Strandbad Wannsee

Bathing at Wannsee began informally in the 1900s and the lido was formalised and then rebuilt between 1929 and 1930 to a design by Martin Wagner and Richard Ermisch in the New Objectivity style, a long low terraced building in brick and concrete facing the water; it is a listed building. The beach runs about a kilometre and is sand brought in by barge, originally from the Baltic coast, because the natural shore is not sandy. Strandkörbe, the hooded two-seat wicker beach chairs of the German coast, are hired in rows. It is one of the largest inland lidos in Europe and holds several thousand people.

What you actually see

• The 1930 buildings - a listed New Objectivity terrace facing the lake.
• The imported sand - a kilometre of beach barged in from the coast.
• The Strandkörbe - hooded wicker beach chairs hired in rows.
• The scale - one of Europe's largest inland bathing places.

When to go

May to September; it opens seasonally and is packed on hot weekends, when queues form at the entrance. The water warms slowly in early summer.

Honest expectations

It closes outside the summer season. Hot weekends are extremely crowded. The lake water quality varies and is posted at the entrance.

Nearby

Pfaueninsel lies west; Potsdam is southwest.