Spandau

This western town, which imprisoned Nazi Rudolf Hess until the mid-1980s, has been swallowed up by a growing Berlin. Baroque in design, Spandau's town center developed where the Spree and Havel rivers meet. Historically, the town protected Berlin from aggressors, and today it invites tourists to visit the galleries of its 16th-century Zitadelle fortress. Although part of Berlin, Spandau residents treat the large city like a separate entity, often delighting in their own charmingly nostalgic shops and businesses.