Berlin’s green south , which includes the districts of Grunewald and Dahlem, is dotted with numerous lakes, rivers, small castles, private estates and residential villas, leafy roads and cafés for daytrippers. Grunewald and Dahlem have managed to preserve their rural character, although affluent and famous Berliners have always built their houses here. There are many attractions in Berlin’s southwest: visitors can enjoy extensive walks in the Grunewald forest, or ferry across the picturesque lake to Pfaueninsel, an island with romantic castle ruins – and a favourite destination for locals. The swimming baths at Wannsee, Europe’s largest inland beach, welcomes up to 40,000 visitors a day for fun, games and a dip in the water and on its beautiful white beaches. The museum complex in Dahlem, too, with its outstanding ethnographic and art collections, is worth visiting. Meanwhile, the Alliiertenmuseum and the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz recall a more painful period in Berlin’s history.
Dahlem Museums: www.smb.spk-berlin.de/ort/d.html Alliiertenmuseum: www.alliiertenmuseum.de Museumsdorf Düppel: www.dueppel.de-
Morning
Start your morning walk through Berlin’s southern districts by taking the S-Bahn (lines S7 and S1) to Mexikoplatz . Here you can admire the beautiful villas and the lovely green square before dropping in to Café Krone in Argentinische Allee for a late breakfast. After refreshments, continue on foot or by bus (No. 211) southwards to the open-air museum Museumsdorf Düppel . From there, return by bus via Argentinische Allee to the Alliiertenmuseum . From the museum you can stroll across Königin-Luise-Straße and through the picturesque streets right up to the beer garden Luise at the Free University, where you may like to have lunch.
Afternoon
Start your afternoon walk at the Dahlem Museums . One you have enjoyed this cultural break, continue by U-Bahn (U2, Dahlem-Dorf) to Krumme Lanke, and from there, on foot, to the S-Bahn station Mexikoplatz. The S-Bahn will take you to Wannsee S-Bahn station, from where you can reach all the sights in southwestern Berlin. When the weather is right, visit Strandbad Wannsee , or visit the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz and then admire the park and Schloss Klein-Glienicke . After your walk, allow yourself to be tempted by coffee and cake or supper at the Remise in Schloss Klein-Glienicke . Your best option for the return journey is the S-Bahn from Wannsee.
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Visitors stroll around this museum reminiscing and recalling the 50 or so years of partnership between Western Allies and West Berliners. The museum, based in a former US-barracks, employs uniforms, documents, weapons and military equipment to tell the story of Berlin’s post-war history, though not only from the military point of view.
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Large beer garden with a lengthy menu, offering excellent wines and desserts.
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Traditional German fare is served in this historic log cabin, built as a Russian dacha.
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The log cabin, built in1819, was a present from King Friedrich Wilhelm III to his daughter Charlotte and his son-in-law, future Tsar Nicholas I. The wooden Russian-style dacha was restored after a fire in 1985.
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These four museums in south Berlin, dedicated to foreign cultures and peoples, feature one of Germany’s best ethno-cultural collections. The Ethnological Museum holds around one million items from around the world, especially artistic and cult objects from Africa, as well as exhibits from North-American Indians. Full-scale wooden huts and boats from the island populations of the South Pacific as well as a large collection of ceramic and stone sculptures from the Mayas, Aztecs and Incas are particularly impressive. The Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, focusing on 1,000 years of Far-Eastern culture, displays mainly objects in porcelain and lacquer from Korea, China and Japan. The shiny green jade exhibits from ancient China are just as amazing.
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Some of Berlin’s most attractive villas, dating back to the 19th century, are found in the streets surrounding the Grunewald S-Bahn station. Especially worth seeing are Nos. 15 and 11 in Winklerstraße, the latter of which was built by Hermann Muthesius in the style of an English country mansion. Villa Maren, at No. 12 next door, is a beautiful example of the Neo-Renaissance style. The villas on Toni-Lessler-Straße and on Furtwänglerstraße are also worth a detour.
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Swiss hospitality and a cosy atmosphere in Grunewald. Local and exquisite Swiss cooking.
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This rustic restaurant next to Jagdschloss Grunewald is based in an old hunting lodge.
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The campus of Berlin’s largest university, founded in 1948 as a rival to East-Berlin Humboldt University, covers large parts of Dahlem. It is worth looking at the 1950s Henry-Ford-Bau and the so-called Rostlaube (rusting hut), at present being redesigned by Sir Norman Foster.
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Restaurant price categories
For a three course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and charges included.
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