artistic education, they returned as masters of baroque stucco, fresco and sculpture.
François de Cuvilliés Started out as a court dwarf before being taken under the wing of Maximilian II and trained in Paris before returning as court architect.
Leo von Klenze Court architect to Ludwig I, responsible for the Greek revivalist style sported by many of Munich’s grandest buildings, particularly around Königsplatz.
Friedrich von Gärtner Another of Ludwig I’s favourite architects, Koblenz-born von Gärtner studied in Paris and Italy and served as artistic director of the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Eating
5Pommes Boutique FAST FOOD €
This funky decade-old lunch halt serves cheap-as-chips Belgian-style fries made from organic potatoes, 30-odd finger-licking dips to dunk them in, pulled pork, and Currywurst to die for. (Amalienstrasse 46; mains €3.70-11; h10am-10pm Mon-Sat, noon-8pm Sun; XUniversität)
5Bar Tapas TAPAS €
A phalanx of 30 tapas – boquerones (anchovies) to octopus salad to garlic chicken – reports for duty behind glass along the bar of this convivial Iberian outpost. Write down the numbers, then sit back with a jug of sangria and wait for your tasty morsels to arrive. (%089-390 919; www.bar-tapas.com; Amalienstrasse 97; tapas each around €5; h5pm-1am; 
v; bUniversität)
5Cafe an der Uni CAFE €
Anytime is a good time to be at charismatic CADU. Enjoy breakfast (served until a hangover-friendly 10pm!), a cuppa Java or a Helles in the lovely garden hidden by a wall from busy Ludwigstrasse. (Ludwigstrasse 24; mains around €9; h8am-1am Mon-Fri, from 9am Sat & Sun; 
Wv; bUniversität)
5Cochinchina ASIAN €€
Bearing an old name for southern Vietnam, this cosmopolitan Asian fusion restaurant is Munich’s top place for Vietnamese and Chinese concoctions. The food is consumed in a dark, dramatically exotic space devoted to the firefly and splashed with colour in the shape of Chinese vases and lamps. The traditional pho soup is southern Germany’s best. (%089-3898 9577; www.cochinchina.de; Kaiserstrasse 28; mains around €20; h11.30am-2.30pm & 6pm-midnight; W; XMünchner Freiheit)
5Potting Shed BURGERS €€
This relaxed hang-out serves tapas, gourmet burgers and cocktails to an easygoing evening crowd. The burger menu whisks you round the globe, but it’s the ‘Potting Shed Special’, involving an organic beef burger flambéed in whisky, that catches the eye on the simple but well-concocted menu. (www.thepottingshed.de; Occamstrasse 11; mains €5-18; hfrom 6pm Tue-Sat; XMünchner Freiheit)
5Ruff’s Burger & BBQ BURGERS €€
Munich’s obsession with putting a bit of fried meat between two buns is celebrated at this Schwabing joint, where the burgers are 100% Bavarian beef – except, of course, for the token veggie version. Erdinger and Tegernseer beer and mostly outdoor seating. (Occamstrasse 4; burgers €5.50-16, other mains €9-19; h11.30am-11pm Mon-Wed, to midnight Thu-Sat, to 10pm Sun; W; XMünchner Freiheit)
5Tantris INTERNATIONAL €€€
Tantris means ‘the search for perfection’ and here, at one of Germany’s most famous restaurants, it’s not far off it. The interior design is full-bodied ’70s – all postbox reds, truffle blacks and illuminated yellows. The food is sublime and the service is sometimes as unobtrusive as it is efficient. The wine cellar is probably Germany’s best. Reservations essential. (%089-361 9590; www.tantris.de; Johann-Fichte-Strasse 7; menu from €100; hnoon-3pm & 6.30pm-1am Tue-Sat Oct-Dec, closed Tue Jan-Sep; W; XDietlindenstrasse)
Drinking
6Chinesischer Turm BEER GARDEN
This one’s hard to ignore because of its English Garden location and pedigree as Munich’s oldest beer garden (open since 1791). Camera-toting tourists and laid-back locals, picnicking families and businessmen sneaking a sly brew clomp around the wooden pagoda, showered by the strained sounds of an oompah band. (%089-383 8730; www.chinaturm.de; Englischer Garten 3; h10am-11pm late Apr-Oct; gChinesischer Turm, jTivolistrasse)
Beer Glossary
Alkoholfreies Bier – nonalcoholic beer
Bockbier/Doppelbock – strong beer (doppel meaning even more so), either pale, amber or dark in colour with a bittersweet flavour
Dampfbier (steam beer) – originating from Bayreuth, it’s top-fermented (this means the yeast rises to the top during the fermentation process) and has a fruity flavour
Dunkles (dark lager) – a reddish-brown, full-bodied lager, malty and lightly hopped
Helles (pale lager) – a lightly hopped lager with strong malt aromas and a slightly sweet taste
Hofbräu – type of brewery belonging to a royal court
Klosterbräu – type of brewery belonging to a monastery
Malzbier – sweet, aromatic, full-bodied malt beer
Märzen – full bodied with strong malt aromas and traditionally brewed in March
Pils (pilsener) – a bottom-fermented lager with strong hop flavour
Rauchbier (smoke beer) – dark beer with a fresh, spicy or ‘smoky’ flavour, found mostly in Bamberg
Weissbier/Weizen (wheat beer) – wheat beers (around 5.4% alcohol) with fruity and spicy flavour, often recalling bananas and cloves; a cloudy Hefeweizen has a layer of still-fermenting yeast on the bottom of the bottle, whereas Kristallweizen is clearer with more fizz.
If you want to go easy on the booze, order a sweetish Radler, which comes in half or full litres and mixes Helles Lagerbier and lemonade. A Russe (Russian) is generally a litre-sized concoction of Helles Weissbier and lemonade.
6Schall & Rauch BAR
The few battered cafe chairs and vintage barstools get bagged quickly at this small, friendly, open-fronted bar, meaning drinkers often spill out onto Schellingstrasse even during the day. With a long menu of drinks and an easygoing feel, this is a relaxing place for lunch or a last weekend drink at 2am. (Schellingstrasse 22; h10am-1am Sun-Thu, to 3am Fri & Sat; W; XUniversität)
6Cafe Zeitgeist CAFE
Go with the zeitgeist and take a pew at this perfect spot where you can enjoy a hearty breakfast or pore over coffee and cake as you watch, from a shady courtyard, the steady flow of students and hipsters wandering along Türkenstrasse. (Türkenstrasse 74; h9am-1am Sun-Thu, to 3am Fri & Sat; jSchellingstrasse)
6Black Bean CAFE
If you thought the only decent brew Bavarians could mash was beer, train your Arabica radar to this regional retort to Starbucks. The organic coffee gets tops marks, as do the muffins. (Amalienstrasse 44; h7am-7pm Mon-Fri, from 8am Sat & Sun; W; XUniversität)
6P1 CLUB
If you make it past the notorious face control at Munich’s premier late spot, you’ll encounter a crowd of Bundesliga reserve players, Q-list celebs and quite a few Russian speakers too busy seeing and being seen to actually have a good time. But it’s all part of the fun, and the decor and summer terrace have their appeal. (www.p1-club.de; Prinzregentenstrasse 1; h11pm-4am Tue-Sat; jNationalmuseum/Haus der Kunst)
6Hirschau BEER GARDEN
This mammoth beer garden in the northern half of the English Garden can seat 1700 quaffers and hosts live music almost every day in the summer months. When the picnic is over, dispatch the kids to the large playground while you indulge in some tankard caressing. (www.hirschau-muenchen.de; Gysslingstrasse 15; hnoon-11pm Mon-Fri, from 11am Sat & Sun; XDietlindenstrasse)
6Seehaus BEER GARDEN
Situated on the shores of the English Garden’s Kleinhesseloher See, the Seehaus has a family-friendly beer garden with an attached almost-upmarket restaurant. (Kleinhesselohe 3; h10am-1am; bMünchner Freiheit)
Shopping
7Pick & Weight CLOTHING
Part of a small national chain, Pick & Weight sells top-notch vintage clothing for between €25 and €95 per kilo. The men’s and women’s attire, plus accessories, are of the highest quality, and the shop is crammed with exquisite yesteryear pieces. (Schellingstrasse 24; hnoon-8pm Mon-Sat; XUniversität)
7Words’ Worth Books BOOKS
You’ll find tonnes of English-language books, from secondhand novels to the latest bestsellers, at this excellent and long-established bookstore. (www.wordsworth.de; Schellingstrasse 3; h9am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat; jSchellingstrasse)