Berlin, germany
Attractions Guide

Germany’s capital city of Berlin is the largest city in Germany is home to many great museums, monuments, and other attractions. You’ll find many world-class museums and historic buildings on Berlin’s Museum Island, a UNESCO site located on a small island in the Spree River in the center of Berlin.

Brandenburg Gate

Among Berlin’s most iconic sights is the 18th century Brandenburg Gate, a stunning neoclassical monument which has been the background for many important historical events throughout the city’s history. Be sure to also see the Brandenburg Gate at night when it is elegantly illuminated.

Reichstag Building

A very short walk away from the Brandenburg Gate is Berlin’s iconic Reichstag Building, a grandiose structure which houses Germany’s parliament sessions. The Reichstag’s glass dome is a popular spot for tourists to enjoy 360 degree views of Berlin from several floors up.

Memorial to the Jews of Europe

Just south of the Brandenburg Gate is the Memorial to the Jews of Europe, a vast complex of thousands of smooth rectangular columns arranged in a grid pattern, with various heights creating a unique and powerful visual effect. Beneath the Memorial is an underground Holocaust Museum which is free to visit.

Checkpoint Charlie

An extremely popular tourist attraction in Berlin is Checkpoint Charlie, a famous preserved guardhouse which sits on the former border between East and West Berlin. During the time when Berlin was divided, Checkpoint Charlie was the main gate through which people must pass to reach the other side of the City Center, which was very rarely allowed.

Fernsehturm Tower

Towering above the city is an iconic symbol of Berlin, the Berliner Fernsehturm Tower, a massive TV tower which is approximately 1,200 feet (370 m) tall. For the best views in Berlin, you can take the elevator or even climb the stairs up to the towers’s rotating observation platform, which also hosts a restaurant.

Gendarmenmarkt

In the center of the city is one of Berlin’s most famous squares, Gendarmenmarkt, which is surrounded by lavish buildings. This public square hosts a popular Christmas market.

Around Gendarmenmarkt you can admire the lovely 17th century French Cathedral which offers views over the city and the 18th century Neue Kirche (New Church) with its striking rounded staircase that you can climb. Between the two churches of Gendarmenmarkt is the Konzerthaus Berlin, a stately classical music concert hall.

Bebelplatz

Another beautiful plaza just a couple blocks from Gendarmenmarkt is Bebelplatz, the infamous site of a major Nazi book burning event in the 1930s, for which the plaza also hosts a memorial to.

Despite its troubled history, this plaza is surrounded by stunning historical buildings, including the pink Berlin State Opera, and the impressive neoclassical St. Hedwig’s Cathedral with its massive dome.

Berlin Cathedral

The most famous sight of Museum Island isn’t even a museum, it’s the magnificent Berlin Cathedral (or in German the Berliner Dom). This massive cathedral contains exquisitely decorated interiors with royal tombs and historic artworks.

You can climb the stairs to the top of the Berlin Cathedral’s dome for amazing 360 degree views overlooking Museum Island, the Fernsehturm tower, and much of Central Berlin.

Altes Museums

Adjacent to the Berlin Cathedral is the Altes Museum, which houses a priceless collection of of Classical antiquities from Ancient Greece and Rome within a grand neoclassical building. The Altes Museum sits at the end of the Lustgarten park behind a lovely fountain.

Neues Museum

Behind the Altes Museum is the Neues Museum, hosting an amazing collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, most notably the famous Nefertiti Bust. Additionally the Neues Museum holds a collection of early historic and prehistoric human artifacts.

Alte Nationalgalerie

Next to the Neues Museums you can visit the Alte Nationalgalerie (or Old National Gallery), which is housed in a highly photogenic building resembling the ancient Parthenon of Greece. The Alte Nationalgalerie’s collections include early Modern, Impressionist, Romantic, and Neoclassical fine art works.

Pergamon Museum

By far the most popular and famous museum on Berlin’s Museum Island is the Pergamon Museum, which is also the most visited museum in Germany.

The Pergamon Museum hosts an incredible collection of massive ancient artifacts, including the Babylonian Ishtar Gate, and the Market Gate of Miletus built in Turkey during the rule of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The most famous artifact however is the gigantic Pergamon Altar for which the museum is named after, which was found in the Ancient Greek city of Pergamon in Turkey.

Bode Museum

At the northern tip of Museum Island is the Bode Museum, which hosts a diverse array of collections including Byzantine and Gothic artworks and priceless sculptures from throughout European and Mediterranean history.

Additionally, the Bode Museum holds one of the largest coin collections in the world, with its collections of coins and medals representing all time periods and areas of the world.

Museum Island Area

Just across the the either side of the river from Museum Island are two more important museums, including the DDR Museum across from the Berlin Cathedral. The DDR Museum’s exhibits portray life in pre-unified East Germany with a large collection of cultural artifacts.

Across the water from the Altes Museum is the German Historical Museum, which retraces the history and culture of the German nation.

Central Berlin Museums

On the southern side of Central Berlin are three more popular museums, including the Topography of Terror Museum located atop the site of the former Gestapo headquarters near Checkpoint Charlie. The Topography of Terror Museum depicts the history and repercussions of Nazi Germany.

Nearby the Topography of Terror is the Berlin Story Bunker, a city history museum set in a recreation of the Fuhrerbunker baker structure in which Adolf Hitler spent his final days during WWII.

Also popular is the German Museum of Technology, with its significant collections including aircraft, locomotives, marine craft, computers, and industrial technology.

Berlin Wall Memorial

North of Central Berlin is the Berlin Wall Memorial, a preserved stretch of the original Berlin Wall along a field. Nearby you can visit the Berlin Wall Memorial Visitor Center, which offers educational multimedia exhibits about the wall and its history.

East Side Gallery

Along the Spree River east of Museum Island is another preserved section of the Berlin Wall, known as the East Side Gallery. Along the walls of the East Side Gallery are over 100 large murals, many of which are political or abstract, created by artists from around the world.

On the western side of the Brandenburg Gate is the expansive Grosser Tiergarten Park, which hosts dense forests, ponds, streams, and many walkways.

Near the western end of the Grosser Tiergarten is the towering Victory Column, topped with a giant bronze statue of a Roman Goddess. This impressive column was built to commemorate Prussia’s victories in the 19th century Prussian Wars.

Zoo Berlin

The most popular attraction in Tiergarten Park is the Zoo Berlin, which is one of Europe’s most visited zoos. Zoo Berlin hosts one of the most extensive collections of animals in the world, and even contains a large aquarium, called Aquarium Berlin. Notably, the Zoo Berlin is home to Giant Pandas, including a set of twin pandas cubs.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Just beyond Tiergarten next to the Zoo Berlin is the stunning partially-ruined tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was mostly destroyed during WWII.

In West Berlin is the Schloss Charlottenburg Palace, an extravagant baroque and rococo-style summer palace built in the 17th-18th centuries. The sprawling Charlottenburg Palace was partially modeled after the Palace of Versailles, and inhabited by Prussian royalty.

Today visitors can explore the the palace’s many decadent rooms and stately apartments, which are filled with many historic items including the crown jewels, a large porcelain collection, and fine artworks. Outside the palace you can explore the beautiful fine gardens and parkland along the Spree River.

Soviet War Memorial

Southeast of Berlin’s center near the Spree River is the massive Soviet War Memorial at Treptow Park. This stunning memorial is dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Soviet Union’s Red Army from the Battle of Berlin during WWII.

Spandau Citadel

On the western edge of Berlin where the Havel and Spree Rivers meet is a stunning 16th century Spandau Citadel, Berlin’s oldest preserved structure, located atop a star-shaped island.

This Renaissance-era island fortress is extremely well-preserved and hosts many impressive historic buildings within its walls. The Spandau Citadel hosts many different exhibits ranging from military history and craftsmanship to a bat cave.

Teufelsberg

Near the western end of Berlin is the giant manmade hill of Teufelsberg, atop which are the intriguing ruins of large structures topped with large geodesic domes.

These structures served as listening stations created by the USA’s National Security Agency to spy on Soviet operations in East Germany during the Cold War.