Route description of the GENERALI VeloCity Berlin 2023

60K and 100K cycling routes through the capital and the state of Brandenburg.

At the cycling event GENERALI VeloCity Berlin, you will enjoy an attractive loop course again in 2023: That means: 60 or 100 kilometres through the German capital and the federal state of Brandenburg without having to watch out for car traffic. You will have everything that pleases the cyclist's heart. Let's go and get riding! 

Several course highlights along the first kilometres

The cycling event for everyone will start in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate in the direction of the Victory Column. From there, Goldelse (“Golden Else” on the Victory Column) will send you westwards along Otto-Suhr-Allee, Spandauer Damm (passing Charlottenburg Palace) and Charlottenburger Chaussee towards Spandau. At the historically protected fort, Teltower Schanze, (at about kilometre 10), you will make a major change in direction and atmosphere as you head south.

Cycling idyll and cycling history

Rejoice! You now get to enjoy an absolutely wonderful section of the course: the spectacular Havelchaussee, an idyllic change from the first 10 kilometres through the urban jungle. The course now runs for about 17 kilometres through the Grunewald forest. You can take a moment to turn things down, or to see what all you can urge out of yourself and your bike. The Chaussee is not only exciting because of its maritime views, but at the so-called "Willi", the Kaiser Wilhelm I Memorial Tower, the highest point of the route is also reached.

In 1987, this Karlsberg mountain was also the site of the mountain classification of the Tour de France, which started in what was then West Berlin. After about 21 kilometres, the southernmost tip of the 60-kilometre course is reached.

Further along popular cycling routes

You can now give your chain a real boost on another prominent Berlin cycle route, the wooded roads Kronprinzessinnenweg and Hüttenweg. After a few brisk kilometres, you'll head south again along Onkel-Tom-Strasse before the course turns abruptly to the east. Argentinische Allee leads you past the Free University of Berlin into the villa district of Dahlem, where you will have about 30 kilometres on your wheels. About one and a half kilometres further on, on Königin-Luise-Strasse, you will find the refreshment point—a suitable place to fill up with energy—at a petrol station.

On the course of the marathon

Refreshed, the route continues past the Botanical Garden and Steglitz Town Hall. Steglitzer Damm takes you to kilometre 36. Here your path takes another turn, heading north towards the Tempelhof district. To the right of your handlebars you will see the former Tempelhof Airport, whose once runways are now used as a park and leisure area. Incidentally, the buildings of the airport grounds serve as an EXPO area for sporting events such as the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, which, like GENERALI VeloCity Berlin, are organised by SCC EVENTS.

Looking ahead towards regeneration

Now Katzbachstrasse takes you into the Kreuzberg district, past the namesake hill “Kreuzberg” in Viktoriapark. To your left, the Park am Gleisdreieck slowly creeps into your field of vision. On the wasteland of the former Anhalter and Potsdamer freight station, capital city dwellers enjoy sports or chill in the evening sun. Maybe this is a spot for you to regenerate after this cycling event. But first you have to keep going, always north, past the German Museum of Technology, over the Möckernbrücke, past the Tempodrom, casting  your eyes upwards on the World Balloon.

At the easternmost point via Strausberger Platz

The World Balloon is a helium-filled balloon with a world map printed on it that rises with its guests to 500 metres for a perfect view. Just before you reach the balloon, turn right onto Kochstrasse. Here you will find yourself in the immediate vicinity of the former border crossing Checkpoint Charlie (at about kilometre 44). Via Moritzplatz, you'll find yourself in the heart of Berlin's nightlife. Passing famous clubs like Kitty, Sage and Tresor, you will reach Strausberger Platz, the easternmost point of the course, after crossing the Michaelbrücke bridge.

Architecture and the path to the finish

Next is the monumental Karl-Marx-Allee with all its socialist "charm", the Berlin TV tower always in view. If you want to speed up, you can hit the pedals here, but if you want to enjoy the architectural spectacle of Berlin, you can relax a bit and take it all in. After a right turn, the SoHo House marks the beginning of Torstrasse, where tourists, hipsters, advertisers and other creative people meet in cafés.

Your pedals will take you along the legendary Friedrichstrasse to the famous theatre, Friedrichstadt-Palast. This revue theatre with one of the largest stages in the world clearly signals that you are heading back to the west. Along the Spree, leaving the Futurium and Berlin Central Station on your right, you return via Moabit to the Victory Column, where you head into your 60-kilometre finish with a view of the Brandenburg Gate.

Leaving Berlin

At kilometre 30, the course splits: the 60-kilometre course [PE1] continues through the German capital (as described above), while the 100-km cyclists head south out of the city via Thielstrasse and Habelschwerdter Allee. Before the 100-kilometre route enters the state of Brandenburg, it heads west after Drakestrasse onto Finckensteinallee, past the Federal Archive. To the south, Mühlenstrasse and Machnower Strasse lead the cyclists out of Berlin.

Border crossing at the cycling race

At kilometre 38, the route crosses not only the border between the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, but also the former inner-German border. Here a small road sign points to the route of the Berlin Wall, which has belonged to history since November 9, 1989. You are entering the so-called Speckgürtel (bacon belt) of Berlin. Zehlendorfer Damm leads you through Kleinmachnow in the direction of the town of Stahnsdorf.

This area is very popular, and many Berliners have ventured out of Berlin into the "suburbs". The number of inhabitants has risen steadily since the turn of the millennium and is expected to continue growing in the coming years.

By bike towards Potsdam

Along the Bäkedamm and Potsdamer Allee, the route now leads through Stahnsdorf, the home of RSV Eintracht 1949, one of the largest sports clubs in the state of Brandenburg. 3,000 members demonstrate their skills in almost 20 different sports. Leaving the sports-crazy town, the course winds its way towards the state capital Potsdam before heading east along Friedenstrasse to Güterfelde. An obelisk at the Soviet memorial cemetery commemorates the victims of the Second World War who lost their lives in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Cycling through Brandenburg

Now here's a section of the route that gives you the opportunity to get to know the beautiful countryside a little bit better. The next section takes you along 14 idyllic kilometres through Brandenburg. As is typical for Brandenburg, the route is very flat, ideal for really getting into the groove. Through many forests and fields, you will reach the southernmost point of the 100 km route. This is in Ahrensdorf—and you have already completed more than half of the course. 

Back in the German capital

After a short detour past Ludwigsfeld railway station, the route continues northeast for 8 kilometres to Grossbeeren.  There you turn onto Bundesstrasse 101 and can catch a glimpse of the Grossbeeren water-ski track on the right-hand side. The main road leads you through the Grossbeeren industrial region. Now follow the last 4 kilometres back to the Berlin-Brandenburg border.

Back in Germany's largest metropolis, Bundesstrasse 101 leads you for 5 kilometres through the Mariendorf district. After turning onto Rathausstrasse, and shortly afterwards onto Ringstrasse, you will rejoin the 60-kilometre route on Attilastrasse. From there, it is less than 22 kilometres to the finish.