Spandau is older than Berlin. It was granted town rights in the thirteenth century, and its people still say they are going to Berlin when they cross into the city centre. The old town sits at the confluence of the Havel and the Spree, and its great fortress, the Zitadelle, is one of the best-preserved Renaissance fortifications in Europe, a star-shaped stronghold with bastions, a moat and the medieval Juliusturm, where the German imperial war treasure was once stored.
The name Spandau also recalls a darker chapter. The Allied prison here held Nazi war criminals after the Nuremberg trials, and Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, was its last inmate. After his death in 1987, the prison was demolished to prevent it becoming a shrine.
This finish lies in the northern part of the district, near Hakenfelde and Haselhorst, where the Havel widens into lakes and forests line the shore. The Spandau forest, to the north, is a large area of pine and oak, and the riverbanks are popular with walkers and anglers.
Coming back from Potsdam and the Havelland, the roads run along the Havel through forests and villages, with fine views of the river. The final stretch into Spandau can be slow, with traffic lights, cobbles and tram lines in places.
Do not just skirt the place. Ride into the old town, leave the bike near the market square and walk the few lanes of half-timbered and baroque houses, then across to the citadel moat as the light goes. Fuel and food are plentiful; atmosphere, in Berlin's suburbs, is rarer.