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Wannsee has long been a popular destination for Berliners, and it is well worth visiting Strandbad Wannsee. Europe’s largest inland beach, it attracts some 40,000 visitors a day who sunbathe on its beautifully white, artificial beach and swim in the lake. This is also a great place for people-watching, and in the summer you will see yachts, wind surfers and jet skis. In the middle of the large lake is Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island), which can be reached on the whale-shaped “Moby Dick” ferry.

The largest gourmet feast in the world, Green Week is a tasty agricultural and gastronomical fair for everyone. Nowhere else can you enjoy a culinary journey around the world in such a condensed space.

The Grunewald, or “green forest” as the public woods in the southwest of Berlin were known originally, is the least built-up area of woodland in the city. Parts of Grunewald are very quiet and isolated indeed, and there are even wild boar in the woods – which can be a nuisance to people who have gardens in the nearby district of Zehlendorf. Grunewald is excellent for hiking and horse-riding.

Fantastic views can be had from the red Neo-Gothic brick tower, built in 1897 as a memorial to Kaiser Wilhelm I. It now houses a restaurant.

A great place for mushroom and game dishes, with views of Wannsee.

Bill Clinton was once a guest at this restaurant, which draws clients from all over Berlin. The menu features an original combination of German and French dishes.

This complex of 19th-century warehouses consists of nine interlinked courtyards, some of which are decorated in Art-Nouveau style, originally by August Endell. In the early 1990s the complex was completely renovated. The first courtyard is particularly attractive: coloured glazed tiles with geometric patterns decorate the house from the foundations up to the guttering. In the last courtyard, trees are grouped around an idyllic well. The Hackesche Höfe is one of Berlin’s most popular hotspots; restaurants, cafés, a cinema and the Chamäleon variety show attract visitors from afar.

Berlin’s largest and most attractive group of restored commercial buildings, Hackesche Höfe extends between Oranienburger and Rosenthaler Straße and up to Sophienstraße in the east. The complex of buildings, comprised of nine interconnecting courtyards, was designed around the turn of the 20th century by Kurt Berndt and August Endell, two leading exponents of Art Nouveau. The first courtyard especially features elements that are typical of this style: geometric patterns are laid out in vibrant colours on glazed tiles, covering the entire building from the foundations to the guttering. What had lain in ruin after 1945 has now been carefully restored, and forms today one of the most popular nightlife centres in the city. Restaurants and cafés (see Pubs, Bars & Discos) , the Varieté Chamäleon (see Performing Arts Venues) , galleries and small shops have all settled in this area.