Munich Hirschgarten Running Route

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Length 4.4 km (2.7 miles), terrain: flat

Munich Running Routes:
Best Munich Running Routes: Overview
Englischer Garten
Old town, English Garden, Isar 
Nymphenburg Palace gardens  
Olympiapark  
Isar River south route  
Classical Munich  
Starnberger See lake-side route 
Westpark
Hirschgarten route
For more running routes see the route list.

Here's a short run through a part of Munich that most people never see: from Rotkreuzplatz to the Hirschgarten park.

In the Hirschgarten

Rotkreuzplatz is a lively square northwest of the town center, in the Neuhausen neighborhood. It's home to the German Red Cross, and a neighborhood full of restaurants and beergardens.

And luckily, it's close to other great spots like Nymphenburg Palace and the Hirschgarten, the goal of this run.

The Hirschgarten, formerly a royal hunting grounds, has been a public park for over 200 years. And there is still a section fenced off for deer. The park has everything you need in a good park: athletic fields, playgrounds, fountains and gardens, and -- this being Munich -- one really great beergarden.

Between Rotkreuzplatz and Hirschgarten is an old working-class neighborhood with art-deco-style apartment buildings, so even that is scenic.

So, if you want to explore this interesting part of Munich, get yourself to Rotkreutzplatz (easy to get to via the U1 underground or the number 12 tram line).

Market day at Rotkreuzplatz

The square is where Leonrodstraße and Nymphenburgerstraße cross. There is a small but cool beergarden right on the corner, the Jagdschlössl (it's worth trying!). Turn your back to the beergarden and head westwards through the square and then out along Wendl-Dietrich-Straße. There are numerous shops, bakeries, pubs and restaurants along the first few blocks.

Quiet side-streets along the way

Then it starts getting residential, with old-fashioned apartment blocks leading off from both sides of the street. The buildings have a homey feeling to them with their various art-deco details. I actually like to zig-zag down and back up some of these little side-streets as I make my way westwards, and it adds a bit more distance.

Art-deco-era apartments

The street ends at Steubenplatz, where you turn left to run one more block to the big intersection at Arnulfstraße and its tram line.

You'll see the Hirschgarten park across the street on the right. This is the 1-kilometer mark.

Cross Arnulfstraße and then turn right to run westwards into Hirschgarten.

Hirschgarten entrance: turn left here to loop the park

You'll immediately find yourself at a little formal garden full of fountains and benches. But turn left here to head south along the eastern edge of the park, following a paved footpath.

After a while, the trail will start curving to the right, heading westwards. You'll pass a skate-board park, soccer fields and playgrounds.

The water-slides

When you're almost at the west side of the park, at the 2-km mark, you'll see a playground with metal palm trees on the right, then some water slides. Turn right there and run north.

Just past the little playground, you'll come to the fence for the deer-preserve, and you'll see the animals grazing within.

Grazing deer: you didn't expect that in the city, I'll bet

Now follow the fence northwards and you'll soon be running right through the big biergarten, one of the best in town (make a point of coming back to this friendly spot!).

The biergarten on a subdued, rainy evening

At the restaurant building, turn right and start heading eastwards along the northern end of the park.

At the 3-km-mark, you'll come to the formal garden, with its fountains, and in a few steps you'll be back at Steubenplatz.

The gardens with fountains

Now just cross Arnulfstraße again and follow Wendl-Dietrich-Straße back to the start. Nice little run!

Wolfsburg Rabenberg Trail Running Route

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Length 10.6 km (6.6 miles), terrain: a few light hills, 72-meter gain

Wolfsburg Running Routes:
Rabenberg Trail Run
Wolfsburg Scenic Route
For more running routes see the route list.

Wolfsburg is a fairly small city, just over 120,000 people. That has a great advantage for runners: you're never far from the edge of town, where you can find woods and fields in the rolling countryside. So, although the city is a purpose-built factory town, with everything modern and full of apartment buildings, you can quickly escape to some green.

Out in the Rabenberg countryside

Just south of the town center -- around the Rabenberg hill -- is a mixture of woods and fields, with a few streams and ponds.

There is a great trail there, with 3 different lengths: 8-km, 10-km and 12-km. All three start out and end together, but the two shorter routes take short-cuts off the main loop. The Libellenweg (Dragonfly Way) is sponsored by the Wolfsburg city water works, and they added a water theme to the route, with it winding past the various springs, streams and ponds that feed the city water supply. They added a few wells, picnic tables and hand pumps at various spots where people can stop and enjoy the trail more. Most of the way is dirt roads and paths, with a few paved ones nearer to civilization.

This route follows the 10-km-long Libellenweg route, but you can just as well follow the longer- or shorter-one.

The Libellenweg route is marked by trail-markers with a blue square with a white dragonfly. And the three route variations are marked by additional colored dots: blue for 8-km, green for 10-km and red for 12-km. Where the routes overlap, there will be dots for each color. When it is just one or two routes together, you'll see just those dots.

Libellenweg trail marker

We'll actually start the route in town and link it to the Libellenweg. So get yourself to Schillerteich park, right in the town center, by heading east along Pestalozziallee from the Rathaus (town hall). The park is a big lawn surrounding a pond.

Schillerteich with geese

Standing there, along the west side of the pond, turn south, with the water to your left. Now follow the path as it exits the park under the Berliner Ring road and into more parkland. You're heading straight towards a big outdoor swimming pool, the VW Bad. 

Start of the run out front of the VW Bad

This is where Libellenweg starts. There is a trail map out front of the pool building. Most of the trail is well-marked, with occasional maps showing you where you are, and explanations of the 17 water-features along the way.

The trail now heads east, going through the parking lot and along the fence for the pool area.

VW Bad, nice hangout in the summer!

At the eastern end of the pool area, the trail turns south to go into the woods, at the 1-kilometer mark. But here I'd recommend a short detour: in just a few steps, you'll see a path heading to the right. Take that path, and in a minute you'll come to the Drei Steine (three stones), a spot with some small but cool rock formations. Then just head back to the main trail again, where you head south.

Drei Steine, or at least two of them

From now on, just watch for the dragon-fly markers.

After just a short way, the Libellenweg leaves the main trail, at a boulder with the incription "Steimker Berg". The trail heads left and leads you to a scenic little stream valley often frequented by deer, the Hasselbachtal.

Heading to the Hasselbachtal

After you pass a covered well, the trail turns to the right and heads westwards. It will go uphill and past the Libellengrund springs marked by a boulder. Now the trail splits, with the 8-km trail (blue) heading straight westwards, and the two longer trails (green and red) turning south to follow a longer loop. So turn left here to follow the green trail.

This trail also curves around towards the west and then heads down and up little hills and out into open fields at the 4-kilometer mark. It zig-zags around a field and heads westwards into the woods again, along a dirt road called Grenztrift.

Heading through the fields

This is where the 12-km trail (red) turns off to continue on a longer route to the south, along Hattorfer Hauptweg. But we'll continue along the 10-km trail (green dots) heading west along Grenztrift.

The trail turns to the right (north) along the second real dirt cross-road, Herrenwiesen Weg and continues to the next crossroads.

Now turn right for just a short stretch till the next crossroads. This is where my favorite part of the run begins: the trail leaves the logging roads and heads along a narrow, muddy path winding its way into the woods. It will follow a tiny stream to some more springs and steep little hills at Erlengrund, perfect for mountain-biking.

Along the little stream

The trail finally comes out of the woods at the Rabenberg neighborhood at the 7-kilometer mark, where you turn right and skirt the neighborhood, heading east.

One of the ponds

After almost circling the neighborhood, at the 9-kilometer mark, the trail leads you back eastwards into woods, along a chain of pretty ponds. You'll pass a soccer field and then come back to the VW Bad.

Now you just turn left (north) to head back to Schillerteich and you're almost home.

City of London Running Route

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Length 7.3 km (4.5 miles), terrain: flat, 50-meter gain

London Running Routes:
Best London Running Routes: Overview
Thames Embankment
Docklands-LimehouseRegent's Canal and Camden Town  
Hampstead Heath  
3-Parks Route: Hyde Park, Green Park, St. James' Park  
Regent's Park  
Hyde Park   
Chelsea
Heathrow Harmondsworth Moor  
Greenwich 
Richmond Park
Notting Hill
Victoria Park
Wimbledon Common Trail Run
Royal Docks/ExCeL Route 
Kew / Brentford Thames Run  
For more running routes, see Route List.
I've been to London more often than I can remember. And every trip there I've sought out quiet backstreets and the wonderful parks available. But this last trip I suddenly realized that I've never run the City of London, the old heart of this great city. So, I made up for that and ran it one nice evening just as all the office workers were getting off work and either rushing off towards one of the many commuter train stations, or heading off in groups to their favorite City pubs.

And I found I enjoyed the run a lot. I had to dodge cars and pedestrians, but I visited many of London's most historic spots. And it's even fun to pass by one pub after another filled with groups of colleagues capping off the day with a cool pint.

For this run, I've tried to zig-zag past the main sights and the interesting hidden lanes, and then head back along the Thames embankment. It includes such sights as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Guildhall, Mansion House, the Royal Exchange, Leadenhall Market, modern architectural jewels like Lloyd's and the Gherkin, some Roman city walls, St. Katherine's docks, the Tower Bridge, the Tower, and perhaps the biggest star, the Thames itself.

London City Running Route
So, if you're ready to discover the heart of one of the world's most fascinating cities, get yourself to the St. Paul's tube station, where Cheapside and St. Martin's-le-Grand come together.

NOTE: This reminds me that London City contains a lot of strange church names: St. Botolph-without-Aldersgate, St. Mary Axe, St. Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, St. Andrew Undershaft,
St. Peter-Upon-Cornhill, St. Botolph-without-Aldgate (aren't they overdoing it with all these St. Botolph-withouts?), St. Katherine Cree, St. Martin-within-Ludgate (finally a "within"), St. Ethelburga's, St. Stephen Walbrook, St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe (is there maybe another one by the chest of drawers?). These old churches add a note of medieval London to neighborhoods which are often full of modern office towers.

St. Paul and his cathedral, as seen from the gardens

OK, so let's face south at the tube station and run the 100 meters to the little fenced garden behind St. Paul's Cathedral. If the gardens are open, run through the gate and head east past the church towards the front doors. If the gardens are closed, just run next to the fence.

Wedding photos on the St. Paul's steps

At the front facade, with its huge columns and doors, keep running a circle around the church and get back to the back side again. Just keep running east through Festival Gardens and into Watling Street.

Run east on Watling, and one block past Bread Street, turn left onto narrow Bow lane.

Bow Lane

Now you're running north until this lane ends (you're back at Cheapside again). Now turn right, then left onto King Street so that you run straight into the square in front of the Guildhall. This square was the site of the Roman amphitheater of old Londinium. The old Guildhall has a lot of interesting details, but it has been heavily modified with modern additions.

The Guildhall

Exit the square to the east and run to the next street, Basinghall, then turn right, then left again on the next street, Gresham.

Now you just run to the next corner, then turn right again, onto Old Jewry.

Old Jewry ends at The Poultry (did I mention that the street-names are equally entertaining?)where you turn left and run towards one of the greatest intersections in the City. On the right is porticoed Mansion House, the home and office of the Lord Mayor. And across the street is the massive, fortress-like Bank of England. A statue of Wellington on his mount dominates a triangular plaza between them, in front of the Royal Exchange. Traditionally, all royal proclamations are read by a crier from its steps.

Out front of the Bank of England

Bank tube station is located below the intersection, with people constantly appearing and disappearing into the station stairways.

Keep that plaza to your right and run northeast up Threadneedle, with the Bank of England to your left.

When you pass the Royal Exchange building on the right, you'll see a little shady plaza, where you turn right and run southwards through it to Cornhill. The Royal Exchange is still owned by the  Worshipful Company of Mercers, who used it for trading goods. Originally, stockbrokers weren't allowed inside because of their rude manners, so they had to meet in a nearby coffee house. The present building now houses a restaurant and boutiques in its giant atrium.

Inside the Royal Exchange

Now turn left and run a few short blocks until you see a church on the right, St. Michael's. Turn right to run up the narrow St. Michael's Alley to the right of the church-tower. At the end of the short alley you'll find one of the great old pubs in the City, the Jamaica Wine House. This little one-story red-sandstone building has a lot of character and should definitely be on your list for places to come back to when you're done with your smelly track shoes. After work, the alley is full of relaxed beer drinkers celebrating the end of the business day.

At the Jamaica Wine House

Turn left, then right, then left again to exit the maze-like alleys and come out onto Gracechurch Street. There, you'll see the impressive entrance to Leadenhall Market across the streeet, on the left.

Leadenhall Market

Run into the market, and cross it. This beautiful example of Victorian covered-market architecture is full of restaurants and pubs nowadays. On the east side of the market, you'll be running behind the strange, modernist headquarters of Lloyd's of London, the insurance brokers. The building has its elevators, pipes and conduits on the outside of the facade, wrapped in stainless steel pipes.

Lloyd's from behind

Run past Lloyd's, then turn left on Lime Street, and you'll come out into a square surrounded by more modernist buildings: the Gherkin (30 St. Mary Axe) and the Cheese Grater (Leadenhall Building). St. Andrew Undershaft Church is on the corner, giving it a touch of tradition. The Gherkin is my favorite of the modern London sky-scrapers: it's oval form is like a piece of modern art.

Run through the square, keeping to the left, and you'll come to another beautiful old church, St. Helen's Bishopgate. From there you have a good view of the Gherkin.

The Gherkin behind St. Helen's Church

NOTE: This brings us to another quirky thing about London: they give all their skyscrapers nicknames, like the Shard, the Cell Phone, the Cheese Grater and the Gherkin.

Now run to the Gherkin, circle it clockwise and then exit eastwards along Bury street and then continue further eastwards along Leadenhall and Fenchurch.

Just before reaching St. Botolph-without-Aldgate, turn right onto Old Jewry and run south towards the River Thames.

At Fenchurch Street Station, follow Cooper's Row as it heads south under the train tracks. In a couple of blocks, you'll find yourself at Trinity Square Gardens and Tower Hill tube station. Turn left at Tower Hill and go down the steps towards the hulking Tower behind its walls.

The city wall with tourists and caesar.

To your left, you'll see a remnant of the old town walls, with the bottom section dating from Roman days. Now cross under Tower Hill street to face the Tower directly.

Turn left now to run past the north side of the Tower, going under Tower Bridge Road and into the wonderful confines of St. Katherine's Docks.

The three basins and their surrounding warehouses were once part of the sprawling system of docks and wharves lining this part of the Thames, when London was the biggest port in the world. A boat lock keeps the water inside the basins when the tide goes out in the river.

In St. Katherine's Docks

Run along the north end of the water, now used as a marina. At the old warehouse ahead, turn right to come out to the south basin. Now turn left and take the narrow footbridge, running past the Dickens Inn, then exit the area to the right, at the boat lock at the Thames.

Dickens Inn, always photogenic

You'll come out to the river, where you now turn west and head back towards St. Paul's along the Thames path.

Runners along the Thames

The amazing Tower Bridge is right ahead, and run under it to come out along the water side of the Tower itself. Enjoy this great old castle up close, then continue along the river. And the view across the river of Tower Bridge, the HMS Belfast and City Hall are also great.

The Tower Bridge

The idea here is to just run along the riverside, but there are a couple of construction projects which are currently blocking the river path in two spots, so you'll have to bypass them a block inwards for the time being. The block just west of the Tower is one of those. You get back to the water again before Custom House.

People relaxing outside the Tower

Now just keep running westwards, going under London Bridge and Southwark Bridge. At Queenhithe, you'll come to the only inlet still surviving on the Thames. You have to run around it, and here there is also construction going on, so it will be a couple of blocks before you can get back to the waterside. Along this part of the river, the banks are exposed at low tide and people go treasure-hunting down in the muck below.

One of the riverside pubs after work

When you get to the Millennium footbridge, we're almost at the end. The bridge connects the City with the Tate Gallery on the other side of the river, located in an ex power station.

Millennium Bridge and the Tate Gallery

Now turn north to head uphill towards the dome of St. Paul's. When you get there, run around the back side and further north to the tube station. What a lot of sights to pack into one nice run!