Hotel Concorde Berlin Blog

Top 10 things to do in Berlin this summer (I)

Berlin has so much to offer during the summer months, so we’ve put together a list of our highlights to help you out. Scroll down for part I…

Berlin Cathedral Crypt ©Klaus Dietmar Gabbert

1) Visit the royal crypt below the Berlin Cathedral, which is home to tombs belonging to five centuries of the German and Prussian royalty (the Hohenzollern family). The varying styles and materials of the tombs, many of which are topped with crowns, makes for a fascinating study in burial culture. The best bit is that the crypt is wonderfully cool!

Badeschiff: Berlin's only floating swimming pool ©Torsten Seidel

2) Go for a dip! Whether in one of Berlin’s many, many lakes (Teufelssee, Wannsee and Weißensee are all good) or in an open-air pool. Our favourite is the Badeschiff, the city’s only floating swimming pool on the River Spree, which was recently voted the second best beach bar in the world. Closer to the hotel, the Stadtbad Schöneberg is highly recommended and has an outdoor bathing area in the summer, and the diving boards at the former Olympic Stadium are also worth a visit.

Kater Holzig in Berlin

3) Dance until sunrise at one of the city’s many open-air party venues. There’s Kater Holzig, of course, where you can dance to some of the best DJs in town on the banks of the River Spree. Sisyphos is a less central and well-known alternative, and recommended if you’re worried about getting past Kater Holzig‘s notoriously stuck-up bouncers. Weekend is classier and easily has one of the best views in the city – the chic electro club is located on the top three floors of a high-rise building at Alexander Platz. During the summer months, you can watch the sunrise from their large terrace on the 15th floor. Clustered around the north-eastern tip of the Landwehr Canal is Chalet, with its colourful grotto-style garden, Club der Visionäre and the aforementioned Badeschiff, which stays open past midnight at the weekends.

Sommerkino Kulturforum ©YorckKinogruppe

4) Visit an open-air cinema! Check out our guide to Berlin’s open-air cinemas in 2013. Our favourite is the Sommerkino Kulturforum, with its state of the art equipment and magnificent backdrop, but the best for English-language films is the Freiluftkino Kreuzberg.

Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam