Tiergarten

The Tiergarten was a royal hunting ground, opened to the public and landscaped from the eighteenth century into an informal park of about two hundred and ten hectares in the middle of the city. In the winters after 1945 almost all of its trees were felled for firewood and much of the ground was dug for vegetable plots; replanting began in 1949 with saplings donated from across Germany and from abroad, and the park visible now is essentially that replanting grown up. The Victory Column stands at the centre on a roundabout, moved there in the 1930s, with a viewing platform reached by two hundred and eighty-five steps.

What you actually see

• The replanted park - trees grown from donated saplings after 1949.
• The Victory Column - a column with a platform reached by 285 steps.
• The Englischer Garten - a landscaped section with a teahouse.
• The open lawns - used freely for barbecues and gatherings in summer.

When to go

April to October; the park is used heavily for barbecues on summer weekends. The Victory Column platform is open year-round in fair weather.

Honest expectations

The park is a postwar replanting, so the trees are younger than the layout suggests. The column climb is stairs only. Summer weekends are crowded.

Nearby

The Brandenburg Gate lies east; the zoo is at the western end.