Grunewald features numerous magnificent villas of different styles, including country house style, Art Nouveau, English Tudor, and Wilhelminian style. There are several large landscaped gardens as well as embassies, post-war apartment buildings, and luxurious post-modern mansions. In the 1920s, Grunewald was home to entrepreneurs, politicians, and many stars and celebrities.

Many celebrities still live in Grunewald today. Some of their luxurious properties extend right up to the Grunewald forest. Some of the most famous current and former residents of the neighborhood are Romy Schneider, Ingeborg Bachmann, Else Lasker-Schüler, Michael Ballhaus, Walter Benjamin, Artur Brauner, Harald Juhnke, Hildegard Knef, Lyonel Feininger, Curd Jürgens, Jeannette Biedermann, Sarah Connor, and Olli Schulz.

The city highway Avus cuts through Grunewald. On the western side of the highway is Grunewald forest, a classic Berlin pine forest with a small proportion of mixed forest. Its border to the west is the river Havel. This area is home to the Grunewald Palace Hotel (Schlosshotel Grunewald), housed in Palais Pannwitz and built in 1913. Also in the area are the Grunewald Tower, Teufelsberg, and Teufelssee lake.

The southern part of the area is where the lakes Grunewaldsee, Krumme Lanke, and Schlachtensee are located. The latter belongs to the district of Zehlendorf. The north of Grunewald has two lakes as well: Dianasee and Hundekehlensee.