Hamburg's Stadtpark: A Park Built to Be Used

Moving from Manchester to Hamburg the difference in greenery is already pretty astounding, but Stadtpark is really the jewel. Wonderfully maintained, easy transport access and close enough to the centre that you can walk it without the dog getting exhausted, a few spots to get a beer or a schorle when needed. One of the highlights of the city.

It's in the name: stadtpark, city park.

In defense of Berlin's Tiergarten, it was originally a hunting preserve for deer (and Hasenheide was for rabbits), so it's big and intimidating. But there are still facilities in it that serve the neighboring residents. And throughout Berlin there are multiple volksparks, people's parks, which have everything the author mentions.

In most cities, parks evolve to serve the residents.

Looks like a nice park! Was a bit odd of a read to me because the vast majority of the parks in my part the US are like this (sports fields, playgrounds, lakes, open green space, bike paths, grills, pavilions, etc), didn't realize I had taken that for granted.

This was such a nice read about a park I had never heard of. Thank you for writing it (and for actually writing it yourself instead of vibing it).

One of my favorite parks and much lesser knows is Westpark in Munich. Similarly built around usage and still unique since it was originally built for a national garden exhibition it features a rich set of small little areas from around the world, a Japanese party, a Chinese part, French areas, English areas. It has outdoor theaters, playgrounds, a lake, a communial area and much more . It’s worth a visit when you are in Munich

I got the same sense at Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna. Not so much the practical amenities but that it's still obvious that it was made for royalty going for strolls or looking for secluded shade areas. It's just a genuinely nice space & was more than a little jealous of the joggers that clearly use it for their daily run