English Garden
Larger than Central Park, with a river wave surfed all year round.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 4 hrs
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The Englischer Garten opened in 1789 on the idea of an American in Bavarian service, and it covers three hundred and seventy-five hectares — more than Central Park. It crosses Munich from the centre northwards over five kilometres.
At its southern entrance the Eisbach, a canalised arm of the Isar, throws up a standing metre-high wave under a bridge: surfers have queued for it since the 1970s, winter included, in thick wetsuits. It was tolerated; it has been officially allowed since 2010. Further north, the Chinesischer Turm serves one of the city's largest beer gardens.
Getting there
Southern entrance on Prinzregentenstraße, U-Bahn Lehel or Odeonsplatz, five minutes on foot. The wave is at the south-east corner.
Rules on site
The Eisbach wave is for experienced surfers only and it says so: the current is violent and the bottom is concrete. Watch from the bridge. Nudity is permitted in marked zones of the park.
