Nymphenburg Palace is no Versailles

Last time I was in Munich (March 2015) it was the end of winter, cold and I spent most of my stay exploring the old town. On this short stay I decided to venture out to Nymphenburg Palace… cause well, nymphs right? Taking the tram out there after a little sleep in I bought the multiple palace ticket allowing me full access to the complex.

The main palace building was a little underwhelming to be honest. The main hall was nice and all, but with sparse decoration it was just a bit bland. Like once you’ve walked the mirrored hall in Versailles the bar is set pretty high on what your palace should look like. The palace was also very hot as the Germans think air conditioning destroys everything, so instead it’s full of humid air and sweaty bodies.

One interesting room was the Ludwing’s gallery of beauties. He commissioned the room to be full of paintings of beautiful women from all classes of life. It was open to the public back then - I guess a tinder of its time?

The gardens were more like fields which were relaxing and had nice little streams and big statement piece canals and lakes. Very relaxing to wander through and even spotted some small deer grazing in the fields.

I visited 3 other ‘castles’ on the grounds which were just small houses really. One had a bath the size of a swimming pool in its basement. Another was to take rest while walking the grounds. Such the life of a royal.

After a couple or hours wandering I was hungry (bordering on hangry) so left the grounds and make a bee line to the nearest cafe. Speaking of bees - I thought we humans were killing them all? They are however in abundance in Germany and have been attracted to my sunscreen, chasing me all over the place.

Now time for some cheesecake and a drink before heading back into the old town.Read more