Home › Travel Guides › Europe Travel Guide › Germany › Berlin › Things to do in Berlin
Image gallery
Video gallery

Berlin tram

© 123rf.com / David Harding

+100
Berlin Local time

Weather in Berlin
Sunny
-
5
°C
Germany

Things to do in Berlin

Swimming

Berliners love to strip down and plunge into the water as soon as the mercury creeps to a respectable level. In the city itself, don’t miss the Badeschiff (Eichenstrasse,Treptow): a boat moored to the Spree bank with a swimming pool and great beach and bar. More adventurous swimming is found at any one of the hundreds of lakes that surround Berlin – Wannsee, Weissensee, Müggelsee and Havelsee are a small pick of the favourites that can be easily reached by public transport or bike from the city.

Beaches

Urban beaches are a serious thing in Berlin; find large sandpits dug out to form various beaches, complete with beach bars and sun loungers. However, you aren't able to bathe at any of them (save at Badeschiff), so this is purely a tanning experience. Ones to check out are Strandbar Mitte (Monbijou Park, Mitte), Capital Beach (Ludwig Erhard Ufer, Tiergarten) and the Gay Beach Berlin (Englische Strasse, Tiergarten).

Cycling

Biking is a way of life in Berlin – rare is it to meet a Berliner who doesn’t own a bike – and the city is an excellent place to ride around, with plentiful cycle lanes, considerate drivers and flat terrain. The canal, Tiergarten and Treptower Park are favoured biking destinations, and for a really good cycle, head out of Berlin and into the countryside and bucolic waterways of Brandenburg - the state surrounding the capital.

Boating

If you fancy taking a boat trip on the expanse of the Spree, but don’t fancy the chugging and communal nature of a sightseeing motorboat, head down to Treptower Park and rent rowing boats, pedalos and canoes. This is also one of the Spree’s most scenic spots. Incorporate lunch into the equation and rent a motorized barbecue boat.

Recommended Sites:

Protect yourself from malaria
Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone.
(An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010)
Travel insurance
For residents of over 150 countries. High levels of medical, evacuation, emergency & most adventure activities covered.