Wannsee

Nikolassee S-Bahn, then a 10 minute walk through the woods (follow the crowds). Wannsee is the largest inland beach in Europe, and you’ll know it on a hot Saturday. Arrive early to avoid the long slow lines to get in, and plan for about an hour trip by S-Bahn from the Friedrichstrasse station. This has everything that US beaches don’t: unsupervised slides waaay out in the water, a huge naked section, imbisses selling beer and wurst (and in combination in the imbiss where you can buy ice cream naked), and a pleasantly landscaped green space on a hill above the beach. It’s scheduled to undergo renovations to the trashed-out concrete beachside pavillions in 2007, we think.