Germany's Most Beautiful Parks and Gardens

As one of Germany’s largest azalea and rhododendron parks, the Kromlau parklands transforms into a sea of blossoms in springtime that is celebrated with an annual festival in May. But that’s not the only draw to the park. It’s also the home of the myth-enshrouded Devil’s Bridge, which has become of one of Saxony’s most popular Instagram spots.

It’s hard to beat the palace grounds of Sanssouci Palace for splendour. A 2.5-kilometre-long promenade connects the grand main building with an obelisk, and the park extends to both sides. A Baroque flower garden, tree-shaded lawns, meticulously maintained hedges, thousands of fruit trees and flower beds create a seemingly endless lush scenery.

The English Garden in Munich often tops the list of the most beautiful and popular parks, and if you’ve had the pleasure of strolling along the park trails on a sunny day, you probably understand why. With its vast meadows, meandering streams and beer gardens, the English Garden is the perfect spot to unwind and escape the city-centre buzz of the Bavarian capital.

From spring to the autumn months, Mainau Island in Lake Constance is an oasis of blossoming flowers. Roses, sunflowers and rhododendrons are the first ones to show their mesmerising colours, followed by tulips and daffodils and finally dahlias, which remain in bloom all the way through to mid-October. But the island has more to show than flowers. Besides palm trees, giant sequoias and bamboo, the island also features a Baroque palace with a splendid church and a butterfly house that are all open year-round.

The outstanding design of the 18th-century landscape park earned the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz an entry on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Spanning across an area of more than 142 square kilometres, the garden realm features Germany’s first English-style garden, flower beds and meadows, a lake and several ponds that are connected by canals, dreamy wooden bridges and several chalets and palaces.

Out of all of Hamburg‘s parks and gardens, Planten un Blomen is easily the most beautiful one. The area was once home to a zoological garden but was redeveloped in 1930 and extended several times. Today, the parklands encompass roughly 47 hectares and a combination of differently themed sections: the old botanical gardens, Germany’s largest Japanese garden, and several playgrounds, skateparks, a mini-golf course and an ice rink in winter.

Peter Joseph Lenné, a Prussian gardener and landscape architect, has designed numerous stunning gardens across Germany and shaped the development of garden design. The Kurpark in Bad Homburg is one of his most famous works, and the 19th-century park is a composition of both designed parks and gardens, as well as a few magnificent buildings dating back to the Belle Époque, along with fountains, pavilions, water features and a couple of Thai temples.