Stunning and marvelous world heritage complex full of impressive features including the water cascade!
It is located approx. half an hour walking distance from the train station, although trams can bring visitors close enough, buses even closer, but the most convenient means of transport would still be a car. There are a lot of parking places at different locations around the park. Nevertheless be prepared to walk a lot as the park is huge! During my time here I did more than 10 kilometers of walking, unfortunately a lot of stairs and hills included. The vertical difference between the Octagon and the Wilhelmshöhe castle is more than 230 meters. After spending more than 5 hours in the park I was frankly very tired.
There is no entrance fee to most of its attractions, however tickets must be purchased for Octagon with the Hercules statue, Löwenburg and Wilhelmshöhe castles. The water cascade is free of charge and runs only at 3:30 PM every Wednesday, Sunday and some public holidays - the information is located everywhere around the park to be sure it's known to visitors! Social amenities are available only within restaurants or visitors centers, they are free of charge.
Information about gardens and its history is present in German and English on the storyboards throughout the gardens. More information and paper brochures can be picked up at the visitors center, but unfortunately there is no free of charge map of the gardens. As many may forget, this is an actual UNESCO site and not a "forest park" therefore there is a whole paper brochure dedicated to what is allowed and forbidden to do in this park (includes no drones).
I managed to visit all major sites - The Octagon with a possibility to climb the pyramid shape tower and view the gardens from above, Neptune's fountain - great place to watch the water spectacle from, romantic ruins of Löwenburg castle and finally I did enjoy the stroll alongside The Grand Water Cascade when the water was running. Overall I did enjoy my time here, however there were a couple of things I did not like/appreciated and I feel could be upgraded.
The place is not that well maintained, at least not as good as I would expect for a world heritage site. Cigarette butts, bottles, broken glass and other plastic trash (also seen in the fountains) were omnipresent, taking my joy away.
The water show is available only once per day on Wednesdays, Sundays and some public holidays, resulting in overcrowding. It was absolute carnage at every stop alongside the cascade where hundreds and hundreds of people were trying to find the best spot to watch. Parks staff had to be present to prevent visitors climbing to forbidden places and regulate the traffic flow.
When the water cascade was not running the rivers and streams had almost no water, therefore I was watching dry riverbeds full of weed, grass and stones. (I understand water is scarce, therefore it cannot run all the time).
Purchasing a 6 EUR combined ticket (very cheap) allowing visits of 3 sites - Löwenburg, Wilhelmshöhe and Octagon with Hercules statue is a bit of a sham. If you want to visit Löwenburg castle you need to book a guided tour online and in advance, otherwise there is a huge chance there won't be any available slot, like for me. Unfortunately the staff at the information center was not helpful at all.
For more information visit each site. Visited in August 2022.
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