Munich takes play seriously. Its Abenteuerspielplätze hand kids real hammers, scrap timber and a fire pit, with trained staff watching instead of parents, and the big park playgrounds add pumps, streams and mud for building dams. Here's what we checked, from the hut-building at ABIX Hasenbergl to the water channels at the BUGA playground in Riemer Park.
ABIX is a staffed adventure playground run by the Kreisjugendring München-Stadt. Kids build huts with hammers, saws and scrap timber, earning ABIX-Taler by raking leaves or pulling old nails to buy boards and paint. There's a rope swing over a pond, campfires and a free organic lunch. On rainy days the play house opens, with table football, ping pong and a padded romping room.
Maulwurfshausen is a staffed adventure playground in Neuperlach, laid out as a play town run by kids. They rent and build wooden huts, take on jobs, cook at a covered fire pit with an outdoor kitchen, and play on a football lawn and bird's-nest swing. A water slide opens on hot summer days, and a play house with table football, ping pong and a workshop covers rainy afternoons.
Abenteuerspielplatz Neuhausen is an open-air yard where school kids handle hammers, nails and real tools, play with water and gather at the fire pit. Wild animals live on the grounds, signs show where to spot them, and a beekeeper looks after the hives by the workshop. Big play structures fill the rest.
The Kreisjugendring München-Stadt runs it as part of Oase Neuhausen.
A large water playground on the former grounds of the 2005 Federal Garden Show (BUGA). Kids pump water by hand, scoop it into wooden channels, dam the streams and dig in the mud areas. Around the water zone are climbing structures, monkey bars, swings and slides, plus shady lawns for a picnic. Riemer See, in the same park, has swimming and pedal boats.
A large water playground in the eastern part of Westpark. A shallow stream runs through it, and kids dam it with stones, wade and splash.
Stone slides, a wooden climbing tower and plenty of play equipment fill the rest, so the dry side stays busy too. There is enough shade for parents to sit out of the sun while kids play.
Königlicher Hirschgarten has been a deer park since 1780, and its two-hectare enclosure of fallow deer and mouflon is still the main draw: kids can feed them, following the signs on the fence.
The south end has the elephant playground, with a huge sandbox and elephant slide, plus a water playground with a water slide. There's also a climbing tower, a small skate park, sledding hills and Munich's largest beer garden.
Luitpoldpark spreads 33 hectares of open lawns around a 1911 obelisk and linden grove. North of the Bamberger Haus, a playground holds a winding hedge maze and the Pumuckl fountain.
The 37-meter Luitpoldhügel, a hill built from wartime rubble, is a quick climb with views to the Olympic Tower. In winter its shaded north slope is one of the city's steepest toboggan runs.
Ostpark spreads over 56 hectares around a lake with an island, quieter than the city's other big parks. Kids find Maulwurfshausen adventure playground at the east end, a skate park, table tennis and volleyball, and a barbecue zone by the lake. The Michaeligarten beer garden sits on the shore.
In winter the lake draws ice skaters, the hill becomes a sledding run, and a groomed cross-country ski trail follows the water.
Munich takes play seriously. Its Abenteuerspielplätze hand kids real hammers, scrap timber and a fire pit, with trained staff watching instead of parents, and the big park playgrounds add pumps, streams and mud for building dams. Here's what we checked, from the hut-building at ABIX Hasenbergl to the water channels at the BUGA playground in Riemer Park.
ABIX is a staffed adventure playground run by the Kreisjugendring München-Stadt. Kids build huts with hammers, saws and scrap timber, earning ABIX-Taler by raking leaves or pulling old nails to buy boards and paint. There's a rope swing over a pond, campfires and a free organic lunch. On rainy days the play house opens, with table football, ping pong and a padded romping room.
Maulwurfshausen is a staffed adventure playground in Neuperlach, laid out as a play town run by kids. They rent and build wooden huts, take on jobs, cook at a covered fire pit with an outdoor kitchen, and play on a football lawn and bird's-nest swing. A water slide opens on hot summer days, and a play house with table football, ping pong and a workshop covers rainy afternoons.
Abenteuerspielplatz Neuhausen is an open-air yard where school kids handle hammers, nails and real tools, play with water and gather at the fire pit. Wild animals live on the grounds, signs show where to spot them, and a beekeeper looks after the hives by the workshop. Big play structures fill the rest.
The Kreisjugendring München-Stadt runs it as part of Oase Neuhausen.
A large water playground on the former grounds of the 2005 Federal Garden Show (BUGA). Kids pump water by hand, scoop it into wooden channels, dam the streams and dig in the mud areas. Around the water zone are climbing structures, monkey bars, swings and slides, plus shady lawns for a picnic. Riemer See, in the same park, has swimming and pedal boats.
A large water playground in the eastern part of Westpark. A shallow stream runs through it, and kids dam it with stones, wade and splash.
Stone slides, a wooden climbing tower and plenty of play equipment fill the rest, so the dry side stays busy too. There is enough shade for parents to sit out of the sun while kids play.
Königlicher Hirschgarten has been a deer park since 1780, and its two-hectare enclosure of fallow deer and mouflon is still the main draw: kids can feed them, following the signs on the fence.
The south end has the elephant playground, with a huge sandbox and elephant slide, plus a water playground with a water slide. There's also a climbing tower, a small skate park, sledding hills and Munich's largest beer garden.
Luitpoldpark spreads 33 hectares of open lawns around a 1911 obelisk and linden grove. North of the Bamberger Haus, a playground holds a winding hedge maze and the Pumuckl fountain.
The 37-meter Luitpoldhügel, a hill built from wartime rubble, is a quick climb with views to the Olympic Tower. In winter its shaded north slope is one of the city's steepest toboggan runs.
Ostpark spreads over 56 hectares around a lake with an island, quieter than the city's other big parks. Kids find Maulwurfshausen adventure playground at the east end, a skate park, table tennis and volleyball, and a barbecue zone by the lake. The Michaeligarten beer garden sits on the shore.
In winter the lake draws ice skaters, the hill becomes a sledding run, and a groomed cross-country ski trail follows the water.
