James-Simon-Park

James-Simon-Park stretches along the bank of the Spree in Berlin's Mitte district. Museum Island and Hackescher Markt sit close by, and the dome of the Berlin Cathedral stands out in the distance. Do you need a break from sightseeing or work? Locals and visitors take it here, in one of the city's liveliest quarters.

The park remembers James Simon, a Berlin entrepreneur and art patron of the nineteenth century. He backed the arts and gave numerous artworks to the city's museums. The calm here is recent: the Circus Busch-Roland and the Börse finance office stood on this spot until the late 1930s. The ground also once belonged to the larger Monbijoupark, which lies nearby with an outdoor swimming pool for children. A redesign in the 2000s created this green space, and the naming followed on 23 May 2007, seventy-five years after Simon's death.

On a summer afternoon, numerous trees offer the shade that makes the park a quiet escape. Sit here for a while and you rest where a circus once stood, with the dome and the Spree before you.