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Berlin
Reunified, Reinvented and Still Becoming
Reunified, Reinvented and Still Becoming
The Brandenburg Gate (1791, Carl Gotthard Langhans) is the only surviving historic gate of Berlin and was the dividing line between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. In the 18th century it was the entry point to the royal city; in 1806 Napoleon marched through it; in 1933 the Nazis held a torchlight procession through it; in 1989 jubilant crowds stood on it as the Wall fell. The Quadriga (copper chariot on top) was removed by Napoleon as war booty and returned in 1814. The gate is free to approach at any hour and is best seen at night when floodlit.
💡 Arrive before 8am to have the Gate largely to yourself. The Holocaust Memorial just south is best at early morning when the light rakes across the stelae — the scale only becomes clear when you walk into the centre.
The East Side Gallery is a 1.3km stretch of the Berlin Wall on the Spree River in Friedrichshain, painted by 118 artists from 21 countries in 1990, immediately after the Wall opened. It is the longest open-air gallery in the world. The most famous images are Brödel’s “Fraternal Kiss” (Brezhnev and Honecker embracing) and Birgit Kinder’s Trabant car breaking through the Wall. The gallery is always open, free, and best walked from the Ostbahnhof end in the morning before the tour groups arrive.
💡 The East Side Gallery runs 1.3km along Mühlenstraße — allow 45 minutes. Skip the tourist-trap Checkpoint Charlie square; the Checkpoint Charlie Museum (€19.50) two blocks north tells the real crossing history.
The Reichstag building (1894, rebuilt by Norman Foster after its fire in 1933 and bombing in 1945) is the seat of the German Parliament. Foster’s glass dome (1999) allows visitors to walk up a spiral ramp to the top with views over the parliamentary chamber below and the Berlin skyline above. Entry is free but requires registration at bundestag.de at least 2–3 days ahead. The rooftop restaurant (Kafer) is good for lunch with government-district views.
💡 Dome registration is free and mandatory at bundestag.de — book at least 2 weeks ahead. The audio guide takes 30 minutes and the 360° view takes in the entire government quarter and the Tiergarten.
The northern tip of the Spree Island in central Berlin contains five museums in a UNESCO-listed ensemble: the Pergamon Museum (the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate from Babylon, the Market Gate of Miletus), the Neues Museum (the Nefertiti bust), the Altes Museum (classical antiquities), the Bode Museum (Byzantine art and coins) and the Nationalgalerie (19th-century art). A combined day ticket covers all five (€18). The Pergamon Museum is under renovation until 2037; the Ishtar Gate and the Market Gate remain accessible.
💡 The Berlin Museum Pass (3-day; €32) covers all five Museum Island museums plus 30 others. Note: the Pergamon Museum is partially closed until 2027 — check what’s open at smb.museum before visiting.
Berlin’s food culture is more international than any other German city and reflects the population’s composition: Turkish döner kebab (genuinely better here than anywhere outside Turkey), Vietnamese pho (Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg is the correct address), Israeli hummus and falafel (Prenzlauer Berg), Eritrean injera, and the full range of modern European restaurants clustered in Mitte and Charlottenburg. The Markthalle Neun in Kreuzberg (Thursday Street Food Thursday, 5–10pm, €3–8 per dish) is the best market food event in Berlin. The Berghain bakery annex (Bäckerei in the Berghain building itself, open Friday mornings) has excellent bread. Currywurst (sliced sausage with curry ketchup) at Curry 36 on Mehringdamm is the obligatory Berlin street food.
The craft beer scene has expanded rapidly: Hops & Barley (Friedrichshain, a converted butcher’s shop) and BRLO Brwhouse (Gleisdreieck Park) are the most respected local breweries. Wine bars in Präsenzlauer Berg and Mitte (Bar Lehmann, Joseph-Roth-Diele) have taken natural wine seriously for longer than most European cities. The correct Berlin bar evening starts late, continues until 4am and may or may not involve a decision about Berghain.
The BVG network (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram, bus) is comprehensive and reliable. A day ticket (€9.90, valid for all modes and all zones AB) is the correct choice for any full day of sightseeing. The S-Bahn ring (Ringbahn) connects all outer neighbourhoods in a circle; the central U-Bahn lines cover Mitte, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. Berlin is flat and has 1,000km of cycling infrastructure; rental bikes are available from Berlin on Bike, Fat Tire and the Call a Bike system. Walking between the Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island takes 20 minutes along Unter den Linden.
May–September is the peak season: outdoor bars, park concerts and the full cultural programme. July–August for the Open Air film season. December for the Christmas markets. Berlin is genuinely interesting in winter; the nightlife is better and the museums are quieter.
Berlin is the cheapest major capital in Western Europe. Accommodation, food and nightlife are all significantly cheaper than London, Paris or Amsterdam. Per person per day, couple travelling.
The Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate and East Side Gallery are all free. Museum Island and the Reichstag (also free, register ahead) cover the main paid sights.
Berlin at mid-range is genuinely good value: a 3-star hotel in Mitte costs less than a 2-star in London or Paris.
The Berlin Philharmonic (one of the world’s greatest orchestras) has standing places from €7 and stalls from €20. Book at berliner-philharmoniker.de well ahead.
Four days covers central and east Berlin properly: the Wall sites, Museum Island, the memorials, Prenzlauer Berg and one day trip to Potsdam.
Brandenburg Gate in the morning. Walk through the Holocaust Memorial. Reichstag dome if pre-booked. Museum Island afternoon (Nefertiti bust in the Neues Museum, Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon). Unter den Linden dinner. Currywurst at Curry 36 for the late snack.
💡 The Berlin Museum Pass (€32; 3-day) covers Museum Island and 30 other city museums — buy online and skip the ticket queues at each venue.
East Side Gallery at 9am (walk from Ostbahnhof end). Kreuzberg for lunch (Markthalle Neun on Thursdays). Checkpoint Charlie and Topography of Terror (free, important). Prenzlauer Berg in the evening: dinner on Helmholtzplatz, Mauerpark area for the neighbourhood feel.
💡 Prenzlauer Berg on a Sunday morning: the Mauerpark flea market (9am–4pm) is the finest in Berlin — vinyl, vintage, street food and the famous outdoor karaoke bear pit.
S-Bahn from Hauptbahnhof to Potsdam (30 min). Sanssouci Palace and park (book timed entry ahead). Cecilienhof Palace (Potsdam Agreement, 1945). Dutch Quarter. Return to Berlin by 6pm.
💡 RE1 from Berlin Hauptbahnhof to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof: 25 min (€4.20 with a Berlin ABC day ticket, which also covers buses to Sanssouci within Potsdam).
Charlottenburg Palace (one of the finest Baroque palaces in Germany, €12). The KaDeWe department store food hall (the Harrods of Germany, extraordinary range). Tiergarten park. Kulturforum museum cluster (Neue Nationalgalerie, free currently). Evening in Mitte.
💡 Charlottenburg Palace (€22) is least crowded on Tuesday mornings — a fraction of the weekend. The palace gardens are free to enter; the Orangery serves breakfast from 9am.
Registration at bundestag.de (free) is mandatory for Reichstag entry. The slots fill quickly; book 3–7 days ahead for weekday mornings, 1–2 weeks ahead for weekends.
The combined day ticket for all five Museum Island museums costs €18 and covers more significant objects than any single-day museum visit in Germany.
The Holocaust Memorial (2,711 concrete stelae on 4.7 acres, Peter Eisenman, 2005) is 5 minutes from the Brandenburg Gate. Walk through it without a predetermined route; the disorientation is the point.
The Turkish community in Berlin (the largest outside Turkey) has made the döner kebab (€4–6) the city’s most important street food.
Potsdam (30 min by S-Bahn from Hauptbahnhof, €3.80) contains Sanssouci Palace (Frederick the Great’s summer residence, €14; book timed entry at spsg.de), the Sanssouci Park (free, large), the Cecilienhof Palace (where the Potsdam Agreement was signed in 1945) and the Dutch Quarter.
The former East Berlin districts of Prenzlauer Berg (gentrified, cafes, farmers markets, the largest organic market in Germany on Sundays at Mauerpark) and Friedrichshain (the East Side Gallery, RAW complex, less gentrified) are the most distinctive parts of Berlin.
Official Berlin public transport app: U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus journey planning with real-time departures and day ticket purchase. Covers airport S-Bahn connection.
Free
Berlin State Museums app: Museum Island timed-entry booking, audio guides for the Nefertiti bust (Neues Museum), the Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate.
Free
ICE trains: Berlin to Leipzig (1h), Dresden (2h), Hamburg (1h45), Munich (4h). Book in advance for significant savings. Day tickets (Deutschlandticket, €49/month) cover all regional trains and BVG.
Free
Food delivery in Berlin: most useful for Neukölln and Friedrichshain restaurants that don’t take reservations. Also useful for discovering which restaurants are operating on late nights.
Free
Official Berlin tourism audio guide with routes covering the Berlin Wall history, Museum Island and the government quarter. Available offline for walking without internet.
Free
Download Berlin offline. Cycling routes and the U-Bahn/S-Bahn combined map are the most useful features. The east-west geography is easiest to navigate with GPS.
Free
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