Map: Berlin Sightseeing Modules
Map: Berlin Public Transportation
▲▲▲BUS TOURS
Sights in Central Berlin (The Historic Core)
Map: Prenzlauer Berg Hotels & Restaurants
Map: Scheunenviertel Hotels & Restaurants
Map: City West Hotels & Restaurants
Map: Historic Core Hotels & Restaurants
BY CRUISE SHIP AT THE PORT OF WARNEMÜNDE
Berlin is a city of leafy boulevards, grand Neoclassical buildings, world-class art, glitzy shopping arcades, and funky graffitied neighborhoods with gourmet street food. It’s big and bombastic—the showcase city of kings and kaisers, of the Führer and 21st-century commerce.
Of course, Berlin is still largely defined by its WWII years, and the Cold War. The East-West division was set in stone in 1961, when the East German government surrounded West Berlin with the Berlin Wall. Since the fall of the Wall in 1989, Berlin has been a constant construction zone. Standing on ripped-up streets and under a canopy of cranes, visitors have witnessed the city’s reunification and rebirth. Today Berlin is a world capital once again—the nuclear fuel rod of a great nation.
In the city’s top-notch museums, you can walk through an enormous Babylonian gate amid rough-and-tumble ancient statuary, fondle a chunk of the concrete-and-rebar Berlin Wall, and peruse canvases by Dürer and Rembrandt. A series of thought-provoking memorials confront Germany’s difficult past. And some of the best history exhibits anywhere—covering everything from Prussian princes to Nazi atrocities to life under communism—have a knack for turning even those who claim to hate history into armchair experts.
Beyond its tangible sights and its enthralling history, Berlin is simply a pleasurable place to hang out. It’s captivating, lively, fun-loving—and easy on the budget. Go for a pedal in a park, or a lazy cruise along the delightful Spree riverfront. Step across what was the Berlin Wall and through the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Nurse a stein of brew in a rollicking beer hall, slurp a bowl of ramen at a foodie hotspot, or dive into a cheap Currywurst. Ponder present-day “street art” (a.k.a. graffiti) on your way to see the famous bust of Nefertiti or a serene Vermeer. Grab a drink from a sidewalk vendor, find a bench along the river, watch the sun set over a skyline of domes and cranes...and simply bask in Berlin.
On all but the shortest trips through Germany, I’d give Berlin three nights and at least two full days, and spend them this way:
Day 1: Begin your day getting oriented to this huge city. For a quick and relaxing once-over-lightly tour, jump on one of the many hop-on, hop-off buses that make two-hour narrated orientation loops through the city. Use the bus to get off and on at places of interest (such as Potsdamer Platz). Then walk from the Reichstag (reservations required to climb its dome), under the Brandenburg Gate, and down Unter den Linden following my “Berlin City Walk.” Tour the German History Museum, and cap your sightseeing day by catching a one-hour boat tour (or pedaling a rented bike) along the parklike banks of the Spree River.
Day 2: Spend your morning touring the great museums on Museum Island (note that the Pergamon Museum’s famous altar is out of view until about 2025). Dedicate your afternoon to sights of the Third Reich and Cold War: After lunch, hike to the Topography of Terror exhibit and along the surviving stretch of the Wall (on Niederkirchnerstrasse) to Checkpoint Charlie. Head to the Berlin Wall Memorial for a stirring and in-depth survey of that infamous barrier, or to the Jewish Museum Berlin. Finish your day in the lively Prenzlauer Berg district.
Berlin merits additional time if you have it. There’s much more in the city (such as the wonderful Gemäldegalerie art museum). And nearby are some very worthwhile day trips (covered in the next chapter): At Potsdam, glide like a swan through the opulent halls of an imperial palace or, at Oranienburg, ponder the darkest chapter of this nation’s past at the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum.
Berlin is huge. Though it’s a major metropolis, it’s not a city of skyscrapers packed into a single, dense urban core. Rather, Berlin is spread out—a series of pleasant neighborhoods, with broad boulevards, long blocks, and low five-story buildings.
Berlin’s “downtown” alone stretches five miles, following the west-to-east flow of the Spree River. In the center sits the vast park called Tiergarten. Most tourist sights lie east of the park, in the central zone known as “Mitte.” To make sprawling Berlin easier to digest, this chapter’s coverage is organized by compass direction, radiating out from the historic core. (This organization has nothing to do with the old, Cold War-era “East Berlin” and “West Berlin” designations; in fact, virtually everything mentioned here other than “Western Berlin” was in the former East.)
Historic Core: Berlin’s one-mile sightseeing axis runs west-to-east along Unter den Linden boulevard, with a mix of 19th-century Neoclassical grandeur and 21st-century glitz. At the western edge, you’ll find the historic Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag (Germany’s domed parliament), and a scattering of poignant memorials. Unter den Linden passes the grand squares called Gendarmenmarkt and Bebelplatz before it terminates at Museum Island—the birthplace of Berlin and today home to a cluster of the city’s top museums: the ancient wonders of the Pergamon and Neues museums, and German paintings in the Old National Gallery.
Besides art, within this core are Berlin’s towering Cathedral, the German History and DDR museums, and the re-creation of Berlin’s former royal palace.
Berlin was a humble, marshy burg until prince electors from the Hohenzollern dynasty made it their capital in the mid-15th century. Gradually their territory spread and strengthened, becoming the powerful Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. As the leading city of Prussia, Berlin dominated the northern Germanic world—both militarily and culturally—long before there was a united “Germany.”
Thanks largely to Frederick the Great (1712-1786), the enlightened despot who was both a ruthless military tactician and a cultured lover of the arts, Prussia was well-positioned to lead the German unification movement in the 19th century. And when Germany became a unified modern nation in 1871, Berlin was its natural capital. The city boomed with Germany’s industrialization, quadrupling its population over the next 40 years. After Germany’s humiliating defeat in World War I, Berlin thrived as an anything-goes cultural capital of the Roaring Twenties. During World War II, the city was Hitler’s headquarters—and the place where the Führer drew his final breath.
When the Soviet Army reached Berlin in 1945, the protracted fighting left the city in ruins. Berlin was divided by the victorious Allied powers—the American, British, and French sectors became West Berlin, and the Soviet sector, East Berlin. The city became the main battlefield of the nascent Cold War. In 1948, the Soviets tried to starve the 2.2 million residents of the western half in an almost medieval-style siege, which was broken by the Allies’ Berlin Airlift. Later, with the overnight construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, an Iron (or, at least, concrete) Curtain completely encircled West Berlin—cutting Berlin in half (see here). While East Berliners lived through difficult times, West Berlin became a magnet for artists, punks, squatters, and free spirits.
Finally, on November 9, 1989, the Wall came down. After wild celebration, Berlin faced a fitful transition to reunification. Two cities—and countries—became one at a staggering pace. Some “Ossies” (impolite slang for Easterners) missed their security. Some “Wessies” missed military deferrals, subsidized rent, and tax breaks for living in an isolated city surrounded by the communist world.
Today, going on 30 years later, the old East-West divisions are a distant memory. Berlin’s local government has been eager to charge forward, with little nostalgia for the past. Big corporations and the national government have moved in, and the dreary swath of land that was the Wall has been transformed. Berlin is a new city—ready to welcome visitors.
Northern Berlin: The trendy Scheunenviertel (“Barn Quarter”) neighborhood, near the Hackescher Markt transit hub, is a short walk north of Unter den Linden; here you’ll find eateries, shopping, and Jewish history. Farther out is the even hipper Prenzlauer Berg residential area, with recommended hotels, restaurants, and shopping. Also in this zone are the Berlin Wall Memorial—the best place in town to learn more about the Wall—and the Hauptbahnhof (main train station).
Southern Berlin: South of Unter den Linden, fascism and Cold War sights dominate, anchored by Checkpoint Charlie (the former border crossing through the Wall) and the Topography of Terror (documenting Nazi atrocities). Further south and east is the sprawling, diverse, and fun-to-explore Kreuzberg neighborhood with characteristic mini-neighborhoods known as Kieze; the main sight here is the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Eastern Berlin: East of Museum Island, Unter den Linden changes its name to Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse and leads to Alexanderplatz—formerly the hub of communist East Berlin, still marinated in brutal architecture, and marked by its impossible-to-miss TV Tower. Farther east sits the gentrifying Friedrichshain neighborhood, with the East Side Gallery (a mile-long stretch of surviving Berlin Wall, now slathered in graffiti).
Western Berlin: Just west of the Brandenburg gate is the entrance to Berlin’s huge central park, Tiergarten. South of the park, Potsdamer Platz is home to Berlin’s 21st-century glitz, with skyscrapers and shopping plazas. Down the street, the Kulturforum is a cluster of museums, including the impressive Gemäldegalerie (starring Rembrandt, Dürer, and more).
West of the park is City West—the former heart of communist-era West Berlin, lined up along the boulevard named Kurfürstendamm (“Ku’damm” for short). Today this modern area feels more like a classy suburb, with a few sights (including the Berlin Zoological Garden) and several recommended hotels. Finally, to the north is Charlottenburg Palace, with a mediocre royal interior but excellent 20th-century art museums nearby.
Berlin’s TIs are for-profit agencies that are only marginally helpful (tel. 030/250-025, www.visitberlin.de). You’ll find them at the Hauptbahnhof (daily 8:00-22:00, by main entrance on Europaplatz), in City West at Europa Center (Mon-Sat 10:00-20:00, closed Sun, hidden inside the shopping mall ground floor at Tauentzienstrasse 9; nearby “info box” kiosk on Rankestrasse across from Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (daily 10:00-18:00, until 16:00 Nov-March), at the Brandenburg Gate (daily 9:30-19:00, until 18:00 Nov-March), in the Park Inn hotel lobby at Alexanderplatz (Mon-Sat 7:00-21:00, Sun 8:00-18:00, Alexanderplatz 7), and at Tegel Airport (daily 8:00-21:00). A separately run TI—focusing on Prenzlauer Berg, and generally more useful—is at the Kulturbrauerei (daily 11:00-19:00). See the map on here for most locations.
Skip the TI’s €1 map, and instead browse the walking tour company brochures—many include nearly-as-good maps for free. Most hotels provide free city maps. If you’re staying (or spending lots of time) in Prenzlauer Berg, ask for the free Pankow Entdecken booklet, with lots of local insights.
For a comprehensive rundown of the city’s train stations and airports, see “Berlin Connections” at the end of this chapter.
Closures: The Berlin Wall Memorial Visitors Center and Documentation Center, the Old National Gallery, and the Gemäldegalerie are closed on Monday.
Museum Passes: The €29 Museum Pass Berlin is best for serious museumgoers—it covers nearly all the city sights for three consecutive days (including everything covered by the one-day Museum Island Pass). It gets you into more than 45 museums, including the national museums and most of the recommended biggies (though not the German History Museum). Covered sights include the five Museum Island museums (Old National Gallery, Neues, Altes, Bode, and Pergamon), Gemäldegalerie, and the Jewish Museum, along with more minor sights. Buy it at any participating museum or a TI. The pass generally lets you skip the line and go directly into the museum (except at the Pergamon, where you can prebook a time slot).
The €18 Museum Island Pass (not sold at TIs) covers all the sights on Museum Island and is a fine value—but for just €11 more, the three-day Museum Pass Berlin gives you triple the days and many more entries.
Festivals: Berlin hosts a near-constant string of events; see the appendix for key holiday and festival dates.
Cold War Terminology: What Americans called “East Germany” was technically the German Democratic Republic—the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR. You’ll still see those initials around what was once East Germany. The name for what was “West Germany”—the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or BRD)—is now the name shared by all of Germany.
Laundry: You’ll find several self-service launderettes near my recommended hotels (generally daily 6:00-22:00). In Prenzlauer Berg, try Eco-Express Waschsalon (Danziger Strasse 7) or Schnell & Sauber Waschcenter (Oderberger Strasse 1); for locations see the map on here. In the Scheunenviertel, there are two launderettes around the corner from Rosenthaler Platz: Waschsalon 115 (Wi-Fi, Torstrasse 115) and Eco-Express Waschsalon (Torstrasse 109); for locations see the map on here.
The city is vast. Berlin’s sights spread far and wide. Right from the start, commit yourself to the city’s fine public-transit system.
Berlin’s transit system uses the same ticket for its many modes of transportation: buses, trams (Strassenbahn), and trains. There are two types of trains: The U-Bahn—like a subway, making lots of short hops around town—is run by the local transit authority (BVG); the S-Bahn, a light rail that goes faster and stops only at major stations, is operated by German Railways (Deutsche Bahn). All are covered by the same tickets.
For all types of transit, there are three lettered zones: A, B, and C. Most of your sightseeing will be in zones A and B (the city proper); you may enter zone C if you’re going to Potsdam, Sachsenhausen, Schönefeld airport, or other outlying areas.
Information: Timetables and prices are available on the helpful BVG website or app (www.bvg.de); on-the-go trip routing with U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and tram connections are on the handy VBB public transit website (www.vbb.de; good free app).
Sections of the U-Bahn or S-Bahn sometimes close temporarily for repairs, with a bus route replacing the train (Ersatzverkehr, or “replacement transportation”; zwischen means “between”).
Within Berlin, Eurail passes are good only on S-Bahn connections from the train station when you arrive and to the station when you depart.
The €2.80 basic single ticket (Einzelfahrschein) covers two hours of travel in one direction. It’s easy to make this ticket stretch to cover several rides...as long as they’re in the same direction.
The €1.70 short-ride ticket (Kurzstrecke Fahrschein) covers a single ride of up to six bus/tram stops or three subway stations (one transfer allowed on subway). You can save on short-ride tickets by buying them in groups of four (€5.60).
The €9 four-trip ticket (4-Fahrten-Karte) is the same as four basic single tickets at a small discount.
The day pass (Tageskarte) is good until 3:00 the morning after you buy it (€7 for zones AB, €7.40 for zones ABC). For longer stays, consider a seven-day pass (Sieben-Tage-Karte; €30 for zones AB, €37.50 for zones ABC), or the WelcomeCard (options from 2 to 6 days; described later). The Kleingruppenkarte lets groups of up to five travel all day (€19.90 for zones AB, €20.80 for zones ABC).
If you’ve already bought a ticket for zones A and B, and later decide to go to zone C (such as to Potsdam), you can buy an “extension ticket” (Anschlussfahrschein) for €1.60, which covers 1.5 hours of travel in that zone.
If you plan to cover a lot of ground using public transportation during a two- or three-day visit, the WelcomeCard is usually the best deal (available at TIs; www.visitberlin.de/welcomecard). It covers all public transportation and gives you up to 50 percent discounts on lots of minor and a few major museums, sightseeing tours (including 25 percent off the recommended Original Berlin Walks and Insider Tour), and music and theater events. The Berlin-only card covers transit zones AB (€19.90/48 hours, €27.90/72 hours, also 4-, 5-, and 6-day options).
You can buy U-Bahn/S-Bahn tickets from machines at stations. Tickets are also sold at BVG pavilions at train stations and at the TI, from machines onboard trams, and on buses from drivers, who’ll give change. You’ll need coins or paper bills (only German “EC” credit cards are accepted as payment at transit ticket machines or retailers).
To use a ticket machine, start by pressing the flag icon, and then tap the British flag for English instructions. Next, select the zone (AB, ABC, or “short-distance journey” for a zoneless short-ride ticket) and the type of ticket you want (single, day, or four-trip; for seven-day tickets, select the “season tickets” option), then feed in coins or bills. Most travelers want the AB ticket—either single or all-day ticket. Note that “adult” (Erwachsener) means anyone 14 or older.
As you board the bus or tram or enter the subway, validate your ticket in a clock machine (or risk a €60 fine; with a pass, stamp it only the first time you ride). Tickets are checked periodically, often by plainclothes inspectors. You may be asked to show your ticket when boarding the bus.
If you learn a few key transit lines, it will help shrink this vast city.
Several S-Bahn lines converge along a single east-west axis—flowing like a high-speed river through the heart of the city. Get used to this, and you’ll zip quickly between key stops: Savignyplatz (hotels in western Berlin), Zoologischer Garten—also known as “Zoo Station” (zoo, City West, Ku’damm), Hauptbahnhof, Friedrichstrasse (near the heart of Unter den Linden), Hackescher Markt (Museum Island, Scheunenviertel, connection to Prenzlauer Berg), and Alexanderplatz (eastern end of the historic core).
Buses #100, #200, and #TXL travel east-west along Unter den Linden between the Reichstag/Brandenburg on one end and Alexanderplatz on the other. There are stops every few blocks, with buses every 10 minutes or so.
On the S-Bahn, lines S1 and S2 travel north-south between Nordbahnhof (Berlin Wall Memorial), Friedrichstrasse, Brandenburger Tor, and Potsdamer Platz (Kulturforum).
On the U-Bahn, line U2 cuts diagonally across the city from Prenzlauer Berg (hotels) to Potsdamer Platz, stopping near Checkpoint Charlie at Stadtmitte. Other handy U-Bahn lines include U6 (running north-south through downtown, offering a quick connection to Kreuzberg) and U1 (cutting east-west through southern Berlin, connecting City West, Kreuzberg, and Friedrichshain). The under-construction U5 will eventually connect the Hauptbahnhof, Reichstag, and strategic stops along the city’s main sightseeing spine: Brandenburger Tor, Unter den Linden (near Babelplatz), Museum Island, Rotes Rathaus (City Hall, near the Nikolai Quarter), and Alexanderplatz.
Tram #M1 is helpful for getting to and around Prenzlauer Berg—connecting the Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station with key stops along the main drag Kastanienallee up to the Eberswalder Strasse U-Bahn station. Useful tram #12 overlaps with the middle part of this route.
Tram #M10 connects stops along the Berlin Wall Memorial, from Nordbahnhof all the way to the Mauerpark and the Eberswalder Strasse U-Bahn station.
Cabs are easy to flag down, and taxi stands are common. A typical ride within town costs around €10, and a crosstown trip (for example, Savignyplatz to Alexanderplatz) will run about €20. Tariff 1 is for a Kurzstrecke ticket (see later). All other rides are tariff 2 (€3.90 drop plus €2/km for the first seven kilometers, then €1.50/km after that). If possible, use cash: Credit card payment comes with a surcharge.
For any ride of less than two kilometers (about a mile), you can save several euros if you take advantage of the Kurzstrecke (short-stretch) rate. To get this rate, it’s important that you flag down the cab on the street—not at or even near a taxi stand. You must ask for the Kurzstrecke rate as soon as you hop in: Confidently say “Kurzstrecke, bitte” (KOORTS-shtreh-keh, BIT-teh), and your driver will grumble and flip the meter to a fixed €5 rate (for a ride that would otherwise cost €8).
Local laws require Berlin’s Uber drivers to charge the same rates as taxis; there’s no financial advantage to using Uber over just hailing a cab.
Flat Berlin is a very bike-friendly city, but be careful—motorists don’t brake for bicyclists (and bicyclists don’t brake for pedestrians). Fortunately, many roads and sidewalks have special red-painted bike lanes. Don’t ride on the regular sidewalk—it’s verboten (though locals do it all the time).
Most Berlin hotels rent bikes to guests, which could be your easiest choice (ask when you book). But for a more serious bike, consider the following options.
Fat Tire Bikes rents good bikes at two handy locations—in the east (at the base of the TV Tower near Alexanderplatz; see map on here), and in the west (at Zoologischer Garten—leaving the station onto Hardenbergplatz, turn left and walk 100 yards to the big bike sign; see map on here). Rates are the same at both locations (€14/day, cheaper for 2 or more days, trekking and e-bikes available, free luggage storage; Zoologischer Garten location open daily 9:30-20:00, April and Oct until 18:00, shorter hours or by appointment only Nov-March; Alexanderplatz location open daily March-Nov and sporadically off-season; tel. 030/2404-7991, www.berlinbikerental.com).
In central Berlin, Take a Bike—near the Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn station—is owned by a knowledgeable Dutch-German with a huge inventory (3-gear bikes: €8/4 hours, €12.50/day, €19/2 days, slightly cheaper for longer rentals, more for better bikes, includes helmets, daily 9:30-19:00, Nov-March closed Tue-Thu, Neustädtische Kirchstrasse 8—see map on here, tel. 030/2065-4730, www.takeabike.de). To find it, leave the S-Bahn station via the Friedrichstrasse exit, turn right, go through a triangle-shaped square, and hang a left on Neustädtische Kirchstrasse.
Bike Rental Berlin is a good option if you’re sleeping in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood (€10/day, €16/2 days, helmets-€1, kids’ bikes and childseats available, daily 10:00-17:00, often closed off-season—call ahead, Kastanienallee 55—see map on here, tel. 030/7153-3020, http://bike-rental-berlin.de).
Simple Rent a Bike stands are outside countless Berlin shops, restaurants, and hotels. Most charge €10-12 a day but don’t come with the reliable quality, advice, helmets, or maps offered by the full-service rental shops listed earlier.
Berlin lends itself to a bus-tour orientation. Several companies offer essentially the same routine: a circuit of the city with unlimited, all-day hop-on, hop-off privileges for about €20 (two days for a few euros more, check for WelcomeCard discounts). Buses make about 15 stops at the city’s major tourist spots (Potsdamer Platz, Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, and so on). For specifics, look for brochures in your hotel lobby or at the TI, or check the websites for the dominant outfits: CitySightseeing Berlin, a.k.a. Berlin City Tour, runs red buses and yellow-and-green buses (www.berlin-city-tour.de). City Circle Sightseeing, a.k.a. BEX, runs yellow-and-black buses marked with a “Grayline” logo (www.berlinerstadtrundfahrten.de).
Buses come with cursory narration in English and German by a live, sometimes tired guide, or a dry recorded commentary. Try to catch a bus with a live guide rather than a recorded spiel. In season, buses run at least four times per hour (generally April-Oct daily 10:00-18:00, last bus leaves all stops around 16:00, 2-hour loop; Nov-March 2/hour, last departure around 15:00).
Berlin’s fascinating and complex history can be challenging to appreciate on your own, but a good Berlin tour guide makes the city’s dynamic story come to life.
Unlike many European countries, Germany has no regulations controlling who can give city tours. This can make guide quality hit-or-miss, ranging from brilliant history buffs who’ve lived in Berlin for years while pursuing their PhDs, to new arrivals who memorize a script and start leading tours after being in town for just a couple of weeks. To improve your odds of landing a great guide, try one of my recommendations.
Most outfits offer walks that are variations on the same themes: general introductory walk, Third Reich walk (Hitler and Nazi sites), and day trips to Potsdam and the Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum. Most tours cost about €12-15 and last about three to four hours (longer for side-trips to Potsdam and Sachsenhausen); public-transit tickets and entrances to sights are extra. For more details than I’ve given here—including prices, specific schedules, and other themed tours—see each company’s website or pick up brochures at TIs, hotel reception desks, cafés, and shops.
With a strong commitment to quality guiding, Original Berlin’s Discover Berlin walk offers a good overview in four hours (daily at 10:30 except no walks on Tue Nov-March, April-Oct also daily at 14:00). They also offer a Third Reich walking tour (Hitler’s Germany), themed walks, and tours to Potsdam, Sachsenhausen, and Wittenberg. Get a €1 discount per tour with this book. Tours depart from opposite the Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station, outside the Weihenstephaner restaurant (tour info: tel. 030/301-9194, www.berlinwalks.de).
Specializing in in-depth walks, this company was started by the late, great Terry Brewer, who once worked for the British diplomatic service in East Berlin. Terry left the company to his guides. Led by enthusiastic historians, their city tours are intimate, relaxed, and can flex with your interests. Their Best of Berlin introductory tour, billed at six hours, can last for eight (daily at 10:30). They also do a shorter 3.5-hour tour (free, tip expected, daily at 13:00), an all-day Potsdam tour (Wed and Sat, May-Oct), and others. All tours depart from Bandy Brooks ice cream shop at the Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn station (tel. 0177-388-1537, www.brewersberlintours.com).
This well-regarded company runs the full gamut of itineraries: introductory walk (daily), themed and museum tours, as well as Sachsenhausen, Potsdam, and a day trip to Dresden. Their tours have two meeting points: in Western Berlin, in front of the McDonald’s outside the Zoologischer Garten station; and in the Scheunenviertel neighborhood, outside the AM to PM Bar at the Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station (tel. 030/692-3149, www.insidertour.com).
You’ll see ads for “free” introductory tours all over town. Popular with students (free is good), it’s a business model that has spread across Europe: English-speaking students (often Aussies and Americans) deliver a memorized script before a huge crowd lured in by the promise of a free tour. The catch: Guides expect to be “tipped in paper” (€5/person minimum is encouraged).
“Free” tour companies also offer pub crawls that are wildly popular with visiting college students.
Berlin guides are generally independent contractors who work with tour companies (such as those listed here) but can also be hired privately (generally charging around €50-60/hour or €200-300/day, confirm when booking). I’ve personally worked with and can strongly recommend each of the following guides: Archaeologist Nick Jackson (mobile 0171-537-8768, www.jacksonsberlintours.com, info@jacksonsberlintours.com, nick.jackson@berlin.de); Lee Evans (makes 20th-century Germany a thriller, mobile 0177-423-5307, lee.evans@berlin.de); Torben Brown (a walking Berlin encyclopedia, mobile 0176-5004-2572, tfbrown@web.de, www.berlinperspectives.com); journalist Holger Zimmer (a cultural connoisseur who also guides my groups, mobile 0163-345-4427, explore@berlin.de); Carlos Meissner (a historian with a professorial earnestness, mobile 0175-266-0575, carlos_meissner@hotmail.com, www.berlinperspectives.com); young British expat Maisie Hitchcock (mobile 01763-847-2717, maisiehitchcock@hotmail.com); Caroline Marburger (a sharp historian who has lived and studied abroad, mobile 0176-7677-9920, caroline@berlinlocals.com, www.berlinlocals.com); and Bernhard Schlegelmilch (the only guide listed here who grew up behind the Wall, mobile 0176-6422-9119, www.steubentoursberlin.com, info@steubentoursberlin.com).
Guides can get booked up—especially in the summer—so reserve ahead. Many of these guides belong to a guiding federation called Bündnis Berliner Stadtführer, which is a great source for connecting with even more guides (www.guides-berlin.org).
Fat Tire offers several different guided bike tours from April through October (most €28, 4-6 hours, 6-10 miles, check schedules at www.fattiretours.com/berlin): City Tour (daily; also available as a more expensive e-bike version), Berlin Wall Tour, Third Reich, evening food tour (€49), Modern Berlin Tour (countercultural, creative aspects of contemporary Berlin), an all-day Potsdam Gardens and Palaces Tour, and private tours for families and small groups. Meet at the TV Tower at Alexanderplatz (reservations smart, tel. 030/2404-7991).
Several boat companies offer €14 trips up and down the river. In one relaxing hour, you’ll listen to excellent English audioguides, see lots of wonderful new government-commissioned architecture, and enjoy the lively park action fronting the river. Boats leave from docks clustered near the bridge behind the Berlin Cathedral (just off Unter den Linden, near the DDR Museum). For better views, go for a two-story boat with open-deck seating. While you have many essentially interchangeable options, I enjoyed the Historical Sightseeing Cruise from Stern und Kreisschiffahrt (mid-March-Nov daily 10:00-19:00, leaves from Nikolaiviertel Dock—cross bridge from Berlin Cathedral toward Alexanderplatz and look right; not all boats have English commentary—ask; tel. 030/536-3600, www.sternundkreis.de).
Andy Steves (Rick’s son) runs Weekend Student Adventures (WSA Europe), offering 3-day and 10-day budget travel packages across Europe including accommodations, skip-the-line sightseeing, and unique local experiences. Locally guided and DIY options are available for student and budget travelers in 13 of Europe’s most popular cities, including Berlin (guided trips from €199, see www.wsaeurope.com for details). Check out Andy’s tips, resources, and podcast at www.andysteves.com.
PART 1: THE REICHSTAG TO UNTER DEN LINDEN
2 Memorial to Politicians Who Opposed Hitler
3 Berlin Wall Victims Memorial
7 Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
11 Brandenburger Tor S-Bahn Station
PART 2: BEBELPLATZ TO ALEXANDERPLATZ
14 Bebelplatz: The Square of the Books
15 Neue Wache
16 Museum Island and Former City Palace
19 Spree River
(See “Berlin City Walk” map, here.)
Trace Germany’s turbulent 20th-century history on this two-mile self-guided walk, worth ▲▲▲. We’ll start in front of the Reichstag, pass through the Brandenburg Gate, walk down Unter den Linden, and finish on Alexanderplatz, near the TV Tower. You’ll want to visit some major sights along the route later or by taking a break from the walk. Follow the route on the map on here.
Length of This Tour: If you have just one day in Berlin, or want a good orientation to the city, simply follow this walk (allow 2-3 hours at a brisk pace, not counting museum visits). By the end, you’ll have seen the core of Berlin and its most important sights.
If you have more time and want to use this walk as a spine for your sightseeing, entering sights and museums as you go, consider doing Part 1 and Part 2 on different days. Part 1 goes from the Reichstag and takes you partway down Unter den Linden, with stops at the Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and Friedrichstrasse, the glitzy shopping street. Part 2 continues down Unter den Linden, from Bebelplatz to Alexanderplatz, visiting Museum Island and the Spree River, the Berlin Cathedral, and the iconic TV Tower.
Tours: 
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• Start in Platz der Republik and take in your surroundings. Dominating this park is a giant domed building.
The Reichstag is the heart of Germany’s government. It’s where the Bundestag—the lower house of parliament—meets to govern the nation (similar to the US House of Representatives).
Think of the history the Reichstag has seen. When the building was inaugurated in 1895, Germany was still a kingdom. Back then, the real center of power was a mile east of here, at the royal palace. But after the emperor was deposed in World War I, the German Republic was proclaimed right on this spot.
That first democracy proved weak. Meanwhile, the storm of National Socialism was growing—the Nazis. Soon the Reichstag had dozens of duly elected National Socialists, and Adolf Hitler seized power. Then, in 1933, the Reichstag building nearly burned down. Many believe that Hitler planned the fire as an excuse to frame the communists and grab power for himself.
With Hitler as Führer and real democracy a thing of the past, the Reichstag was hardly used. But it remained a powerful symbol and therefore was a prime target for Allied bombers. As World War II wound down, and Soviet troops advanced on the city, it was here at the Reichstag that 1,500 German troops made their last stand. After the war, Berlin was divided and the Berlin Wall ran right behind the Reichstag. The building fell into disuse, and the West German capital was moved from Berlin to the remote city of Bonn.
After the Berlin Wall fell, the Reichstag again became the focus of the new nation. It was renovated by British architect Norman Foster, who added the glass dome, or cupola. In 1999, the new Reichstag reopened, and the parliament reconvened. To many Germans, the proud resurrection of their Reichstag symbolizes the end of a terrible chapter in their country’s history.
Look now at the Reichstag’s modern dome. The cupola rises 155 feet above the ground. Inside the dome, a cone of 360 mirrors reflects natural light into the legislative chamber below, and an opening at the top allows air to circulate. Lit from inside after dark, it gives Berlin a memorable nightlight. Entering the Reichstag is free but requires a reservation; once inside, you can climb the spiral ramp all the way to the top of the dome for a grand city view (for details on visiting, see “Sights in Berlin,” later).
Facing the Reichstag, do a 360-degree spin to find some other big landmarks. To the left of the Reichstag, at the Bundestag U-Bahn stop, the long, partly transparent building houses parliamentary offices. Beyond that, in the distance, is the tower of the huge main train station, the Hauptbahnhof (marked DB for Deutsche Bahn, the German rail company). Farther left is the mammoth, white, concrete-and-glass Chancellery (nicknamed “the Washing Machine”). This is the office of Germany’s most powerful person, the chancellor. To remind the chancellor who he or she works for, Germany’s Reichstag (housing the parliament) is about six feet taller than the Chancellery.
• Walk up closer to the Reichstag, turn right, walk nearly to the street, and find a small memorial next to the shipping-container-like entrance buildings. It’s a row of slate stones sticking out of the ground—it looks like a bike rack. This is the...
These 96 slabs honor the 96 Reichstag members who spoke out against Adolf Hitler and the rising tide of fascism. When Hitler became chancellor, these critics were persecuted and murdered. On each slab, you’ll see a name and political party—most are KPD (Communists) and SPD (Social Democrats)—and the date and location of death (KZ denotes those who died in concentration camps).
• Walk east, along the right side of the Reichstag, on busy Scheidemannstrasse, toward the rear of the building. When you reach the intersection at the back of the Reichstag, turn right and cross the street. Once across, you’ll see a row of white crosses along the sidewalk.
The Berlin Wall once stood right here, running north-south down what is now busy Ebertstrasse, dividing the city in two. This side (near the crosses) was democratic West Berlin. On the other side was the Soviet-controlled East. The row of white crosses commemorates a few of the many brave East Berliners who died trying to cross the Wall to freedom. (For more, see the sidebar.)
West Berlin was a 185-square-mile island of capitalism surrounded by East Germany. Between establishment of the DDR (East Germany) in 1949 and construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, an estimated three million East Germans emigrated (fled) to freedom. To staunch their population loss, the DDR erected the 96-mile-long “Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart” almost overnight, beginning on August 13, 1961.
The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) was actually two walls. The outer was a 12-foot-high concrete barrier topped with barbed wire and a rounded, pipe-like surface to discourage grappling hooks. The inner wall was lower-profile. Sandwiched between was a no-man’s-land (“death strip”) between 30 and 160 feet wide.
There were eight points where you could legally cross between West and East Berlin, the most famous of which were Checkpoint Charlie (see here) and the Friedrichstrasse train station, with its so-called “Palace of Tears” (see here). In general, Westerners could temporarily enter the East, but not vice versa.
Even after the Wall went up, people didn’t stop trying to escape. During the Wall’s 28 years, there were about 5,000 documented successful escapes—and 565 of those were East German guards. An estimated 136 people were killed at the Wall while trying to escape. Meanwhile, living in West Berlin—surrounded by concrete, barbed wire, and enemy soldiers armed to the teeth—was no picnic.
The Berlin Wall came to symbolize the larger Cold War between East and West. President John F. Kennedy gave a speech of solidarity in West Berlin, declaring, “Ich bin ein Berliner”—I am a Berliner. A generation later, President Ronald Reagan stood directly in front of the Brandenburg Gate and demanded of his Soviet counterpart, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
Finally, one November night in 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, as suddenly as it went up.
Read some of the crosses. The last person killed while trying to escape was 20-year-old Chris Gueffroy. He died a mere nine months before the Wall fell, shot through the heart just a few steps away from here.
Several other memorials dedicated to various groups (from Sinti/Roma to homosexuals) are in the vicinity. For details and where to find them, see here.
• Continue south down Ebertstrasse toward the Brandenburg Gate, tracing the former course of the Berlin Wall. A thin strip of memorial bricks embedded in the pavement of Ebertstrasse indicate where it once stood. Ebertstrasse spills into a busy intersection dominated by the imposing Brandenburg Gate. To take in this scene, cross the Berlin Wall bricks to the piazza in front of the...
This massive classical-looking monument is the grandest—and last survivor—of the 14 original gates in Berlin’s old city wall. (This one led to the neighboring city of Brandenburg.) The majestic four-horse chariot on top is driven by the Goddess of Peace. When Napoleon conquered Prussia in 1806, he took this statue to the Louvre in Paris. Then, after the Prussians defeated Napoleon, they got it back (in 1813)...and the Goddess of Peace was renamed the “Goddess of Victory.”
The gate straddles the major east-west axis of the city. The western segment—behind you—stretches four miles, running through Tiergarten Park to the Olympic Stadium. To the east—on the other side of the gate—the street is called Unter den Linden. That’s where we’re headed. In the distance (if you jockey for position), you can see the red-and-white spire of the TV Tower that marks the end of Berlin’s main axis.
Historically, the Brandenburg Gate was just another of this city’s many stately Prussian landmarks. But in our lifetime, it became the symbol of Berlin—of its Cold War division and its reunification. That’s because, from 1961 to 1989, the gate was stranded in the no-man’s land between East and West. For an entire generation, scores of German families were divided—some on this side of the Wall, some on the other. This landmark stood tantalizingly close to both East and West...but was completely off-limits to all.
By the 1980s, it was becoming clear that the once-mighty Soviet empire was slowly crumbling from within. Finally, on November 9, 1989, the world rejoiced at the sight of happy Berliners standing atop the Wall. They chipped away at it with hammers, passed beers to their long-lost cousins on the other side, and adorned the Brandenburg Gate with flowers like a parade float. A month and a half later, on December 22, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl led a triumphant procession through the Brandenburg Gate to shake hands with his (soon-to-be-defunct) East German counterpart—the literal opening of a big gateway that marked the symbolic closing of a heinous era.
• Turn 180 degrees and take in the vast, green expanse of the park called...
Look down the long boulevard (Strasse des 17. Juni) that bisects the 500-acre park called Tiergarten (“Animal Garden”). The boulevard’s name comes from the 17th of June, 1953, when brave East Germans rose up against their communist leaders. The rebellion was crushed, and East Berliners had to wait another 36 years for the kind of freedom you can enjoy next. In the distance is the 220-foot Victory Column, topped with a golden statue that commemorates the three big military victories that established Prussia as a world power in the late 1800s—over France, Denmark, and Austria—and kicked off Berlin’s golden age. (For more on Tiergarten and the Victory Column, see here).
• Walk through the Brandenburg Gate, entering what for years was forbidden territory. Just past the gate, there’s a small TI on the right, and on the left is the Room of Silence, dedicated to quiet meditation on the cost of freedom. As you emerge on the other side of the gate, you enter a grand square known as...
Pariser Platz marks the start of Unter den Linden, the broad boulevard that stretches before you. “Parisian Square” was so named after the Prussians defeated France and Napoleon in 1813. The square was once filled with important government buildings, but all were bombed to smithereens in World War II. For decades, it was an unrecognizable, deserted no-man’s-land, cut off from both East and West by the Wall. But now it’s rebuilt, and the banks and hotels that were here before the bombing have reclaimed their original places, with a few modern additions. And the winners of World War II—the US, France, Great Britain, and Russia—continue to enjoy this prime real estate: Their embassies are all on or near this square.
Check out some of the buildings facing the square (on the right as you come through the gate). The US Embassy reopened here in its original location on July 4, 2008. To the left of the US Embassy is the DZ Bank Building, built as a conference center in 2001 by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry (its low-profile exterior was designed so as not to draw attention away from the Brandenburg Gate). To get your fix of wild and colorful Gehry, step into the building’s lobby. The undulating interior is like a big, slithery fish. Two doors past the bank is the ritzy Hotel Adlon. Over the years, this place has hosted celebrities and VIPs from Charlie Chaplin to Albert Einstein. And, yes, this was where pop star Michael Jackson shocked millions by dangling his infant son over the railing (from the second balcony up).
• The most direct route to our next stop is by passing through the Academy of Arts (Academie der Kunst) building—it’s between Hotel Adlon and the DZ Bank, at Pariser Platz 4. (If the Academy of Arts is closed, loop to the left, circling around the Hotel Adlon to Behrenstrasse.)
Enter the glassy Academy of Arts (WC in basement) and start making your way to the back. Just past the ground-floor café is the former office of Albert Speer, Hitler’s chosen architect. Continue on, passing Speer’s favorite statue, Prometheus (from around 1900). This is the kind of art that turned Hitler on: a strong, soldierly, vital man, defending the homeland.
As you exit out the back of the building, veer right on Behrenstrasse and cross the street. You’ll wind up at our next stop, a sprawling field of stubby concrete pillars.
This memorial consists of 2,711 coffin-shaped pillars covering an entire city block. It remembers the six million Jews who were killed by the Nazis during World War II. Completed in 2005 by the Jewish-American architect Peter Eisenman, this was the first formal, German-government-sponsored Holocaust memorial. Using the word “murdered” in the title was intentional, and a big deal. Germany, as a nation, was admitting to a crime. Please be discreet at this powerful site.
Inside the information center (in the far-left corner), exhibits trace the rise of Nazism and how it led to World War II (for details on visiting the information center, see here). Today’s Germans—even several generations removed from the atrocities of their ancestors—still live by the ethic: “Never forget.”
• At the far-left corner, a little beyond the information center, you eventually emerge on the street corner. Our next stop is about a block farther. Carefully jaywalk across Hannah-Arendt-Strasse (named for the writer who originated the phrase “banality of evil” to describe the Nazis’ gruesome efficiency) and continue straight (south) down Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse. On the left side of the street, you’ll reach a rough parking lot. At the far end of the lot is an information plaque labeled Führerbunker. This marks the...
You’re standing atop the buried remains of the Führerbunker. In early 1945, as Allied armies advanced on Berlin and Nazi Germany lay in ruins, Hitler and his staff retreated to this bunker complex behind the former Reich Chancellery. He stayed here for two months. It was here, on April 30, 1945—as the Soviet army tightened its noose on the Nazi capital—that Hitler and Eva Braun, his wife of less than 48 hours, committed suicide. A week later, the war in Europe was over. The information board here explains the rest of the story. Though the site of Hitler’s Bunker is certainly thought-provoking, there really isn’t much to see here. And that’s on purpose. No one wants to turn Hitler’s final stronghold into a tourist attraction.
• Backtrack up Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse, and turn right on Hannah-Arendt-Strasse. Then take your first left (at the traffic light) on...
This street was the traditional center of the German power, beginning back when Germany first became a nation in the 19th century. It was lined with stately palaces, housing foreign embassies and government offices. This was the home of the Reich Chancellery, where the nation’s chief executive presided. When the Nazis took control, this street was where Hitler waved to his adoring fans, and where Joseph Goebbels had his Ministry of Propaganda.
During World War II, Wilhelmstrasse was the nerve center of the German war command. From here, Hitler directed the war, and ordered the Blitz (the air raids that destroyed London). As the war turned to the Allies’ side, Wilhelmstrasse and the neighborhood around it were heavily bombed. Most of the stately palaces were destroyed, and virtually nothing historic survives today.
• The pedestrianized part of the street is home to the British Embassy. The fun, purple color of its wall is the colors of the Union Jack mixed together. Wilhelmstrasse spills out onto Berlin’s main artery, the tree-lined Unter den Linden, next to the Hotel Adlon.
This boulevard, worth ▲▲, is the heart of imperial Germany. During Berlin’s Golden Age in the late 1800s, this was one of Europe’s grand boulevards—the Champs-Élysées of Berlin, a city of nearly 2 million people. It was lined with linden trees, so as you promenaded down, you’d be walking “unter den Linden.” The street got its start in the 15th century as a way to connect the royal palace (a half-mile down the road, at the end of this walk) with the king’s hunting grounds (today’s big Tiergarten Park, out past the Brandenburg Gate). Over the centuries, aristocrats moved into this area so their palaces could be close to their king’s.
Many of the grandest landmarks we’ll pass along here are thanks to Frederick the Great, who ruled from 1740 to 1786, and put his kingdom (Prussia) and his capital (Berlin) on the map. We’ll also see a few signs of modern times; after World War II, this part of Berlin fell under Soviet influence, and Unter den Linden was the main street of communist East Berlin.
• Turn your attention to the subway stop in front of the Hotel Adlon (labeled Brandenburger Tor).
For a time-travel experience back to DDR days, head down the stairs into this station (no ticket necessary). As you go down the stairs, keep to the right (toward the S-Bahn, not the U-Bahn), to the subway tracks. You can walk along the platform about 200 yards, before popping back up to the surface.
For decades, the Brandenburger Tor S-Bahn station was unused—one of Berlin’s “ghost stations.” While you’re down under, notice how mid-20th-century the station still looks. There’s the original 1930s green tilework on the walls, and harsh fluorescent lighting. Some old signs (on the central pillars) still have Unter den Linden written in old Gothic lettering. During the Cold War, the zigzag line dividing East and West Berlin meant that some existing train lines crossed the border underground. To make a little hard Western cash, the East German government allowed a few trains to cut under East Berlin on their way between Western destinations. The only catch: No one could get on or off while the train was in East Berlin. For 28 years, stations like this were unused, as Western trains slowly passed through, and passengers saw only East German guards...and lots of cobwebs. Then, in 1989, literally within days of the fall of the Wall, these stations were reopened.
• At the far end of the platform, ascend the escalator, bear right, and head up the stairs to exit. You’ll emerge on the right side of Unter den Linden (at #63). Belly up to the bars and look in at the...
Built from the ashes of World War II, this imposing building—it’s Europe’s largest embassy—made it clear to East Berliners who was now in charge: the Soviet Union. It was the first big postwar building project in East Berlin, built in the powerful, simplified Neoclassical style that Stalin liked. Standing here, imagine Unter den Linden as a depressing Cold War era cul-de-sac, dead-ending at the walled-off Brandenburg Gate. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, this building became the Russian Embassy, flying the white, blue, and red flag. Find the hammer-and-sickle motif decorating the window frames—a reminder of the days when Russia was part of the USSR.
• Keep walking down the boulevard for two blocks. You’ll pass blocks of dull banks, tacky trinket shops, and a few high-end boutiques, eventually reaching cultural buildings—the university, the opera, and so on. That’s intentional: The Prussian kings wanted to have culture closer to their palace. Pause when you reach the intersection with...
You’re standing at perhaps the most central crossroads in Berlin—named for, you guessed it, Frederick the Great. Before World War II, Friedrichstrasse was the heart of cultural Berlin. In the Roaring Twenties, it was home to anything-goes nightlife and cabarets where entertainers like Marlene Dietrich, Bertolt Brecht, and Josephine Baker performed. And since the fall of the Wall, it’s become home to supersized department stores and big-time hotels.
Consider popping into the grand Galeries Lafayette department store (two blocks down to your right). Inside, you can ogle a huge glass-domed atrium—a miniature version of the Reichstag cupola. Before moving on, note that there’s a WC and a handy designer food court in the basement. (If you were to continue down Friedrichstrasse from here, you’d wind up at Checkpoint Charlie in about 10 minutes.)
• We’ve reached the end of Part 1 of this walk. This is a good place to take a break, if you’d like, and tackle Part 2 another time. But if you’re up for ambling on, head down Unter den Linden a few more blocks, past the large equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, who ruled as king of Prussia in the mid-1700s. He turned his capital, Berlin, into a world-class city. Frederick is pointing east, toward the epicenter of Prussian imperial power, where his royal palace once stood. We’re now entering the stretch of Unter den Linden that best represents Frederick’s legacy.
Turn right into Bebelplatz.
• Head to the center of the square, and find the square of glass window set into the pavement. We’ll begin with some history and a spin tour, then consider the memorial below our feet.
Frederick the Great built this square to show off Prussian ideals: education, the arts, improvement of the individual, and a tolerance for different groups—provided they’re committed to the betterment of society. This square was the cultural center of Frederick’s capital. In many ways, it still is. Spin counterclockwise to take in the cultural sights, some of which date back to Frederick’s time.
Start by looking across Unter den Linden. That’s Humboldt University, one of Europe’s greatest. Continue panning left. Fronting Bebelplatz is the former state library—which was funded by Frederick the Great. After the library was damaged in World War II, communist authorities decided to rebuild it in the original style...but only because Lenin studied here during much of his exile from Russia. The square is closed by one of Berlin’s swankiest lodgings—Hotel de Rome, housed in a historic bank building.
Next, the green-domed structure is St. Hedwig’s Church (nicknamed the “Upside-Down Teacup”). It stands as a symbol of Frederick the Great’s religious and cultural tolerance. The pragmatic king wanted to encourage the integration of Catholic Silesians into Protestant Prussia. But Frederick’s progressivism had its limits: St. Hedwig’s is set back from the street, suggesting its inferiority to Protestant churches.
Up next is the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper)—originally established in Frederick the Great’s time. Frederick believed that the arts were essential to having a well-rounded populace. He moved the opera house from inside the castle to this showcase square.
Now look down through the glass window in the pavement, which gives a glimpse at what appears to be a room of empty bookshelves. This book-burning memorial commemorates a notorious event that took place here during the Nazi years. It was on this square in 1933 that staff and students from the university built a bonfire. Into the flames they threw 20,000 newly forbidden books—books authored by the likes of Einstein, Hemingway, Freud, and T. S. Eliot. Overseeing it all was the Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels.
Think of it: Hitler purposely chose this square—built by Frederick the Great to embody culture and enlightenment—to symbolically demonstrate that the era of tolerance and openness was over.
• Leave Bebelplatz, cross to the university side, and continue heading east down Unter den Linden. You’ll pass in front of Humboldt University’s main gate. Immediately in front of the gate, embedded in the cobbles, notice the row of square, bronze plaques—each one bearing the name of a university student who was executed by the Nazis. You’ll see similar Stolpersteine (“stumbling stones”) all over Berlin. Just beyond the university on the left, head for a building that looks like a Greek temple set in a small park filled with chestnut trees.
The “New Guardhouse” was built in 1816 as just that—a fancy barracks for the bodyguards of the Crown Prince. (The Prince lived across the street in the Neoclassical building just ahead—it’s the one with four tall columns marking the doorway.) Over the years, the Neue Wache has been transformed into a memorial for fallen warriors. Check out the pediment over the doorway: The goddess of Victory stands in the center amid the chaos of war, as soldiers fall.
The Neue Wache represents the strong, united, rising Prussian state Frederick created. It was just one of the grand new buildings built to line either side of this stretch of Unter den Linden. The style was Neoclassical—structures that looked like Greek temples, with columns and triangular pediments.
Step inside. In 1993, the interior was fitted with the statue we see today—a replica of Mother with Her Dead Son, by Käthe Kollwitz, a Berlin artist who lived through both world wars. The statue is surrounded by thought-provoking silence. It marks the tombs of Germany’s unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp victim. The inscription reads, “To the victims of war and tyranny.” The memorial, open to the sky, incorporates the elements—sunshine, rain, snow—falling on this modern-day pietà.
• Continue down Unter den Linden, passing by the pink-yet-formidable Zeughaus (early 1700s), the oldest building on the boulevard. Built in the Baroque style as the royal arsenal, it later became a military museum, and today houses the excellent German History Museum (see here). When you reach the bridge, cross the Spree and step onto Museum Island.
This island, sitting in the middle of the Spree River, is Berlin’s historic birthplace. Take in the scene: the lazy river, the statues along the bridge, and the impressive buildings all around you.
Berlin was born on this marshy island around the year 1200. As the city grew, this island remained the site of the ruler’s castle and residence—from Brandenburg dukes and Hohenzollern prince-electors, to the kings of Prussia and the kaisers of the German Empire. At its peak under Prussian rulers (1701-1918), it was a splendid and sprawling Baroque palace called the Stadtschloss, topped at one end with a dome.
So, uh, where is this palace? It’s gone. It once stood on the right-hand side of Unter den Linden. But after World War I, the last Prussian ruler was deposed. Then the palace was gutted in a 1945 air raid in the last days of World War II. In 1950, the Soviets leveled the remains and erected in its place the Palace of the Republic—a massive, blocky, glass-fronted structure that held the parliament and various cultural institutions. In the early 21st century, that communist building was, in turn, demolished.
Now the site is a major construction zone. Germany is building the Humboldt Forum, a huge public venue that will resemble the original Baroque palace, complete with a dome on one end (you can already see it taking shape). You can drop into the big, boxy visitors center to see models and plans. There’s also a handy model of the city’s core, circa 1900, including the original palace that stood here (also free WCs). On the top floor is a café terrace (Aussisctsterassen, free entry, look for elevator up) with great views over Museum Island.
• Now, turn your attention to the left side of Unter den Linden. There’s a spacious garden, bordered on two sides by impressive buildings.
For 300 years, the 17 Lustgarten has flip-flopped between being a military parade ground and a people-friendly park, depending on the political tenor of the time. In the Nazi era, Hitler enjoyed giving speeches here—from the top of the museum steps overlooking this square. At the far end of the Lustgarten are a cache of grandiose museum buildings that represent the can-do German spirit of the 1800s, when city leaders envisioned the island as an oasis of culture and learning. Today, the island’s impressive buildings host five grand museums. The Altes Museum houses antiquities. Just beyond are the Neues Museum (with the ethereal Bust of Nefertiti), the Pergamon Museum (with classical antiquities), the Old National Gallery (German Romantic painting), and the Bode Museum. (For details on each, see “Sights in Berlin,” later.)
Dominating the island is the towering, green-domed 18 Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). This is only a century old, built during the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II—that jingoistic emperor in the spiked helmet who led Europe into World War I. The Wilhelmian style is over-the-top: a garish mix of Neoclassical, Neo-Baroque, and Neo-Renaissance, with rippling stucco and gold-tiled mosaics. The church is at its most impressive from the outside, but you can pay to climb the dome for great views (for details on visiting, see here).
• Continue down Unter den Linden past the cathedral, and pause on the bridge over the Spree.
The Spree River is people-friendly and welcoming. A parklike promenade leads all the way from here to the Hauptbahnhof. Along it, you’ll find impromptu “beachside” beer gardens with imported sand, BBQs in pocket parks, and lots of locals walking their dogs, taking a lazy bike ride, or jogging. Spree River boat tours depart from near here (for details, see here).
• From here you could return to Museum Island to see the sights there or backtrack to the German History Museum. But we’ll continue toward the TV Tower and Alexanderplatz (where this walk ends). Cross the bridge; the road changes names and suddenly you’re walking along...
From here eastward this street is named for a founder of Germany’s communist party: Karl Liebknecht, a martyr to the Marxist cause, and reminder of the communist regime. At the end of the bridge, look down on your left to see the DDR Museum, where everyday artifacts paint a vivid picture of life in Cold War-era East Germany (for details, see here).
Continue down Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse toward the TV Tower. A half-block down on the left, step into the lobby of the Radisson Hotel. The lobby’s centerpiece is a stunning aquarium—a huge glass cylinder with an elevator zipping up through its middle. It seems that right here in the center of the old communist city, capitalism has settled in with a spirited vengeance.
Just past the Radisson, also on the left, is the Ampelmann store—part of a local chain that features all manner of products emblazoned with jaunty green-and-red pedestrian stoplight figures that date from the old East Berlin days. All over the city, keep an eye out for these—called, affectionately, Ampelmännchen (“little traffic-light man”).
In the park immediately across the street (the Marx-Engels-Forum) are statues of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, recalling the economists who studied at Berlin’s Humboldt University in the early 1800s (though they didn’t meet until later). They went on to co-author the landmark Communist Manifesto, which ends with the famous closing line, “Workers of the world, unite!” Marx and Engel’s ideas proved enormously influential. They caught on—among other places—with a Russian named Vladimir Lenin. In 1917, Lenin led the Bolshevik Revolution that toppled the Russian czar and established the Soviet Union. Three decades later, Lenin’s successor Josef Stalin sent the Red Army into Germany to defeat Hitler and the Nazis. After the war, they occupied the eastern half of Germany, and established a communist state: the DDR. Surrounding the statues are stainless-steel monoliths with evocative photos illustrating the struggles of workers all around the world.
Continue east along the park, in the direction of the TV Tower. Where Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse intersects with Spandauer Strasse, look right to see the red-brick city hall, where Berlin’s mayor has an office. It was built after the revolutions of 1848 and was arguably the first democratic building in the city. Later it became the city hall of communist East Berlin—giving its nickname, Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall), a dual meaning.
Continue across Spandauer Strasse toward Marien Church (from 1270), with its prominent steeple. Inside the church, an artist’s rendering helps you follow the interesting but very faded old “Dance of Death” mural that wraps around the entry narthex (c. 1470).
• Across the street and a half-block down is another Berlin memorial that’s worth a detour—the Women’s Protest Memorial. It commemorates a courageous—and unusually successful—protest by the Gentile wives of Jewish men who were arrested by the Nazis. Remarkably, these brave women actually won the freedom of their husbands. Otherwise, gaze up at the 1,200-foot-tall...
The communist regime is long gone, but it left an enduring legacy: the TV Tower. This tower was built in 1969 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of communist East Germany. The tower was meant to show the power of the atheistic state at the very time when DDR leaders were removing the crosses from the country’s church domes and spires. But when the sun hit the tower, the reflected light happened to create a huge cross on the mirrored ball. Cynics called it “God’s Revenge.” East Berliners dubbed their tower the “Tele-Asparagus.” They also joked that if it fell over, they’d have an elevator to freedom in the West. You can go up the tower for a fine view (see here).
• Continue walking east down Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, passing the TV Tower’s base on your right. You’ll cross under a big railway overpass, then walk alongside a mall called Galeria Kaufhof. Just past the mall, turn right onto a broad pedestrian street. It leads through a low tunnel and into a big square surrounded by modern buildings. The blue U-Bahn station signs announce you’ve arrived at...
Alexanderplatz was built in 1805, during the Prussian Golden Age. Because this was a gateway for trade to Eastern Europe, it was named for a Russian czar, Alexander. In the Industrial Age, it became a transportation hub. In the roaring 1920s, it was a center of cabaret nightlife to rival Friedrichestrasse. And under the DDR, it was transformed into a commercial center. This was the pride and joy of East Berlin shoppers. The Kaufhof department store (now Galeria Kaufhof) was the ultimate shopping mecca...which wasn’t saying much.
And then, on November 4, 1989, more than a half-million East Berliners gathered on Alexanderplatz to demand their freedom. Protesters chanted, “Wir wollen raus! We want out!” The winds of change were in the air; less than a week later, the Berlin Wall was history.
Today’s square is a mix of old and new. Stand roughly between the two U-Bahn entrances, in the middle of the square, and take a 360-degree, clockwise spin-tour—starting with the TV Tower. It rises above the C&A store—a typical blocky-gray building from the communist era. To the right is the Galeria Kaufhof store—a slightly sleeker form of concrete bunker (c. 1967). In front is an abstract-sculpture fountain ringed with a colorful base that attracts sitters. Further right is a glassy skyscraper, the Park Inn. Next is a popular snack bar and a summertime biergarten with tropical plants. Keep spinning to the Alexa building, with its colorful Kandinsky-esque facade.
Next is another bunker-like building, with the once-futuristic World Time Clock, a nostalgic favorite installed in 1969 that remains a popular meeting point.
• We’ve seen Berlin go from a royal empire to a fascist state, from a country divided by communism to a center of democracy and capitalism, all in the space of one walk. From here, you can hike back a bit to catch the Spree riverboat tour, visit Museum Island or the German History Museum, venture into the colorful Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, or extend your foray into eastern Berlin by way of Karl-Marx-Allee. These options are covered in detail in the next section.
REICHSTAG AND BRANDENBURG GATE AREA
▲▲▲Reichstag
▲▲Memorials near the Reichstag
▲▲Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal für die Ermordeten Juden Europas)
▲▲▲Pergamon Museum (Pergamonmuseum)
▲▲Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie)
Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)
Humboldt Forum Visitors Center
▲▲▲German History Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum)
Nikolai Quarter (Nikolaiviertel)
Much of Berlin’s sightseeing is concentrated in this central strip, stretching along a mile-long corridor from the Tiergarten Park to Museum Island.
This area is covered in detail in my Berlin City Walk (see earlier; also available as a free audio tour).
Germany’s historic parliament building—completed in 1894, burned in 1933, sad and lonely in a no-man’s land throughout the Cold War, and finally rebuilt and topped with a glittering glass cupola in 1999—is a symbol of a proudly reunited nation. Visit here to spiral up the remarkable dome and gaze across Berlin’s rooftops, and to watch today’s parliament in action. Because of security concerns, you’ll need a reservation.
Cost and Hours: Free, reservations required—see next, daily 8:00-24:00, last entry at 22:00, metal detectors, no big luggage allowed, Platz der Republik 1; S- or U-Bahn: Friedrichstrasse, Brandenburger Tor, or Bundestag; tel. 030/2273-2152, www.bundestag.de.
Reservations: You must make a free reservation. It’s easy to do online, but book early—spots often book up several days in advance. Go to www.bundestag.de, and from the “Visit the Bundestag” menu, select “Online registration.” You have two choices: “Visit to the dome” includes a good audioguide and is plenty for most; the 90-minute guided tour provides more in-depth information. After choosing your preferred date and time, you’ll be sent an email link to a website where you’ll enter details for each person in your party. A final email will contain your reservation (with a letter you must print out and bring with you).
Without a Reservation: Tickets may be available even when online sales are “sold out”—inquire at the tiny visitors center on the Tiergarten side of Scheidemannstrasse, across from Platz der Republik (open daily 8:00-20:00, until 18:00 Nov-March; bookings from 3 hours to 2 days in advance, go early to avoid lines). When booking, the whole party must be present and ID is required.
Another option for visiting the dome is to have lunch or dinner at the pricey rooftop restaurant, $$$$ Käfer Dachgarten (daily 9:00-16:30 & 18:30-24:00, last access at 22:00, reserve well in advance at tel. 030/2262-9933 or www.feinkost-kaefer.de/berlin).
Getting In: Report 15 minutes before your appointed time to the temporary-looking entrance facility in front of the Reichstag, and be ready to show ID and your reservation print-out. After passing through a security check, you’ll wait with other visitors for a guard to take you to the Reichstag entrance.
Visiting the Reichstag: The open, airy lobby towers 100 feet high, with 65-foot-tall colors of the German flag. See-through glass doors show the central legislative chamber. The message: There will be no secrets in this government. Look inside. Spreading his wings behind the podium is a stylized German eagle, the Bundestagsadler (affectionately nicknamed the “Fat Hen”), representing the Bundestag (each branch of government has its own symbolic eagle). Notice the doors marked Ja (Yes), Nein (No), and Enthalten (Abstain)...an homage to the Bundestag’s traditional “sheep jump” way of counting votes by exiting the chamber through the corresponding door. (For critical votes, however, they vote with electronic cards.)
Germany’s Bundestag (comparable to the US House of Representatives) meets here. Its 631 members are elected to four-year terms. They in turn elect the chancellor. Unlike America’s two-party system, Germany has a handful of significant parties, so they must form coalitions to govern effectively. Bundestag members have offices in the building to the left of the Reichstag.
Pick up your audioguide, then ride the elevator to the base of the glass dome. The dome is 80 feet high, 130 feet across, and weighs a quarter of a million pounds. It uses about 33,000 square feet of glass, or nearly enough to cover a football field.
Study the photos and read the circle of captions (around the base of the central funnel) telling the Reichstag story. Then study the surrounding architecture: a broken collage of new on old, torn between antiquity and modernity, like Germany’s history. Notice the dome’s giant and unobtrusive sunscreen that moves as necessary with the sun. Peer down through the skylight to look over the shoulders of the elected representatives at work. For Germans, the best view from here is down—keeping a close eye on their government.
Walking up the ramp, you’ll spiral past 360-degree views of the city, including the Tiergarten, the “green lungs of Berlin”; the Teufelsberg (“Devil’s Hill”; famous during the Cold War as a powerful ear of the West—notice the telecommunications tower on top); Potsdamer Platz, Brandenburg Gate; Frank Gehry’s curving fish-like roof of the DZ Bank building; the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe; the former East Berlin, with a forest of 300-foot-tall skyscrapers in the works; Berlin’s huge main train station; and the blocky, postmodern Chancellery, the federal government’s headquarters (the audioguide explains what you’re seeing as you walk).
The area immediately surrounding the Reichstag is rich with memorials. Within a few steps, you’ll find monuments to politicians who opposed Hitler and victims of the Berlin Wall (both described on here).
In the park just behind the Berlin Wall Victims Memorial is the Monument to the Murdered Sinti and Roma of Europe—commemorating the roughly 500,000 Holocaust victims who identified as “Sinti” and “Roma” (the main tribes and politically correct terms for the group often called “Gypsies”); these groups lost the same percentage of their population as Jews did. An opaque glass wall, with a timeline in English and German, traces the Nazi abuse and atrocities.
Also in the park—in the opposite direction, toward the Victory Column—is the Soviet War Memorial, honoring the 80,000 Red Army soldiers who died in their successful attack on Hitler’s capital, which brought World War II to a decisive conclusion.
Across the street from the Jewish memorial, tucked into a corner of the park, is the Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted Under the National Socialist Regime (access it from the Jewish memorial’s southwest corner, across Ebertstrasse from Hannah-Arendt-Strasse). This memorial is a simple dark-gray concrete box with a small window, through which you can watch a film loop of same-sex couples kissing—a reminder that life and love are precious.
And finally, quite a bit farther south (in front of the philharmonic, facing the Tiergarten), is the Memorial to the Victims of Nazi “Euthanasia.” Hitler sought to rid German society of people with physical and mental disabilities. Over time the Nazis “euthanized” 300,000 German citizens.
The icon of Berlin, this majestic gateway has seen more than its share of history. Armies from Napoleon to Hitler have marched under its gilded statues, and for more than 25 years, it sat forlorn in the Berlin Wall’s death strip. Today it’s a symbol of Berlin’s rejuvenated capital.
Just inside (east of) the Brandenburg gate is the tidy “Parisian Square”—Pariser Platz. This prime real estate is ringed by governmental buildings, banks, historic plush hotels, the Academy of Arts, and the heavily fortified US Embassy.
This labyrinth of 2,711 irregularly shaped pillars memorializes the six million Jewish people who were executed by the Nazis. Loaded with symbolism, it’s designed to encourage a pensive moment in the heart of a big city. At its information center, you can learn more about the Nazis’ crimes and see items belonging to the victims. Six portraits, representing the six million Jewish victims, put a human face on the staggering numbers. You’ll see diaries, letters, and final farewells penned by Holocaust victims. And you’ll learn about 15 Jewish families from very different backgrounds, who all met the same fate. A continually running soundtrack recites victims’ names. To read them all aloud would take more than six and a half years.
Cost and Hours: Memorial-free and always open; information center-free, open Tue-Sun 10:00-20:00, Oct-March until 19:00, closed Mon year-round, last entry 45 minutes before closing, brief security screening at entry, audioguide-€4; S-Bahn: Brandenburger Tor or Potsdamer Platz, tel. 030/2639-4336, www.stiftung-denkmal.de.
Berlin’s main boulevard—“Under the Linden Trees”—has been the city’s artery since the 15th century. Today, it’s a well-tended place to stroll. This main drag and its sights are covered in detail in my Berlin City Walk, earlier (and also available as a free audio tour).
Berlin’s finest square sits two blocks south of Unter den Linden (and one block south of Bebelplatz). The square, like its name (“Square of the Gens d’Armes,” Frederick the Great’s French guard), is a hybrid of Prussia and France, bookended by two matching churches, with the Berlin Symphony’s Concert Hall in the middle. While the square is more about simply enjoying a genteel space than it is about sightseeing, you can dip into its church/museums or visit a pair of fun chocolate shops nearby. In summer, Gendarmenmarkt also hosts a few outdoor cafés, beer gardens, and occasional outdoor concerts.
The German Cathedral, at the south end of the square, has a free exhibit on the German parliamentary system (in German; borrow the excellent free English audioguide). This church was bombed flat in the war and rebuilt only in the 1980s. The French Cathedral, at the north end of the square—to your right, as you face the concert hall—offers a viewpoint in the dome up top and a humble exhibit on the French Huguenots who found refuge in Prussia. To peek into the church’s austere interior, circle around the left side and head up the stairs (organ concerts advertised at the entrance). Gendarmenmarkt’s centerpiece is the Concert Hall (Konzerthaus), commissioned by Frederick the Great and built by his favorite architect, Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
Filling a spit of land in the middle of the Spree River, Museum Island has perhaps Berlin’s highest concentration of serious sightseeing. The island’s centerpiece is the grassy square called Lustgarten, ringed by five museums and the hulking Berlin Cathedral.
This neighborhood is covered in more detail in my free Berlin City Walk audio tour. For cruises on the Spree River from near Museum Island, see here.
Five of Berlin’s top museums—featuring art and artifacts from around the world—are just a few steps apart on Museum Island.
Cost and Hours: Each museum has its own admission (€10-12, includes audioguide). If you’re visiting at least two museums here, invest in the €18 Museum Island Pass (which covers all 5; also covered by the €24 Museum Pass Berlin—see here). The museums are open 10:00-18:00 (until 20:00 on Thu). The Pergamon and Neues museums are open daily; the Old National Gallery, Bode Museum, and Altes Museum are open Tue-Sun, closed Mon.
Information: Tel. 030/266-424-242, www.smb.museum.
Avoiding Crowds: The always-busy Pergamon is most crowded in the morning, on weekends, and when it rains; Thu evenings are the least crowded. You can also book a timed-entry ticket (or, if you have a pass, a reservation).
Getting There: The island is a 10-minute walk from the Hackescher Markt or Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn stations. Trams #M1 and #12 connect to Prenzlauer Berg. Buses #100 and #200 run along Unter den Linden, stopping near the museums at the Lustgarten stop.
Expect Construction: A new visitors center (the James-Simon-Galerie) will connect the complex with tunnels, possibly by 2024.
(See “Pergamon Museum Tour” map, here.)
This world-class museum contains Berlin’s Collection of Classical Antiquities (Antikensammlung)—in other words, full-sized buildings from the most illustrious civilizations of the ancient world. Its namesake and highlight—the gigantic Pergamon Altar—is under renovation and off-limits to visitors until 2025. In the meantime, there’s still plenty to see: the massive Babylonian Processional Way and Ishtar Gate (slathered with glazed blue tiles, from the sixth century B.C.); artifacts from the Assyrians (7th-10th century B.C.); the full-sized market gate from the ancient Roman settlement of Miletus (first century B.C.); and, upstairs, an extensive collection of treasures from the Islamic world.
Visiting the Museum: The superb audioguide (included) helps broaden your experience. From the entry hall, head up to floor 1 and all the way back to 575 B.C. and Mesopotamia.
Processional Way and Ishtar Gate: The ruler Nebuchadnezzar II made sure that all who approached his city got a grand first impression. His massive blue Ishtar Gate stands 46 feet tall and 100 feet wide (counting its jutting facets). This was the grandest of Babylon’s gates, one of eight in the 11-mile wall that encompassed this city of 200,000. In its day, the Ishtar Gate was famous—one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. All the pieces in this hall—the Ishtar Gate, Processional Way, and Throne Room panels—are made of decorative brick, glazed and fired in the ancient Egyptian faience technique. Decorations like the lions, which project outward from the surface, were carved or molded before the painted glaze went on. The colors—yellow, green, and blue (from rare lapis lazuli)—come from natural pigments, ground to a powder and mixed with melted silica (quartz). The chemicals bonded in the kiln fires, creating a sheen that’s luminous, shiny, and even weather-resistant.
The museum’s Babylonian treasures are meticulous reconstructions. After a Berlin archaeologist discovered the ruins in modern-day Iraq in 1900, the Prussian government financed their excavation. What was recovered was little more than piles of shattered shards of brick. It’s since been augmented with modern tilework and pieced together like a 2,500-year-old Babylonian jigsaw puzzle. (You might peek into Room 6 to see a model of ancient Babylon).
Assyrian Artifacts: The rooms at the opposite end of the Processional Way are filled with artifacts from the Babylonians’ northern cousins, the Assyrians. Look for the Esarhaddon Stele, a ceremonial column marking the passing of the baton between the two great Mesopotamian powers, and the 10-foot-tall statue of the weather god Hadad. Browse through these rooms to get a sense of Assyrian grandeur, then return to the Ishtar Gate.
Market Gate of Miletus: From the Ishtar Gate, you’ll pass into a large hall with supersized monuments from ancient Rome. You’ve flash-forwarded 700 years to the ancient city of Miletus, a wealthy and cosmopolitan Roman-ruled, Greek-speaking city on the southwest coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Dominating this room is the huge Market Gate of Miletus—50 feet tall, 100 feet wide. This served as the entrance to the town’s agora, or marketplace. Traders from across the Mediterranean and Middle East passed through the three arched doorways into a football-field-sized courtyard surrounded by arcades, where business was conducted.
Miletus was destroyed by an earthquake centuries ago. Around 1900, German archaeologists unearthed the rubble, and the gate was painstakingly reconstructed here in Berlin. This room also displays an exquisite mosaic floor of colored stone and glass from the dining room of a Roman villa in Miletus, c. A.D. 200, featuring the mythical Greek musician Orpheus.
The Rest of the Museum: To complete your tour of civilizations, on floor 1 you can see artifacts from several royal palaces of the Assyrian kings (the Babylonians’ northern cousins). Then find the stairs in front of the Ishtar Gate and head up to floor 2, which is dedicated to the Museum of Islamic Art. It demonstrates how—after Rome fell and Europe was mired in medievalism—the Islamic world carried the torch of civilization. The impressive Aleppo Room is illustrated with motifs from Christian, Arabic, Persian, and Jewish traditions.
What About the Pergamon Altar? The museum’s namesake and most famous piece—the Pergamon Altar—is being stored out of view while the hall that houses it is slowly modernized. The altar likely won’t be back until around 2025. (The “altar” is actually a temple, a masterpiece of Hellenistic art from the second century B.C.) While the restoration is ongoing, a nearby pavilion (on Am Kupfergraben, directly across from Museum Island) will house a temporary exhibit about the altar. See www.smb.museum for updates.
This beautifully renovated museum, featuring objects from the prehistoric (i.e., pre-Pergamon) world, contains three collections. Most visitors focus on the Egyptian Collection, with the famous and even-more-stunning-in-person bust of Queen Nefertiti. But it’s also worth a walk through the Museum of Prehistory and Early History and the Collection of Classical Antiquities (artifacts from ancient Troy). Everything is well-described in English (fine audioguide included with admission; for more on the museum, see www.neues-museum.de).
Visiting the Museum: The Neues Museum ticket desk is across the courtyard from the entrance. Ticket in hand, enter and pick up the floor plan. The main reason to visit is to enjoy one of the great thrills in art appreciation—gazing into the still young and beautiful face of Queen Nefertiti. If you’re in a pinch for time, make a beeline to her (floor 2, far corner of Egyptian Collection in Room 210).
To tour the whole collection, start at the top (floor 3), the prehistory section. The entire floor is filled with Stone Age, Ice Age, and Bronze Age items. You’ll see early human remains, tools, spearheads, and pottery.
The most interesting item on this floor (in corner of Room 305) is the tall, conehead-like Golden Hat—made of paper-thin gold leaf. It was likely worn by the priest of a sun cult popular among the Celtic people of central Europe around 1,000 B.C. It’s stamped with symbols of the heavens—mostly sun-like circles, plus a few crescent moons, and stars on the top. Admire the incredible workmanship of these prehistoric people. The hat, 30 inches tall, was hammered from a pound of gold into a single sheet of gold leaf less than a millimeter thick.
On floor 2, in a room all her own (Room 210) is the 3,000-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaton—the most famous piece of Egyptian art in Europe. Nefertiti has all the right beauty marks: long slender neck, perfect lips, almond eyes, symmetrical eyebrows, pronounced cheekbones, and a perfect spray-on tan. And yet, despite her seemingly perfect beauty, Nefertiti has a touch of humanity. Notice the fine wrinkles around the eyes—these only enhance her beauty. She has a slight Mona Lisa smile, pursed at the corners.
The bust never left its studio, but served as a master model for all other portraits of the queen. (That’s probably why the artist didn’t bother putting the quartz inlay in the left eye.) Stare at her long enough, and you may get the sensation that she’s winking at you.
Downstairs on level 1, make your way to Rooms 103-104. There’s not much to see in these rooms—a few gold necklaces and old pots—but the text panels help explain the craze for antiquities that brought us the Neues Museum. Much of it can be traced to the man featured in these rooms: Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890). Having read Homer’s accounts of the Trojan War, Schliemann set out on a quest to find the long-lost ruins of the city of Troy. He (probably) found the capital of the Trojans (in Turkey), as well as the capital of the Greeks (Mycenae, in the Greek Peloponnese). Displays tell the fascinating story of how Schliemann smuggled the treasures out in fruit baskets, then their long journey until they were donated to the German government.
Of Berlin’s many top-notch art collections, this is the best for German art—mostly paintings from the 19th century, the era in which “German culture” first came to mean something. For a concise visit, focus on the Romantic German paintings (top floor), where Caspar David Friedrich’s hauntingly beautiful canvases offer an insightful glimpse into German landscapes...and the German psyche. With more time, peruse the French and German Impressionists and German Realists on the first and second floors.
Visiting the Museum: Start on the third floor and work your way down.
Casa Bartholdy Murals (Room 3.02): These frescoes tell the biblical story of Joseph. They were done by idealistic artists of the artistic brotherhood called the Nazarenes. It was the early 1800s, and the German people were searching for their unique national identity. In art, the Nazarenes were seeking a purer form of expression that was uniquely German. This almost religious fervor would inspire the next generation of German artists—the Romantics.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel (Room 3.05): Schinkel is best known as the Neoclassical architect who remade Berlin in the 1820s. But as a painter, Gothic cathedrals and castles dominate his scenes. Foliage grows over the buildings, and animals wander through. Nature rules. Where puny humans do appear, they are dwarfed by the landscape and buildings. Scenes are lit by a dramatic, eerie light, as though the world is charged from within by the power of God. Welcome to Romanticism.
Caspar David Friedrich Room (Room 3.06): The greatest German artist of the Romantic era was Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). A quick glance around this room gives you a sense of Friedrich’s subjects: craggy mountains, twisted trees, ominous clouds, burning sunsets, and lone figures in the gloom. Rather than painting placid, pretty scenes as other landscape artists might, Friedrich celebrated Nature’s awesome power. The few people he painted are tiny and solitary, standing with their backs to us. As they ponder the vastness of their surroundings, we’re invited to see the world through their eyes, and to contemplate humankind’s minuscule place in the grand scheme of things.
The Biedermeier Style (Rooms 3.08-3.13): These rooms feature paintings in the so-called Biedermeier style (c. 1815-1848), the conservative flip side to Romanticism’s individualism, turbulence, and political radicalism. Biedermeier landscapes are pretty, not dramatic. The style is soft-focus, hypersensitive, super-sweet, and sentimental. The poor are happy, the middle class are happy, and the world they inhabit is perfectly lit.
French Impressionists (Room 2.03): This one big room is lined with minor works by big-name French artists. Unlike the carefully composed, turbulent, and highly symbolic paintings of the German Romantics, these scenes appear like simple unposed “snapshots” of everyday life. Pan the room to see Renoir’s pink-cheeked girls, Degas’ working girls, Cézanne’s fruit bowls, and Gauguin’s Tahitian girls.
The Rest of the Museum: In Room 2.14 are two well-known portraits by Franz von Lenbach of world-changing Germans: Otto von Bismarck (Germany’s first prime minister) and the composer Richard Wagner.
This fine building—at the northern tip of the island—contains a hodgepodge of collections: Byzantine art, historic coins, ecclesiastical art, sculptures, and medals commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification. While this museum is too deep a dive for casual sightseers, avid museumgoers find plenty exciting here—including the stunning Ravenna Mosaic, transplanted here from the Byzantine world of sixth-century Italy. For a free, quick look at its lavish interior, climb the grand staircase under a sweeping dome to the charming café on the first floor.
Of the five Museum Island collections, this is the least exciting—unless you’re an enthusiast of obscure Etruscan, Roman, and Greek art and artifacts.
This bulky stone structure, with its rusted-copper dome, looms over Museum Island like the home church of a Prussian kaiser...because it was. Kaiser Wilhelm II built this to epitomize his bigger-is-better aesthetic. While pricey to enter, the lavish interior has some fine details. You’ll see the great reformers (Luther, Calvin, and company) standing around the brilliantly restored dome like stern saints guarding their theology. King Frederick I rests in an ornate tomb. The dome climb (270 steps) leads to sweeping views. Skip the crypt.
Cost and Hours: €7 includes dome gallery access, not covered by Museum Island Pass, Mon-Sat 9:00-20:00, Sun from 12:00, until 19:00 Oct-March, closes around 17:30 on concert days, interior closed but dome open during services, last entry one hour before closing, audioguide-€3, tel. 030/2026-9136, www.berliner-dom.de.
Communists replaced the Prussian palace on this site with a giant “brutalist” conference center. Now, that DDR-era building is being replaced with a cultural complex that essentially resurrects the original palace. The visitors center (in the big, boxy structure along the street) hosts models and illustrations of the construction plans, and offers views of Museum Island (free, daily 10:00-18:00, www.humboldtforum.com).
The German History Museum is on Unter den Linden, immediately west of Museum Island; and the DDR Museum is (fittingly) just east of Museum Island, on the riverbank facing the back of the Berlin Cathedral. The Nikolai Quarter is a five-minute walk to the south, down the river (facing Museum Island). For locations, see the map on here.
This impressive museum offers the best look at German history under one roof, anywhere. The permanent collection packs 9,000 artifacts into two huge rectangular floors of the old arsenal building. You’ll stroll through insightfully described historical objects, paintings, photographs, and models—all intermingled with multimedia stations. The 20th-century section—on the ground floor—is far better than any of the many price-gouging historical Nazi or Cold War “museums” all over town. A thoughtful visit here provides valuable context for your explorations of Berlin (and Germany).
Cost and Hours: €8, daily 10:00-18:00, good €3 audioguide, Unter den Linden 2, tel. 030/2030-4751, www.dhm.de.
Getting There: It’s at Unter den Linden 2, immediately west of Museum Island (just across the river). Buses #100, #200, and #TXL stop right in front (Staatsoper stop). By tram, the Am Kupfergraben stop (for trams #M1 and #12) is a block behind the museum. The nearest S-Bahn stop is Friedrichstrasse, a 10-minute walk away; Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station is nearly as close.
Visiting the Museum: The first floor (up the stairs) covers the period starting in 500, up until the early 20th century. The ground floor takes you from World War I through the fall of the Berlin Wall. As you tour the collection, stay on track by locating the museum’s information pillars along the way (each marked with a date span), then browse the exhibits nearby. At the top of the stairs, consider taking 45 minutes for the dry but informative film on German history (with English subtitles).
First Floor (500-1918): This floor weaves its way through the centuries, with exhibits on the early cultures, Middle Ages, Reformation, Thirty Years’ War, and German Empire. Along the way you may see a medieval Saxon manuscript; a famous portrait (by Albrecht Dürer) of Charlemagne, who was crowned “Holy Roman Emperor” in the year 800, uniting much of Europe into a Kingdom of the Franks—and marking the conversion of the Germans to Christianity; a portrait of Charles V, the most powerful Holy Roman Emperor, who ruled much of Europe during the Renaissance and Age of Discovery; and a copy of the 1492 globe Columbus used to plot his voyage (round and pretty accurate, except there’s no America yet).
Several rooms are dedicated to the German monk Martin Luther, who in the 16th century was shocking Europe with new and radical ideas, sparking the Protestant Reformation. You’ll find a number of Luther artifacts, including the Edict of Worms, where Charles V condemned the Protestant heretic, and a Bible translated by Luther into everyday German, helping to establish the “modern” German language spoken today (for more on Luther and his life, see here).
In the mid-1700s, Frederick the Great made Prussia (an area of northern Germany) a European power and Berlin a cultural capital. He brought the Age of Enlightenment to Germany. Science flourished (see scientific instruments), as did music (see early keyboards and a picture of the Mozart family). In the 1800s, Prussia took over Germany’s destiny when Wilhelm I and his shrewd Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck (see their busts), used political wheeling-and-dealing and outright force to try to forge Germany’s principalities and dukedoms together. In 1871, the German people united, and they waved an eagle flag (on display) of a new nation: Germany.
The handsome young ruler, Wilhelm II, reigned over a period of unprecedented wealth and prosperity. Germany was an industrial powerhouse, was acquiring rich colonies in Africa, and was expanding its military might. Find the “Kaiser Panorama” display, with old photos of turn-of-the-century Berlin in its glory.
Ground Floor (20th Century): World War I pit Germany against France, England, and others. Photos show the grim reality of a war fought from defensive trenches, while posters (and a poignant woodcut by Berlin artist Käthe Kollwitz) capture the bitter and cynical mood that descended over Germany. By war’s end, Germany had lost 1.7 million men, and 4 million came home wounded. Europe’s victors dealt harshly with Germany, sowing enormous resentment.
In 1933, the Nazis took control of Germany under Adolf Hitler. Their propaganda convinced the German people that they were strong and good, but had been betrayed by a rigged system. To shore up support, Hitler appealed to Germans’ sense of national and ethnic pride. He preached about the Volksgemeinschaft—a “people’s community” of purely Germanic, Aryan ideals. In the main hall, look for a large, wall-sized church tapestry of cutesy German-style houses and common people marching in lock-(goose)step with Nazi-uniformed troops.
The Nazis set Germany on a path of global domination. Hitler made plans to turn Berlin into “Welthaupstadt Germania,” the “world capital” of his far-reaching Third Reich. At the start of World War II, Germany’s Blitzkrieg (“Lightning War”) demolished its enemies. But then came several devastating, watershed battles, such as Stalingrad (see the film). Exhibits document the atrocities at Hitler’s concentration camps, including registration photos of prisoners and a model of a crematorium at Auschwitz (in Nazi-occupied Poland) designed to exterminate Jews. By the end of the war, more than 60 million were dead, including 6 million Jews and 6 million non-Jewish Germans.
Even before the last shots were fired, Allied leaders had met at the Potsdam Conference to divvy up a defeated Germany (see the photo of Churchill, Truman, and Stalin). Berlin and Germany were divided between the Soviet-leaning East and the US-leaning West. And essentially immediately, World War II became a protracted Cold War.
A border post marks the “inner German border” between West and East. Exhibits juxtapose different slices of life in the two Germanys. The West’s economy recovered (see the smart VW bug), while the East’s languished (the clunky DDR-era Trabant cars known as Trabi). By the 1980s, the Soviet empire was cracking, and the German people longed to reunite. In 1989, the Berlin Wall—the most iconic symbol of division and oppression—began crumbling. You’ll see videos of the celebrations, preserved sections of the Wall, and clips of US president Ronald Reagan demanding they “tear down this wall.”
Rest of the Museum: For architecture buffs, the big attraction is the modern annex behind the history museum, designed by American architect I. M. Pei. (To get there from the old building, cross through the courtyard, admiring the Pei glass canopy overhead.) This annex complements the museum with often-fascinating temporary exhibits. A striking glassed-in spiral staircase unites four floors with surprising views and lots of light.
While overpriced, crammed with school groups, and frustrating to local historians, the DDR Museum has a knack for helping outsiders (rather than “Ost-algic” Germans) understand life in communist East Germany (the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR). Visitors walk through a reconstructed home—peeking into bathroom cabinets and wardrobes—and are encouraged to pick up and handle anything that isn’t behind glass. The museum is well-stocked with kitschy everyday items from the DDR period, plus photos, video clips, and concise English explanations.
Cost and Hours: €9.50, daily 10:00-20:00, Sat until 22:00, just across the Spree from Museum Island at Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 1, tel. 030/847-123-731, www.ddr-museum.de.
Visiting the Museum: Inside, you can crawl through a Trabant car (known as a “Trabi”; take it for a virtual test drive) and pick up some DDR-era black humor (“East Germany had 39 newspapers, four radio stations, two TV channels...and one opinion”). You’ll learn how many East Germans—with limited opportunities to travel abroad—vacationed on Hungary’s Lake Balaton or on the Baltic Coast, where nudism was all the rage (as a very revealing display explains). Lounge in DDR cinema chairs as you view a subtitled propaganda film or clips from beloved-in-the-East TV shows, including the popular kids’ show Sandmännchen—“Little Sandman.” The highlight is a tourable reconstructed communist-era home, where you can open drawers and cupboards to find both information panels and the trappings of a typical DDR home. You can even climb into a rickety old “elevator” and get jostled around.
The Nikolai Quarter marks the original medieval settlement of Cölln, which would eventually become Berlin. Huddled around the twin spires of the Nikolaikirche, the area was destroyed during the war, then rebuilt for Berlin’s 750th birthday in 1987. It has a cute and cobbled old-town feel...Middle Ages meets Socialist Realism. Today most of the buildings are occupied by touristy shops and restaurants. Still, if you aren’t exploring any small towns (such as Wittenberg) on your visit to Germany, this zone is worth a stroll. Perhaps the best reason to come here is to visit its old-fashioned beer hall—the recommended Brauhaus Georgbräu, with seating along the river.
THE SCHEUNENVIERTEL (“BARN QUARTER”)
New Synagogue (Neue Synagogue)
▲Palace of Tears (Tränenpalast) at Friedrichstrasse Station
▲▲▲Berlin Wall Memorial (Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer)
▲Everyday Life in the DDR (Alltag in der DDR)
Immediately northeast of the Spree River is the Scheunenviertel (“Barn Quarter”) neighborhood, packed with intriguing shops and fun eateries. This is also one of the most important areas for Berlin’s historic Jewish community—offering insights into a culture that thrived here until the 1940s.
The Scheunenviertel is a particularly handy place to explore Berlin’s unique Höfe—interconnected courtyards that burrow through city blocks, today often filled with trendy shops and eateries. Two starkly different examples are nearly next door, and just steps from the Hackescher Markt transit hub: the upscale, Jugendstil Hackesche Höfe (Rosenthaler Strasse 40), with eye-pleasing architectural flourishes and upscale shops; and the funky Haus Schwarzenberg (Rosenthaler Strasse 39), with museums honoring Berliners who defied the Nazis to save Jews—including Otto Weidt, who employed blind and deaf Jews in his workshop.
Marked by its beautiful golden dome, this large, mid-19th-century synagogue is now a modest museum, memorializing the Berlin Jewish community that was decimated by the Nazis. The small but moving permanent exhibit has good English descriptions recounting the history of this community through the centuries (enter exhibit through low-profile door in modern building to the right of synagogue facade). Under the soaring dome, a cutaway model shows the entire synagogue. Skip the stair climb to the dome; it’s unimpressive from the inside and has ho-hum views.
Cost and Hours: Main exhibit-€5, dome-€3, combo-ticket for both-€6, April-Sept Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sun until 19:00; Oct-March dome closed, exhibit open Sun-Thu 10:00-18:00, Fri until 15:00; closed Sat year-round; audioguide-€3, Oranienburger Strasse 28, S-Bahn: Oranienburger Strasse, tel. 030/8802-8300 and press 1, www.cjudaicum.de.
This crisp collection (in a former Jewish girls’ school building) recalls John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Germany trip with photos and video clips, as well as a photographic shrine to the Kennedy clan in America. Among the interesting mementos are old campaign buttons and posters, and JFK’s notes with the phonetic pronunciation “Ish bin ein Bearleener.” Jacqueline Kennedy commented on how strange it was that this—not even in his native language—was her husband’s most quotable quote. The highlight: a newsreel of Kennedy’s historic speech (20 minutes, plays continuously).
Cost and Hours: €5, Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat-Sun from 11:00, closed Mon, tel. 030/2065-3570, www.thekennedys.de.
Getting There: Look for a huge red-brick building with red-and-white-striped doors (Auguststrasse 13, on the opposite end of the block from the New Synagogue, museum is on the second floor). For a shortcut from the synagogue, cut through the Heckmann Höfe courtyard (at Oranienburger Strasse 32) and turn right on Auguststrasse.
Just south of the Scheunenviertel (cross the river on Weidendammer Brücke and bear right) stands this impactful Cold War site. The Friedrichstrasse train station—situated within East Berlin, but accessible by train from West Berlin—was one of the few places where Westerners were allowed to cross into the East. And when crossing back into the free world, this was where they’d take leave of their East German loved ones. The scene of so many sad farewells, it earned the nickname “Tränenpalast” (“palace of tears”). The 1962 building—an unassuming, boxy, bureaucratic structure that was once attached by a corridor to the station—has now been converted into a museum about everyday life in a divided Germany, with a fascinating peek into the paranoid border-control world of the DDR.
Cost and Hours: Free, includes excellent audioguide, Tue-Fri 9:00-19:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, on the river side of the Friedrichstrasse station—look for the building with large glass windows and blue trim, Reichstagufer 17, tel. 030/4677-7790, www.hdg.de/traenenpalast.
(See “Berlin Wall Memorial” map, here.)
This is Berlin’s most substantial and educational sight relating to its gone-but-not-forgotten Wall. As you visit the park, you’ll learn about how the Wall went up, the brutal methods used to keep Easterners in, and the brave stories of people who risked everything to be free.
Exhibits line up along several blocks of Bernauer Strasse, stretching more than a mile northeast from the Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station (one of the DDR’s “ghost stations”) to Schwedter Strasse and the Mauerpark. For a targeted visit, focus on the engaging sights clustered near the Nordbahnhof: two museums (with films, photos, and harrowing personal stories); various open-air exhibits and memorials; original Wall fragments; and observation tower views into the only preserved, complete stretch of the Wall system (with a Cold War-era “death strip”).
Cost and Hours: Free; outdoor areas accessible daily 24 hours; Visitors Center and Documentation Center both open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, memorial chapel closes at 17:00; on Bernauer Strasse at #119 (Visitors Center) and #111 (Documentation Center), tel. 030/4679-86666, www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de.
When to Go: To really pack your day with sightseeing, this tour could be done in the evening, after other museum visits. But if you’d like to enter the two indoor exhibits, be mindful of the 18:00 closing time.
Getting There: Take the S-Bahn (line S1, S2, or S25) to Nordbahnhof. Exit by following signs for Bernauer Strasse—you’ll pop out across the street from a long chunk of Wall and kitty-corner from the Visitors Center. You can also get there on tram #12 or #M10 (from near Prenzlauer Berg hotels).
Overview: Begin at the Nordbahnhof and pick up an informational pamphlet from the Visitors Center (note that there are different brochures for the four sections—A, B, C, and D—so be sure to pick up all you’ll need). Then head up Bernauer Strasse, visit the exhibits and memorials that interest you, and ride home from the Bernauer Strasse U-Bahn station. For a longer visit, walk several more blocks all the way to the Mauerpark. The entire stretch is lined with informational posts (some with video or audio clips) and larger-than-life images from the Wall, painted on the sides of buildings.
Self-Guided Walk: Start your visit at the Visitors Center, the rust-colored, blocky building located kitty-corner from the Nordbahnhof (at the far west end of the long Memorial park, at Bernauer Strasse 119).
1 Visitors Center (Bezucherzentrum): Check the next showtimes for the two 15-minute introductory films. (If you’re in a hurry, don’t wait for the English versions—the German ones have subtitles and easy-to-follow graphics.) The film titled The Berlin Wall covers the four-decade history of the Wall. The other film, Walled In!, uses computer graphics for a 3-D re-creation of the former death strip, helping you visualize what it is you’re about to walk through.
• Exit the Visitors Center, cross Bernauer Strasse, and enter the Memorial park. You’re leaving former West Berlin and entering the no-man’s land that stood between East and West Berlin. Once in the park, find the rusty rectangular monument with a 3-D map.
2 3-D Map of the Former Neighborhood: The map shows what this neighborhood looked like back in the Wall’s heyday. The shiny metal dot shows where you are on the map. If you were standing here 50 years ago, you’d be right at the division between East and West Berlin—specifically, in the narrow no-man’s-land between two sets of walls. One of those Walls is still standing—there it is, stretching along Bernauer Strasse. As you gaze down the long park, West Berlin would be to your left (on the north side of Bernauer Strasse), and East Berlin to your right.
Now find the Nordbahnhof, both on the map and in real life—the entrance is directly across Gartenstrasse street. While the Wall stood, the Nordbahnhof station straddled both East and West—one of the “ghost stations” of Cold War Berlin (inside the station, photos posted on the walls compare 1989 with 2009).
• Stroll along the path through this first section of the park (“Section A”). Along the way are a number of small sights, remembrances, and exhibits. As you stroll, you’re walking through the...
3 “Death Strip” (Section A): Today’s grassy park with a pleasant path through it was once the notorious “death strip” (Todesstreifen). If someone were trying to escape from the East, they’d have to scale one wall (a smaller one, to your right), cross this narrow strip of land, and climb the main wall (to your left, along Bernauer Strasse). The death strip was an obstacle course of barbed wire, tire-spike strips to stop cars, and other diabolical devices. It was continually patrolled by East German soldiers leading German Shepherds. Armed guards looked down from watchtowers, with orders to shoot to kill.
• About midway through this section of the park, find the freestanding rusted-iron wall filled with photos.
4 Wall of Remembrance: Find Otfried Reck, just 17 years old (first panel, top row). On November 27, 1962, he and a friend pried open a ventilation shaft at the boarded-up Nordbahnhof, and descended to the tracks, where they hoped to flag down a passing westbound train. The police discovered them, and Reck was shot in the back. There’s a memorial to him now directly across from the Visitors Center. Ernst Mundt (just left of Otfried) died directly behind you, at the cemetery wall. On September 4, 1962, he climbed the death strip’s inner wall and ran across the top, headed in the direction of the Nordbahnhof and freedom. He was shot in the head, and his hat (the one in the picture) flew off. He died, age 40.
Continue walking through Section A. You’re now walking along the original, preserved asphalt patrol path.
• Now, walk across the grass and find a place to get a good close-up look at...
4 The Wall: The Wall here is typical of the whole system: about 12 feet tall, made of concrete-and-rebar, and capped by a rounded pipe that made it tough for escapees to get a grip. The top would have been further adorned with coils of barbed wire. This was part of a 96-mile-long Wall that encircled West Berlin, making it an island of democracy in communist East Germany. The West Berlin side of the Wall was typically covered with colorful graffiti by free-spirited West Berliners. A few bits of graffiti remain here.
• Now, exit the park through the hole in the Wall, turn right along Bernauer Strasse, and make your way a short distance to the crosswalk. Across Bernauer Strasse is a modern gray building with a view terrace, located at #119 (labeled Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer). This is the Berlin Wall Memorial’s...
6 Documentation Center (Dokumentationszentrum Berliner Mauer): This excellent museum is geared to a new generation of Berliners who can hardly imagine their hometown split so brutally in two. The ground floor (1961-1988) has photos and displays to explain the logistics of the city’s division and its effects. Have a seat and listen to the riveting personal accounts of escapees—and of the border guards armed with machine guns and tasked with stopping them. The next floor up gives the historical and political context behind the Wall’s construction and eventual destruction. Photos let you track the changes here from 1965 to 1990.
At the back of the room, take seven minutes to watch the powerful film Peaceful Revolution, which traces the process that led to the Wall’s collapse.
Now climb the stairs or take the elevator to the top floor, the Tower (Turm). From this high viewpoint, you can look across Bernauer Strasse, and down at Berlin’s last preserved stretch of the death strip with the original guard tower. More than 100 sentry towers like this one kept a close eye on the Wall.
• Exit and continue on. Cross Bernauer Strasse (where it intersects with Ackerstrasse) and enter the next section of the Memorial park...
7 Escapes from Border Strip Buildings (Section B): At the intersection of cobbled Ackerstrasse and Bernauer Strasse, notice the rectangular markings in the ground (a thin, double strip of metal). These trace the footprint of buildings that stood here along the south side of Bernauer Strasse as the Wall began to go up.
Nearby you’ll see a group of information panels, which tell the story of what happened here: On August 13, 1961, the East German government officially closed the border. People began fleeing to the parts of Berlin controlled by other European powers—like the French, who held the neighborhood on the north side of Bernauer Strasse.
Over the next few weeks and months, bit by bit, the border hardened. Ackerstrasse was closed to traffic, as East German soldiers laid down rows of barbed wire. People were suddenly separated from their West Berlin neighbors just across the street.
During this brief window of time (summer 1961 to early 1962), there were many escape attempts. (For more on these events and exactly where they happened, read your free Visitors Center brochure.)
• Keep going up the path through Section B, to the round building up ahead.
8 The Chapel of Reconciliation (Kapelle der Versöhnung): This modern “Chapel of Reconciliation” stands on the site of the old Church of Reconciliation. Built in 1894, that old Gothic-style church served the neighborhood parish. When the Wall went up, it found itself stranded in the death strip. Border guards used the steeple as a watchtower. The church became famous in the West as a symbol of how the godless commies had driven out religion and turned a once-great culture into a bleak wasteland. The church itself was finally blown up by the East Germans in 1985. Little remains of the original church. You can see its footprint traced in the ground around the chapel. The church bells and twisted iron cross are displayed a few paces away.
After the Wall came down, this chapel was built to remember the troubled past and try to heal the memory. Inside the church, the carved wooden altarpiece was saved from the original structure. The chapel hosts daily prayer services for the victims of the Wall.
• Continue past the chapel into the second portion of Section B.
Tunnels and More: Walk up the mild incline, then bear left to a large open-air display under a canopy (amid the ruins of a destroyed Bernauer Strasse home). Photos, info boards, and press-the-button audio clips explain what it was like to live here, so close to the front line of the Cold War. They paint a stark picture of daily life under oppressive communist rule. There’s also history under your feet: Two escape tunnels were dug near here. Head back up to the main path, turn left, and continue. You’ll pass two parallel rows of metal slabs, labeled Fluchttunnel 1964. This marks the route of the most famous tunnel of all: 9 Tunnel 57, built by a group of grad students in West Berlin to free their friends in the East, and named after the 57 people who escaped through it.
• The main part of our walk is done. From here you have several choices:
To experience more of the Memorial, you could continue through Sections C and D, where you’ll find more open-air exhibits. Section C focuses on the building of the Wall. Section D—nearly as long as the first three sections—covers everyday life in the shadow of the Wall.
Or, if you’re ready to leave the area, the Bernauer Strasse U-Bahn station is just a block further up Bernauer Strasse. Or you can backtrack to the Nordbahnhof. And tram #M10 follows Bernauer Strasse all the way to Eberswalder Strasse, in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg.
This thriving district, worth ▲▲, offers an ideal opportunity to see a corner of today’s “real Berlin,” just beyond the core tourist zone but still easily accessible. Prenzlauer Berg (PRENTS-low-er behrk) fans out to the north and east from Rosenthaler Platz; the most appealing bit is along Kastanienallee, which connects Rosenthaler Platz to the Eberswalder Strasse U-Bahn tracks (and is served by tram #M1, which begins its run at Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station). Key landmarks include the Wasserturm (Industrial Age water tower); trendy Kollwitzplatz (with its upscale playgrounds); the Kulturbrauerei and Everyday Life in the DDR museum; lively Kastanienallee and livable Oderberger Strasse; Berlin Wall sights (see earlier); and Mauerpark (once part of the Wall’s death strip, today it’s a Prenzlauer Berg green space). Prenzlauer Berg is also a great place to sleep, eat, shop, and enjoy nightlife.
Prenzlauer Berg was once a wooded hill with dozens of breweries—including this one, the Schultheiss-Brauerei. By the 1920s, this was one of the largest breweries in the world. World War II put an end to that, as Nazis confiscated the brewery, turned it into a factory for the Wehrmacht (armed forces), and, in the closing days of war, barricaded themselves within the brewery grounds. Today the entire site has been renovated to maintain its historic buildings, and to provide a venue for the cultural transformation of Prenzlauer Berg.
The “Culture Brewery” is a brewery-turned-cultural center that fills an evocative old industrial space with a handful of interesting shops, breezy restaurants, a movie theater, grocery store, and TI, plus a Sunday food market (12:00-18:00), winter Christmas market, and other outdoor events (Schönhauser Allee 36, tel. 030/4435-2170). Of most interest is the museum described next.
This museum, tucked in a passage at the northern end of the Kulturbrauerei, recounts the quotidian reality of communist East Germany. The thoughtful, well-curated collection—organized by theme—displays original artifacts, videos, photos, art, and mock storefronts that rise above the kitsch factor to give a real sense of the disparity between the socialist ideal and the grinding reality. It’s designed not for casual tourists, but for aging Germans eager to teach their kids and grandkids about how they once lived. (The DDR Museum near Museum Island—described earlier—is less substantial, but also more tourist-friendly.) Although tricky to appreciate, this museum is free and well worth a visit, particularly if you’re well-versed in DDR history.
Cost and Hours: Free, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu until 20:00, closed Mon; enter at Knaackstrasse 97, tel. 030/4677 7790, www.hdg.de.