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10 tips for the perfect summer in Berlin
May 21st 2019
By Visit Berlin
The capital shows its cheerful side in summer. The warm temperatures attract people to the spacious parks, and street cafés, beer gardens and beach bars everywhere invite you to relax and sit outside. Look forward to sunny months with numerous open-air events such as concerts, film evenings, and colourful parades. Swimming fun is guaranteed at the Berlin lakes on hot days.
Tip 1: Relax in one of the many beer gardens
Beer gardens are the best place to relax, meet friends or have a drink after work. Berlin beer gardens can be found in the city centre or in the city grounds - they are simply a part of Berlin summer. Here you can enjoy mild summer evenings with Berliner Weiße or Craft Beer.
Tip 2: Stick your feet in the sand: beach bars in Berlin
It doesn't always have to be the Mediterranean or the Caribbean: the German capital has some fantastic beaches. Bury your feet in the warm sand while sitting in a deck chair sipping refreshing drinks. The mother of all beach clubs in Berlin is Strandbar Mitte. Real palm trees provide shade there. On its legendary tango nights you can even dance with a view of the Spree. At Charlie's Beach at Checkpoint Charlie you can relax with cool drinks, grilled sausages, and fries in the midst of the urban flair.
Tip 3: Watch films under the starry sky
The open-air cinemas in Berlin are in season during the summer months. Adventure films unfold with a very special atmosphere in the open air, with horror films you can really get a good scare under the dark night sky, and with a romantic film you can snuggle up close to your sweetheart under a picnic blanket. One of the oldest open-air cinemas in the capital is the Kreuzberg open-air cinema. Classics, cult films, and current Hollywood blockbusters are shown there in the original version with subtitles. The Friedrichshain open-air cinema has a total of 1500 seats. This includes tables with chairs, comfortable benches, and spacious sunbathing areas.
Tip 4: The Berlin lakes - fun in the cool water everywhere
Berlin has many swimming lakes in the city and its surrounding area. Köpenick's largest water body, Lake Müggelsee, is a popular destination for active people. You can find beaches, beach volleyball courts, and boat rentals here. You can look forward to peace and relaxation at Liepnitzsee, which is about 8km north of the city limits. A perfect summer in the Berlin district of Weißensee can also be experienced at the lido of the lake of the same name. The most popular destination for a bathing excursion in Berlin is probably Wannsee. In the open-air swimming pool there you can relax in wicker beach chairs. Football and beach volleyball are also on the programme, while the little ones can play in playgrounds. With our Berlin Swimming map you will find the fastest way to the lakes in Berlin and the surrounding area.
Tip 5: Tempelhofer Feld: play sports or just lie in the grass?
Tempelhofer Feld is a huge open space on the grounds of the former Tempelhof Airport. Since 2010, the area has been used for public purposes and is a popular local recreation area. On a 6 km long jogging, cycling, and skating track you can do sports to your heart's content. Families with children can also fly kites, play ball, or have a picnic on the grass.
Tip 6: Barbecues in the countryside - eat together and enjoy the summer
The warm summer days in Berlin invite you to have a sociable barbecue. Popular places for this are the wonderful parks in the capital with their designated barbecue areas as well as special areas on the banks of the Spree. You will also often find barbecue areas around the swimming lakes, where you can make yourself comfortable. You have an incomparable view at a picnic on the Drachenberg in Charlottenburg. The atmosphere is also truly harmonious in Herzberge Landscape Park, where you can enjoy your delicacies between fall fruit meadows and romantic woods.
Tip 7: Vegetables fresh from the garden, in the middle of the city
It doesn't get more local than eating right in a vegetable garden! This is possible in various urban gardening projects. Nature lovers can dig, water, and harvest there in the middle of Berlin. Some of these joint projects now also serve food. For example, the Prinzessinnengärten (Princess Gardens) in Berlin-Kreuzberg. You pick the herbs from the garden for your tea here and taste freshly prepared vegetarian dishes. There is also a garden café in the Himmelbeet in Wedding, where coffee, cake, and other snacks are offered at reasonable prices.
Tip 8: Restaurants with a view of the water
What could be nicer than having a good meal with friends and enjoying the view over the river or lake? There is a wide choice of restaurants and cafés by the water: whether delicious fish dishes in the log cabin restaurant SpreeArche right on the river, curry sausage or flamee cake in the beach club Gestrandet Mitte, or a cup of coffee in the former summer villa of artist Max Liebermann at Wannsee - Berlin offers something for every taste.
Tip 9: Eating crazy sorts of ice cream
Summer in Berlin tastes of ice cream. But today at the countless ice cream parlours in the metropolis you will no longer only find chocolate or vanilla: soft ice cream with toasted marshmallows and gelato brioches - hot and crispy on the outside, cold and creamy on the inside - served at Paul Möhring in Oranienburger Straße in Mitte, for example. The innovative Hokey Pokey in Prenzlauer Berg and the outstanding Caffé e Gelato in Potsdamer Platz Arkaden also attract a real rush of visitors.
Tip 10: Berlin street festivals and summer events
The summer season is the time of open-air events. The Bergmannstraßenfest in Kreuzberg can look back on a long tradition. Everything revolves around music here, especially jazz, as well as culture. Classical fans, on the other hand, will get their money's worth at the Classic Open Air. The annual Christopher Street Day invites you to celebrate and demonstrate under the sign of the rainbow.