n Double-tap image to read the labels
Although most visitors to Berlin will spend their time roaming the inner city, the Ortsteile (localities) in the surrounding boroughs offer plenty more sights and surprises. The GDR-era museums and architecture of the East, the mellow districts in the northwest and the sparkling lakes of the southwest are all just an S-Bahn or bicycle ride away.
Experience Beyond The Centre
n Double-tap image to read the labels
Experience Beyond The Centre
East of Friedrichshain lie the less gentrified districts of Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen, Marzahn and Treptow-Köpenick. Largely demonised in the nineties, the areas’ prefabricated residential blocks today draw a mix of former East Berliners, immigrants and students priced out of the city centre. You’ll find a clutch of GDR-era sights well worth exploring, including the Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen and the Stasi Museum Berlin, plus more natural attractions such as the charming but low-key Tierpark.
Best for GDR history and architecture, strolls, local culture
Home to Neukölln, Tierpark, Stasi-Museum, Köpenick, Mauerpark
Experience The cobbled-streets of medieval Alt Rixdorf
Experience Beyond The Centre
t Flea Market at Mauerpark
Experience Beyond The Centre
The many forests, parks, lakes and rivers of the northwest act as a natural magnet for city-dwellers looking for a weekend getaway. The area is also dotted with local attractions and impressive structures that exemplify key moments in Berlin’s fascinating history: from the medieval Spandau and its Renaissance citadel to the enormous Third Reich-era Olympiastadion and the modernist (and monolithic) Le Corbusier Haus.
Best for Architecture, strolls, culture
Home to Zitadelle Spandau, Olympiastadion
Experience A sporting event or pop concert, as well as architecture and history, at the Nazi-era Olympiastadion
Experience Beyond The Centre
t The Nazi-era Olympiastadion
Experience Beyond The Centre
This area contains some of the city’s finest natural beauty and is the place to head in the summer months. The sandy lido at the villa-lined lake Wannsee is a major warm-weather destination, and there is a plethora of beautiful outdoor attractions in the towns of Dahlem and Potsdam. For German culture and history, you can find a top-notch collection of German Expressionism at the Brücke Museum and a medieval atmosphere at Museumsdorf Düppel.
Best for Nature, walks, beaches
Home to Strandbad Wannsee, Rathaus Schöneberg
Experience A stroll along the crisscrossing pathways of Grunewald forest to the striking hilltop Grunewaldturm
Experience Beyond The Centre
t A jetty at Strandbad Wannsee