From Dahlem Dorf to Wannsee

“Pack your swimming trunks and off you go to the Wannsee”: on this cycle tour, you’ll explore the most beautiful parts of south-west Berlin, with its enchanting castles, extensive parkland and lovely lakes offering plenty of opportunities for a swim. Hop on your bike: the tour starts at Dahlem-Dorf underground station. From here, turn left onto Königin-Luise-Straße. After a few metres, you’ll see the Domäne Dahlem on the other side of the road.

Tip: Domäne Dahlem

Domäne Dahlem is an old manor estate with a village green. Here, cattle, sheep and goats graze on spacious pastures. Activities for children will keep young visitors to Berlin happy, and you can buy healthy provisions for the tour at the farm shop. Cycle back to the underground station and turn right onto Löhleinstraße. Don’t be surprised by the many students on their bikes – the Free University campus is just round the corner. Once you’ve passed Thielplatz underground station, follow Saargemünder Straße. Cross Clayallee and continue straight on along Argentinische Allee. Now just keep going straight on. Along the road you’ll see housing estates where, during the era of the Berlin Wall, soldiers from the American Allied forces and their families used to live.

At the Onkel Toms Hütte underground station, it’s worth making a quick stop in Onkel Toms Ladenstraße. ‘Lifestyle in the neighbourhood’ is the slogan for this small but charming shopping street, with its unique shops catering to everyday needs. Here, you can stock up perfectly for a picnic by the lake. A little further on, you’ll reach Mexikoplatz, one of Berlin’s most beautiful squares. The S-Bahn station, with its ornate dome, was built over 100 years ago in Art Nouveau style. Behind the square, turn right into Matterhornstraße. You’ll now cycle past magnificent villas towards the Zehlendorf lake district. You’ll reach Schlachtensee and its sunbathing lawn if you turn right into Breisgauer Straße and, at the end, cross the Schlachtensee S-Bahn station. You can take your first break for a swim at the sunbathing lawn. Afterwards, get back on your bike and continue towards the Wannsee lido.

Tour map

Tip: Wannsee Lido

For more than 100 years, the Strandbad has been the heart of Berlin’s bathing culture. The Strandbad features a large sandy beach with fine sand, beach chair hire and a water slide. Continue along Kronprinzessinnenweg. The street Am Beelitzhof joins Borussenstraße. Keep left so that you can turn right into Borussenstraße straight away. Although it’s a dead end, you can cycle straight through. Shortly afterwards, you’ll reach Königsstraße. A few metres further on, you’ll cross a small bridge and see the Großer Wannsee on your right and the Kleiner Wannsee on your left. Enjoy the view of the lake with all the sailing boats.

Tip: Liebermann Villa

Cycle along the shore to the Liebermann Villa. The villa was the summer home of Max Liebermann, whose enchanting garden inspired him to create some of his finest paintings. You can visit the villa, which houses an exhibition, and the garden. From the terrace of the house, you can let your gaze wander over the garden and lake and, whilst enjoying delicacies from Café Max, savour the tranquil atmosphere of Max Liebermann’s ‘Schloß am See’. A little further on is the House of the Wannsee Conference, where one of the darkest chapters in German history was written. On 20 January 1942, senior officials from the Nazi Reich ministries and the SS met at the villa to negotiate the deportation and murder (‘Final Solution’) of Europe’s Jews in the occupied territories of Poland and Eastern Europe. Back on Königsstraße, carry on straight ahead. On the banks of the River Havel, on the right-hand side, lies the small, romantic Glienicke Palace.

Tip: Glienicke Palace

Glienicke Palace looks like an Italian country house. Here you can experience the beauty of classical architecture, set within the magnificent parkland designed by Peter Joseph Lenné. You have now reached the Glienicke Bridge, which crosses the River Havel into Potsdam. During the Cold War, agents were exchanged here – a story told so grippingly in Steven Spielberg’s film *Bridge of Spies*. Today, however, there is no trace of that left.

The Glienicke Bridge is one of Berlin’s most beautiful spots and boasts a ‘view of the five castles’. Nestled within beautifully landscaped parks are the Glienicke Palace complex, the baroque Sacrow Palace, the Ruinenschlösschen, Babelsberg Palace and Glienicke Hunting Lodge. The cultural and palace landscape between Berlin and Potsdam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Added to this is the unobstructed view of the Jungfernsee, the Glienicker Laake and the Tiefen See. This panorama forms both the highlight and the conclusion of the Wannsee Route.