When the snow sticks, families grab a sled and head for the nearest hill. City parks have plenty, a few piled from wartime rubble, with gentle slopes for toddlers and steeper runs for older kids. When the parks are bare, the mountain run at Blomberg, south of the city, often still has snow. Here's what we checked, from the Olympic Hill to the English Garden's Monopteros.
Built for the 1972 Olympics, the park wraps around a lake and the 60-meter Olympic Hill, a grassy mound piled from wartime rubble with views over the city to the Alps. Kids climb the easy paths to the summit and run the open lawns, and there is boat hire on the Olympic Lake. SEA LIFE, minigolf and the Munich Action Park's climbing kids area sit inside the grounds.
The English Garden is a 376-hectare landscape park of flat paths, streams, more than 100 bridges and wide meadows. A historic children's carousel stands beside the Chinese Tower beer garden, and pedal and rowing boats rent on Kleinhesseloher See.
Kids can watch surfers ride the Eisbach wave, climb the Monopteros hill for a view over the city, and spot grazing sheep in the quieter north.
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.
Maximiliansanlagen is about 2 km of wooded parkland on the high east bank of the Isar. Paths run under old trees past the Friedensengel column and the Maximilianeum, with views across to the old town and down to the river's weirs.
After a snowfall, the short slopes near the Maximilianeum are one of the most central sledding spots in town, with steep runs and gentle ones for small kids.
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.
Aubinger Lohe is a forest recreation area on the western edge of the city, crossed by woodland paths for walking and cycling. Its main hill rises about 25 meters above the surrounding fields and becomes a sledding run when snow falls, with plenty of smaller slopes where young kids can try their first runs.
In summer, families come for the two Böhmerweiher ponds and the playgrounds.
Westpark is a 60-hectare park built for the 1983 garden show, with artificial hills, two lakes and a rose garden of 20,000 roses. The western half holds a Thai Sala, a carved wooden Nepal pagoda and Chinese and Japanese gardens.
Kids can push the 1.8-ton spherical fountain by the southeast entrance, splash at the water playground, and run the wide meadows. The Mittlerer Ring splits the park in two.
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.
Blomberg, a mountain near Bad Tölz, has three sledding runs graded like ski slopes. Beginners and small kids start on a short practice slope by the valley station, then move up to a 1 km run with its own tow lift beside the Blomberghaus mountain inn. Confident sledders ride the chairlift to the middle station for a 2 km run lined with safety fencing and groomed every night.
When the snow sticks, families grab a sled and head for the nearest hill. City parks have plenty, a few piled from wartime rubble, with gentle slopes for toddlers and steeper runs for older kids. When the parks are bare, the mountain run at Blomberg, south of the city, often still has snow. Here's what we checked, from the Olympic Hill to the English Garden's Monopteros.
Built for the 1972 Olympics, the park wraps around a lake and the 60-meter Olympic Hill, a grassy mound piled from wartime rubble with views over the city to the Alps. Kids climb the easy paths to the summit and run the open lawns, and there is boat hire on the Olympic Lake. SEA LIFE, minigolf and the Munich Action Park's climbing kids area sit inside the grounds.
The English Garden is a 376-hectare landscape park of flat paths, streams, more than 100 bridges and wide meadows. A historic children's carousel stands beside the Chinese Tower beer garden, and pedal and rowing boats rent on Kleinhesseloher See.
Kids can watch surfers ride the Eisbach wave, climb the Monopteros hill for a view over the city, and spot grazing sheep in the quieter north.
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.
Maximiliansanlagen is about 2 km of wooded parkland on the high east bank of the Isar. Paths run under old trees past the Friedensengel column and the Maximilianeum, with views across to the old town and down to the river's weirs.
After a snowfall, the short slopes near the Maximilianeum are one of the most central sledding spots in town, with steep runs and gentle ones for small kids.
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.
Aubinger Lohe is a forest recreation area on the western edge of the city, crossed by woodland paths for walking and cycling. Its main hill rises about 25 meters above the surrounding fields and becomes a sledding run when snow falls, with plenty of smaller slopes where young kids can try their first runs.
In summer, families come for the two Böhmerweiher ponds and the playgrounds.
Westpark is a 60-hectare park built for the 1983 garden show, with artificial hills, two lakes and a rose garden of 20,000 roses. The western half holds a Thai Sala, a carved wooden Nepal pagoda and Chinese and Japanese gardens.
Kids can push the 1.8-ton spherical fountain by the southeast entrance, splash at the water playground, and run the wide meadows. The Mittlerer Ring splits the park in two.
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.
Blomberg, a mountain near Bad Tölz, has three sledding runs graded like ski slopes. Beginners and small kids start on a short practice slope by the valley station, then move up to a 1 km run with its own tow lift beside the Blomberghaus mountain inn. Confident sledders ride the chairlift to the middle station for a 2 km run lined with safety fencing and groomed every night.
