Nature

Music is life and freedom: that's why musicians at Oberbaumbrücke will give you lots of beats. Don't miss it!

On Lake Motzen in the Dahme Lake District, the Residenz Seehotel Berlin-Brandenburg combines Märkisch country house ambiance with a wellness area, private beach, and a 27-hole golf course right next door. It's about 30 kilometers from Berlin to the water.

Hidden in the middle of Bäkepark in Steglitz is one of Berlin's most beautiful playgrounds: around 3,000 square meters of Africa and adventure, right by the Teltow Canal. Wooden giraffes, zebras, and palm trees create a jungle atmosphere, while climbing towers, zip lines, and hammocks do the rest.

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.

A few minutes by ferry, and Berlin is gone. Peacock Island in the Havel is car-free, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and can only be reached by boat. Peacocks roam freely among 400 ancient oaks, and in their midst stands a white pleasure palace from 1794. For a marriage proposal, this is a rare case of a backdrop you don't have to book.

Gleisdreieck Park in Kreuzberg is more than just a playground. Multiple play areas, a nature exploration space, and the legendary 'Stangenwald' (pole forest) make this expansive green area one of the most versatile play spaces in the city.

Between the two Brandenburg nature reserves Rabenstein and Planetal lies the Nature Park Centre Hoher Fläming in the Old Distillery in Raben.

The family-run Landhaus Himmelpfort is located on Lake Haussee near Fürstenberg an der Havel: an almost 100-year-old house with a large garden, private lake access, and boat rental. Nine suites and two double rooms, there are no more beds here.

Freizeitpark Lübars is a recreation park in the Northern district Berlin-Reinickendorf and a famous destination for a nature trip in the city of Berlin.

The Restaurant & Beer Garden Schoenbrunn is located in Volkspark Friedrichshain directly by the Swan Pond, and its sun terrace seats about one hundred guests. The pavilion originated from a competition for the X. World Festival in 1973 and initially housed a small library. For breakfast in the green surroundings, pancakes and Avocado Benedict are served here under old trees.

The Großer Tiergarten spans 207 hectares between the Brandenburg Gate and the Zoological Garden, making it Berlin's largest park. Peter Joseph Lenné transformed the old electoral hunting ground into a landscape park starting in 1818; today, the Victory Column, English Garden, New Lake, and Bellevue Palace are located within it. No other park in Berlin covers so much at once.

In Marzahn, where prefabricated buildings meet expansive green spaces, lies Berlin's green world tour: The Gardens of the World combine over 20 international theme gardens across 43 hectares, a hovering cable car over the Kienberg, and open-air concerts for up to 5,000 visitors.

Between Fläming and Spreewald, in Baruth/Mark, lies an entire village under monument protection. The Baruther Glashütte Museum Village, as Germany's best-preserved glassmaking site, is one of Brandenburg's most fascinating excursion destinations for families who truly want to touch history.

The Blankenfelde dog exercise area, known among dog owners as Arkenberge, is with approximately 20 hectares the only forest exercise area in eastern Berlin. It is unfenced within the Blankenfelde landscape protection area, and this is precisely where its problem lies: the Pankow district has wanted to relocate it for years, so far without a date.

Kaffeehaus Zeltinger is located at Zeltinger Platz in the garden city of Frohnau and features a summer garden and a winter garden. The lodge is situated in the preserved ice cream kiosk of the former Herrmann confectionery, offering views of the Casino Tower. One particularly practical aspect for breakfast in the green is that it is served until late afternoon, even for late risers.

Europe's largest non-profit children's and family center is not located in Mitte, but in the green: In Treptow-Köpenick, nestled in the Volkspark Wuhlheide, FEZ-Berlin transforms every season into a new adventure for children and families - with crafting, theater, nature, and lots of participation.

43 hectares, 22,000 plant species, and fifteen show greenhouses between Dahlem and Lichterfelde: The Botanical Garden is large enough to get lost in, and that's precisely what makes it so suitable for a marriage proposal. The Great Tropical House from 1907 provides the backdrop, and the Italian Garden offers the tranquility.

The Berlin Botanical Garden stretches over 43 hectares between Dahlem and Lichterfelde and houses around 20,000 plant species. The complex includes fifteen display greenhouses, among them the Great Tropical House with giant bamboo and palms. To combat a boring Sunday, the order helps: first the outdoor area, then the tropics, and both in any weather.

A white moated castle in the Spreewald, quietly combining history and hospitality: The Schlosshotel Fürstlich Drehna near Luckau welcomes its guests with a princely ambiance, 52 hectares of landscape park, and a wellness area that defies monument protection.

Schloss Neuhardenberg in the Oder-Spree Lakeland is arguably Brandenburg's most stylish place for a break: Prussian classicism by Schinkel, one of Germany's most beautiful landscape parks, and a wellness area with sauna, steam bath, and massages, just about 65 kilometers east of Berlin.

A piece of jungle is hidden in Steglitz-Zehlendorf: The Great Tropical House in the Botanical Garden Berlin is one of the largest self-supporting greenhouses in the world, exchanging Berlin's winter grey for 25-meter-high tree giants and tropical warmth.

Spanning 90 hectares in southern Neukölln, Britzer Garten offers everything you'd leave Berlin for on a beautiful day, without actually leaving the city: blooming theme gardens, an artificially created lake, expansive sunbathing lawns, and a lively event program that carries through the entire summer.

In Münchehofe, Brandenburg, in the heart of the Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park, an organic dairy literally shows how milk, butter, and cheese are made. Families can watch the ongoing production through glass walls. Located about 70 km south of Berlin, this excursion destination combines curiosity and fresh air on one site.

Peacock Island in the Havel is a UNESCO World Heritage site and can only be reached by ferry, which costs 6 Euros and includes admission. Peter Joseph Lenné designed the landscape park from 1821; around 400 old oak trees stand on 67 hectares. The park rules are strict: paths must not be left, dogs, bicycles, and barbecues must be left at home.

In Kladow there is not just one dog exercise area but two of them: one on the Bechsteinweg and one on the Ritterfelddamm. Both form part of the roughly 140 hectares of forest exercise area that Spandau offers in total. One limitation is worth planning for: the bus lines serving Kladow do not stop directly at the area itself.