What to See in Berlin

Built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic Games, it is one of the better examples of Nazi-era neoclassical architecture and is still used for sporting events. The Olympic Stadium is where African-American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals, showing once again the fallacy of Hitler's Aryan superiority theory.…

The Hugenottenmuseum represents the ongoing influence on Berlin by the Huguenots who emigrated from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Crown Prince Friedrich William encouraged them to settle here because most of them were skilled workers or otherwise useful to the kingdom.…

There are three huge collections housed within this grand building: the Collection of Classical Antiquities, the Museum of Near Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of Islamic Art. The Pergamon Museum was the last museum built on Museumsinsel (Museum Island) and was intended to house the great acquisitions brought to Germany by archaeologists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century.…

This church in Breitscheidplatz is a memorial to Kaiser Wilhelm, and one of Berlin's most famous landmarks. Thick walls and plain decor mark it as neo-Romanesque, but with what's left of the Gedächtniskirche, it's tough to distinguish it as any one style.…

The "mother of all airports", according to Sir Norman Foster, is a huge relic of the pre-war era. The terminal building is located immediately south of the city center and was the hot spot of the Berlin airlift ("Berliner Luftbrücke") in 1948-49, but closed as an airport on October 30, 2008. In 1951 a monument was added to commemorate the airlifts over the Berlin Blockade.…

Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels made Bebelplatz (then called Opernplatz) infamous on 10 May 1933, when he used the square across from Humboldt University to burn 20,000 books by "immoral" authors of whom the Nazis did not approve. Their list included Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Arnold Zweig, Kurt Tucholsky and Sigmund Freud.…

Berlin's oldest church (1230) is a 3-nave hall church. It is in the center of an area destroyed by bombs in the war which was then turned into a faux "old town" by the East German authorities called Nikolaiviertel.…

The Gemäldegalerie contains an astounding array of paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Goya, Velasquez and Watteau. The collection contains works from the old Bodemuseum on Museumsinsel in the East, now closed, and the former Gemäldegalerie in Dahlem.…

At a former Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield, RAF Gatow. The museum's focus is on military history, particularly the history of the Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr, with a collection of more than 200,000 items, including 155 aeroplanes, 5,000 uniforms and 30,000 books. There are also displays (including aeroplanes) on the history of the airfield when it was used by the RAF.…

In Marzahn. Inside you can find a large and well-established Chinese garden, a Korean garden, a small Bali Garden/Glasshouse, an Oriental Garden with nice fountains and a cloister and a Japanese garden which is a project by the city partnership of Berlin and Tokyo. The latter has been built by Zen priests.…

The district town hall was the main town hall for West Berlin during the Cold War. The freedom bell (a present from the American people) and several memorials from that time can be found here. On the main balcony in 1963 U.S. President John F.…

Price: €6, reduced €3. – Käthe Kollwitz's reputation as a social activist who used art as a means to express her support of pacifism was hard-won. Her son was killed in the World War I, after which her art took a turn for the morose. When her grandson was killed in World War II, her art became even darker and more brooding as she contemplated the huge loss of life Germany had suffered.…

The Bendlerblock building complex has long held ties to the German military, first serving as the offices of the Imperial German Navy and today housing the Berlin offices of the Ministry of Defense. It was here where, on 20 July 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and other officers led a coup that sought to remove Hitler and the Nazis from power.…

Erected in 1818 to a classically-inspired design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the imperial palace, since 1993 this compact building has housed a small, but extremely powerful war cenotaph, the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany, continuing its use under East German rule as the primary "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism".…

Started in the 15th century and finished in the mid-18th century, the baroque palace was the residence of electors, kings and emperors until 1918, when it became a museum. The palace was badly damaged during World War II and later razed in 1950, replaced by the GDR with a modernist Palast der Republik.…

Find out how it felt to live in East Germany in this modern and well-presented exhibition. The museum is a good starting point if you only have a few minutes to sneak a quick peek inside an East German family's living room, but you can spend hours diving further into the stories behind each exhibit by flicking through …

A collection of most important and architecturally impressive cultural institutions, including many museums and galleries, that was built in West Berlin next to the wall separating it from the Berlin historic centre, which remained in the East along with the original cultural institutions of Berlin.…

The main floor houses the antiquities collection in an ongoing exhibit called "Neue Antike im Alten Museum" (New Antiquities in the Old Museum). Directly through the front door, entering from the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden, now under reconstruction), there is a domed rotunda with red and white cameos, Greek-style, with statues of the gods.…

The area to the north of Tiergarten, along the bow of the river Spree (Spreebogen), is home to the German federal institutions such as the parliament (Bundestag, in the historic Reichstag building) and the federal government, as well as the new central train station (Hauptbahnhof) across the river.…

Restaurants abound here, with cuisines ranging from Afghan to Nepalese and Thai. prices are low, especially compared with other locations in the "touristy" center of Berlin. Around Eisenacher Straße (extension of Goltzstr.) you’ll find even more bars and cafes situated in the basement of nice old houses.…

Is a small castle in late classical style. It was built 1868 by Martin Gropius (uncle of the Bauhaus-founder and other architects, the von Siemens family changed the castle a bit around 1900 and they enlarged the dimensions of the park, which is today renovated and nice to wander around when the sun is shining.…

A vast Holocaust memorial designed by the American architect Peter Eisenman. Opened in the spring of 2005, this gigantic abstract artwork covering an entire block near the Brandenburg Gate, including an underground museum with extensive details on the Holocaust and the people who died during it.…

A bronze fountain by Reinhold Begas. It was erected in 1891 as a present from the city of Berlin to the Kaiser. Neptune, trident in hand, presides over the square supported by sea-nymphs with webbed feet carrying him on a seashell.…

Millions of visitors leaving East Berlin by train said tearful goodbyes to their friends and relatives from the East at this former border checkpoint. Hardly a year after the wall came down, the building was turned into a nightclub until it was forced to close in 2006.…

Small terrace on the top of the Park Inn, publicly accessible. Take the elevator to the 40th floor, and follow the signs up the stairs. Pay the attendant who also serves beer and coffee. Great views of the Fernsehturm. In the summer, consider base jumping off the roof with Jochen Schweizer.…

150-200m along the Wiener Straße (bypassing the fire house and the public swimming pool) from U-Bahn Görlitzer Bahnhof, the park is famous for the Turkish families barbecuing on summer weekends, failed contemporary art and relaxed atmosphere of students.…

The zoo in the former East Berlin is more spacious than its West Berlin counterpart, the Tiergarten. The Tierpark has nearly as many animals, but fewer reptiles and aquatic animals. It appears rather like a park with animals than a classic zoo, in fact it is one of the biggest zoos in Europe.…

Germany's national centre for contemporary non-European art. The house is a leading centre for the contemporary arts and a venue for projects breaking through artistic boundaries. This architectural landmark was an American contribution to the international building exhibition INTERBAU 1957 as an embodiment of the free exchange of ideas.…

This former German Guggenheim branch is run entirely by Deutsche Bank since 2013. Compared to the Guggenheims in New York, Bilbao and Venice, it is a relatively small exhibition place. It usually hosts a temporary exhibition and is free on Monday, with a free guided tour starting at 16:00.…

The area around Boxhagener Platz is filled with bars, cafes and small shops. Boxhagener Platz itself is a small park with a playground and a cafe, and the nearby Simon Dach Straße is filled with cheap bars and restaurants. At the weekend you can find many places that serve the famous, cheap Berliner brunch.…

The twin buildings of the complex house the Radisson Hotel and the Sea Life Centre. In the Radisson lobby you can have a quick glance at the famous Aquadom, the world's biggest cylindrical aquarium with a built-in elevator.…

The Bayerischer Platz is the center of the Bayerisches Viertel ("Bavarian district", with many streets named after Bavarian cities), which was destroyed a lot more during World War II (about 60%). Somewhere around there Albert Einstein lived once.…

The Schöneweide forced labor camp (GBI-Lager 75/76) on Britzer Straße is a complete ensemble, which makes it a rather unusual site in Berlin. Of the original thirteen housing barracks erected between 1943 and 1945, eleven are still standing today.…

The only surviving Berlin city gate and a potent symbol of the city. This is the point where Straße des 17. Juni becomes Unter den Linden. The gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791 and was intended to resemble the Acropolis in Athens.…

Berlin’s Deutscher Dom on the magnificent Gendarmenmarkt square is not to be confused with the Berliner Dom. It was built in 1708. Since 1992 a German Parliament exhibition can be seen here entitled “Paths, Loosing Track and Detours” or the development of parliamentary democracy in Germany – ways and roundabouts.…

Though the area has changed a lot, the building with the Meistersaal, an old music hall from the 1900s, has persisted. Later converted into sound studios, music history was written here with David Bowie ("Heroes"), Iggy Pop, and U2 amongst the groups who recorded here at the "Studio by the wall".…

The largest range of species in the world. The zoo lies directly in the heart of the City West (opposite Bahnhof Zoo at Hardenbergplatz) and is especially famous for its pandas.…

In this house the surrender of Germany was signed on May 9th, 1945, ending the second world war in Europe. This museum describes the history of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union between 1941 and 1945 and the GDR/German-Russian relationship ever since.…

Gothic church, the second oldest (built in late 13th century) of the historical centre of Berlin. It's the highest church tower of Berlin (about 90 m), but seems rather small beneath the gigantic TV tower.…

Museum for Contemporary Art located in former Hamburger Bahnhof train station. Big halls filled with artworks made since 1960s. In 2004 Rieckhallen, former Lehrter Bahnhof, was opened and now provides exhibition space for the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection.…

The longest moving refracting telescope is 21 meters long with a lens diameter of 68 centimetres. This giant telescope was built in 1896 by Dr. Freidrich Simon Archenhold but is now part of the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin.…

Not far away from Schloss Tegel (at the "große Malche") you can take a look at the oldest tree in Berlin, an oak which has been growing there since about 1192 (so it's actually older than Berlin itself). The name ("fat Mary") allegedly stems from the brother Humboldt who named the tree after their overweight cook.

A Soccer and American Football stadium with track and field facilities which has been host to several important competitions in the past, including most [http://www.germanbowl.de/ German Bowls] (Finals of the German American Football League) in recent years as well as the 2017 edition to be held in October

The octagonal square right east of Potsdamer Platz was recreated to resemble its pre-war layout, but the buildings are modern rather than historic replicas and much taller than their counterparts from before the war. There is a diverse mix of uses among the buildings, which include the Embassy of Canada.

Take a stroll for a few kilometers along this canal which runs right through the heart of Kreuzberg. It's peaceful and mostly traffic-free, but full of life in summer. Some parts are lined with bars and restaurants with terraces. Sit on a bench or terrace and watch the world go by on a summer evening.

This museum explains how this house was used for a meeting of senior Nazis to ensure that they all knew that the SS would industrialize the use of mass-murder in disposing of Jews and "undesirables" and to debate a little the logistics of the Holocaust, for which Hitler had already given the orders.

An old monument (1865-1873) with 50.7 m high in front of the Reichstag on the Platz der Republik), since 1939 on the place Großer Stern with 66.9 m high. Unfortunately there is no elevator, so be prepared for 285 steps to the platform in 50.7 m high. The sculpture of Victoria is 8.3 metres high.

This castle is one of Berlin's oldest castles and where Prince Carl used to reside. Be sure to check out Glienicke Bridge, the bridge that became renowned for the exchange of Western and Eastern secret agents. [https://www.spsg.de/en/palaces-gardens/object/park-glienicke-1/ link for the park]

The oldest museum of its kind in Germany which, despite great losses during the World War II, still possesses one of the world's primary collections of European applied art. There are two sections to the collection: one located at the Kulturforum in Tiergarten, the other at Köpenick Palace.

From 1941, 12.000 tons of concrete in a 15 metre high and 20 metre-diamater cylinder were built to test the load-bearing capacity of the Berlin soils for Albert Speer's Germania-Buildings. Too massive for later blasting, this is one of the more bizarre remains of the Third Reich.

During the International Building Exhibition 1984 to 1988 a bunch of remarkable buildings were set around the old Tegeler Hafen. Architecturally diverse, the most important is the Phosphateliminierungsanlage (Gustav Peichl). Also some buildings by Charles Moore are interesting.

The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in the Friedrichstadt with the Konzerthaus (concert hall) and in front of the statue of Germany's poet Friedrich Schiller, the Deutscher Dom (German cathedrals) and the Französischer Dom (French cathedrals).

Arguably the most beautiful bridge in Berlin and the only connection between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. As signage on the bridge indicates, it was built twice - once in the 1890s and once in the 1990s. Before reunification the border ran where the bridge now is.

Exhibits include the Egyptian and Prehistory and Early History collections. It houses the famous bust of Nefertiti (the legality of its acquisition is still contested by the Egyptian state which is trying to get it back, so you might want to hurry to see it there).

The iconic building by Le Corbusier from 1957 stands close to the Stadium. It is one of the manifestations of an architectural icon of 20th century. You can see a building that influenced the way of designing modern residential blocks all over the world.

Ex-industrial buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century, nice clinker-architecture and the first (mini) highraiser of Berlin, the Borsigturm, 65 m high, built 1922-24. The area houses now offices, a shopping mall and some places for entertainment.

Built in 1542. An impressive traditional country estate with stately architecture, it is an enclave of untouched regional cultural history and architectonic epochs. The 80-hectare mixed forest also provides a wide network of paths for walking and rambling.

One of the few windmills in Berlin is located in Marzahn. After registration one can visit it and have a look at the functions of the windmill. To get there, take the S7 or S75 until "Springpfuhl" station, then the tram 8 or M18 until "Alt-Marzahn".

A relatively well and completely retained (at least by Berlin standards) 19th century residential quarter. Partly under renovation. Of note are six buildings first (1875) built of concrete - but you can't make out a difference from the outside.

Domed Church located at Bebelplatz/Unter den Linden, the oldest (mid-18th century) and one of the biggest Catholic churches in Berlin. Interior was redesigned in a modern style in the 1950s – but still many treasure chambers in the basement.