Berlin
3
Day Itinerary •
Germany
Three days in Berlin and Brandenburg reveal the most extraordinary capital in Europe for history, art and culture. The Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag dome, the Holocaust Memorial, Museum Island's five UNESCO museums, the East Side Gallery, Checkpoint Charlie and Potsdam's Sanssouci palace are all within reach of a single well-placed base in one of the most fascinating and constantly evolving cities in the world. This route moves from the historic heart of Berlin through the Cold War monuments of the Wall to the royal landscapes of Potsdam, covering three centuries of German history in three extraordinary days. No other city in Europe offers a comparable density of significant sites within such a compact and walkable area.
Best Time To Visit
April to October
Getting There
Fly into Berlin Brandenburg (BER), excellent rail connections
Getting Around
BVG public transport, U-Bahn and S-Bahn
Budget Per Day
Approx 70 to 305 EUR per person per day
Difficulity
Easy, flat city walking
DAY 1
HISTORIC BERLIN
MORNING
THE BRANDENBURG GATE AND THE REICHSTAG, THE HEART OF BERLIN
The Brandenburg Gate is the most extraordinary symbol of German reunification, the neoclassical triumphal arch through which Napoleon marched in 1806 and on which East Germans stood on the night the Wall fell in 1989. The adjacent Reichstag with its extraordinary glass dome by Norman Foster is the finest piece of reunification architecture in Germany. The dome gives a 360-degree view over Berlin and can be visited free by booking online in advance. Train/Travel: 20 min walk
MIDDAY
THE HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL AND THE TOPOGRAPHY OF TERROR
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, 2,711 concrete stelae of varying height on a sloping field between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz, is the most extraordinary memorial in Europe, its extraordinary disorienting effect as you walk between the rising columns creating an atmosphere unlike any other public space in Germany. The adjacent information centre is the finest documentary museum of the Holocaust in Berlin. Entry free. Train/Travel: 15 min walk
AFTERNOON
MUSEUM ISLAND, THE GREATEST MUSEUM COMPLEX IN GERMANY
Museum Island in the Spree is the most extraordinary concentration of museums in Germany, its five UNESCO World Heritage institutions including the Pergamon Museum with the extraordinary Pergamon Altar, the Neues Museum with the Nefertiti bust and the Altes Museum with its extraordinary rotunda making it the finest single afternoon of museum visiting in Europe. Day pass approx 22 euros. Book ahead for Pergamon.
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The Clärchens Ballhaus in the Mitte district, a ballroom operating continuously since 1913, is the most extraordinary and least changed historic dance venue in Berlin, its extraordinary mirrored hall, the garden restaurant and the Sunday afternoon tango sessions making it the finest hidden social venue in the city. The building survived both the Second World War and the GDR period intact. Entry to the ballroom approx 5 euros on dance evenings.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Barcomi's Deli, Mitte Outstanding American-style breakfast at Berlin's most beloved deli. Extraordinary bagels and coffee. | Lunch: Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt Outstanding Bavarian food at the finest beer hall in central Berlin. Weisswurst and Bretzel. | Dinner: Rutz, Mitte The finest restaurant in Berlin. Outstanding tasting menu. Two Michelin stars. Book weeks ahead.
DAY 2
COLD WAR BERLIN
MORNING
CHECKPOINT CHARLIE AND THE BERLIN WALL MEMORIAL
Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous crossing point between East and West Berlin, is the most extraordinary Cold War site in Europe. The adjacent Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum gives the finest account of the Wall and the extraordinary escape attempts made across it. The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse 1km north preserves the most complete surviving section of the Wall with its death strip, watchtower and documentation centre. Entry to memorial free, museum approx 15 euros. Train/Travel: 30 min walk
MIDDAY
THE EAST SIDE GALLERY AND THE SPREE WATERFRONT
The East Side Gallery is the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall, 1.3km of the inner wall painted by 118 international artists in 1990 creating the most extraordinary open-air gallery in the world. The extraordinary Fraternal Kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker and Birgit Kinder's Trabant bursting through the Wall are the finest individual works. The Spree waterfront walk east to the Oberbaum Bridge is extraordinary. Entry free. Train/Travel: 20 min walk
AFTERNOON
KREUZBERG AND THE STREET FOOD MARKET AT MARKTHALLE NEUN
Kreuzberg is the most extraordinary multicultural neighbourhood in Germany, its extraordinary Turkish market on Maybachufer, the street art of the Schlesisches Tor area and the Markthalle Neun covered market with its extraordinary Street Food Thursday event making it the finest neighbourhood experience in Berlin. The Paul-Linke-Ufer canal walk is the finest urban canal promenade in Germany. Entry free.
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The Teufelsberg spy station on the hill above the Grunewald forest is the most extraordinary Cold War ruin in Berlin, a vast abandoned NSA listening station built on a rubble hill created from wartime debris, its extraordinary geodesic radomes now covered in street art and accessible by guided tour. The view from the top of the radome over the Berlin forest and the city is extraordinary. Tours approx 8 euros. One of the finest hidden places in Berlin.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Morgenrot, Prenzlauer Berg Outstanding vegan breakfast at the finest cooperative cafe in Berlin. Extraordinary local produce. | Lunch: Markthalle Neun, Kreuzberg Outstanding street food at the finest covered market in Berlin. Turkish, Vietnamese, German all extraordinary. | Dinner: Lavanderia Vecchia, Kreuzberg Outstanding Italian dinner in a former laundry. The finest neighbourhood restaurant in Berlin.
DAY 3
POTSDAM
MORNING
POTSDAM AND THE SANSSOUCI PALACE, THE FINEST ROYAL GARDEN IN GERMANY
Potsdam's Sanssouci palace complex is the finest royal landscape in Germany, Frederick the Great's summer residence set in an extraordinary park of terraced vineyards, fountains, Chinese pavilions and the extraordinary Cecilienhof where the Potsdam Conference of 1945 redrew the map of Europe. The New Palace and Charlottenhof give the finest interiors in Brandenburg. Entry to palace approx 14 euros, park free. Train/Travel: 30 min train
MIDDAY
THE DUTCH QUARTER AND THE FINEST HIDDEN NEIGHBOURHOOD IN POTSDAM
Potsdam's Dutch Quarter is the most extraordinary surviving 18th-century planned neighbourhood in Germany, 134 Dutch-style red-brick houses built by Frederick William I between 1733 and 1742 for Dutch craftsmen who never came. The extraordinary Mittelstrasse and Benkertstrasse lined with gabled Dutch facades give it an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in Brandenburg. The independent cafes and restaurants are the finest in Potsdam. Entry free. Train/Travel: 20 min walk
AFTERNOON
THE BABELSBERG PARK AND THE FILM STUDIO
Babelsberg Film Studio near Potsdam is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, founded in 1912 and the place where Metropolis, The Blue Angel and more recently The Grand Budapest Hotel and Inglourious Basterds were filmed. The extraordinary Babelsberg Park adjacent, designed by Peter Joseph Lenne and Karl Friedrich Schinkel, is the finest English landscape garden in Brandenburg. Entry to park free, studio tours approx 25 euros.
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The Pfaueninsel peacock island in the Havel near Potsdam is the most extraordinary royal folly in Brandenburg, a 98-hectare island accessible only by a small ferry containing a ruined white castle, a rose garden and a herd of free-roaming peacocks in an extraordinary landscape designed by Peter Joseph Lenne for King Friedrich Wilhelm II. The island is one of the finest hidden places near Berlin. Ferry approx 4 euros return. Entry to island free.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Cafe Heider, Potsdam Outstanding breakfast at the finest independent cafe in Potsdam. Dutch Quarter location is extraordinary. | Lunch: Maison Charlotte, Dutch Quarter Outstanding French-German lunch in the finest restaurant in the Dutch Quarter. | Dinner: Klettwitzer, Potsdam Outstanding Brandenburg regional food at the finest traditional restaurant in Potsdam.
DAY 4
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
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DAY 5
MORNING
MIDDAY
AFTERNOON
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🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Where To Stay
Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg, All Nights Hotel de Rome or Soho House. Approx 120 to 350 euros per night. Mid-range The Circus Hotel or Michelberger Hotel. Approx 80 to 150 euros per night. Budget Generator Hostel or A&O Berlin Mitte. Approx 20 to 50 euros per night.
Top Tips
1. Reichstag dome: book free tickets at bundestag.de at least 3 weeks ahead. No walk-ups permitted.
2. Pergamon Museum: book timed entry online. The Pergamon Altar hall reopens after renovation in
2025.
3. Checkpoint Charlie museum: arrive early. The queue is long from 10am. The Bernauer Strasse memorial is better.
4. East Side Gallery: finest in morning light before tour groups arrive. Walk the full 1.3km length.
5. Sanssouci: arrive at opening (10am). The park is free and extraordinary even without entering the palace.
6. Teufelsberg: book the guided tour online. The radar station is inaccessible without a guide.
Total Budget
70 to 300 EUR/day