10 Slow Travel Tips for your visit to Berlin
Small Discoveries – Great Experiences
Take your time in Berlin. The capital is full of places that invite you to savour the moment. Whether you’re exploring on foot or by bike, you’ll discover hidden courtyards, small shops, idyllic retreats and cafés surrounded by greenery. Meet people who are passionate about creating regional crafts or speciality products. Our tips will show you places and experiences where you can leave the hustle and bustle of the big city behind and get to know Berlin from a more peaceful perspective.
Tip 1: Explore the neighbourhood on foot
Berlin is ideal for sightseeing tours on foot or by bike, thanks to the proximity of so many attractions. There’s something to discover on every street corner. To ensure you always know exactly which sights and exciting places are nearby, we invite you to use our ‘Going Local’ map for leisurely walks and sightseeing tours through all 12 of Berlin’s districts.
Stay a little longer in a neighbourhood and take your time discovering its otherwise hidden charms. We particularly recommend:
Tip 2: Discover small and hidden gardens
Right in the heart of Rixdorf, the Comenius Garden invites you to take a special stroll: its layout traces the human life journey according to the ideas of the educator and philosopher Johann Amos Comenius. Elsewhere too, smaller parks and gardens surprise visitors with enchanting hideaways and a spectacular display of flowers. Each of these places tells its own story of Berlin’s history and invites you to linger and take a deep breath:
Berlin’s secret gardens
- Comenius Garden in Rixdorf
- Körnerpark in Neukölln
- The Garden of Villa Oppenheim in Charlottenburg
- Luiseninsel in the Tiergarten
- The garden of the Liebermann Villa on Lake Wannsee
- Blankenfelde-Pankow Botanical Public Park
- Leise Park
Tip 3: Experience culture in unusual venues
Some cultural venues only reveal their full impact when you take the time to appreciate them. Let the light installation in the James Turrell Chapel work its magic on you. At the Reethaus , the concept and the concerts at the Piano Salon Christophori – a piano workshop in Wedding – seem as though they’ve been plucked straight out of another era. Just how much of a trend it is to take your time is also evident in the events organised by Tea&Vinyl, which invite you to listen to the crackling sound of vinyl records whilst sipping tea together. Here, you can find peace and quiet and let your thoughts wander.
Cultural havens of tranquillity
- Villa Elisabeth & St Elisabeth’s Church
- Friedrichswerder Church
- Room of Silence
Tip 4: Quiet places to linger
Make sure to include a place to linger in your plans: in reading rooms and library gardens, quiet museum and cemetery cafés, or in historic cemeteries, you can experience a quieter side of Berlin. Distinctive architecture, mature trees and cafés in hidden courtyards create spaces where you can linger for a while, read or simply take in your surroundings:
Tip 5: Discover Berlin’s traditional crafts
In Berlin’s craft workshops, people take the time to create special items using traditional craftsmanship. On guided tours, in workshops and at tastings, you’ll meet the people behind the products and can watch them at work or have a go yourself. You’ll find further ideas at Crafted in Berlin.
Tip 6: Where the horizon meets the water
If you enjoy letting your gaze wander into the distance by the water’s edge, Berlin offers plenty of opportunities: hire a canoe, take some time out on a sauna raft, or enjoy a delicious meal aboard a restaurant boat. If you prefer to explore on foot, follow the riverside paths along the Spree, Dahme or Havel and discover unspoilt nature as well as historic harbour facilities. Along the way, there’s always time for a break with a view of the water.
Our tip: Most of Berlin’s swimming lakes are easily accessible by bike or on public transport.
Here you can find peace and quiet whilst enjoying the view of the water
- Restaurant boats & waterside restaurants
- Take a free boat trip on the BVG ferries
- Plan a cycling and kayaking tour of the Tiefwerder meadows
- Hire a canoe at the Funkhaus on Nalepastraße
- Discover the 11 most beautiful spots by the water
- Discover Berlin’s sights from the water on the solar-powered catamaran:
Tip 7: Visit Berlin’s markets and flea markets
Weekly markets, flea markets, organic markets, vegan markets, Christmas markets, market halls – Berliners love markets, which is why hardly a day goes by without someone, somewhere, buying or selling some unique speciality at a market in Berlin.
At the weekly markets, you’ll find regional and seasonal organic produce from farmers in Berlin and Brandenburg. Within the historic walls ofthe ‘ ’ market halls , you can take a little trip back in time whilst you shop, and at organic and vegan markets, you can shop in an environmentally and health-conscious way. For over 20 years, every Thursday from 12 noon to 7 pm on Berlin’s Kollwitzplatz, traders from Berlin and the surrounding area have been offering their organically farmed produce. At the organic market on Kollwitzplatz, you’ll find fresh fruit and vegetables, wild herbs, bread made from home-ground flour, and eggs from hens that lead a happy, free-range life.
At flea markets , unique treasures, second-hand fashion and arts and crafts change hands, whilst at Berlin’s wonderful Christmas markets you’ll find special and often lovingly handcrafted specialities. So bring your jute bag and throw yourself into the hustle and bustle of the market.
Tip 8: Give urban gardening a go
Whether in the Prinzessinnengärten, on Tempelhofer Feld, in Mörchenpark or high above the rooftops of Berlin at theKlunkerkranich ‘ ’: this is where environmentally-conscious Berliners come together to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs. There, you can find out about the various urban gardening projects and be inspired. In the Prinzessinnengärten, you can also enjoy delicious dishes made from the fruit and vegetables grown there at lunchtime.
Tip 9: Enjoy vegan and vegetarian cuisine
Berlin has long been a hotbed for vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and you’ll struggle to find any restaurants that don’t offer delicious alternatives to meat and fish. You’ll also find purely vegan restaurants on every corner.
Tip: With the Too Good To Go app, you can help save leftover food during your holiday in Berlin whilst enjoying delicious dishes from Berlin’s culinary scene at incredibly low prices.
Tip 10: Some practical information
Getting there – a relaxed journey by train
Berlin is easily accessible by train from all directions, and a train journey with the whole family isn’t just a relaxing experience – so there’s nothing standing in the way of a sustainable journey to the capital.
Travelling by train
Accommodation – Have a lie-in for a change
Why not discover Berlin based on the ‘15-minute city’ principle ? The idea is based on the concept that city dwellers can find everything they need within a 15-minute radius of where they live. For your holiday, we’ve put together a selection of hotels in Berlin’s most charming neighbourhoods. Immerse yourself in the Berlin way of life – and find the neighbourhood that suits you best.
More about the ‘15-minute city’
Getting around – by public transport
With the underground, suburban rail, trams and buses operated by the BVG (Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe), you can get anywhere you like, even as far as Potsdam.
You can even travel short distances with a clear conscience, saving both time and energy, as you’re guaranteed not to get stuck in traffic. With various S-Bahn, underground and bus routes, such as the number 100 bus, you can even take your own city tour, passing by many sights along the way. There are currently 1,500 electric buses on the roads in Berlin, and the number is growing all the time! Some of the BVG’s ferry routes are already electric and can even be powered by solar energy when there’s enough sunshine: the F11 route connects Oberschöneweide, Wilhelmstrand and Baumschulenstraße all year round; the F12 route connects Wendenschloß, Müggelbergallee and Grünau, Wassersportallee. You’ll love the BVG!
Our tip: With the Berlin Welcome Card, you don’t need to worry about buying a ticket – simply purchase it online before your trip or in person at one of our Berlin Tourist Information centres, travel stress-free from A to B and enjoy discounts at 200 partner venues.
Tip: With the BVG Jelbi app, you can see all Berlin’s transport options at a glance: public transport, car-sharing, bike hire, e-scooters and, of course, the Berlkönig shuttle service. It even has a built-in taxi-hailing feature.
Reusable – takeaway without waste
Like any major city, Berlin struggles with too much waste, for example from single-use coffee cups.
Every year, 170 million of these end up in the bin. The Better World Cup initiative has declared war on this mountain of rubbish and offers a sustainable, reusable alternative for all coffee-to-go drinkers. The system is simple: bring your own takeaway cup or borrow a RECUP for a deposit and return it anywhere in Germany; save money on your purchases and enjoy delicious coffee or other hot drinks with a clear conscience. The Better World Cups and RECUPS are, of course, also available in a Berlin design. In addition, RECUP bowls are available for a deposit, which you can use to carry food.
Drinking fountains
Has all that sightseeing, walking, strolling and cycling left you feeling thirsty? Then Refill Berlin offers a sustainable alternative to single-use PET or glass bottles: bring your own water bottles and top them up with tap water at numerous cafés, restaurants and bakeries – free of charge. You’ll also find drinking fountains operated by Berliner Wasserbetriebe, , in public spaces where you can fill up your water yourself.
