Tiergarten and the Victory Column

The Tiergarten is the green heart of Berlin, a park of woods, meadows, lakes and streams that stretches from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag in the east to Zoo Berlin and City West in the west. It began as a royal hunting ground for the Electors of Brandenburg, was turned into a landscaped public park in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and was almost completely stripped during the hard winters after the Second World War, when Berliners cut down its trees for firewood and planted vegetables in the clearings. It was replanted in the decades that followed, and today it feels mature, wild in places and wonderfully peaceful, considering it sits in the middle of a capital city. At its centre, on the roundabout called the Grosser Stern, rises the Victory Column. Designed by Johann Heinrich Strack and begun in 1865, it commemorates the Prussian victories over Denmark, Austria and France that led to German unification, and it is crowned by Friedrich Drake's gilded statue of Victoria, the goddess of victory, whom Berliners call Goldelse. The column originally stood in front of the Reichstag and was moved to its present position in 1939 as part of the Nazi plans for the capital. It stands around 69 metres high, and a spiral of 285 steps leads up to a viewing platform just below the statue, from which the long straight avenues of the park radiate towards the Brandenburg Gate, Charlottenburg and the government quarter. You reach the column through pedestrian tunnels under the roundabout. Admission to the platform costs a few euros, payable in cash only, and the park itself is free, with paths for walking and cycling, the Neuer See lake with its boat hire and beer garden, and the Soviet War Memorial on the Strasse des 17. Juni.

How to plan your visit: the Victory Column is open daily, from 9:30am until early evening in summer and until late afternoon in winter, and closed on 24 December. Bring cash for the small admission fee. The climb is steep and narrow, with no lift, so it is not suitable for anyone with limited mobility or a fear of heights. The park is open at all times and free; bus 100 crosses it and stops at the Grosser Stern, and S-Bahn stations at Tiergarten and Bellevue are nearby. Allow an hour for the column and as much time as you like for the park.

Getting the most from it: climb the column first, on a clear day, to see the layout of the park and the city, then walk east along the Strasse des 17. Juni to the Soviet War Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate, or head south-west through the woods to the Neuer See, where you can hire a rowing boat in summer and stop at the lakeside beer garden. Look out for Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of the German President, on the northern edge, and for the Carillon near the House of World Cultures. In summer the meadows fill with Berliners sunbathing and picnicking; in autumn the colours are spectacular.

Who it suits and what to pair it with: first-time visitors who want a break between the big sights, couples looking for a romantic walk and a boat on the lake, and families, who will enjoy the space, the boats and the climb with older children. The park links many of the city's highlights, so pair it with the Reichstag dome and the Brandenburg Gate at its eastern end, the Panoramapunkt at Potsdamer Platz to the south, and Zoo Berlin and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church to the west.