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Top 11 autumn activities in Berlin

A walk in the woods, tea and sauna: Tips for autumn in Berlin

Bird's eye view of the Berlin Victory Column in Tiergarten
Victory Column in Tiergarten © Getty Images, Foto: André Berg / Eye Em

Berlin gets colourful in autumn. And it remains versatile. On sunny days, the leaves in the avenues, parks and forests glow in the most beautiful colours. But even when it rains, the city is by no means monotonous. The Tajik tea room serves delicious teas. Dive into the pools at the vabali Spa Berlin or experience a journey through time on the TimeRide Berlin.

Tip 1: Discover the Tegeler Fließ

Wood path through the Tegeler Fliess
Wandern Tegeler Fließ © visitBerlin, Foto: Dagmar Schwelle

The Tegeler Fließtal is a wonderful natural landscape in the middle of Berlin and a good tip for an active autumn holiday. Start at Lake Tegel or walk from the village of Lübars back to the city centre. No question: it will be beautiful. On a nature trail, you will experience a marshy landscape typical of Eastern Europe. With a bit of luck, you might spot fish otters or beavers in their natural habitat on your autumn excursion. Water buffalo are also at home here. The city has settled them in the Tegeler Fließ to maintain the meadows.

Where: Alt-Tegel underground station, Tegel S-Bahn station or bus 222 to Alt-Lübars

Find out more about the Tegeler Fließ

Tip 2: Enjoy the colourful autumn colours in the Britzer Garten

 

Dahlia at Britzer Garten Berlin
Dahlia Fire at Britzer Garten © @FrankSperling

Before nature retreats into hibernation, it puts on another glorious display of colour in autumn. The whole palette of red, yellow, orange, brown and green tones can be admired in autumn in Berlin in the Britzer Garten. The extensive park in the south of Berlin also offers numerous events and activities for the whole family in and around the autumn holidays, including kite making or themed days around pumpkins, mushrooms or apples. In November, the children's lanterns light up for St Martin's Day.

Where: Sangerhauser Weg 1, Neukölln

When: Daily 7 am until dusk

More info about the Britzer Garten

Tip 3: Bathing in the Balinese village

vabali spa Berlin
© vabali spa Berlin

On chilly days, a visit to the spa with sauna and massage is a great way to relax. The perfect place for such a wellness experience is the vabali Spa Berlin near the main railway station. It is open from early morning until late in the evening. The spa with its many pools and saunas resembles a small Balinese village and transports you to a warm, beautiful Far Eastern world on a cold autumn day.

Where: Seydlitzstraße 6, Mitte
When: daily 8 am to midnight

More wellness in Berlin

Tip 4: Browse the bookstore

Bookstore Marga Schöller
Bookstore Marga Schöller © visitBerlin, Foto: Günter Steffen

There are those rainy autumn days that you'd prefer to spend with just a warm cup of tea and a good book under a cosy duvet. To prepare and have reading material to hand, we recommend a visit to Marga Schöller's cosy bookstore. The bookshop near Kurfürstendamm focuses on English literature. So you can combine the pleasant with the useful on long autumn evenings and brush up on your language skills for your next summer holiday.

Where: Knesebeckstraße 33, Charlottenburg
When: Monday - Wednesday 10am to 6pm, Thursday to Friday 10am to 7pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm

Our top 11 bookshops

Tip 5: Stroll through the flea market

Grammophone at flea market
Grammophone at flea market © Getty Images, Foto: ilbusca

Shopping in a decelerated way: A visit to the flea market is about much more than just buying more or less useful accessories. The journey is the destination. You browse, compare, haggle and chat. It's especially fun on a sunny autumn day in Berlin. The large antique market at Ostbahnhof, for example, is the perfect place for a beautiful autumn excursion: you can find almost anything here: art, books, stamps, furniture and records. Take some money with you: You certainly won't go home empty-handed with over a hundred dealers.

Where: Erich-Steinfurth-Straße , Friedrichshain
When: Sunday 8am to 4pm

More info about flea markets in Berlin

Tip 6: Go for a walk in the Grunewald

Umgebung Seehotel Grunewald
© JOCHEN ECKEL

The autumnal forest in Berlin is beautiful: with lots of colourful, rustling leaves. Just go out and enjoy it. Berlin is a green metropolis. The city offers numerous opportunities for a lovely forest walk. One of the most extensive forest areas in Berlin is the 3000-hectare Grunewald forest in the west of the city. It is also one of the most beautiful places in autumn. We recommend the Havelhöhenweg for an autumn excursion. The ten-kilometre trail takes you to the Grunewaldturm, among other places. Here you have a great view of the autumn-coloured forest. Afterwards, you can fortify yourself in the Grunewaldturm restaurant, which invites you to enjoy hearty cuisine or coffee and cake, depending on the time of day.

Where: Havelchaussee 61, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

When: Monday - Friday from 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday - Sunday : 11 am to 8 pm

Our top 11 autumn walks in Berlin

Tip 7: Drink tea the Tajik way

Moroccan Mint Tea
Moroccan Mint Tea © Getty Images, Foto: viennetta

The Tajik Tea Room is one of those hidden places in the centre of Berlin that will immediately transport you to another world. While the autumn leaves fall to the ground outside, you can make yourself comfortable on colourful cushions inside and forget all about time for a few hours. A special highlight are the fairy tale evenings in the restaurant with tea and Russian and Central Asian cuisine. Very important: book a table at least two days in advance. That way you can be sure that the Tajik tea room has a place for you.

Where: Oranienburger Str. 27, Mitte
When: Monday 4pm to 9pm, Tuesday - Friday 4pm to 10pm, Saturday 12pm to 10pm, Sunday 12pm to 9pm

More about cafés in berlin

Tip 8: Fly a kite

kite flying in Berlin
kite flying at the Tempelhofer Feld © Lichtschwärmer, Foto: Christo Libuda

Autumn tips for Berlin would be incomplete without the Tempelhofer Feld. The former airport site in Tempelhof is of course no longer an insider tip. In winter, spring, summer and autumn, it is one of the most popular excursion destinations in Berlin. But you can rediscover it in autumn in particular. How about flying a kite in the huge park? Because it's so much fun and the wind on the field is so good, the annual kite festival in September attracts up to 100,000 visitors to Tempelhof. But the park is also beautiful in October and November: for people and for kites. It is always open until sunset.

Where: U-Bahn stations Platz der Luftbrücke, Paradestraße, Tempelhof-Schöneberg or Leinestraße, Neukölln
When: October 7am to 7pm, November 7am to 6pm

More info about Tempelhofer Feld

Tip 9: Revel in the colours at Madame Tussauds

Visitors with wax figure Beyonce at Madame Tussauds Berlin
© Madame Tussauds Berlin

When it's grey and rainy outside, a dip in a sea of colour is just the thing. At Madame Tussauds in Berlin, you can not only meet celebrities such as Shawn Mendes, George Clooney or Taylor Swift, but you can also pose with them. Go to an awards party, travel back in time to Babylon Berlin and the Roaring Twenties, meet your favourite football stars, walk the catwalk for Heidi Klum or take part in a crime scene. And of course you can also take cool selfies in the different themed worlds. A good mood is guaranteed.

Where: Unter den Linden 74, Mitte
When: Monday from 10 to 15.30, Tuesday - Sunday 10 am - 7 pm

Tickets for Madame Tussauds

Tip 10: Take a trip back in time to divided Berlin

tourists taking pictures at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin
Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin Friedrichstraße © visitBerlin, Foto: Artfully Media, Sven Christian Schramm

The fall of the Berlin Wall will mark its 35th anniversary on 9 November. For children and young adults, divided Berlin is only history that they never experienced themselves. If you want to experience the city before the fall of the Wall today, TimeRide Berlin allows you to travel back in time with VR glasses (virtual reality). State-of-the-art technology transports you to Berlin in the mid-1980s. Immerse yourself in the city near Checkpoint Charlie. This is where you start your virtual city tour, which includes a personal checkpoint at the zone border. You will experience a Berlin long gone, in which the Palace of the Republic in Berlin-Mitte still exists.

Where: Zimmerstr. 91, Mitte
When: Tuesday - Saturday 10.30am to 5.30pm, Sunday 10.30am to 3.30pm

Tickets for TimeRide Berlin

Tip 11: Experience neighbourhood cinema at the Kulturfabrik

At the box office
At the box office © Getty Images, Foto: Denkou Images

Berlin has many good cinemas. The one in the Moabiter Kulturfabrik is particularly inviting and extremely cosy: with comfortable, fabric-covered cinema seats. If you love films, an autumn trip should take you to the Filmrauschpalast at some point. A sophisticated film programme awaits you here. The cinema shows both film classics and current films that are well worth seeing. Delicious popcorn is of course also available.

Where: Lehrter Straße 35, Mitte

When: Monday - Friday from 10 am to 4 pm

More about cinemas and film festivals