Water

Because Lichtenberg has banned grilling in all green areas, the bookable BBQ area of the Hafenküche in the Citymarina at Rummelsburger Bucht remains the only option for the district. The rental includes a sunsail, a table for twelve people, a BBQ fireplace with charcoal and electricity, and a maximum of 17 guests are allowed. Grilling in the park becomes grilling directly by the water here.

Far out in Köpenick, right on the banks of the Dahme, the Köpenicker Seeterrassen serve regional cuisine with a view of the Palace Island. This waterside restaurant is one of Berlin's most beautiful waterfront locations and can be reached by boat as well as on foot.

Spread across 13,400 square meters, four areas are united under one roof: a fun and sports pool with a 370-square-meter wave pool, a mineral forum with a graduation tower, a sauna world featuring the 70-square-meter Panorama Sauna, and a spa. Approximately 1,500 square meters of water surface and a slide tower reaching up to 55 kilometers per hour are also included.

Only accessible via the old Abteibrücke bridge: The Island of Youth in Alt-Treptow offers a green escape from the asphalt. A beer garden, boat rental, and an evening cultural program turn this small Spree island into a holiday destination without having to leave.

Where Treptow meets Kreuzberg at Flutgraben, stands one of Berlin's most famous open-air clubs. A wooden deck, weeping willow, and canal water are as much a part of Club der Visionäre as relaxed minimal techno.

Liepnitzsee is the only larger clear-water lake in the Barnim Nature Park and one of the bathing lakes around Berlin with the best water quality. At the last measurement of the season, the visibility depth was three meters. The forest lido offers sandy shores, paddling pools, and boat rental, and in the middle of the lake lies the island Großer Werder.

Lieper Bucht is a bay of the Lower Havel and one of Berlin's few swimming lakes with a real sand beach in the middle of Grunewald. The DLRG maintains a water rescue station here, and access is free. However, blue-green algae often appear in mid and late summer; an official warning was issued in August 2026.

The Spree section near Hangelsberg is closed to boats with internal combustion engines, which is why paddling at Kanusport Spree is as quiet as almost nowhere else in the Berlin area. Over 80 boats are available for rent, from beginner kayaks to five-person canoes, plus one-way tours with boat transport to Erkner. The RE 1 takes about 40 minutes from Berlin-Mitte to get directly there.

The Panorama See Resort & Spa in Warnitz is uniquely located on the shore of Lake Oberuckersee in the Uckermark region and has its own bathing area. Across more than 2,000 square meters of spa in two buildings, it offers indoor and outdoor pools, a salt room, and a Finnish sauna with lake view.

Between Rummelsburg and Friedrichshain, Hauptstadtfloß embarks on tours across the Spree and Dahme, always with a crew on board and no need for your own boat license. Bookings are hourly, for groups of eight to seventy guests, with a grill and a covered interior on board. For the Berlin summer, this means: a barbecue stop outside the city and sunset from the water.

At Holsteiner Ufer in Moabit, two steps from S-Bahnhof Bellevue, the shipping company's boats depart, heading towards the Government District, Museum Island, and Mühlendammschleuse. For a marriage proposal on the water, there are two ways: ride along and pick the right moment at the bow, or rent the entire salon ship.

Located in Alt-Hohenschönhausen, directly by Lake Orankesee, you'll find one of Berlin's most beautiful waterside restaurants. The Orankesee Terrassen combines Mediterranean cuisine with lake views, a beer garden, and a tranquility rarely found in the city.

Located directly on Lake Tiefer See in Potsdam's Berliner Vorstadt, the restaurant ship John Barnett is named after the pioneer of steam navigation in Prussia. The historic ship, which was still in use as a cargo vessel on canals and rivers until 2004, now offers Central European cuisine with a view of Babelsberg Park.

Located directly by the lido of Lake Rangsdorf, about 30 kilometers south of Berlin, is the Seehotel Berlin-Rangsdorf: a four-star hotel with private lake access, a 700 square meter wellness area, and a restaurant with lake views. BER Airport is a 20-minute drive away.

BunBo – The BungalowBoat is Brandenburg's leading provider of floating holiday homes on the waterways around Berlin. At five locations, including Zernsdorf south of the capital and Plaue near the Havel river, city life can be exchanged for a fireplace, hammock, and water views – all without a boat license.

Berlin's most famous shipping line, Stern und Kreisschiffahrt, embarks from Greenwichpromenade in Reinickendorf into the northern island world, bringing passengers relaxing cruises across Tegeler See, the Upper Havel Lakes, and far into the Berlin countryside on sunny days. Few excursions showcase the city as serenely and expansively as this one.

A real island in Brandenburg's Untersee, just an hour's drive from Berlin: Insl Kyritz in Kyritz an der Knatter is one of the most romantic wedding venues north of the capital. Civil ceremony directly on the south shore, beer garden, lake view, and a nautical atmosphere included.

On Lake Ruppin, the facility extracts its iodine-rich healing brine from a depth of 1,700 meters, with a 17 percent salt content and a reservoir temperature of 63.4 degrees Celsius. It is Brandenburg's only state-certified healing spring. There is also a floating pool with eight percent brine and a lake sauna with a glass facade and steps into the water.

A round, orange boat chugging along Lake Spandau and the Havel: The BBQ boat in Berlin-Spandau is probably the most relaxed way to celebrate your wedding day on the water. Grill, drift, enjoy the sun - all without a boat license.

ActionSport Tiefenrausch has been training divers according to SSI and PADI standards at Bundesallee in Wilmersdorf since 1995 and is known beyond the city limits for underwater photography and dry suits. Training takes place year-round in the in-house pool in Kreuzberg; an introductory dive lasts two hours and costs 89 Euros. The workshop and filling station are located in the same building.

Located directly at the Tiergarten lock in Charlottenburg, where excursion boats pass by on the Landwehrkanal, lies one of Berlin's most famous beer gardens. The Schleusenkrug combines beer garden culture with a true water view, a solid grill assortment, and a history dating back to the post-war era.

Those who want to discover Berlin and Brandenburg from the water will find the perfect fleet in Niederlehme near Königs Wusterhausen: Nautilus Houseboat Charter rents modern designer houseboats, most of which are license-free, with panoramic glazing and a spacious terrace for up to six people.

Straussee in Strausberg is one of the deepest and clearest bathing lakes in the Berlin area: 136 hectares, up to 20 meters deep, visibility depths of three to five meters, and officially excellent water quality. The lido from 1925 is open again after seven years, complemented by free sunbathing lawns, boat rentals, and the historic cable ferry.

Watching football with sand between your toes: Strandbad Wendenschloss in Köpenick transforms into Berlin's most relaxed open-air arena for the 2026 World Cup, right on Langer See. Water, beach chairs, and LED screen included.

In the old town of Brandenburg an der Havel, directly on the riverbank: The Havelfloß Apartments combine lovingly renovated old buildings with floating holiday homes. You can choose between rooms with Havel views and license-free houseboats, with which you can explore the city from the water.