Berlin Botanic Garden

The garden moved to Dahlem between 1897 and 1910 and covers about forty-three hectares with around twenty thousand plant species, making it one of the three or four largest botanic gardens in the world. The Grosses Tropenhaus of 1907, sixty metres long and about twenty-five high, is among the largest glasshouses anywhere and was built without internal columns using a steel frame; it holds a giant bamboo and a rainforest planting. The Arboretum and the geographical section arrange plants by region rather than by family, with sections representing the Alps, the Caucasus and other ranges as landscape rather than beds. A herbarium and museum sit alongside.

What you actually see

• The great tropical house - a column-free 1907 glasshouse sixty metres long.
• The geographical sections - plants arranged by region as landscapes.
• The species count - around twenty thousand species on forty-three hectares.
• The botanical museum - the only museum of its kind in central Europe.

When to go

April to October for the outdoor sections; the glasshouses make winter visits worthwhile. Closing times change monthly with daylight. It is large and needs hours.

Honest expectations

The site is very large with a lot of walking. Some glasshouses close in rotation for restoration. It is a research garden, labelled accordingly.

Nearby

Dahlem's museums are close; central Berlin lies northeast.