Nymphenburg Palace

I have been wanting to visit the Nymphenburg Palace to do some photography for some time now. Sure, I've visited the place several times before but not since I started picking up photography. As such, I don't have any great pictures of this beautiful palace and its surrounding. I decided to change that.

I got up at about 7 am yesterday, which is the usual time I get up on weekdays. I decided the night before that if I didn't get up too late, I'd go to the palace first thing in the morning to take some shots. There are many benefits to doing this. One, there aren't many tourists at this time of the day. You'll be able to take shots pretty comfortably and not worry too much about people getting in the way of that ideal shot. Two, you get soft lighting, which is great for photography. Three, the temperature is still cooling and comfortable. This makes a difference when you're lugging around your camera gear! Finally, you get to see how locals use the place and not just the visiting tourists. Many people jog and walk around the palace grounds, sit on one of the benches to do some reading, walk their dogs, take their kids to watch the swans or like me, take some photos.

The Nymphenburg Palace is a 30-minute bus ride away from my place. You can get there by either taking the bus 51 of tram 17. The stop is "Schloss Nymphenburg". This palace is a must-see when you're in Munich. It is in the city itself, easily accessible by public transport and simply beautiful. I've never been inside the palace but have heard that it's really beautiful in there. Having been inside quite a number of castles and palaces before, I think I can skip this one. Besides, I'm more interested in its architecture, palace grounds and surrounding area. There are some good online resources that give information about the background, history and layout of the palace. Here are a couple of such links to the Palace's official website and Wikipedia.

I spent about two hours there yesterday and took about 80 shots in total. Many of them turned out pretty well and I'm glad I made a trip. Here's a picture of the Palace's facade and the beautiful lake in front of it. The lake itself is actually full of swans, ducks and some other birds I don't know about (as you can guess, I'm not really into the whole flora and fauna thingy). The lawn is full of their droppings. Be careful where you thread. There is a small bridge along the walkway, right in the middle of the lake. This is where I took this shot.

The picture below was taken inside the palace grounds, facing the rear of the palace. There are many statues and sculptures along the walkways here. The statues are mainly of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses.


It can be a little windy and chilly around the palace because there's a lot of open space. So, come prepared. If you enjoy walking or jogging, this is definitely the place for you. There are proper paths all around the palace grounds and you can easily spend several hours just strolling through the area. It's also a great place for a family outing if you have young kids. There's lots of space for them to run about and play. There's even a Biergarten in there if you'd like to get something to eat or drink. Don't worry too much about it getting too hot out there. There are also lots of trees for shelter and the water is absolutely refreshing (though you're allowed to dip in).

I hope this has gotten you all excited about the Nymphenburg Palace.