Last updated on 10/20/2026
Berlin is wonderful to discover by bike, with around 1,000 kilometres of cycle path running criss-cross through the city. There is something for every taste, whether a swimming trip, a history lesson or a day in nature. The bike tour to Wannsee follows the official RR1 cycle route for 28 kilometres from Schlossplatz in Mitte to the Glienicke Bridge. The Berlin Wall Trail circles the former West Berlin over 160 kilometres, divided into 14 stages that all begin and end close to train stations. And in Reinickendorf, the district council's Tegelsee cycle route runs 20 kilometres once around the second largest lake in the city. Ten routes between city, forest and water. Which one tempts you most for your next day off?
Francesca Cerza
For me, summer begins the moment I bring my bike up from the cellar. While researching these tours, I rediscovered corners of Berlin that I visit far too rarely. The ride to the Wannsee followed by a swim is my personal favourite. I am taking you along ten routes that show just how green and vast this city really is.
The bicycle tour to Wannsee is the official cycling route RR1 and covers 28 kilometers from Schloßplatz in Mitte to Glienicker Bridge. Along the way are Gendarmenmarkt, Checkpoint Charlie, and Domäne Dahlem, with Wannsee Beach, boasting 1275 meters of sandy beach, at the destination. As a one-way tour, it can be easily combined with a return trip by S-Bahn.
The Berlin Wall Trail is Berlin's most famous cycling tour: 160 kilometers on the former border strip, divided into 14 stages, all starting and ending at train stations. Over 40 information stations along the way tell the story of the division. It is not a fully developed cycle path; the surface alternates between asphalt, cobblestones, and forest floor.
The bike tour through Spandau's Old Town, lasting one to two hours, is one of Berlin's shortest cycling tours and leads from the market to the Spandau Citadel, a Renaissance fortress from 1594 with the 30-meter-high Juliusturm. Afterwards, it passes through the Kolk with its cobblestones and along the Lindenufer back. Easily manageable for children.
The bicycle tour through Marzahn-Hellersdorf is greener than its reputation: From Biesdorf Palace with its landscape park, it follows the Wuhle, Berlin's longest green belt, over the 300-meter-long Wuhlesteg to Kienberg with the Wolkenhain viewing platform. The Gardens of the World are right next door, but bikes must stay outside there.
The bike tour through Lichtenberg and Hohenschönhausen takes a good hour and a half from the memorial in Genslerstraße via the Mies van der Rohe House from 1932 to Obersee and Orankesee. Afterwards, it becomes rural: The Malchower Aue has been a nature reserve since 1995, and Scottish Highland cattle graze on the Malchow Nature Farm.
The bike tour through Tempelhof - Schöneberg collects Berlin history in a short distance: the town hall with the Freedom Bell and Kennedy's balcony, the disused gasometer from 1910, the heavy load-bearing body made of 12,000 tons of concrete, and at the end, the Tempelhofer Feld with over 300 hectares. It's also flat and completely urban.
The bike tour through Treptow-Köpenick is the longest bike tour on this list and leads from Treptower Park, via Wuhlheide and Köpenick's Old Town, to Müggelsee, Berlin's largest lake with 7.4 square kilometers. On the south bank, the Müggelturm awaits, 126 steps up to a panoramic view over forest and water on a clear day.
Pankow is Berlin's greenest district, and this bike tour shows why: from the listed Bürgerpark to Schönhausen Palace with the city's only original Rococo hall, and to the Karower Teiche (Karow Ponds), where over 60 bird species breed. The route is practically flat, a good 26 kilometers long, and takes about an hour and a half to ride.
The Tegelsee Cycle Route of the Reinickendorf district office is a 20-kilometer circular route with twelve stations; start and finish are at Tegel S-Bahn station. Along the way are Berlin's oldest tree, the Sechserbrücke bridge from 1908, and the Borsigturm, the city's first high-rise. Approximately two hours should be planned for the pure cycling time.
The Havel cycle path at Grunewaldturm leads via Havelchaussee to Berlin's most famous observation tower: 55 meters of brick Gothic from 1899 on the 79-meter-high Karlsberg, about 200 steps to the platform. Along the way are the Schildhorn peninsula with its sandy beach and the island of Lindwerder, to which a bell calls the ferry.
