Ten of the Top Berlin Parks

With around 2,500 gardens and parks, you’re never very far from a green space when staying in Berlin. Some parks are home to fascinating historic monuments, others are places to catch your breath after visiting remarkable museums, and yet more host traditional German beer gardens where you can chill with friends on summer days. When you need a break from sightseeing, these are the best parks to visit in Berlin.

Steps from the boutique SO/ Berlin Das Stue hotel, the 210-hectare green lungs of Berlin form the city’s biggest and most famous park. Once a royal hunting ground, today the Tiergarten is central to Berlin life, drawing families and friends to play sports, skate or jog, and enjoy the sun on its tree-shaded meadows. Climb the stately, 19th-century Victory Column for city panoramas, sip tea on the terrace of the nearby Teehaus im Englischen Garten, snap a selfie at the iconic Brandenburg Gate, or listen out on summer Sundays for free carillon concerts.

Strasse des 17 Juni. S3 or S5 to Tiergarten. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

On Museum Island and flanked by the River Spree, the Lustgarten is lined with magnificent Berlin landmarks including the brass-domed cathedral and the neo-classical, colonnaded Altes Museum. Now a lively meeting place for locals and visitors alike, these lawns began life as humble potato fields in the 16th century, before becoming a military parade ground and – during World War II – a space for Adolf Hitler’s frenzied political rallies. 

Unter den Linden 1. S1 or S5 to Hackescher Markt or U5 to Museumsinsel. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

Straddling the Cold War border between East and West Berlin, the Mauerpark is a spindly stretch of no-man’s land reimagined as a public space in 1994, five years after the Berlin Wall fell. Technicolour graffiti now swathes what’s left of the wall, and the park roars into life on Sunday with a hipster flea market and karaoke sessions that have become a city institution. Join locals in the know to scour indie shops or hang out in trendy cafés along arty Kastanienallee nearby. 

Gleimstrasse 55. U8 to Voltastrasse or U2 to Eberswalder Strasse. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

Hugging the banks of the River Spree, this Berlin park close to the family-friendly Novotel Berlin Mitte came into being when a rococo palace was demolished in 1959. It’s a chilled spot for some al fresco downtime out after touring the vast art and history collections on Museum Island. Kids can let off steam splashing in the swimming pool or kicking a ball around, and if you’re visiting in summer, why not grab a beer from the bar to snooze in the sun or watch impromptu open-air concerts?

Oranienburger Strasse. S1 or S5 to Hackescher Markt. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

Second only in size to the Grosser Tiergarten, Berlin’s suburban Treptower Park covers 84 hectares and is one of Germany’s most popular public spaces. Stretching along the Spree, it's a springboard for boat cruises, riverside promenade strolls and picnics in manicured rose gardens or shady woodland. While you’re there, be sure to pay tribute at the Soviet War Memorial, where 7,000 Red Army soldiers are buried. Alternatively, visit at night to marvel at star-studded skies through the telescope at the park’s observatory.

Puschkinallee. S-Bahn to Treptower Park or bus to Sowjetisches Ehrenmal. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

Opened in 1894 and centred on a neo-Gothic hilltop memorial to the Napoleonic Wars, compact Viktoriapark is a magical urban folly with a tumbling waterfall at its heart. Walk up to the memorial at the top of the 24-metre cascade – through a carefully constructed ‘natural’ landscape of ponds, rocks and woodland – for one of the best views over Berlin to the Fernsehturm TV Tower. If you fancy a lively night out, join city residents at Golgatha Biergarten near the entrance to the park for draft beers and a barbecue. 

Kreuzbergstrasse 15. U6 to Platz der Luftbrücke. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

Liberally scattered with ornamental ponds, sculptures, war memorials and monuments, Berlin’s oldest public space opened in 1846. Summer sees buskers performing as residents flock to the park to throw frisbees and play volleyball, go rollerblading or sunbathe in tranquil sunny corners. Don’t miss the chance to scale the brace of manmade mini-hills created from World War II detritus, or to admire the majestic Märchenbrunnen, where characters from Brothers Grimm fairytales frolic among the fountains – and after dark, catch a film at the open-air cinema.

Am Friedrichshain 1. Bus to Am Friedrichshain/Hufelandstrasse or bus/tram to Am Friedrichshain. Open daily 24/7. Admission free.

Some 15 years in the creation, the exquisite botanical gardens opened in 1910 and are one of the city’s biggest attractions, vying for the title of the most beautiful park in Berlin. Awash with exotic roses, lily ponds and herb gardens, the gardens offer a burst of vivd colour all year round. In summer, outdoor concerts take place among the blooms, while winter sees the action move into the magnificent, art nouveau Tropical Greenhouse for music set to a backdrop of rare palm trees.  

Königin-Luise-Strasse 6-8. S1 to Botanischer Garten. Open daily 9am–8pm. Admission €6 or free with the Berlin WelcomeCard.

Laid out in the 1980s to provide an outdoor space in suburban south Berlin, the Britzer Garten spans 90 hectares of ever-changing floral displays, from tulips in spring to dahlias in autumn. Let the kids loose to roll down the toboggan hill, have a run around at the splash park and visit the donkeys, sheep and goats. The expansive meadow and lake landscape is great for explorers of all ages.

Sangerhauser Weg 1. U6 to Alt-Mariendorf then bus 179 to Sangerhauser Weg, or U8 or S-Bahn to Hermannstrasse then bus M44 to Britzer Garten. Open daily 9am–6pm (4pm in winter). Summer admission €3.

Covering an area equivalent to 60 football pitches, the alluring Gärten der Welt offers a high-speed romp around the world in its spectacular themed gardens. Acting as a flamboyant antidote to an uninspiring setting in the former East Berlin district of Marzahn, it features a blaze of tropical hues in the Balinese paradise, a delicate pagoda perched by a lily pond in the Japanese garden and formal plantings in the Italian Renaissance garden. A highlight is the 1.5-kilometre ropeway with views from a height of 35 metres stretching as far as Berlin's city centre.

Blumberger Damm 44. U5 to Kienberg - Gärten der Welt. Open daily 9am–dusk. Admission €7.

So many Berlin parks to visit – which one will you love the best?