Berlin is usually a city you can visit any time — its big draws don't expire. 2026 is the exception: a stack of major exhibitions with hard end dates, including a Centre Pompidou collection that leaves the country for good on August 9. The year it pays to time your trip.

Berlin has no coastline, but it has roughly 50 swimmable lakes inside the city limits — most of them free, most reachable in under 45 minutes on an ordinary transit ticket. An honest guide to Schlachtensee, Wannsee, Müggelsee, and which one to actually pick.