Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg

Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg is a public city park of roughly 72 acres (29 hectares) at the eastern edge of the neighborhood, where Prenzlauer Berg meets Hohenschönhausen and Lichtenberg. Its heart is a rubble hill with a double summit. After 1945, around 15 million cubic meters of debris from the destroyed city center around Alexanderplatz were dumped here on what had been a landfill site. Rubble and spoil arrived by truck and even by a dedicated debris streetcar. The artificial rise that resulted reaches 298 feet (90.9 meters) above sea level at its highest point, putting it among the higher spots in Berlin.

The park was officially dedicated in 1969 and has been steadily greened ever since. Today it is a quiet, very local green space far from the tourist routes. From the open crests you look out over the rooftops of Prenzlauer Berg, and on clear days the view reaches the TV tower. The curving paths suit running, Nordic walking and long walks, while the unplanted slopes are among the most popular kite-flying spots in the area come fall.

Families get a children's playground plus an adventure playground that has been there since 1997. Birdwatchers do well too: more than 50 species have been documented in the park. A winter tip: as soon as snow falls, the gentler slopes turn into the neighborhood's favorite sledding runs. Since the park sits away from the famous sights, it pairs naturally with a wander through the cafés and streets of Prenzlauer Berg.