Schwabing is one of Munich's most bohemian districts and most expensive residential areas. The large number of shops, restaurants, and cafés along the district's main boulevards Leopoldstraße and Hohenzollernstraße cater mostly to those with money to burn.

The English Garden (German: Englischer Garten), a large public urban park, created in 1789-1792, is directly east of Schwabing. With an area of 370 ha (910 acres) it is bigger than New York's Central Park or London's Hyde Park. It is designed as a informal landscape park, which was popular in the late 18th century.