01 Tieranatomisches Theater · Mitte

In the middle of the Humboldt University's northern campus stands a neoclassical building from 1789/90, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, who also built the Brandenburg Gate. Animals were once dissected here for the young veterinary school. It is considered Berlin's oldest surviving academic teaching building. Today the university shows exhibitions between science and art here, and the round lecture hall under the dome alone is worth the visit. Free admission, usually Tuesday to Saturday in the afternoon, Philippstraße 12/13.

02 Schönhausen Palace · Pankow

Everyone knows Charlottenburg, hardly anyone the palace in Pankow. Yet its story is unique: after the war it was the official seat of GDR president Wilhelm Pieck, and from the 1960s until 1990 the guest house of the GDR government. State guests such as Fidel Castro, Indira Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev stayed here. Rooms from both eras, baroque and GDR chic, can be visited today, along with a park full of old trees. Check opening times on the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation website.

03 Fort Hahneberg · Spandau

At the far western edge of Spandau lies a fortress from the 1880s that was already obsolete when it was finished, because new shells made its walls worthless. It never saw military use and is now an enchanted nature reserve and a winter roost for bats. Quentin Tarantino shot scenes for "Inglourious Basterds" here in 2008. You can only get in on a guided tour, at weekends in the summer half of the year; dates from the association at forthahneberg.de.

04 Natur-Park Südgelände · Schöneberg

An old shunting yard where nature had decades to take over: among birches and tracks stand an old steam locomotive and a water tower around 50 meters high, with artworks in between. On 4.2 kilometers of paths you partly walk on steel walkways above the forest floor. The entrance is right at Priesterweg S-Bahn station, and admission is small.

05 Buddhist House · Frohnau

In the garden suburb of Frohnau on the northern edge of the city, the Berlin physician Paul Dahlke, who had turned to Buddhism in Ceylon, had a temple built, completed in 1924. The Buddhist House is considered Europe's oldest Theravada center. You climb 73 steps to get there, and monks still live here today. Visitors are welcome and admission is free. More about Frohnau in the Kiez atlas.

06 Old St Matthew's Churchyard · Schöneberg

A cemetery as a day-out destination? Here, yes. In this churchyard, consecrated in 1856, the Brothers Grimm lie side by side, and a few paths further on the singer Rio Reiser, whose grave fans still decorate. In the former gardener's cottage at the entrance, a small café with cake and flowers has been open since 2006. A quiet place in the middle of Schöneberg, not far from the Rote Insel.

07 Inside the Humboldthain flak tower · Gesundbrunnen

From outside, the flak tower in Humboldthain is a viewing platform; from inside, a piece of war history. The Berliner Unterwelten association leads tours through the ruin from April to November, for ages 18 and over only. Inside it stays cool even in summer, so bring warm clothes and sturdy shoes. Tickets online in advance, meeting point at the association's base at Brunnenstraße 105, right by Gesundbrunnen station.

08 Liebermann Villa on the Wannsee · Wannsee

The summer house of the painter Max Liebermann sits right on the Großer Wannsee, with a garden he designed himself and painted again and again. It has been a museum since 2006, the garden is open to the public, and Café Max invites you to stop for a while. It combines well with an afternoon on Peacock Island.

09 Spandau Citadel · Spandau

One of the best-preserved Renaissance fortresses in Europe, a few steps from the lanes of Spandau's old town. With museums, walls and a moat it makes a full day out. On almost every first Sunday of the month admission is free, more in Sunday in Berlin and about the old town in the Kiez atlas.

10 Horseshoe Estate · Britz

A housing estate in the shape of a horseshoe, built in the 1920s by Bruno Taut and now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Colorful houses stand around a pond, meant at the time to show that ordinary people could live with light and greenery too. A place to marvel at architecture, not to go out, and that is exactly why it is so quiet. More in the Kiez atlas.

11 Alt-Marzahn · Marzahn

Between Marzahn's high-rises lies an old village green with a church and a post mill, as if someone had dropped a village into the prefab estate (Kiez atlas). Nearby are the Gardens of the World with gardens from several cultures and cherry blossom in spring, see Berlin in spring. The cable car above them does not take a BVG ticket, by the way.

12 Reopening soon: the Spreepark · Plänterwald

The old amusement park in the Plänterwald, a crowd-puller in GDR times and overgrown for decades afterwards, is due to reopen in spring 2027 as a place for art, culture and nature, run by the state-owned Grün Berlin. The Ferris wheel has been overhauled and should turn again then. Until then there are tours around the historic Eierhäuschen on the riverbank. We will report as soon as the gates open.