Last Updated on 26/04/2023
In France, there is a special website that lists all available gardens and parks, down to the smallest amateur ones. It can be difficult to assess the level of the garden there. In Germany, there is no such site, and finding gardens and parks is not so easy: gardening farms will come up with a search.
In this topic I collect German gardens, parks and flower fields that I know. Gardens at palaces, if they are important as an independent unit, are also indicated.
All posts about parks and gardens in Germany and other European countries – #garden and parks
Most visited by me parks and gardens have two ratings: during the main flowering and in other months. Accordingly, 5/5* will mean that the park is worth a visit at any time, and 5/1* – that the park should be visited only during the main flowering period, which is indicated. 5 and 4 – international level, respectively, the smaller, the more local. The question mark means that I know about the park, but I haven’t been there, so I can’t evaluate it (yellow on the map, unlike the green ones visited and the blue ones suggested).
Quick navigation:
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
Hessen
North Rhine – Westphalia
Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia
Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Bremen
Berlin, Brandenburg
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein
South Germany gardens
Baden-Württemberg
Stuttgart
5/5*
Wilhelma zoobotanical garden (www.wilhelma.de). In the top all year round: late March-April – magnolia garden, July-early August – Victoria lily, lotus, winter – camellias. Not to mention a big zoo.
Wilhelma – Flowers.
Wilhelma – Animals
Another botanical garden in Stuttgart – in Hohenheim.
Ludwigsburg
5/4 *
Park “Blühendes Barock” (www.blueba.de)
Best time: golden autumn (pumpkin competition). Also good in spring.
Especially interesting from a botanical point of view: a Japanese garden with an exhibition of bonsai.
Additional entertainment: fairy tale garden, events like musical fireworks.
Favorit Park is opposite: an ordinary park with one long-long allee, but with deer.
Neidlingen
? (April – Kirschblüte)
Lots of cherry trees in the valley
Bad Überkingen
4* (March) / 0
Mass flowering of Märzenbercher – white flowers (looks like a snowdrop) (link trail)
Leonberg
?
Pomeranzengarten
The garden is defined as the only terraced garden of the late Renaissance in Germany. What should mean flowerbeds organized in various forms, creating a certain rhythmic pattern, with flowers, small bushes, medicinal plants, citrus fruits. There is such a large garden in Villandry in France.
In March there are 16 cherry blossoms in the garden.
Gönningen
3* (April)
The small town advertises itself as a flower paradise and promises fields of tulips in the spring. There are tulips, but not so many yet for this city to become a destination of full value.
Schwetzingen
5* March / 4*
Best time: March (sakura garden), May (www.schloss-schwetzingen.de – link to the cherry blossom barometer). The rest of the time it’s just a very nice park with beautiful pavilions and ponds.
Mannheim
4* (May) / 2*
Luisenpark
Leisure park uniting the park, thematic gardens, small aviaries with birds or turtles and leisure activities such as boating, maze or playgrounds. Its main drawback for city guests is its too high price. That is, tourists should go there only if they really have free time (and the region is too interesting, so it is unlikely to be) and if this is the maximum season, which usually happens in May. Residents can buy an annual cheap card.
Heidelberg
2*
Botanical garden (botgart.cos.uni-heidelberg.de). Very small in size and intended, apparently, mainly for students. The main interest for visitors are the greenhouses.
Weinheim
5* (May) / 3*
Schau- und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof (sichtungsgarten-hermannshof.de/)
The park looks good from photos at different times of the year. In mid-May, the hit is the flowering of the alley of wisteria
Read more about Weinheim.
Bruchsal
?2*
Palace and baroque garden (www.schloss-bruchsal.de). From the comments: park is uninteresting, the palace is good.
Karlsruhe
1-2*
Botanical garden at the palace. Tiny botanical garden with a small greenhouse. Around the old park, where the townspeople rest. For children, a special attraction is a train going around the park. In addition, Karlsruhe has a good zoo, which also has a botanical section.
The neighboring city of Ettlingen can be interesting as an old town and a small Gatschina-park with a labyrinth can be added to the visit.
Karlsbad
?
Collection of rhododendrons Jansen (rhododendronpark-jansen.de). Flowering time of rhododendrons: the second half of May – the beginning of June.
Baden-Baden
5* June
Rosenneuheitengаrten. Roses usually bloom the most in June, but in smaller numbers until August
Read more about Rose garden in Baden-Baden.
Mösbach
? (April)
Lots of cherry trees, making the small town look completely white from above.
Lahr
?
Beautiful city park (by photos)
Bad Zavelstein
5 March /1*
Field of crocuses (www.teinachtal.de – current state of bloom).
Nöggenshwiel
?
Rosenduftgarten. Rose Village in a out-o-the-way corner of the Black Forest. Estimated high season June.
Reichenau Insel
?
Natur park Wollmatinger Ried – iris fields (map).
Island Mainau
5 April – May /3*
Best time: April/May – tulips, rhododendrons (www.mainau.de). The rest of the time, the average botanical garden (overpriced and overcrowded). Additional entertainment: butterfly house, large playground.
Bavaria
Lindau
?
Lindauer Dahlienschau (link). Dahlias garden. Flowering from mid-August to mid-September
Munich
5/4*
Botanical Garden: May – rhododendrons, in summer – lilies, June – alpine garden. Relatively small but very high quality botanical garden. An additional important bonus is the Nymphenburg park nearby (the park is an ordinary forest, but the pavilions are interesting (www.botmuc.de).
Read more about Nymphenburg und botanical garden.
Augsburg
?
Botanical garden
Franconian lakes
5/2*
Garden Dennenlohe (www.dennenlohe.de). May / early June – rhododendrons. A beautiful creative garden and park – rare in Germany.
Read more about Dennenlohe Gardens
?
Märzenbecherwald (spring snowflackes) nearby Ettenstatt.
?
Schloss Ellingen the garden at the baroque palace at the end of March is strewn with Scilla.
Rain
2*
Flowers park Dehner. Garden shop park. Seasonal flowers are planted + sculptures.
Würzburg Veitshöchheim
3-4*
Veitshöchheim (link). Rococo garden with scultures. Additional bonus – boat from Würzburg.
Read about Veitshöchheim.
Bayreuth and around
4*
Bayreuth – Fantasy Park, Eremitage Park and Palace (baroque park, pavilions). The parks themselves are not so valuable, but in combination with palaces and pavilions, they are very worth visiting.
Read more about Eremitage Park
5*
rock garden Sanspareil and castle Zwernitz in Wonsees
An original park that combines forest and huge rocks. The rocks do not roll on their own, but are included in the composition of the park.
?
Botanical garden in Bayreuth
Aschaffenburg
?
Magnolia garden Magnolienhain
Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
From Bad Dürkheim to Bad Bergzabern
3* March /1*
Almond road (Mandelpfad) (link). Season – March (possibly February – depending from year).
Kaiserslautern
?2*
Japan Garden (http://www.japanischergarten.de). From the comments: average.
Mainz
?
Botanical garden. Ritterstraße – cherry blossom.
Zweibrücken
?
Rose garden, rosehip garden.
Gersheim
?
Wild orchids, many varieties. Flowering time May-June.
Finkenrech
?
Freizeitzentrum (https://www.regionneunkirchen.de/finkenrech/). Themed gardens.
Trauntal
?
wild daffodils in the national park Hunsrück (Trauntal Höhenweg).
Hessen
Frankfurt
4*
Palmengarten – botanical garden (www.palmengarten.de). A very good botanical garden, although not of the same level as other top ones, but still very pleasant to take a walk. The most valuable are very large greenhouses. An additional bonus for children is a train in the park.
Read more about Palmengarten.
Eltville
?*
Rose town
Bad Homburg
?
Kurpark – created by Lenne.
Bad Nauheim, Steinfurt
?
Kurpark
Rose village Steinfurt
Darmstadt
?
Park Rosenhöhe. Rosary, pavilions.
Bensheim-Auerbach
?
Park Fürstenlager
Seiligenstadt
? (end of April – beginning of May)
Klostergarten – a lot of tulips
Fulda
?
Palace parks
Gießen
?
The oldest botanical garden in Germany.
Spessart
?
Sinntal (Obersinn). Meadows with purple snake’s head fritillary (Schachbrett Blume, flowering time – April-May).
Kassel
5/4*
Wilhelmshöhe park. The best time is May-June (flowering of rhododendrons and roses), but due to palaces and fountains (turned on twice a week), the park does not lose its attractiveness in other months. More details on a separate page.
Read about Wilhelmshöhe park.
Kellerwald-Edersee
?
Cheddar pink or clove pink bloom (Pfingstnelke, late May – mid June).
Germerode
?
Fields of poppies from the second half of June (https://www.mohnbluetefrauholle.land/).
North Rhine – Westphalia
Bonn
?
Botanical garden (http://www.botgart.uni-bonn.de)
Sakura alley on city streets.
Bochum
?
Botanical garden (http://www.boga.ruhr-uni-bochum.de)
Essen
?
Grugapark – botanical garden, animals and other entertainment (http://www.grugapark.de).
Köln
?
Botanical garden
Eiffel National Park
?
wild daffodils south of Monschau (Olef, Perlenbach, Fuhrtsbach and other villages).
Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia
Bad Langensalza
?
Small theme parks and a botanical garden in a resort town.
Erfurt
?
Egapark – the territory of the former garden exhibition complex, with thematic gardens, a greenhouse.
Weimar
?
A number of parks included in the “Classic Weimar” complex
Dresden
2*
Very small botanical garden in Dresden’s Great Park.
2-3*
Pillnitz park (https://www.schlosspillnitz.de/de/startseite/). A park with two palaces containing museums and a small greenhouse with a camellia.
Leipzig
?
Botanical garden (https://www.bota.uni-leipzig.de/start/)
Chemnitz
?
Botanical garden (http://www.fv-boga-chemnitz.de/).
Niederwiesa
?
Schloss und Park Lichtenwalde
Sangerhausen
5/3*
European rose garden (https://europa-rosarium.de/). Full season in mid June.
Read more about European rose garden in Sangerhausen
Dessau-Roslau
?
Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz. A number of English-style parks and palaces along the Elbe. The complex is included in the UNESCO list.
Bad Muskau
?
Fürst Pückler Park (https://www.muskauer-park.de/). Landscape park on the UNESCO list.
Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Bremen
Bremen
5 (May) / ?2*
Botanical garden and greenhouse Botanika (https://www.botanika-bremen.de). The botanical garden is interesting mainly for rhododendrons, of which it has a large collection (flowering – May), but otherwise it is rather weak. I was not in the greenhouse (from the comment: and it’s not worth it).
Bremen itself is a very green city, the green ring around the center is a pleasant place to walk.
Read more about Bremen.
Hamburg
?
Park Planten un Blomen (https://plantenunblomen.hamburg.de/): themed gardens, greenhouse, entertainment.
Orchards along the Elbe to the Stade. bloom barometer
Lüneburg Heath
5* (August ) / 2*
Schneverdingen and other towns of the Lüneburg Heath, Fischbeker Heide – heather blossoms in August.
Read more about Schneverdingen.
Hannover
4/2*
Botanical Garden. Top in May – a lot of rhododendrons. Also a strong collection of orchids. Additional entertainment: Sea Life Aquarium nearby.
2-3*
Park Herrenhäuser. Baroque park. In my opinion, baroque parks are generally a specific thing, but there are few worthy exceptions. This park does not belong to them and is interesting only as an addition to the botanical garden.
The gardens are opposite each other (https://www.hannover.de/Herrenhausen).
Read more about Botanical Garden Hannover and Herrenhäuser Garden.
Laatzen
?
Park der Sinne
Hameln
?5/1*
Märzenbecherwald Schweineberg. Blooming spring snowflake (Märzenbecher)
Göttlingen
?2*
Botanical Garden. From comments: local park.
Oldenburg
?
Schlossgarten.
Westerstede – Rhododendron park Hobbie link
Wiefelstede – Rhododendron park Grinstede link
Bad Zwischenahn
?
Park of gardens (www.park-der-gaerten.de). A park consisting of small themed “model” gardens.
Wiesmoor
?
Blumenreich link
Bad Nenndorf
?
Spa park with an alley of very rare dwarf beeches.
Steinhagen
?
Jakobsberg Leberblümchen (liverwort bloom, March).
Berlin, Brandenburg
Berlin
5/3*
Botanical Garden. Season: spring, early summer. Advantages – an extensive garden of alpine plants and a large greenhouse. Link
? 5*
Gardens of the world in Marzan park. Theme gardens, including Japanese, Chinese, Italian renaissance. Link
? 5*
Britzer Park. Annual exhibition of tulips.
Potsdam
2-4*
Potsdam Palace and Park Complex. Potsdam’s parks themselves, as an independent unit, are not so interesting, they are of value only in combination with palaces and pavilions. Sanssouci is the most interesting, the rest are average.
Read more about Sanssouci Part 1
Part 2 New Palace
Part 3 New Garden
2*
Tropical greenhouse (https://www.biosphaere-potsdam.de/). The price-quality ratio is very poor. At a different price, the rating could have been a little higher. I have visited the more interessanter tropical greenhouses.
Werder an der Havel
?
Blooming orchards
Frankfurt an der Oder
?
Oderhänge Mallnow – flowering adonis (March – April).
Mecklenburg – Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein
Ellerhoop
?
Park Ellerhoop Arboretum (http://www.norddeutsche-gartenschau.de).
Husum
?
Palace Husum, lots of crocuses in spring (link).
Kiel
?
Botanical Garden (http://www.botanischer-garten.uni-kiel.de/de)
Graal-Müritz
?
Rhododendron park (https://www.graal-mueritz.de/rhododendronpark.php)
Rostock
?
Botanical garden (https://www.garten.uni-rostock.de/)
Greifswald
?
Botanical Garden
Luckow
?
Botanical garden Christiansberg (http://www.botanischer-garten-christiansberg.de)
All posts about #parks and gardens in Germany and other countries
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