We're fully in autumn mode over here – the kind of weeks where we'd rather be out biking around the city watching the leaves turn than doing much else. All of Munich's parks are lovely, but a few of them really do something special once the light goes golden and the leaves start coming down. Here are our favourites for a proper autumn wander, starting with the three from our reel, plus a few more worth knowing about.
1. Luitpoldpark
This is one of the parks from our reel – a proper Schwabing-West park built partly on a WWII rubble hill, so you actually get elevation and a real view, which is rare in flat Munich.
- 📍 Brunnerstr. 2, 80804 München (Schwabing-West).
- 🚗 U2/U3/U6 to Scheidplatz, or U3/U8 to Petuelring – both a short walk.
- 🕐 Open all day, no fixed hours.
- 🎭 Free.
- 🛏 A playground and a hedge maze, both right next to the Bamberger Haus.
- 🍻 Bamberger Haus – a traditional inn and beer garden inside the park. Check current hours before visiting, as beer garden hours shift with the season.
- ⛰ Climb the Luitpoldhügel – a 37-metre hill made from WWII rubble – for one of the better skyline views in the city; on a clear day you can even see the Alps.
2. Olympiapark
The Olympiaberg hill and the lake are genuinely lovely in autumn light, and there's a proper adventure playground plus a beer garden right next to it if you want to make a full outing of it.
- 📍 Spiridon-Louis-Ring 21, 80809 München; the adventure playground is on the Olympiaberg hill itself (Martin-Luther-King-Weg).
- 🚗 U3 to Olympiazentrum (also served by U8 at peak times).
- 🎭 Free to walk the grounds; individual attractions charge separately.
- 🛏 Adventure playground on the hill – a treehouse with a long slide, wobbly bridges and a wooden boat for younger kids, plus a giant climbable dome for older ones.
- 🍻 Olympiaalm beer garden with drinks and Bavarian food.
- 🧩 Barrier-free toilets on site.
3. Westpark
The third from our reel, and a proper all-rounder – playgrounds for the kids, quiet wooded stretches for a wander, and a genuinely lovely lakeside café if you want to sit down for a while.
- 📍 Spans Sendling-Westpark, split into east and west sections by Garmischer Straße, connected by a landscaped bridge.
- 🚗 U6 to Westpark, Partnachplatz or Holzapfelkreuth – all three border the park.
- 🕐 Open all day, no fixed hours – best as a daytime outing since paths aren't lit at night.
- 🎭 Free.
- 🛏 Several playgrounds spread across both the east and west sections.
- ☕ Café Gans am Wasser, right on the Mollsee – a converted trailer café that's become a proper Westpark institution, with regular events (an autumn festival, kids' activities, open-stage evenings). For the café specifically: bus 62/130/157/N43 to Baumgartnerstraße/Hansapark, then an 8-minute walk. Hours are seasonal and weather-dependent – check their site before visiting.
A few more of our favourites
Englischer Garten (English Garden)
Munich's largest park is also its most obvious autumn pick – the paths along the Eisbach and around the Kleinhesseloher See turn every shade of gold and copper, and it's big enough that even on a busy Sunday you can find a quiet corner.
- 📍 Multiple entrances; most central is off Veterinärstraße near Odeonsplatz, stretching north to Aumeister.
- 🚗 U3/U6 to Universität or Giselastraße for the southern end; tram to Tivolistraße; buses 100, 54, 58, 68 and 154 serve various entrances.
- 🕐 Open all day, every day – no gates or closing time.
- 🎭 Free.
- 🧩 Toilets and cafés/beer gardens at the Chinesischer Turm, Seehaus (on the lake), Hirschau, Aumeister and the Tivoli Pavilion.
Nymphenburg Palace Park
The formal canals and avenues here look beautiful any time of year, but autumn light through the old trees along the canal is something else. It's also a nice one to combine with a hot chocolate if the weather turns.
- 📍 Schloss Nymphenburg, 80638 München.
- 🚗 Tram 17 (or night tram N17), bus 51 or 151 to "Schloss Nymphenburg."
- 🎭 The park itself is free (the palace and museums inside charge separately).
- 🧩 Café Palmenhaus for food and drink, plus a self-service kiosk (Palmenhäuschen); toilets available near the palace.
Ostpark
Munich's east side gets a lovely, quieter autumn park – good if you're out that way and want somewhere less crowded than the English Garden.
- 📍 Feichtstraße 19, 81735 München.
- 🚗 U5 to Michaelibad, then about a 10-minute walk into the park.
- 🕐 Open all day, no fixed hours.
- 🎭 Free.
- 🧩 Michaeligarten beer garden on the lakeshore; the large Maulwurfshausen adventure playground; Michaelibad swimming pool next door if you want to extend the day.
If it's a proper wet-weather day instead, we've also rounded up our favourite indoor play areas in Munich – and once the leaves are gone and the cold really sets in, here's what we get up to for winter activities with kids.
