Go niche

The idea of urban camping is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, bringing to mind visions of crouching under canvas all night with a broken bottle poised to fend off drunks.

In Berlin, however, there is a camping option that is on its way to becoming a true urban legend. Tentstation is a disused outdoor swimming complex on a leafy two-acre plot in the Mitte/Tiergarten district of central Berlin, a five-minute walk from Central Station.

While awaiting the wrecking ball these past few years, the locals have turned it into a campsite.

Open from April to September, it has space for 125 tents plus a limited number of caravans and camper vans. There are toilets, showers and sinks, plus facilities for washing and drying clothes.

But the location is the key. Tentstation is a 15-minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag and 15 minutes by public transport from Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

Camping is €11 per person per night, and its €4 more to rent a tent.

www.tentstation.de