Borough of Berlin in Germany
Photo: t-stern, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the southwesternmost part of Berlin
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This is the number-one bathing and recreation spot in western Berlin, with several beaches, the large Strandbad Wannsee open-air lido and several historic landmarks nearby.
Turmrestaurant Steglitz
The Bierpinsel ("beer brush") is a building in Steglitz which resembles an observation tower and is famous for its pop-art appearance. The futuristic building was built from 1972 to 1976 and has since been used as restaurant, night club, bar, radio station and art café. Once threatened with demolition as a white elephant, this unique structure was instead landmarked and is well worth looking at.
Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem
These beautiful gardens, which include 6,000 square metres of greenhouse space and over 20,000 plants spread over 42 hectares, are part of the Free University of Berlin. The museum is closed till 2027 for a complete redesign and renovation.
Grunewald Hunting Lodge
Built in 1542. An impressive traditional country estate with stately architecture, it is an enclave of untouched regional cultural history and architectonic epochs. The 80-hectare mixed forest also provides a wide network of paths for walking and rambling.
Heritage listed Art Nouveau railway station and charming surrounding city square.
Glienicke Palace, Casino and Garden
This castle is one of Berlin's oldest castles and where Prince Carl used to reside. Be sure to check out Glienicke Bridge, the bridge that became renowned for the exchange of Western and Eastern secret agents. You can also visit Glienicke Park.
Peacock Island Palace
This heritage-protected public bathing beach which opened in 1907 is one of the largest inland lidos in Europe and has a 1275-m-long sand beach, a capacity for up to 30,000 guests and a popular nudist area.
This would be a perfectly ordinary neighbourhood of Berlin or perhaps neighbouring Potsdam visible only on maps that show the border between Berlin and Potsdam if not for its history. While the Berlin border during German partition included a number of enclaves and exclaves, this is the only place where a significant number (some 300 people) ended up on an "island" of West Berlin surrounded by East German territory. Some complicated corridor solutions were applied for people from Steinstücken to be able to get to West Berlin proper without the need for lengthy border formalities. These days, like before partition, people in Steinstücken tend to use the services of Potsdam more than those of Berlin on a day-to-day basis.
The 10 MW research reactor BER II delivers neutron beams for a wide range of scientific investigations. On open house day, interested visitors are allowed to take guided tours through the experimental halls around the research reactor. Scientists and reactor experts will be there on these days to answer questions about the facility and the safety measures.
A museum showing the Western side of the Cold War.
Works from the Dresden art collaborative called "Die Brücke".
This museum explains how this house was used for a meeting of senior Nazis to ensure that they all knew that the SS would industrialize the use of mass-murder in disposing of Jews and "undesirables" and to debate a little the logistics of the Holocaust, for which Hitler had already given the orders.
House museum on Max Liebermann, German painter and printmaker. Has about 15 Lieberman paintings.
The biggest of its sort in Europe. At the museum district of Dahlem.
Museum Village Düppel
This museum is perhaps something you wouldn't expect in a major metropolis and truth be told it owes its existence in part to partition (when West Berlin schoolkids couldn't go to the surrounding Brandenburg countryside to experience rural life). Opened in 1975, it is an attempt to recreate as faithfully as feasible a medieval farming village from roughly the era of Berlin's founding (12th or 13th century). The village that existed at this place 800 years ago was not called "Düppel" back then as that name was only applied in the 1860s after the Prussian victory over Denmark at Dybbøl which was rendered into German as "Düppel" and applied to the area to honor a member of the Prussian royal family who owned land there.
A classic pastry place and café that also makes fabulous ice cream sundaes, many of them laced with wine or liqueurs. Also serves savory food. The price is a bit elevated, but so is the experience. Beautiful exterior, too.
Nice currywurst snack bar.
A cozy, yet elegant high end restaurant with an impressive visible wine collection. Sit outside in the warmer months for the gorgeous views outside.
One of the most popular beer gardens in Berlin in summer, for eating and drinking in the sun. There is a Loretta restaurant, the Loretta Biergarten and the Loretta Almhütte.
The Berlin location of a fast-casual chain based in China that specializes in spicy soups (malatang) but also makes a non-spicy tomato broth and sesame-based dry mix. You choose the other ingredients from the refrigerator in the front of the restaurant, and they are of high quality and include interesting items like spicy Thai fishcakes and buckwheat noodles that you might not find at other locations. Extensive indoor and outdoor seating, no waiter service.
Have a coffee, long drink or cocktail at this cozy café which is one of the most longstanding in Steglitz and Friedenau. This venue also offers some delicious meals, ice cream, breakfast and brunch.
A friendly, family-run hotel with large double bed rooms. Small hotel with a personal atmosphere. Within 1-minute walking distance is a S-Bahn station and a good Spanish restaurant. Serves breakfast, wireless is €4 per day.
Set nearby the Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke lakes, the Landhaus offers a quiet and tranquil location, with the personalized service of a bed and breakfast.
An indoor shopping mall.
Forum Steglitz, another indoor shopping mall, has much of the same stores that the earlier Das Schloss boasts, although the ice cream shop on one of the upper floors is a great place to take a break. They even have seating out front when the weather is nice. There is a nice, inexpensive make-up shop on the first floor to the left when you enter.
Karstadt is a nice department store with a grocery store in the basement where you can find some hard to find food items.
The largest natural department store in the city, featuring eco-friendly clothes, paper products and beauty products, among other things. The best part is the basement, which is full of interesting decorations and cool items.
A branch of the department store.
An upscale indoor shopping mall with a creative ceiling decoration.
The Schloss Straßen Center, another indoor shopping mall, is often packed with people coming out with brown Primark bags as this is the shopping centre which boasts Berlin's first Primark.
A great place for kids. With a toy store in the front and a craft store in the back, you will find everything you need for playing or crafting.
By ferry
Berlin ferry line F10 crosses the Wannsee to link Kladow (part of Berlin/Spandau) with the S-Bahn stop "Wannsee.4 km trip and your BVG ticket is valid on the ferry.
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