Germany's capital wears its 20th-century history openly - the Wall, the Holocaust memorials, GDR relics - alongside world-class museums on Museum Island. Everyday Berlin lives in its Kieze: Kreuzberg and Neukölln for döner, Arabic and Turkish food and canal-side bars, Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg for markets and clubs, the old West around Kantstrasse for Asian food and classic bars. Späti corner shops, cheap beer, cash-only snack bars and famously selective club doors are part of the deal.
Must-see
The sights to fit in even on a short trip.
- 01Brandenburg Gate
- 02Reichstag Building and Dome
- 03Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
- 04Berlin Wall Memorial
- 05Neues Museum
- 06Berlin Cathedral
- 07Berlin TV Tower
- 08East Side Gallery
- 09Checkpoint Charlie
- 10Gendarmenmarkt
History & museums 30
- Brandenburg Gate
- Reichstag Building and Dome
- Berlin Cathedral
- Berlin Wall Memorial
- Charlottenburg Palace
- East Side Gallery
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
- Topography of Terror
- Victory Column
- Gendarmenmarkt
- Berlin TV Tower
- DDR Museum
- Checkpoint Charlie
- Alte Nationalgalerie
- Altes Museum
- Bode-Museum
- Friedrichswerder Church
- Gemäldegalerie
- Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
- Humboldt Forum
- Jewish Museum Berlin
- Museum für Fotografie / Helmut Newton Foundation
- Museum in der Kulturbrauerei: Everyday Life in the GDR
- Museum Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind
- Neue Nationalgalerie
- Neues Museum
- Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama
- Schloss Köpenick (Museum of Decorative Arts)
- Soviet War Memorial Treptower Park
- St. Mary's Church
Where to eat 50
- Street Food Thursday at Markthalle Neun
- 893 Ryotei
- Adana Grillhaus
- Albatross Bakery
- Azzam
- Burgermeister (Schlesisches Tor)
- Café Pilz
- Café Zart
- Clärchens Ballhaus
- Domke Niko
- Duo Sicilian Ice Cream
- Eins44
- Etwas Kleines
- Feed the Pony
- Fischerhütte am Schlachtensee
- Frühstück 3000
- FúFú Bistro
- Goldadelux
- Gözleme
- Grill Royal
- Hallmann & Klee
- Horváth
- Hot Dog Soup
- Imren Grill
- Ishin
- Jäger & Lustig
- Jones Ice Cream
- KERB Food Hall
- Khinkali House
- Konnopke's Imbiss
- La Criolla
- Libanon Falafel
- Lon Men's Noodle House
- Lovis
- Malakeh
- Monti
- Nobelhart & Schmutzig
- Pêle-Mêle
- Prater Garten
- Puffle Bees
- Restaurant Merold
- Restaurant Tim Raue
- Risa Chicken
- Rram
- Rüyam Gemüse Kebab
- Sahara
- Sarayam
- Thai Park (Preussenpark)
- What Do You Fancy Love?
- Zagros
Night out 24
- A-Trane
- Bar Laidak
- Barra
- Becketts Kopf
- Bei Schlawinchen
- Berghain
- Berliner Ensemble
- Club der Visionäre
- Dicke Wirtin
- Galander Bar Charlottenburg
- Kater Blau
- Kino Babylon
- KitKatClub
- Klo
- Klunkerkranich
- Möbel Olfe
- Quasimodo
- Sisyphos
- SO36
- Späti Drinkhall
- Stagger Lee
- Tresor
- Würgeengel
- YAAM
Locals only 27
- David Hasselhoff Museum
- Mauerpark flea market and Bearpit Karaoke
- Teufelsberg
- Badeschiff
- Liquidrom
- Admiralbrücke
- Annelies
- Bob Murphy
- Boxhagener Platz markets
- Franciscan Monastery Ruin
- Free lunchtime concerts at the Philharmonie
- Funkhaus Berlin
- Grunewaldturm
- Hallesches Haus
- KINDL - Centre for Contemporary Art
- Kollwitzplatz Farmers' Market
- Kranoldplatz Market
- Maybachufer Market (Turkish Market)
- Onkel Philipp
- Photoautomat booths
- Plötzensee
- Rixdorf Market (Karl-Marx-Platz)
- Schlachtensee
- Set Theory Clock (Mengenlehreuhr)
- She Said
- Tempelhofer Feld
- Zeiss Major Planetarium
Walking routes 6
- 01Mitte classics: Reichstag to Museum IslandParliament, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust memorial and Gendarmenmarkt, then along to the cathedral and Museum Island, finishing at the TV Tower.
- 02The Wall and Prenzlauer Berg on a SundayFollow the old border strip along Bernauer Strasse, then join Berliners at the Mauerpark flea market and karaoke, ending with currywurst and a beer garden.
- 03Kreuzberg to Neukölln food graze: bakeries, canal market and street foodA grazing walk through the neighbourhoods where Berliners actually eat: a modern bakery, the canal-side Turkish market, gözleme on Karl-Marx-Strasse, hummus on Sonnenallee, a 2-euro falafel wrap and a rooftop drink.
- 04East Side Gallery and Friedrichshain's BoxiThe painted Wall along the Spree, then up Warschauer Strasse to Friedrichshain's village square, with croissants, a butcher's canteen and Georgian dumplings.
- 05West Berlin: Charlottenburg Palace to KantstrasseThe old West: palace and park, Persian food opposite the palace, Berlin's Asian food street, Savignyplatz, the photography museum and a set-theory clock, ending in classic West Berlin bars.
- 06Tempelhofer Feld to old RixdorfCross the runways of the former airport, then drop into Rixdorf's village lanes, the farmers' market and a converted brewery art space.