Tiergarten Guide

Tiergarten covers roughly 210 hectares in the middle of Berlin, between the Brandenburg Gate, the government quarter, Potsdamer Platz and the Zoo. It began as a royal hunting ground and was reshaped as a landscape park in the nineteenth century. It is a working park, used for running, cycling and picnics, and the walk below crosses it from east to west in about two hours, with stops. It links neatly with the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Holocaust Memorial, all on its edge.

1. Brandenburg Gate. Start on the park side, under the gate, where the tree-lined avenue begins.
2. Soviet War Memorial. A short walk along Straße des 17. Juni, a monument from 1945 with two old tanks, a quiet reminder of the Red Army's role in the city's capture.
3. Straße des 17. Juni. The wide avenue that cuts the park in two. Follow it west, then step off onto the paths to your left for shade.
4. Haus der Kulturen der Welt. The curved roof of this building earned it the nickname "the pregnant oyster". Its terrace faces a reflecting pool and a bronze sculpture by Henry Moore.
5. Schloss Bellevue. The German president's official residence, a pale neoclassical palace that you can see only from the outside.
6. Rose Garden and Luiseninsel. A formal garden near the lake, then a small wooded island with a flower bed, among the prettiest spots in the park.
7. Neuer See. A lake with rowing boats in the warmer months, and a beer garden that fills up on dry summer evenings.
8. Victory Column. At the Großer Stern roundabout, a gilded angel on a tall column, the one monument you can climb for a view over the treetops.
9. Zoologischer Garten. Leave the park on its western side, at the Zoo, for the S-Bahn or a coffee on Kurfürstendamm.

When to come and what to skip

Come on a dry morning, in late spring or early autumn, and use the time between sights, not as one. Early mornings are quiet; weekends fill with cyclists. The paths are unlit at night, so avoid the park after dark. We would skip the walk in heavy rain, and not try to see all of it, since the central avenue and the lake are enough for a first visit.