When the good weather arrives, Berliners like to leave their city to go…to the beach!
Indeed, several lakes are accessible less than an hour from the city with fine sandy beaches.
Ideal for spending a lazy day after walking for several days in the city.
The biggest lake, the most beautiful beach, it is in Wannsee that we find them. From Zoologischer Garten it takes us twenty minutes by S-Bahn to get there.
Located to the west of the city, a little before Potsdam, the lake (or rather the lakes, since in reality there are three lakes in Wannsee) is surrounded by many forests and has a number of small wooded islands within it. . From there, boats leave for Potsdam or Peacock Island.
Grosser Wannsee beach, the beach of the largest Wannsee lake, is not far from the Nikolassee station and its entrance costs 3 euros.
It is the best equipped beach in the area (plenty of water sports facilities, including rowing boats and pedal boats, but also cafés, snack bars and car parks) and therefore necessarily the busiest in summer.
Along the Havelchaussee, you can find less populated sand spots… Or you can come across a spot reserved for naturists. We will have warned you!
You can therefore go from the beach to the Ile aux Paons, by ferry for one euro.
We arrive at a vast nature reserve where dozens, even hundreds of peacocks live together.
A few buildings rub shoulders with the animals, notably a small 18th century mansion which is somewhat reminiscent of Schloss Charlottenbourg.
In summer, you can venture into the Jardin des Roses, where you can find a myriad of varieties and colors of the flower.
At the end of the afternoon, we reach Potsdam to go for a walk in the park of the Sans-Souci castle.
From Grosser Wannsee you can rent bikes and follow a nice path in the forest (about ten kilometers).
Good plan to reach the 2nd must-see place west of Berlin.
Useful information
> To get to the Wannsee lakes, take the S1 line to its end, west of Berlin.
Info and calendar for events taking place in Wannsee (in German) http://www.berlin-wannsee.de
Page that sheds light on the infamous Wannsee conference in 1942 (in French)
