How to Spend 3 Days in Berlin - A Local’s Itinerary
Although I was born and raised in the UK, I’ve been living in Berlin for almost a third of my life (17 years!), so there’s no question that the German capital feels like home by now.
Having run a local travel website for much of that time, as well as writing many articles and guides (print and online), it’s safe to say I know the city very well - both its inner core and many of the outlying areas too, since I love to explore.
One of the things I most enjoy about living here is that the city is so multi-layered and diverse that there’s always more to discover and something new springing up. It feels like you can never run out of things to see and do here, whether that’s exploring the foodie scene, partying, visiting the abundant cultural attractions, or discovering the green forests and beautiful lakes that surround the city.
The wealth of attractions here means that it’s fairly easy to get friends from different countries to come visit, especially in summer when things are most accessible and the vibe is open and welcoming. And of course, when my friends do swing through town, I love putting together itineraries for us.
All that said, it should be obvious that there’s no way you can see everything Berlin has to offer in just three days. Even so, the itinerary that I’ve worked out here aims to at least give you a taste of the diversity that this city has to offer, covering many of the well-known tourist sites along with a sprinkling of local flavor.
I’ve packed quite a lot in - realistically, it’s more than you’ll feasibly be able to do - but that means you get to make your own decisions about what to drop and keep so that you’re not tied to one simple itinerary.
I’ve built the plan mostly around walking since Berlin is flat and great for that, but public transport is also an option, providing a quick and convenient way to move about the city. And then there are always bikes around for hire and an absolute wealth of protected cycling lanes on which to ride them!
Okay, now let’s get into the itinerary!
Berlin planning cheatsheet
My favorite hotels in Berlin
- Adlon Kempinski - My top choice for luxury in Mitte. $400-550/night
- Mandala Suites - Contemporary style overlooking the Gendarmenmarkt. $200-250/night
- Hotel Oderberger - Lovely boutique property in Prenzlauer Berg. $200/night
- Bob W Apts - Nice serviced apartments in Kreuzberg. $140-225/night
- Indigo East Side - Design hotel near Friedrichshain's nightclubs. $140-200/night
- MotelOne Hackescher Markt - Great value midrange choice in Alexanderplatz. $100-200/night
- Old town Hotel - Basic, but comfortable and a good deal in Prenzlauer Berg. $110/night
Guided tours and activities
How to get around
- Car rentals with DiscoverCars
- Urban metro routes (U-bahn and S-bahn) via BVG and Moovit App
- Train tickets at Deutsche Bahn (DB)
Itinerary overview
Day 1:
Orient yourself in the city center and visit some of the most iconic sights, including the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and the Holocaust Memorial. In the afternoon, stroll Unter den Linden and take in Museum Island or enjoy a boat tour. In the evening, explore the buzzy streets that spiral out from Hackescher Markt, such as Oranienstraße and Alte Schönhauser Allee.
Day 2:
Explore traces of World War Two and the Cold War, two profoundly formative events for the city. Start in Friedrichshain, exploring the communist boulevard named after Karl Marx before winding up at Alexanderplatz. In the afternoon, visit Checkpoint Charlie and the former headquarters of Hitler’s feared Gestapo, before enjoying dinner and cocktails around Friedrichstrasse.
Day 3:
Enjoy a day in Charlottenburg, the beating heart of West Berlin. Begin at the historic area around Zoologischer Garten and explore the legendary shopping boulevard Kurfürstendamm (Ku’damm) and sights such as the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Visit the Schloss Charlottenburg, some museums and photo galleries in the afternoon, then dine on the Kantstrasse before a jazz show.
Optional 4th day:
If you have an extra day to spare, you have some neat options like getting into some of the hipper residential neighborhoods like Kreuzberg and Neukölln, visiting the royal city of Potsdam, or exploring the lakes and forests around Grunewald.
Things to know when planning your visit
Is three days really enough time?
Three days is suitable for a decent introduction to Berlin. It allows you to see many of the main sights - the Brandenburg Gate, the TV Tower, Checkpoint Charlie - but also to get beyond those and experience more of the residential areas, the parks and nightlife, the lakes and gastro scene.
Berlin being a city that keeps on giving, an extra day is always recommended if you have one spare. You can use it to get down to Potsdam or to explore the wonderful forests and lakes that many visitors never get to experience.
How to get around the city
Berlin’s public transport network is one of the most efficient and accessible in Europe and the mix of trains, trams and buses will get you to almost any place within the inner city within 30-40 minutes.
The most efficient mode of transport for the center is the U-Bahn or metro, which is mostly underground but with overground sections too. It has ten lines that are supplemented in East Berlin by a tram network too and around the city by buses and the S-Bahn (the main overground service), whose Ringbahn service encircles the inner city in both directions (S41 and S42). The S-Bahn also connects to bus, tram and U-Bahn services and goes beyond the center alongside regional (RE) train services.
On weekends the U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains run intermittently all night, but on weekdays, night buses pick up the slack once the trains shut down around 1 am.
There are three key fare zones to remember: A (the city center), B (the outskirts of Berlin), and C (surrounding areas like Potsdam and Schönefeld Airport). Tickets are valid across all forms of transport and range from single-ride and day passes to weekly and monthly options. Paper tickets must be validated before boarding - look for the small validation machines on stations or inside the trams and buses - and mobile tickets can be purchased through the BVG app.
Bike-sharing and e-scooter services are widely available and bikes can also be taken onto some (but not all) trains though you’ll need to buy a special ticket for them.
Where to stay
Where you choose to stay can make a big difference in how you experience a city as sprawling as Berlin.
While Mitte (the city center) is a popular central base for many first-time visitors, it also gets the lion’s share of tourists. With that in mind, I’ve included some additional neighborhoods below that are also central but have a more residential feel.
For a more detailed guide that includes a few other neighborhoods, check out my article on where to stay in Berlin.
Mitte: This sprawling city-center borough houses the majority of the city’s main sights such as Checkpoint Charlie, Museum Island, Alexanderplatz, Brandenburg Gate, and the Memorial to Murdered Jews. It’s perennially popular with visitors, especially during the summer or holiday periods.
Prenzlauer Berg : One of the most prettily gentrified of the inner-city neighborhoods, Prenzlauer Berg is known for its high concentration of young and middle-aged families, charming and lively squares like Helmholtzplatz and Kollwitzplatz, and a vibrant cafe and restaurant scene.
Friedrichshain : A slightly grungier version of Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain is popular with students and clubbers as well as young families and locals. It has more in the way of nightlife, including the RAW Gelände and techno temple Berghain, and is also home to the Stalin-era Karl-Marx Allee boulevard and the East Side Gallery.
Kreuzberg: Probably the hippest inner city district, Kreuzberg is a lively mix of locals, a large Turkish and Middle Eastern population, and Western expats. There are great bars, restaurants and live music venues in the eastern part, while the western side is more sedate and well-heeled.
Charlottenburg: Charlottenburg is a kind of western version of Mitte - commercial and tourist friendly with a slew of sights that includes the Berlin Zoo and Aquarium, famous shopping boulevard Kurfürstendamm and a bunch of great museums and galleries.
The map below shows a selection of hotels that I recommend across some of my personal favorite neighborhoods.
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Day 1: City center and iconic sights
The plan today is to get an introduction to the city and some of its history while orienting yourself with the city center. The morning will be spent at Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag Building, and the sobering Holocaust Memorial.
In the afternoon, we’ll stroll along Unter den Linden and explore Museum Island, and maybe take a boat tour. The evening is free to get drinks and catch vibes around Hackescher Markt and the trendy area known as the Spandauer Vorstadt.
The Brandenburg Gate
Morning
Brandenburg Gate
For your first day in Berlin, we’re starting the morning at one of the city’s most iconic sights - the Brandenburg Gate. This is the gate that has seen it all, from Napoleon and his armies stealing the famous Quadriga on the top (the Prussians won it back later) to the Nazis using it as a backdrop for their sinister torchlit parades, and a front row seat for the Cold War since the Berlin Wall ran right between the gate and the Tiergarten behind it.
Originally inspired by the Acropolis in Athens, the glamorous structure and the square in front of it (Pariser Platz) are now mostly used as a setting for screenings, concerts, political demos and other events—as well as for a selfie or two.
The square right in front of the gate, Pariser Platz, is home to several interesting buildings, including a couple of embassies (France and the U.S.A), the head office of DZ Bank, the historic Hotel Adlon Kempinski hotel and - probably the most interesting spot for most tourists - the glass-fronted Akademie der Künste.
Despite the modern look, the institution was founded in 1696 and it hosts a prestigious archive, puts on several exhibitions per year, and has a pleasant café. It’s well-worth stopping into for a quick visit.
Reichstag
Located just around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate is another Berlin icon: the Reichstag, the building where the German government gathers to debate the business of the day. It’s also been through a lot, from being ‘mysteriously’ burned down in 1933 to being bombed and shot to pieces by Soviet troops when they liberated the city in 1945, and wrapped in fabric by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.
Today it’s seen as a symbol of a post-reunification Germany, especially the glass dome designed by British architect Sir Norman Foster that suggests political transparency.
It’s possible to take tours of the building, during which you can enjoy excellent views from atop the dome and even eat in the rooftop restaurant (Käfer). Just be sure to reserve a slot as far in advance as possible. On the other side of the building lies the Spree river and a string of postmodern buildings that make up the Regierungsviertel or Government Quarter.
The Reichstag
Holocaust Memorial
Also located behind the gate, but in the other direction to the Reichstag, is the National Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Designed by New York architect Peter Eisenman, it consists of around 3,000 grey oblong pillars (stelae), arranged at varying heights on an undulating floor to give a feeling of disorientation.
The memorial certainly has its critics, especially as it’s often used as a playground, selfie backdrop or hang-out area, but the information center below the memorial has a powerful exhibition that tells the story of the holocaust and its victims. Related memorials in the nearby Tiergarten are dedicated to other groups targeted by the Nazis, including homosexuals and Roma & Sinta people.
The Holocaust Memorial. Photo: Alexander Blum, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tiergarten Park & Potsdamer Platz
After touring the collection of monuments above, I’d suggest heading into the fabulous and expansive Tiergarten Park, which is right next to the Brandenburg Gate and has endless winding paths to explore, as well as meadows and gardens, memorials and statues, and other elements to discover. It’s a truly fabulous park.
A nice plan would be to walk through a part of the park on your way from the Holocaust Memorial to Potsdamer Platz, an enormous square that has oodles of glamorous history but is these days really just a bland ensemble of skyscrapers. One of them, the Kollhoff Tower, offers a viewing platform (and a café) at the top. Unless you go up in the tower, there’s not a ton to see here, so you an really just take a quick look and then move on.
Tiergarten park, with the Victory Column in the background. Photo: Marek Śliwecki, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The skyscrapers of Potsdamer Platz. Photo: Ansgar Koreng / CC BY-SA 3.0 (DE)
The Kulturforum
If you’re into art/culture and don’t care about the view from the tower, you might instead prefer to visit the neighboring Kulturforum, which is a collection of buildings/museums that includes the architecturally eye-catching Philharmonie concert hall as well as the excellent Gemäldegalerie (National Portrait Gallery).
A bit farther along, you’ll find the Neue Nationalgalerie, which was designed by Bauhaus master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and has an excellent collection of twentieth-century visual art as well as temporary exhibitions.
You certainly won’t have time to visit the concert hall and both museums, but could probably sneak in a quick visit to one of them before lunch.
The Neue Nationalgalerie on the Kulturforum. Photo: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
Afternoon
Lunch
After a very busy morning you’ll certainly be ready for lunch by now. For that, you have a couple of different options: From the Neue Nationalgalerie you can continue a little ways along Potsdamer Straße, where you’ll find a mix of casual and high-end restaurants. Joseph-Roth-Diele is a charming spot with a simple and affordable menu of schnitzel and pasta dishes.
Alternatively, you can head back over to the Brandenburg Gate area, which has a number of decent cafes and fast-food spots, along with some other nicer options. For a very fancy meal, Hotel Adlon’s Quarre brasserie, whose terrace looks right onto Pariser Platz is always a good choice.
Or you could grab something quick but tasty at Einstein (Unter den Linden #42), which has bagels as well as schnitzels in an elegant, wood-heavy interior.
A stroll along Unter den Linden
Wherever you end up for lunch, the next activity is a lovely walk along Unter Den Linden, Berlin’s most famous street, which runs for a bit less than a mile, stretching between the Brandenburg Gate and the city’s former Royal Palace.
In fact, it started life as the route to the royal hunting grounds, which later became the public Tiergarten Park. The name comes from the lime trees that were planted along each side in the seventeenth century, and it became an increasingly prestigious boulevard during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Devastated during World War Two, many of its finest buildings have been restored and can still be seen today, although the constant thrum of traffic and tourists means you’ll have to use your imagination to picture it as it was during its glamorous pre-war heyday.
Most of the sights listed below are to be found in the second part of the street, after the Unter den Linden U-Bahn station where Unter den Linden intersects with Friedrichstraße. I’ve listed them in the order that you’ll pass by them, so I think the below is a very nice guide to any walk along this famous street.
In most cases, you’re just going to be admiring these buildings/monuments from the outside, so the walk probably won’t take much more than an hour. If you decide to head inside the Palais Populaire or German History Museum (descriptions below), you should plan for an extra hour or two in total.
Looking out along Unter den Linden, with Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag in the distance. Photo: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
Here’s some of what to look out for along the walk:
Frederick the Great Statue - This massive bronze statue, almost six metres in height, sits right in the center of Unter den Linden and is hard to miss. Designed by Christian Daniel Rauch and created between 1839 and 1851, it depicts Frederick the Great, the most famous and progressive of the Prussian kings, on horseback.
Humboldt University - On the left hand side of the street quite close to the statue is the oldest university in Berlin, Humboldt University. It was founded in 1810 on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt and is worth taking a look at, if only to admire the striking courtyard and the two marble statues at the entrance of Wilhelm von Humboldt (holding a book) and his brother Alexander.
Neue Wache - Down the street from Humboldt is the “new guardhouse”, a neoclassical monument dominated by a huge Doric portico. Originally a royal guardhouse, it served as a memorial to the victims of fascism and militarism when it was part of East Germany.
Since 1993 it has been a memorial to all victims of war and dictatorship. If you peek inside, you’ll see a granite slab that sits on the remains of an unknown soldier, a resistance fighter and a concentration camp prisoner and below a circular opening in the roof (the oculus) is a copy of a poignant sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz entitled Mother with her Dead Child.
Bebelplatz - Opposite the Neue Wache is Bebelplatz, an elegant square made famous by the Nazis when they burned around 25,000 censored books here in 1933. It dates back to the eighteenth century, was renamed in 1947 in honour of social activist August Bebel, and today hosts several glamorous buildings such as the State Opera, Humboldt Library and the majestically-domed St. Hedwig’s cathedral.
A contemporary art installation relating to the book-burning (an empty library) can also be found on the floor of the square.
Palais Populaire: This baroque building was once a palace for princesses, and served the royal family until the abolition of the monarchy. Nowadays it has been remodeled and is used as a space for exhibitions of artworks from the Deutsche Bank Collection, hosting an “Artist of the Year” program, workshop concerts with members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and readings.
German History Museum: Just across the street from the Palais Populaire is the huge baroque former Zeughaus, a military armory that now houses the German History Museum. Showcasing 2000 years of German history in a European context, the main building is closed until the end of 2025 for refurbishments, but the modern building behind it, designed by I M Pei, is still open for temporary exhibitions.
This isn’t somewhere that most itineraries or Berlin city guides will mention, but it’s a unique museum and I think it offers a really nice introduction to German history (something that most visitors probably know almost nothing about!).
Humboltforum Palace
After the German History Museum, you’ll quickly reach the Spreekanal (a little offshoot of the Spree River) and the 19th-century Schlossbrücke bridge. Crossing the bridge will take you over to the Museum Island complex (more on this below) and the rebuilt Prussian-era Royal Palace, now known as the Humboldtforum.
The official home of the ruling Prussian Hohenzollerns for several centuries (until the end of the first World War, when Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated), it was partly destroyed in World War Two and its remains were pulled down by the GDR, who built their own Palast der Republik on the site. That palace was in turn pulled down after reunification, and this latest restoration only opened in 2020.
It contains exhibition rooms, museum collections, and several options for a coffee or snack, so is the perfect place to take a break after your stroll.
The Humboldtforum Palace. Photo: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
Berliner Dom Cathedral
Just across the street from the Humboldtforum is the immense Berliner Dom cathedral, which was built between 1747 and 1750. The family church of the Hohenzollerns up until 1918, its interior is every bit as dramatic as the outside, with a main hall featuring one of the largest organs in Germany (over 7000 pipes) and a vault with almost a hundred sarcophagi containing the remains of various Hohenzollern royals and Prussian kings.
The upper dome, accessed via 270 steps, has great views across the adjacent Museum Island and beyond.
The church is exquisite, so plan to spend a fair bit of time marveling at it, both inside and out.
Visit the museums on Museum Island
The UNESCO-heritage Museum Island comprises five different museums. Obviously you won’t have time to visit them all in less than an afternoon, so take a look and choose the one that suits you most. Making that choice slightly easier is the fact the Pergamon Museum - my personal favourite - is closed until at least 2027.
My second favourite is the Neues Museum, which was beautifully restored, with preserved war damage and all, by British architect David Chipperfield. It contains many treasures from Ancient Egypt, including the famous bust of Nefertiti, a Neanderthal skull and antiquities from Troy.
The Alte Nationalgalerie has a collection of nineteenth-century European masters, the Bode Museum hosts one of Europe’s most important sculpture collections, and the Altes Museum, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, has an exhibition focused on the art and culture of ancient Greece and a permanent exhibition of Roman and Etruscan art and sculptures.
The Bode Museum on Museum Island. Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Evening
Dinner and some exploring around the Hackescher Markt and Spandauer Vorstadt
When you’re done with the museums, leave the island, heading in the direction of Hackescher Markt. This area, known as Spandauer Vorstadt, is quite historic, but you might not realize that given how heavily it’s been developed (not in a bad way though): shops, bars, cafes, restaurants, theaters, and cinemas radiate out all along its principal streets: Oranienstrasse, Auguststraße and Alte-Schönhauser Allee.
You’ll find tons of places to eat and drink, so are absolutely spoiled for choice, but a great spot to check out is the beautifully restored Art Nouveau Hackesche Höfe, which is a cluster of 8 interconnected courtyards home to shops, restaurants, a cinema, theaters, and much more.
A few doors down, the grungier Haus Schwarzenberg, a cooperative art project with a dilapidated courtyard also has some cool spaces (an indie cinema, a cool bar hidden at the back) and some poignant museums relating to World War Two - namely, the Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt, the location where Weidt hid his Jewish employees behind a backless wardrobe, and the Anne-Frank-Zentrum.
Overall, this is a super fun area with a ton going on and it’s always very lively. So plan to explore it a bit, grab dinner, and then continue the fun at the bars.
Outdoor dining on Hackescher Markt. Photo: Victor van Werkhooven, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Day 2: World War II and Cold War History
On your second day in Berlin, we’ll explore some of the traces left behind from both World War II and the Cold War, two profoundly formative events for the city. We’ll start off in Friedrichshain, exploring the communist boulevard named after Karl Marx and Alexanderplatz, both of which feature many examples of East German history and architecture.
In the afternoon, we’ll visit Checkpoint Charlie and the former headquarters of the feared Gestapo, staying in the center for the evening.
Looking down Karl-Marx-Allee with the Frankfurter Tor towers in the foreground. Photo: Ruslan Taran, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A walk down Karl-Marx-Allee, from Frankfurter Tor to Alexanderplatz
Beginning at Frankfurter Tor, the impressively broad square flanked by monumental soviet-looking buildings, we’ll then stroll along Karl-Marx-Allee, a grand street which was initially known as Stalin-Allee but changed to honor Karl Marx following the de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union.
Built in the early 1950s to showcase socialist ideals and now under heritage protection, it contains all kinds of fascinating architectural and historical elements from the 1950s and 1960s, including the two looming ‘wedding cake’ style towers at Frankfurter Tor. Along its almost two kilometer length, you’ll find contemporary art galleries, design shops and museums, and a sprinkling of cafes and restaurants.
Here’s what to be on the lookout for as you make your way along the street:
Hochhaus an der Weberwiese
The very first building on the street, this one can be found just behind it, on the left hand side as you’re heading towards Alexanderplatz. It was constructed between 1951-52 and was not only the first skyscraper in East Berlin, but also the first example of Socialist Classicism in the GDR. It still serves as a residential building today but look out for the quotation above the door from Bertolt Brecht, who returned to live in East Germany after being exiled during the war.
Computerspielemuseum
A Computer Games Museum is probably the last thing you’d expect on a communist boulevard, but hey, this is Berlin. It’s actually the first European museum for video and computer games and has been here since 2011. There’s a connection to the GDR inside, since its 300 exhibits include some popular games from that era, as part of a showcase of several decades of gaming culture, right up to 3D simulators.
Most visitors probably don’t need to visit the museum, but if you’re a big gamer, it can be good fun.
Old gaming systems in the museum. Photo: Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kino International
One of the most eye-catching buildings on the street, as well as by far the most popular one given its ongoing usage, this large, blocky cinema was a GDR landmark when it opened with state-of-the-art facilities in 1963.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, it’s closed for renovation until 2026 but it’s still worth taking a close look at the exterior fresco, which depicts a utopian vision of the future, featuring an engineer, a manual laborer, and other socialist tropes. Across the street is Café Moskau, a former speciality restaurant that’s used today as an event space.
The Kino International movie theater. Photo: Matthias Süßen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Café Sibylle
As you pass over the vast roundabout of Strausberger Platz (which is about the halfway point of your walk), you’ll find this unassuming retro café on your left hand side. Open since 1953, it’s a veritable institution with a time-warp atmosphere, vintage furnishings and decor, and a surprisingly local clientele. A former ‘milk bar’, it now functions as a regular cafe, but also hosts an interesting museum about the origins and development of the Karl-Marx-Allee.
Haus des Lehrers & the Berlin Congress Center (BCC)
From Café Sibylle, you’ll soon spot the towering, 12-story ‘House of the Teacher” (Haus des Lehrers) and, on the other side of the road, a futuristic-looking congress hall with a distinctive cupola (the BCC). Both were built in the early sixties by architect Hermann Henselmann.
The former has a colorful mosaic wrapped around it, entitled “Unser Leben” (“Our Life”) by Walter Womacka, and it’s actually one of the largest pieces of art in Europe. The latter building now serves as the Berlin Congress Center, and is, as you might be able to guess, a big conference center.
Haus des Lehrers and the BCC. Photo: Andreas Steinhoff, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
Alexanderplatz
Continue just a few steps further down Karl-Marx-Allee and you’ll reach Alexanderplatz, one of Berlin’s biggest and most famous squares. This bustling square was once the beating heart of East Berlin and it still carries more than a faint whiff of that heritage, especially in the tall buildings that surround it, some of which still feature murals, friezes, and mosaics from the optimistic heyday of the regime in the 1950s and 1960s.
Originally the site of a cattle and wool market, the square was later named after Tsar Alexander I, who visited Berlin in 1805. It was much more elegant at this time, with a magnificent showpiece colonnade. By the time of Alfred Döblin’s famous 1929 novel, “Berlin Alexanderplatz”, it was a busy meeting point with grand department stores and other buildings.
All but destroyed in the war, it gradually became the East German hub it resembles now. Look out for the World Clock and Fountain of Friendship Between Peoples, and, of course, the literal highlight, the TV Tower.
Fernsehturm (TV Tower)
Overshadowing every building on Alexanderplatz, the TV Tower is an unmissable (and useful) landmark and the highest structure in Western Europe thanks to its 368m-high transmitter. Built as a proud symbol of East Berlin in the 1960s, many West Berliners derided it and pointed out that when sunshine reflects off the tower’s globe it forms a visible cross, which they dubbed “the pope’s revenge” as a reference to communist atheism.
The tower’s observation platform has tremendous views on a clear day and is one of those touristy things that is popular for a reason: it’s fantastic and absolutely worth going up in. There are various tickets available, some of which will help you dodge the lines. There’s also a slowly-revolving restaurant up at the top, which you can dine in if you want.
Alexanderplatz with the TV tower rising up behind it. Photo: Wiliam Capraro, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rotes Rathaus (City Hall)
Located just behind Alexanderplatz, the Rotes Rathaus is the name given to the city’s distinctive red-brick city hall. Decidedly grandiose, with a 74-meter tower, it has a really cool terracotta bas-relief running around the building that illustrates episodes from the history of Berlin.
If you head inside, you can climb the grand stairwell and check out the building’s handsome halls and portraits of honorary Berliners.
The Rotes Rathaus (“Red Town Hall”). Photo: ArildV, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nikolaiviertel
A short hop from the Rotes Rathaus, the compact and curious network of streets known as the Nikolaiviertel represents the oldest district in Berlin. Not much of its medieval origins is left, since it was destroyed in the war, but it’s a very curious spot because it was rebuilt by the GDR authorities in the early 1980s using prefabricated construction techniques.
Hence the cutesy buildings, which house a mix of souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants, most of which have concrete panel exteriors. It’s weird and not at all what you expect. Despite this oddness, it’s a pleasant area to wander around, dominated by the eponymous thirteenth-century Nikolaikirche (St Nicholas’ Church), part of whose base is still original. Its main square - Nikolaikirchplatz - is also lovely, rebuilt or not.
There are also a couple of museums here, so if you have time I’d recommend checking one or two out. Those include the restored Ephraim Palace, which often has exhibitions about Berlin’s history, the Zille Museum, dedicated to artist, illustrator and photographer Heinrich Zille (known for his caricatures of everyday working class life in the city), and the Knoblauch House, which displays furnishings and decor from the Beidermeier period.
They all make for pretty quick visits, so you can tack one on at the end of the morning pretty easily.
Nikolaikirchplatz square. Photo: Fridolin freudenfett, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Afternoon
Lunch
For lunch, I’d suggest a hearty German meal at either Zille Stube or Zum Nussbaum. For something lighter, you can pop into any of the many cafes and pick up a salad, sandwich, or really whatever you’re looking for.
DDR Museum
Once you’ve had lunch, head over to the DDR Museum. Situated opposite the Berliner Dom (a couple of minutes’ walk from Alexanderplatz), this is one of the most popular - albeit a little gimmicky - museums in Berlin.
It showcases what life was like in the GDR and gives you the chance to sit behind the wheel of an old Trabant car, explore a classic 1970s apartment interior, learn all about Stasi surveillance methods, watch speeches by GDR leader Erich Honecker, and pull open draws and cupboards to find products that have long-since disappeared.
Like I said, it’s kind of gimmicky but can be interesting and fun enough.
Checkpoint Charlie
After the museum, it’s time to head to a different part of the city center. So walk over to the Museum Island U-Bahn station and take the metro to Kochstraße, where you’ll find Checkpoint Charlie. This is the most famous Berlin Wall crossing point between East and West Berlin.
The main entry point for visitors wanting to cross the infamous Iron Curtain to East Berlin during the division of the city, it’s also the spot where, in 1961, US and Russian tanks faced each other in what the world believed could be the start of World War Three. A free outdoor exhibition tells the story of the crossing through text and photos, and there are several additional museums here to explore too.
Checkpoint Charlie. Photo: Adrian Purser from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wall Museum Checkpoint Charlie
This is a famous museum and I’ve included it here for that reason, but to be honest, I don’t really like it or recommend that you visit. It’s very expensive, is often crowded and can get bottle-necked as you tour the various rooms, and is quite old and dour. It’s also run by virulent anti-communists, so it hardly offers a neutral take.
It does provide some fascinating Cold War-related artifacts and stories, but I still think you can definitely skip it in favor of the official Berlin Wall Memorial (which we’ll get to later on).
Cold War Black Box
A little calmer (and smaller) than the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the Cold War Black Box takes a more measured look at the Cold War years, broadening the perspective out to cover nuclear war, espionage, and peace. There are around 500 very-goo exhibits and several media stations with film excerpts and interviews. I quite like this museum.
A huge cylindrical steel rotunda created by Turkish-German artist Yadegar Asisi (known for his enormous and highly-detailed panoramas), this is a 15-meter high and 60-meter wide structure that has a massive image depicting a fictional day along a stretch of the Berlin Wall in the 1980s.
You can stand on a scaffold or get up close to the image, which one one side shows the daily life of West Berliners (Kreuzberg specifically), and the sinister, lonely Eastern side on another, with its spotlights and border fortifications. A related photo exhibition and film are shown in the foyer.
Topography of Terror
Just a few minutes away from Checkpoint Charlie, the Topography of Terror is a chilling documentation center and open-air exhibition located at the former site of Hitler’s Gestapo HQ. The most feared address in Berlin during the Nazi years, political opponents were brought here before being sent on to forced labour and extermination camps, as well as, in some cases, tortured and killed in the underground cells.
An exhibit at the Topography of Terror Museum. Photo: Indrajit Das, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Berlin Wall Memorial
From the Topography of Terror, take a quick 10-minute walk over to Potsdamer Platz, where you can catch an S-Bahn train to Nordbahnhof. From there, enjoy a leisurely walk north along the city’s official Berlin Wall Memorial, a stretch of the original Wall route that’s been partly preserved, and which heads north along Bernauer Straße to Prenzlauer Berg.
The memorial, around a mile long, is essentially an open-air museum that not only features original parts of the Wall but large-scale photos and texts, and listening posts that tell various local and historic stories. It also has a reconstruction of the so-called death strip and a documentation center with a replica watchtower that gives views over most of the memorial.
A stretch of the Berlin Wall Memorial along Bernauerstrasse. Photo: Chris Alban Hansen, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Evening
Dinner and a night out in Prenzlauerberg
As you reach the end of the memorial, you’ll see Mauerpark, which also used to form part of the Wall but was turned into a park following local protests in the early 1990s (the protests were in opposition to a plan to privatize the space, and they were successful, which is how it wound up as a park).
This is the beginning of the lovely neighborhood of Prenzlauerberg, and just opposite the park is Oderberger Strasse, one of the many bustling streets here that’s lined with restaurants and bars.
Schönhauser Allee, Prenzlauer Allee, and Greifswalder Allee are three of the other principal streets here, and they’re also busy and filled with places to eat, drink, and shop. Kollwitzplatz is the area’s best known square, and more pretty streets shoot off from there, with lots more to see and do.
Because of how absolutely charming and pretty it is, people are often super surprised to find out that this neighborhood was once part of East Berlin, so I’d suggest that you stay here for the rest of the evening, eating, drinking, and exploring. It’s a simply lovely area - one of my favorite parts of Berlin.
The weekly Saturday market in Kollwitzplatz. Photo: Fridolin freudenfett, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kollwitzplatz square in January. Photo: Traktorminze, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Day 3: West Berlin
Today’s tour starts at S-Bahn Zoologischer Garten, with the possibility of a visit to the adjacent Berlin Zoo that it’s named after, local sights such as the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, whose bombed tower remains unrenovated as a memorial to the suffering of war and destruction, as well as some nearby galleries and a lunch stop at boutique mall and food hall Bikini Berlin.
Also included is a visit to Schloss Charlottenburg, and an exploration of Kurfürstendamm (Ku’damm), West Berlin’s legendary shopping boulevard, and its restaurant-lined sister street, Kantstraße.
Morning
The Bahnhof Zoo station. Photo: Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bahnhof Zoo
Disembark at the S-Bahn stop called “Zoologischer Garten”, which is known as Bahnhof Zoo and was, until just a few decades ago, a notorious haunt for junkies, prostitutes, and the homeless (see Christiane F’s “We Children From Bahnhof Zoo”).
It can still be seedy in places, as many large European train stations can, but the broader area has been regenerated in recent years with new boutique and high-end hotels (Waldorf Astoria, 25-Hours Bikini) and a new designer mall (Bikini Berlin) to match the older one (Europa Center).
One of West Berlin’s biggest tourist spots, this zoo - one of two in Berlin, since East Berlin had one too - is the oldest in Germany, dating back to 1844, and one of the biggest with over 1200 animal species on display. Enter through the Lion’s Gate at Hardenbergplatz or the more exotic Elephant Gate at Budapester Strasse, and enjoy the array of pandas and giraffes, flamingos and elephants.
The neighboring aquarium is also world-class, but requires a separate ticket (combi-tickets are available).
The Elephant Gate entrance to the Zoo. Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
This impressive Neo-Romanesque church on Breitscheidplatz was designed by Franz Schwechten and consecrated in 1895. Destroyed by Allied bombs in 1943, it was rebuilt with the exception of the damaged tower, which was retained as a visual memorial. The interior hosts an exhibition about the history of the church and has some original ceiling mosaics and marble reliefs. The neighboring octagonal church with its striking blue glass windows was designed as a supplement in 1961.
The remaining tower from the original Kaiser Wilhelm Church. Photo: nl:User:GerardM, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped
The interior hall of the octagonal church next to Kaiser Wilhelm Church. Photo: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped
This photography gallery used to be located in an historic and charmingly unrenovated former post office building Mitte until it was kicked out in favour of offices. The new venue isn’t too shabby though - the former American culture and information center (Amerika Haus), built in the 1950s. The light and airy design functions perfectly for the mix of big-name and local exhibitions that are held here alongside artist talks, lectures and guided tours.
Helmut Newton Foundation / Museum for Photography
A short stroll from C/O, this institution contains two complementary museums. The Helmut Newton Foundation occupies the two lower floors and showcases the personal possessions and publications of Newton - a prominent Berliner who bequeathed his collection to the city - and changing exhibitions that include his classic images of nudes and fashion portraits of the rich and famous. The Museum for Photography, which hosts broader, themed exhibitions, utilizes the top floor rooms.
Afternoon
After lunch at the Bikini Berlin food hall, catch a bus or take the U Bahn to Schloss Charlottenburg, which should take around 20-20 minutes. The palace began life as a country house built for Queen Sophie Charlotte in 1695 and gradually grew into a summer residence for Prussian kings. The grounds offer several impressively restored Baroque and Rococo buildings and interiors that are dotted with artworks and unique items such as the Porcelain Cabinet and the opulent bedchamber of Frederick I.
If you’re not in the mood for traipsing through the palace’s regal rooms, the expansive Baroque and English-style gardens are free.
Schloss Charlottenburg. Photo: Golliday, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The magnificent gardens at Charlottenburg Palace. Photo: Bärwinkel,Klaus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Created by Berliner Heinz Berggruen, this museum is a collection of the art he collected from the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. It’s especially well-known for its large collection of works by Pablo Picasso but also has paintings by Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Van Gogh, Braque and Cézanne, as well as sculptures by Henri Laurens and Alberto Giacometti. Note that the museum is undergoing renovations until around 2026.
Located just across the street from the Berggruen Museum, this small but interesting space, a former barracks, offers a collection of decorative arts amassed by Karl H Bröhan. In particular it has Art Nouveau and Art Deco paintings connected with the Berlin Secessionist movement, including Karl Hagermeister and Hans Baluschek, alongside furniture, ceramics, glassware, silverwork and textiles.
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Evening
A stroll along Kurfürstendamm (Ku’damm)
After exploring the museums, head back to Ku’damm, the long boulevard that was developed in the nineteenth century and became famous for its imposing buildings, grand hotels and cafés frequented by the city’s famous writers, directors and painters between the two world wars.
It has changed a bit since then, but still carries some of its former glamour with a host of high-end shops mixed with plush hotels, restaurants, cafes, and cultural spaces.
A hotel and cafe along Ku’damm. Photo: Marek Śliwecki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dinner and a bit of partying along the Kantstrasse
There are tons of restaurants here (Kurfürstendamm), as well as on the parallel street of Kantstrasse, so you’ll have lots of places to choose from. Afterwards, you can catch live jazz at the historic Quasimodo club, and/or grab a cocktail at the tiny but unique Rum Trader.
To cap off the night, I’d suggest heading to the Monkey Bar on the rooftop of the 25 Hours Bikini hotel for some DJ tunes and a gin & tonic while enjoying the views from the terrace. The neighboring restaurant NENI also does good Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine.
Savignyplatz, about midway down the Kantstrasse. Photo: Uwe Thobae, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Optional 4th day
If you have the time, a fourth day in Berlin would allow you to shift away from the main areas and explore some of the pleasant and intereesting residential neighborhoods a bit more, or, you could even head outside the inner city completely to explore the leafy, lake-filled outskirts. Here are a few ideas:
Kreuzberg
All of the inner-city neighborhoods have their respective charms, but Kreuzberg is one of the most popular with locals and visitors alike, and for good reason.
It has a fair bit of indie culture in the shape of smaller, contemporary galleries (Bethanien, a former hospital turned art hub, is a good example), a couple of major museums like the Berlinische Galerie and the Jewish Museum, and a ton of restaurants, including the very fun street food market Markthalle IX. For nightlife, there’s a good selection of bars and clubs as well.
The western side of the neighborhood around Bergmannstrasse street is more sedate and home to the lovely Viktoria Park, which makes for a very nice wander.
An aerial view of Kreuzberg. Photo: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
Potsdam
If you want to get out of Berlin for a few hours, you can get to Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, in under an hour by train. It has a completely different character to Berlin and offers a slew of royal palaces - Sanssouci being the most prominent one - plus pleasant lakes, gardens, and museums (such as the Barberini). Don’t forget to check out the small but cute Dutch Quarter while you’re there.
Potsdam seen from Babelsberg Park. Photo: Kai Vogel, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The New Palace in Potsdam. Photo: A.Savin, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons
Sanssouci Palace. Photo: Hiroki Ogawa, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Grunewald
Around the same distance away as Potsdam, Grunewald is a wonderful area to head for if you prefer nature. There, you can enjoy myriad walks through the expansive forest, visit the peculiar but peaceful Peacock Island, and sip a frothy cold one in a beer garden. And the shores of the large Wannsee Lake are perfect for sun bathing or even swimming - at the official bathing beach, of course.
There are also some cultural and historic places to visit, including Impressionist painter Max Liebermann’s former home, which has a cafe and a gorgeous garden, and the more somber but fascinating Haus der Wannsee Konferenz where the Nazi’s planned their evil Final Solution.
Grunewald forest and the Havel River. Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Strandbad Wannsee beach along of Großer Wannsee lake. Photo: t-stern, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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