Day trips from Berlin

Werder/Havel 40 minutes west from Berlin Central Station

Visiting in spring time the Blumenblütenfest in Werder

Almost next door Einsteins Summer House in Caputh am Schwielowsee

Little Video

Also option to Potsdam and then by boat to Werder or/and Caputh

Recommended day trips by VisitBerlin.

Very special tip is Lübars - a real old village still with village character, inside Berlin city limits.
Close to it you will find outskirt Frohnau which is a chance to enjoy an outer part of Berlin with Berliners only. Zeltinger Platz is your destination there. Back is also very easy and fast with S-Bahn.

We took a day trip by train out to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. It was Germany's first such work camp.

We also went down to Dresden--a fabulous museum town--for the weekend. It was about 2 hours by train. It was perhaps the most beautiful city in Europe before the end of WWII. It was much more of the old style German city than the present Berlin.

The Saxony region and the Elbe River is quite mountainous and a place we will return to. We liked it much better than Berlin.

Info: Concentration camp Dachau was opened 3 years earlier (1933) than Sachsenhausen (1936). It was the prototype of such camps - originally built for political opponents, not for Holocaust purpose.

For a day trip, how far do you want to go?

There are numerous places to do a day trip from Berlin, say, within 60-90 mins radius. I suggest Potsdam not only the guided bus tour but after that take the river cruise on the Havel...only locals or German visitors do that. It's a lovely serene experience seeing Potsdam from the Havel, eg, the famous Prussian site Schloss Babelsberg. I finally did this Havel river ride last summer.

I would suggest doing a "day trip" within Berlin itself, seeing the eastern suburbs /districts ie, Karlshorst, Koepenick, , etc, basically those areas east of Alexanderplatz. Very enlightening and historically and culturally revealing.

For a small town I would suggest doing a day from Berlin the town of Rheinsberg, both historically and culturally revealing and interesting, besides relaxing. I went there pre-pandemic and refurbishing was going on then with regard to the Schloss.

I am also looking for a small town to visit from Berlin. We are spending 4.5 days in Berlin, so we don’t want to travel more than 90 minutes one way and don’t want an overnight trip. We are looking forward to spending time in Berlin this summer, but my teenage children asked to see a classic old German town. Medieval time period would be preferred if possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

"...to see a classic old German town." You mean close or relatively close to Berlin? If so, then I would recommend from the standpoint of architecture from the Middle Ages the town of Prenzlau.

I have seen several of these places in the countryside in the greater Berlin area, ie, to the south of Berlin and to the northwest., these rural towns in Brandenburg....enlightening and an eye-opener, sociologically and historically.

Medieval time period would be preferred if possible

Are your kids aware that medieval age ended around more than 500 years ago? By adding the info that since this time period areas around Berlin experienced around eight severe wars (worst for buildings was WWII with bombing) plus city fires let us talk about the chances to find a whole small old town with buildings from this time which survived these centuries. Some citites in wider area are happy to still exist (have a look at history of Magdeburg).

Another one is that medieval age was not as homogenous as the one word. So World Heritage Places for old towns will look very differently - and somehow like your children do not expect. Example: The Hanseatic League was one of the dominating forces (no state) with he most power. Their old towns from around this time look are more famous for red-brick gothic.

Solution options:

1. Take one of the close towns with old elements, e. g. Potsdam or Bernau. They are listed in this thread and the links (esp. VIsitBerlin) above.
2. You consider more travel time and explore (maybe with one night) the UNESCO World Heritage old towns Goslar, Lübeck, Wismar or Stralsund (last 3 Hanseatic League). All are absolutely worth the travel effort - likely Goslar will meet your children's expectations most.
3. The smallest option: show your children Spandau Citadel and close little old town elements of Spandau.