The route around Wannsee is probably one of the most beautiful bike tours Berlin and its surrounding have to offer. If you wanna take the whole tour and plan in a dip into Wannsee, you will probably need to bring some time and fitness. The tour is 28 kilometers long and starts at Schloßplatz in Berlin-Mitte and goes all the way up to Wannsee and Glienicker Brücke – that famous bridge where the spy exchange took place during the Cold War.

What’s special about this route: It goes right through the busy urban neighborhood of Berlin-Mitte passing Gendarmenmarkt and Checkpoint Charlie and ends in the very green South of Berlin with its many lakes and the beautiful landscape.

You also pass the city hall of Schöneberg where Kennedy gave his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. From there you take Berlin’s first bicycle lane, called Südwestkorso, and after that it gets a little more idyllic. You pass the farm “Domäne Dahlem”, Mexikoplatz and the S-Bahn station Nikolassee. From there you take the route to Wannsee (if you rather skip the city buzz you take the train to Nikolassee and start from there). At Wannsee you can find Europe’s largest public bathing beach area, which is great for a little break by the water and going for a swim.

If you reach the bridge at Wannsee you might want to take a picture as you can see both the big and the small Wannsee. If you’re still up for more you can start the last episode of this route up to the formerly mentioned Glienicker Brücke. By the way: Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” with Tom Hanks captured the story about the spy exchange taking place right there.