Swimming here runs on two seasons. In summer the outdoor pools and lake beaches open, with paddling pools, slides, diving towers and lawns big enough for a whole-day picnic. When it turns cold, the indoor pools take over, several with slides and shallow non-swimmer pools for younger kids. Here's what we checked, from the paddling pool at Kinderbad Monbijou to the indoor beach at Tropical Islands.
A nearly 100-year-old public pool, reopened after a partial renovation. The ground floor has a 53-meter slide and a toddler area with its own small slide, massage jets, bubblers and a paddling pool. An outdoor pool has a current channel.
Upstairs is a 25-meter lane pool with 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards, a learner pool and a saltwater pool.
A public pool complex run by Berliner Bäder. The indoor hall has a 50-meter pool with 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards and a shallow non-swimmers' pool with a kids' slide.
In summer the outdoor side opens with two 50-meter pools, a paddling pool, another slide, a big lawn and a playground. In winter an inflatable dome covers the outdoor pools for extra swimming space.
Stadtbad Neukölln is a public indoor pool more than a hundred years old, with two halls lined by 7-meter columns, arcades and mosaics. The big hall holds a 25-meter pool and the small hall a 19-meter pool, and both have a shallow non-swimmer area. Depth runs from 65cm to 2.4 meters.
It suits kids who can swim and want room, and younger ones happy in the shallow end.
Tropical Islands fills a former airship hangar with a South Sea pool the size of three Olympic pools, a 200-meter sandy beach, a lagoon with a grotto and waterfall, and a rainforest. The 27-meter slide tower is the tallest in Germany.
Toddlers get Kraki Beach, a splash area with a giant pink octopus, and the Tropino Kids' Club has climbing frames, trampolines and soft play.
A children's pool run by Berliner Bäder in Monbijoupark, a short walk from the Spree. It has two pools: a paddling pool 20 to 35 cm deep, and a 25-meter non-swimmers' pool up to 1.3 meters deep.
A lawn for lying out, a playground and a snack kiosk sit around the water. It suits families with small kids; strong swimmers will outgrow it fast.
The Prinzenbad is a big public pool between the Landwehrkanal and Prinzenstraße station, with two 50-meter pools for lap swimmers. Kids head for the large non-swimmer pool with its slide and water mushroom, the shallow paddling pool, and a playground with a splash area.
Wide lawns leave room for a picnic, and the snack bar is a local institution.
Sommerbad Pankow is a public summer pool with a 50m lane pool and a diving pool with 3m, 5m and 7.5m towers. Kids head for the two slides, a high-speed slide, and a leisure pool with a current channel and water cannons, while toddlers have their own paddling pool.
Sunbathing terraces on six levels sit under three shade sails, and there are ping-pong tables and a snack bar.
Strandbad Wannsee is the largest inland lake lido in Europe: 1.2 km of sandy beach on the Wannsee, backed by listed modernist buildings.
Families rent wicker beach chairs (Strandkörbe), and the sports and play area has a playground, beach volleyball courts and a football pitch. There is a snack bar, and a separate nudist (FKK) section.
Swimming here runs on two seasons. In summer the outdoor pools and lake beaches open, with paddling pools, slides, diving towers and lawns big enough for a whole-day picnic. When it turns cold, the indoor pools take over, several with slides and shallow non-swimmer pools for younger kids. Here's what we checked, from the paddling pool at Kinderbad Monbijou to the indoor beach at Tropical Islands.
A nearly 100-year-old public pool, reopened after a partial renovation. The ground floor has a 53-meter slide and a toddler area with its own small slide, massage jets, bubblers and a paddling pool. An outdoor pool has a current channel.
Upstairs is a 25-meter lane pool with 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards, a learner pool and a saltwater pool.
A public pool complex run by Berliner Bäder. The indoor hall has a 50-meter pool with 1-meter and 3-meter diving boards and a shallow non-swimmers' pool with a kids' slide.
In summer the outdoor side opens with two 50-meter pools, a paddling pool, another slide, a big lawn and a playground. In winter an inflatable dome covers the outdoor pools for extra swimming space.
Stadtbad Neukölln is a public indoor pool more than a hundred years old, with two halls lined by 7-meter columns, arcades and mosaics. The big hall holds a 25-meter pool and the small hall a 19-meter pool, and both have a shallow non-swimmer area. Depth runs from 65cm to 2.4 meters.
It suits kids who can swim and want room, and younger ones happy in the shallow end.
Tropical Islands fills a former airship hangar with a South Sea pool the size of three Olympic pools, a 200-meter sandy beach, a lagoon with a grotto and waterfall, and a rainforest. The 27-meter slide tower is the tallest in Germany.
Toddlers get Kraki Beach, a splash area with a giant pink octopus, and the Tropino Kids' Club has climbing frames, trampolines and soft play.
A children's pool run by Berliner Bäder in Monbijoupark, a short walk from the Spree. It has two pools: a paddling pool 20 to 35 cm deep, and a 25-meter non-swimmers' pool up to 1.3 meters deep.
A lawn for lying out, a playground and a snack kiosk sit around the water. It suits families with small kids; strong swimmers will outgrow it fast.
The Prinzenbad is a big public pool between the Landwehrkanal and Prinzenstraße station, with two 50-meter pools for lap swimmers. Kids head for the large non-swimmer pool with its slide and water mushroom, the shallow paddling pool, and a playground with a splash area.
Wide lawns leave room for a picnic, and the snack bar is a local institution.
Sommerbad Pankow is a public summer pool with a 50m lane pool and a diving pool with 3m, 5m and 7.5m towers. Kids head for the two slides, a high-speed slide, and a leisure pool with a current channel and water cannons, while toddlers have their own paddling pool.
Sunbathing terraces on six levels sit under three shade sails, and there are ping-pong tables and a snack bar.
Strandbad Wannsee is the largest inland lake lido in Europe: 1.2 km of sandy beach on the Wannsee, backed by listed modernist buildings.
Families rent wicker beach chairs (Strandkörbe), and the sports and play area has a playground, beach volleyball courts and a football pitch. There is a snack bar, and a separate nudist (FKK) section.
