5 Best Sights in Neukölln, Berlin

Of all Berlin’s many transformations, this one—from airport to park—might be the quickest. The iconic airport (it was the site of the 1948–49 Berlin airlift) had its last flight in 2008. Only two years later, it opened as a park, complete with untouched runways. It's now one of the city’s most beloved and impressive outdoor spots, where bikers, skaters, kite flyers, urban gardeners, picnickers, and grillers all gather. You can explore the Nazi-era airport buildings on a two-hour tour (book online), and there are also frequently rotating exhibitions and lectures on the airport's history at the visitor center to the left of the main entrance. You can also visit the former traffic control tower (THF Tower) for city views along with the exhibition "100 Years of Tempelhof Airport."

Two blocks west of gritty, noisy Karl-Marx-Strasse, this small, beautifully landscaped park, built in the 1910s, resembles a French chateau garden. Today it remains something of a hidden treasure, cherished by locals but barely known to outsiders. At one end of the park, water cascades down several steps of a multitiered fountain into a round pool; at the other end you'll find the stately former orangerie, which now houses a gallery and café, and presents a concert every Sunday in summer.

Every Berlin neighborhood has a Heimatmuseum, which literally translates as “homeland museum” and which acts as a repository for local lore and history. Most are dusty, ill-frequented places, but not the Museum Neukölln, which not only has gone above and beyond in terms of design and organization, but also might be Berlin’s most technologically advanced museum. Its permanent exhibition, “99 x Neukölln” is a wonderful grab bag of objects, both old and new, that represent the neighborhood, displayed in cases equipped with computer touch screens that tell each object's history, context, and connection to other objects in the room. The museum is on the grounds of Schloss Britz.

Back when this part of Neukölln was a Bohemian village, Richardplatz was its center, and today the square appears virtually untouched by time. Half-timber houses line one side, and some of the grandest turn-of-the-century apartment buildings face them on the other. It's worth exploring the lanes and alleyways running off the square and its extension, Richardstrasse; you’ll turn up some secret gardens and hidden buildings along the way. This square is the location of one of the city’s most charming Christmas markets, which takes place annually on the second weekend of Advent (usually either the first or second weekend in December): craftsmen and churches sell knitwear, candles, and all sorts of edible goodies under the light of old-fashioned gas lamps.

In a city dotted with lakes, pools, and thermal baths, this is one of the most attractive public bathing spots, a neoclassical beauty built in 1914 and renovated in 2009. Even if you don’t plan on taking a dip, it’s worth a peek: the unremarkable, gray concrete exterior, which seems designed to ward off tourists, conceals two stunning swimming halls, their pristine pools lined with columns and decorated with elaborate mosaics and gargoyles spouting water. To make the most of it, get a day pass for the pools and multiple saunas. Monday is women-only day in the sauna and Sunday evenings are nude-only (FKK).