Parks, lakes and Grillen: the best picnic spots in Berlin

The best picnic spots in Berlin are its big open parks and lake shores — Tempelhofer Feld for sheer space, Volkspark Friedrichshain for shade and history, the Tiergarten for a central green, and lakes like Schlachtensee for a swim with your sandwiches. The one rule that catches people out: a blanket and a basket are welcome almost everywhere, but lighting a barbecue is only legal in a handful of officially designated, signposted zones. Pick a lawn, pack for the weather, and the only thing missing is the people to share it with.

The short version:

Most space: Tempelhofer Feld in Tempelhof/Neukölln — Berlin’s biggest open park (~355 ha on a former airport), with three official barbecue areas.
Best all-rounder: Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin’s oldest public park (52 ha, planned from 1840), with shade, the 1913 Märchenbrunnen fountain and a reservable barbecue lawn.
Most central: the Großer Tiergarten (210 ha), a five-minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate.
Picnic plus a swim: Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke in the Grunewald, or the lake beaches of Wannsee and Weißensee.
Picnic with a show: Mauerpark on a Sunday — flea market and the legendary Bearpit Karaoke in the amphitheatre.
The catch: barbecuing is banned in most green spaces and only allowed in designated zones; a quiet blanket picnic is fine almost anywhere. The harder part is rounding up people to go — on MITRA you send a picnic request to people near you, and whoever’s free that day says yes.

The best picnic spots in Berlin: the parks
Picnics by the water: lakes and canals
Can you barbecue in a Berlin park? The Grillen rules
What to pack for a Berlin picnic
When to go: season, timing and beating the Sunday crowds
Mauerpark on a Sunday: the picnic that comes with a show
Why a picnic is the easiest way to actually see people in Berlin
How to find people for a picnic in Berlin
How we chose
Frequently asked questions

The best picnic spots in Berlin: the parks

Berlin’s parks are the heart of its picnic culture, and the city has an unusual amount of green to spread a blanket on — roughly a third of Berlin is parks, forest, water and farmland. The choice comes down to what you want from the afternoon: raw space and sunsets, leafy shade, a central spot near the sights, or a lawn you can legally barbecue on. Here are the parks worth crossing town for.

Park	District	Best for	Barbecue?
Tempelhofer Feld	Tempelhof / Neukölln	huge skies, sunsets, space to roam	Yes — 3 designated areas
Volkspark Friedrichshain	Friedrichshain	shade, history, all-rounder	Yes — reservable lawn (Neuer Hain)
Großer Tiergarten	Mitte	central, near the sights	Picnic yes; check current grill rules
Görlitzer Park	Kreuzberg	lively, young, central east	Yes — 2 designated areas
Viktoriapark	Kreuzberg	the view + a waterfall	No — blanket picnic only
Mauerpark	Prenzlauer Berg	Sunday market + karaoke	Yes — designated fireproof zone

Tempelhofer Feld is the one to beat for sheer scale. It is Berlin’s largest open park — about 355 hectares on the site of the former Tempelhof Airport, which reopened to the public as parkland in 2010 — and the flatness that made it an airfield now makes it the city’s best place to watch a sunset run the full width of the sky. You can sprawl anywhere on the meadows, and barbecuing is allowed in three designated areas near the Tempelhofer Damm, Oderstraße and Columbiadamm entrances. It’s the same wide-open expanse Berliners use for a long ride or a cycling meetup, a kickabout on the Bolzplätze and skating the old runways — so a picnic here can easily fold in an activity.

Volkspark Friedrichshain is the best all-rounder and a piece of city history: it’s Berlin’s oldest public park, decided on by the city council in 1840 and laid out later that decade, and at 52 hectares it’s the fourth-largest park in the city after Tempelhofer Feld, the Tiergarten and Jungfernheide. It gives you what the Feld can’t — proper tree shade on a hot day — plus the storybook 1913 Märchenbrunnen (Fairy Tale Fountain) with its Brothers Grimm sculptures, two rubble hills to climb for a view, and a designated barbecue lawn in the Neuer Hain section.

The Großer Tiergarten is Berlin’s central park: 210 hectares of inner-city green laid out as an English-style park by Peter Joseph Lenné in the 1830s, wrapped around the Victory Column and a short walk from the Brandenburg Gate. It’s the obvious pick when you want a picnic close to the centre rather than a trek out east — wooded paths, the Neuer See with its rowing boats and beer garden, and quiet lawns tucked away from the main avenues.

Found your lawn? Now find your people. Get MITRA and line up a few friends for a picnic this weekend: Google Play · App Store

Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg is the loud, young, central-east option — scruffy in places but genuinely social, with two designated barbecue areas (one on the lawn opposite the artificial-turf sports field, one across from the sledging hill) and a constant churn of people. Viktoriapark, also in Kreuzberg, is the one to climb: the Kreuzberg hill is the highest natural elevation in central Berlin at 66 metres, topped by Schinkel’s neo-Gothic national monument, with a 19th-century replica mountain waterfall tumbling down the slope and a tiny working vineyard. No barbecuing here, but the view back over the city from a blanket near the top is one of the best free things to do in Berlin.

Young adults picnicking and swimming at a tree-lined Berlin lake shore

Picnics by the water: lakes and canals

A lakeside picnic is the quintessential Berlin summer, because the city and its surroundings are stitched with swimmable lakes you can reach by S-Bahn. Berlin has dozens of officially designated, water-quality-monitored bathing spots, so a “picnic” here often means a blanket, a swim, and drying off in the sun in alternation. The classic pairing is the Grunewald twins, Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke — long, clean, tree-lined lakes on the southwest edge of the city, both a short walk from their own S-Bahn stations, ringed by paths and shallow entry points. They sit inside the Grunewald forest, which means shade and quiet, but also that open fires and barbecues are off-limits there for fire-safety reasons.

For a beach feel, Strandbad Wannsee is the giant: one of the largest inland lidos in Europe, with over a kilometre of imported sand. Weißer See in Weißensee is the easy northeastern option with a lawn, a lido and ice cream within reach, and Plötzensee is the compact, central-north choice. If your idea of a picnic is more “feet in the water with a cold drink,” the banks of the Landwehrkanal in Kreuzberg and Neukölln — especially around the Maybachufer, home to the Tuesday and Friday Turkish market — are where half of Berlin ends up on a warm evening. Pair a lake picnic with a swim and an open-water buddy and you’ve got the whole day sorted.

Can you barbecue in a Berlin park? The Grillen rules

Barbecuing — Grillen, a serious summer ritual in Germany — is not allowed across most Berlin parks and green spaces; it is only legal in specific, signposted barbecue areas designated by the city. This trips up a lot of newcomers who assume any big lawn is fair game. The reasoning from the city is fire risk and smoke nuisance to residents, so the rule is the opposite of what you might expect: a blanket picnic is fine almost anywhere, but a disposable grill is banned unless you’re standing in a marked Grillzone.

The reliably permitted zones include Tempelhofer Feld (three areas near the Tempelhofer Damm, Oderstraße and Columbiadamm entrances), Volkspark Friedrichshain (the Neuer Hain lawn, where the official area was extended with 46 fireproof stone slabs and now requires a free online reservation), Görlitzer Park (two lawns, as above), and Mauerpark (a designated fireproof zone, with barbecuing allowed from noon to 8pm in June and September and until 9pm in July and August). The catch worth repeating: districts can suspend a barbecue permit at short notice in dry spells or after damage, so always check the current status on the city’s official barbecue-areas page before you haul a grill across town. When in doubt, bring food that needs no fire — Berlin’s bakeries, Spätis and Turkish markets make a no-cook spread effortless.

The fire’s optional; the company isn’t. Round up a few people for a barbecue or a blanket picnic on MITRA: Google Play · App Store

What to pack for a Berlin picnic

A good Berlin picnic needs almost nothing bought specially — a blanket, shade-friendly food, water, and a bag to carry your rubbish back out. The single most Berlin move is to stock up at a Späti (the late-opening corner shops on practically every block) or a market on the way: cold drinks, bread, cheese, olives, fruit and a bag of ice. For something more local, the Turkish markets on the Maybachufer (Landwehrkanal) and at Maybachufer’s weekday stalls sell cheap fresh produce, flatbread, dips and stuffed vine leaves that travel perfectly.

Pack as if the weather will change, because in Berlin it often does: a light layer for when the sun drops, and something waterproof under the blanket if the grass is damp. Bring more water than you think — many parks have drinking-water fountains but they’re not everywhere — and a roll of bin bags. Berliners are increasingly strict about leaving no trace, and on a busy Sunday the bins overflow fast, so carrying your own waste out is both polite and, in nature reserves and around the lakes, expected. If you’re planning to grill, bring your own disposable barbecue, tongs, a bottle of water to douse the coals, and a spot in a designated zone — never balanced on the grass.

When to go: season, timing and beating the Sunday crowds

Picnic season in Berlin runs roughly May to September, and the sweet spot is a weekday evening or a Sunday afternoon, when the city empties outdoors. Because almost all shops close on Sundays in Germany, Berliners treat Sunday as the default outdoor day — parks fill from early afternoon, and the best shaded spots near the lakes go first. If you want a prime lakeside patch at Schlachtensee or a tree on the Tiergarten lawns on a hot Sunday, arrive before 1pm or accept that you’ll be social-by-proximity with everyone else.

Long June and July evenings are the secret weapon: this far north, summer daylight stretches past 9pm, so a post-work picnic still gets you hours of golden light. Weekday evenings on Tempelhofer Feld, where the flat horizon makes the sunset enormous, are the calmest way to enjoy the city’s biggest park. It’s also when the outdoor yoga sessions and evening run crews come out, so an after-work picnic can double as a way to catch a free class or a jog. Avoid the immediate aftermath of a heatwave if you’re hoping to grill — that’s exactly when districts tend to suspend barbecue permits.

Mauerpark on a Sunday: the picnic that comes with a show

Mauerpark on a Sunday is less a picnic spot than an event, and it’s the one every visitor should do once. The park sits on the former route of the Berlin Wall — Mauerpark literally means “Wall Park” — between Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding, and since 2004 it has hosted Berlin’s most famous flea market every Sunday, roughly 9am to 6pm, with stalls of vinyl, vintage clothes, furniture and street food. You can absolutely lay a blanket on the slope, barbecue in the designated zone, and make a day of it.

The highlight is the Bearpit Karaoke: in February 2009 the Irish expat Joe Hatchiban wheeled in a battery-powered karaoke rig and started inviting strangers to sing in the park’s stone amphitheatre. It’s been a Sunday-afternoon institution ever since — hundreds of people packed into the “bear pit,” cheering on whoever’s brave enough to grab the mic, usually from around mid-afternoon in the warmer months. Bring a blanket, get there early for a seat on the steps, and you have a picnic with a built-in show and a thousand instant companions. It’s the purest example of the thing Berlin parks do best: turning strangers into an afternoon.

A picnic is the lowest-effort, lowest-pressure way to spend real time with people in Berlin, which is exactly why it’s worth being deliberate about. There’s no booking, no skill level, no cost barrier and no ticking clock — you put a blanket down and people can drift in, stay an hour or stay till dark. Compared with meeting for a single coffee, where the format quietly demands constant conversation, a picnic lets talk rise and fall around food, a frisbee, a swim, a game on the park ping-pong tables. The shared activity carries the social weight so you don’t have to.

That matters here more than in many cities. A lot of people in Berlin arrived from somewhere else, for work or study, and rebuilt their lives without the ready-made circle they grew up with — full calendars, plenty of acquaintances, but few easy, recurring, no-agenda hangouts. A standing summer picnic is a near-perfect fix: it’s cheap, it scales from two people to twenty, and a “come by the Feld around six” invitation is far easier to say yes to than a planned dinner. The parks are already full of people doing exactly this. The only genuinely hard part is the first move — having someone to text in the first place.

How to find people for a picnic in Berlin

The simplest way to find people for a picnic in Berlin is MITRA: you open the app, send a picnic request to people near you, and whoever’s free and up for it accepts — then you agree on a park and a time together. MITRA doesn’t pair you off automatically or pick your group for you; you choose who to reach out to, and they choose whether to say yes. It’s built for exactly this kind of plan, where the spot is easy and the only missing ingredient is a few other humans on the blanket.

That fits a picnic better than almost any other activity. You’re not recruiting a team or filling a guest list — you want one, two or a handful of people, roughly free this Sunday, happy to bring some bread and sit on the grass. Say you’re heading to Tempelhofer Feld for the sunset or to Schlachtensee for a swim-and-snack, mention whether it’s a quiet blanket or a full Grillen, and meet the people who say yes. Because it’s request-based on both sides, the people who turn up are the ones who actually wanted to come — which is the whole point of a good picnic.

Don’t wait for someone to invite you. Send a picnic request to people nearby on MITRA and turn a free Sunday into a plan: Google Play · App Store

If a picnic turns into a craving for something more active, the same parks have you covered — from a swim with an open-water partner to a long ride across the Feld or a day hike out to the Grunewald lakes. Pick the spot; the people are the part MITRA helps with.

How we chose

We cross-checked Berlin’s picnic and barbecue spots, park sizes and the official Grillen rules against the City of Berlin’s parks-and-gardens and grilling-areas pages, visitBerlin, and the Tempelhofer Feld site in June 2026, and verified the lake and bathing-site details against the city’s official park listings. Barbecue permits, opening times and reservation rules change by season and district and can be suspended at short notice — always confirm on the city’s official page before you go.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the best picnic spots in Berlin?

The best picnic spots in Berlin are its big parks and lake shores. Tempelhofer Feld offers the most space and the biggest sunsets, Volkspark Friedrichshain adds shade and history, and the Großer Tiergarten is the most central. For a picnic with a swim, head to the Grunewald lakes Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke, or the beaches at Wannsee and Weißensee. Görlitzer Park and Kreuzberg’s Viktoriapark round out the central picks.

Can you barbecue in Berlin parks?

Only in designated, signposted barbecue areas. Barbecuing is banned across most Berlin parks and green spaces to limit fire risk and smoke, but the city marks specific Grillzonen where it is allowed — including parts of Tempelhofer Feld, Volkspark Friedrichshain, Görlitzer Park and Mauerpark. A quiet blanket picnic with no fire is fine almost anywhere. Always check the city’s official barbecue-areas page first, because permits can be suspended at short notice in dry weather.

Do you need a reservation to barbecue in Berlin?

In some places, yes. The official barbecue lawn in Volkspark Friedrichshain (Neuer Hain), which was extended with 46 fireproof stone slabs, now requires a free online reservation. Other zones, such as those on Tempelhofer Feld and in Görlitzer Park, are first-come on the marked areas. Rules differ by district and change seasonally, so confirm the current reservation and opening details on the City of Berlin’s official grilling-areas page before you go.

Which Berlin lakes are best for a picnic and a swim?

Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke in the Grunewald are the classic pairing — long, clean, tree-lined lakes a short walk from their own S-Bahn stations. For a beach feel, Strandbad Wannsee is one of the largest inland lidos in Europe, and Weißer See in Weißensee is an easy northeastern option. Note that open fires and barbecues are not allowed in the Grunewald forest around Schlachtensee and Krumme Lanke for fire-safety reasons.

Is it legal to drink alcohol in Berlin parks?

Drinking alcohol in public spaces, including parks, is generally permitted in Berlin, which is why a beer or a bottle of wine is a normal part of a Berlin picnic. The expectation is simply to be considerate: keep the noise down in the evening, don’t leave broken glass, and take all your rubbish with you. Some specific sites or events can have their own restrictions, so watch for posted signs at lakes and nature reserves.

When is picnic season in Berlin and what’s the best time to go?

Picnic season runs roughly from May to September. The calmest times are weekday evenings and early Sunday afternoons. Because shops close on Sundays in Germany, Berliners head outdoors, so popular shaded and lakeside spots fill from early afternoon — arrive before 1pm on a hot Sunday for a prime patch. Long June and July evenings, with daylight past 9pm, make after-work picnics on Tempelhofer Feld especially good for the sunset.

What should I pack for a Berlin picnic?

A blanket, food that survives the heat, plenty of water, a layer for when the sun drops, and a bag to carry your rubbish out. The easy local move is to stock up at a Späti (corner shop) or a market on the way — bread, cheese, fruit, olives and cold drinks. If you plan to grill, bring your own disposable barbecue, tongs, and water to douse the coals, and use only a designated barbecue zone.

Where can I buy picnic food in Berlin on a Sunday?

Most supermarkets close on Sundays in Germany, but Spätis (late-opening corner shops) stay open and stock drinks, snacks and basics on nearly every block. Bakeries often open Sunday mornings, and shops at major train stations trade on Sundays too. For fresh produce, flatbread and dips, the Turkish market on the Maybachufer runs on weekdays rather than Sundays, so it’s a great stop on the way to a weekday-evening picnic.

What happens at Mauerpark on Sundays?

Mauerpark hosts Berlin’s most famous flea market every Sunday, roughly 9am to 6pm, with stalls of vinyl, vintage clothes and street food. The highlight is the Bearpit Karaoke, started in February 2009 by the Irish expat Joe Hatchiban, where hundreds of people fill the park’s stone amphitheatre to cheer on strangers singing, usually from mid-afternoon in summer. You can lay a blanket on the slope, barbecue in the designated zone, and make a full day of it.

How do I find people to picnic with in Berlin?

The simplest way is MITRA: you open the app, send a picnic request to people near you, and whoever’s free and up for it accepts — then you agree on a park and a time together. MITRA doesn’t pair you off automatically; you choose who to reach out to, and they choose whether to say yes. It suits a picnic perfectly, because the spot is easy to find and the only missing part is a few other people on the blanket.

Sources

Berlin.de (official, Senate Department) — Grilling Areas in Berlin: https://www.berlin.de/en/parks-and-gardens/2431087-4407152-grilling-areas-in-berlin.en.html
Berlin.de (official) — Volkspark Friedrichshain (Berlin’s oldest public park, 52 ha, planned 1840, Märchenbrunnen 1913): https://www.berlin.de/en/parks-and-gardens/3560363-4407152-volkspark-friedrichshain.en.html
Berlin.de (official) — Viktoriapark (Kreuzberg hill 66 m, waterfall, Schinkel monument): https://www.berlin.de/en/parks-and-gardens/3560783-4407152-viktoriapark.en.html
visitBerlin (official Berlin tourism) — Tiergarten (210 ha, Lenné, central park): https://www.visitberlin.de/en/tiergarten
visitBerlin (official Berlin tourism) — Barbecuing in Berlin: https://www.visitberlin.de/en/barbecuing-berlin
Tempelhofer Feld (Grün Berlin, official) — Barbecue rules and designated areas: https://www.tempelhoferfeld.de/en/service-infos/besuch-planen/barbecue-rules/
Berlin.de (official) + visitBerlin — Tempelhofer Feld: former airport, ~355 ha, reopened 2010: https://www.berlin.de/en/parks-and-gardens/
Wikipedia (citing Bearpit Karaoke history) — Mauerpark flea market since 2004; Bearpit Karaoke begun February 2009 by Joe Hatchiban: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauerpark

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