What to See in Berlin, Places of Interest: From the Brandenburg Gate to the Castles

Capital of Germany since 1999, Berlin is a phoenix risen from the ashes of the Second World War. Today the city has regained a position that attracts architects, designers, and restorers from all over the world, as well as artists, musicians, and intellectuals. A trip to Berlin is a journey into reconstruction understood as a global condition that embraces both the city’s architecture and the collective feelings that, probably, have been the strength of Berlin, rediscovered and much loved by the world especially since the ’90s, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. To visit Berlin saving money, we recommend the Berlin Welcome Card which entitles you to many discounts.

See also: 3-day itinerary in Berlin

What to see in Berlin

1 Berlin points of interest: Brandenburg Gate

The most recognizable symbol of Berlin is certainly the Brandenburg Gate, a majestic monument located between the districts of Mitte and Tiergarten. Built in 1791, it has witnessed the key events of German history. Berlin Brandenburg Gate. To the east of the gate lies Pariser Platz, which in recent years has regained its pre-war splendor and status as one of the most prestigious areas of the city. On the north side, the historic French embassy has been rebuilt, while on the opposite side the Academy of Arts has recently reopened.

Berlin Sehenswürdigkeiten

2 Berlin: Holocaust-Mahnmal

Südlich des Pariser Platz, 150 m vom Brandenburger Tor entfernt, erhebt sich das Mahnmal für die jüdischen Opfer, das die historischen und sozialen Ereignisse der Stadt sehr gut erzählt und Zeit für Betrachtung und Entdeckung verdient. Dieses Denkmal, auch bekannt als Holocaust-Mahnmal (Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas), wurde 2005 vom Architekten Peter Eisenman fertiggestellt. Zu Beginn verursachte es einige Kontroversen wegen des schlichten Designs und des Ausschlusses nicht-jüdischer Opfer, genießt heute jedoch die Unterstützung der städtischen Öffentlichkeit. Die Attraktion ist von Dienstag bis Sonntag von 10:00 bis 20:00 Uhr kostenlos zugänglich.

Berlin Sehenswürdigkeiten

3 Berlin Sehenswürdigkeiten: Reichstag

Dieses imposante Gebäude aus dem späten 19. Jahrhundert ist kürzlich wieder zum Herzen des deutschen politischen Lebens geworden. Seine prächtige Glaskuppel, gestaltet von Norman Foster, ist zweifellos das Symbol der aktuellen Geschichte der Stadt. Um den herrlichen Panorama-Blick von oben auf das Gebäude zu bewundern, bilden sich endlose Warteschlangen, es ist daher ratsam, früh oder am Abend zu kommen. Das Areal ist täglich von 8.00 bis 24.00 Uhr kostenlos zugänglich.

What to visit in Berlin

4 Potsdamer Platz and Charlottenburg

Once bleak due to its proximity to the Wall, today Potsdamer Platz is a city within a city, filled with skyscrapers, cinemas, embassies, and interesting museums (also delicious museums). In this area you can feel the breath of modernity, yet the charm of Berlin’s castles remains unchanged, first and foremost the Charlottenburg Palace, with its adjoining park. Built as a summer residence for Queen Charlotte by her husband Frederick I, it was later expanded with Baroque and Rococo additions in 1701.

5 Berlin Wall

Many visitors to Berlin seek out traces of the historic Wall that divided the city in two from 1961 to 1989. Although only a few pieces remain, it is not difficult to get an idea of the concrete serpent that separated West Berlin from the surrounding GDR. The Wall’s route, which can be explored on foot or by bicycle, is 160 km long and encircles all of East Berlin, which was the capital of socialist Germany. Along the well-marked route, you will find maps and informational panels in multiple languages to help orient yourself. The Berlin Wall Trail (Berliner Mauerweg), actually a pedestrian and bike path, is divided into 14 stages, each easily accessible by subway and urban and suburban rail.

Things to See in Berlin

6 Berlin Museums

In Berlin, cultural spaces are mainly concentrated on Museum Island (Museumsinsel), which offers an exceptional concentration of top-level art galleries. The complex is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

• The Pergamon (Pergamon Museum) is a unique museum: here, in fact, full-size reconstructions of monuments discovered by German archaeologists from ancient Greece and the ancient Persian Empire have been made. The museum houses the famous Altar of Pergamon, which gives the museum its name, the Ishtar Gate, also called the Babylon Gate, and many other historic monuments.
• The Altes Museum, built in 1830 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, is the oldest on the island and hosts collections of ancient art. The main attraction of the museum is the Greek statue Betende Knabe, sculpted in Rhodes depicting a boy with raised arms.
• The Bode Museum, known for its art collection dedicated to sculpture, applied arts, and numismatics, is also located on Berlin’s Museum Island.

Other notable museums include the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the DDR Museum, and the Jewish Museum.

Berlin to See

7 Berlin: What to See at Alexanderplatz

Located east of the museums, Berlin’s famous square, affectionately called “Alex,” is a kind of architectural legacy of old East Berlin. It was named in honor of a visit by the Russian tsar Alexander I to Berlin on October 25, 1805. Alexanderplatz is surrounded by several famous buildings, including the Fernsehturm, the Television Tower, the second tallest structure in Europe, the Park Inn Hotel, the tallest residential building in the city, and the World Clock.

Things to see in Berlin

8 Berlin Zoo and other points of interest

The animal symbol of the city is the bear which indeed appears on the flag and the coat of arms of Berlin; for this reason, a visit to the Zoologischer Garten, the Berlin Zoo, cannot be missed. Although the city is huge, sprawling, and very lively, it is possible to find a corner to relax in the large green space of the Tiergarten, the park right in the center that, especially in summer, welcomes families for picnics and outdoor games.

Beautiful and all to admire are also the churches, among which the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral), a Protestant cathedral located on Schloßplatz, rightly deserves a place of honor. Berlin Guide. The risk of getting lost or missing any important place is avoided thanks to the help of technology: to visit Berlin in complete tranquility, it is possible to use audio guides that, thanks to comprehensive explanations, allow you to wander without ever losing your way yet with absolute freedom.

A trip to Berlin cannot exclude a visit to Checkpoint Charlie, a glaring symbol of the city’s past division and now a tourist attraction.

What to see in Berlin

9 What to do in Berlin: the neighborhoods

Berlin is a city to be experienced intensely at all hours of the day and night: lively and busy is also the life in the bars, clubs, and on the streets of the city, a container of fashion, trends, arts, and open-air entertainment. Berlin nightlife.

In Friedrichshain you can breathe alternative nightlife, in Charlottenburg refined and elegant evenings, while Prenzlauer Berg is now the trendiest neighborhood. However, Mitte remains the center in every sense, not only as the city’s administration but also concerning entertainment or a refreshing break during afternoons around Berlin. Due to its richness of beauty and attractions, Berlin is a city that can be visited at any time of the year, although the harsh winter temperatures should be kept in mind as they may discourage those sensitive to cold. The Berlin Christmas Markets become a true attraction during the advent period leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Not to be missed.

Berlin airport

10 How to get around Berlin

Berlin had two main airports: the international Tegel Airport (permanently closed in November 2020), located 8 km northwest of the city center, and Schonefeld, which is 20 km from the center. Schonefeld Airport is well connected to the city by an extensive bus, train, and taxi service, also thanks to the state-of-the-art interchange between national and international connections called Berlin Hauptbahnhof, inaugurated for the 2006 World Cup. Berlin’s main station is Hauptbahnhof, but there are also three other stations for long-distance trains and others for regional traffic. The extensive urban network is made up of the U-Bahn subway and the surface S-Bahn line, both active 24 hours a day; however, there are also trams and buses of the MetroNetz line. The city is divided into 3 zones: A, B, and C.

11 Where to eat in Berlin

In no other German city can you eat as well and “internationally” as in Berlin. The culinary choice is very wide and ranges from places that offer cuisine from all over the world to others that provide traditional recipes with definitely generous portions. The quality/price ratio is generally fair. For breakfast, we recommend Anna Blume, a fragrant restaurant-coffee-florist. If you want to taste some German specialties for lunch such as pork knuckle or oxtail stew, we suggest Restauration 1900, a classic meeting place for Berliners and tourists. To end the day perfectly, the ideal is definitely a dinner at Schwarzenraben, a restaurant-bar formerly a trattoria that offers excellent Italian cuisine or at “Zur Alten Laterne” (Old Lantern). Don’t miss the gourmet museums including the Zucker Museum.

12 Berlin where to sleep

Berlin offers a wide choice of hotels. Berlin hotels. Most of the high-end ones consist of large modern hotels, the top of contemporary design, but there are also more classic and economical accommodations, especially in the areas of Kurfurstendamm, Tiergaten, and Charlottenburg. Mitte and Prenzlauerberg host some of the most prestigious hotels in the city.