Best things to do in Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

The impressive and symbolic Brandenburg Gate was built with sandstone in 1791 and consists of 12 massive Doric columns. Topped with a stunning statue of the Goddess of Victory facing east towards the city centre, the gate is closed to traffic, as is the adjacent Pariser Platz, a square at the end of the beautiful Unter den Linden Boulevard. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, new buildings have been built to designs closely following those destroyed in WWII. It's easy and worthwhile to hire a guide for the area, as the Brandenburg Gate has an intriguing history and a special place in the German culture.

Checkpoint Charlie

The infamous border crossing point in the Berlin Wall dividing West and East Berlin has now become something of a shrine, with the addition of a museum: the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. While the original metal shed is now on display at the Allied Museum, the soldier's post can be visited and tourists can be photographed under the border sign. The museum's permanent exhibition charts the lifespan of the wall, displays objects used to get under, over or through the wall, as well as the stories of those defectors who risked their lives to win their freedom. It hosts lectures and film screenings, and also houses temporary exhibits focusing on general human rights.

Website www.mauermuseum.de

Berlin Wall East Side Gallery

The remains of the Berlin Wall have now become the largest open-air art gallery in the world. The longest section is given over to graffiti artists from around the world, demonstrating their skills on the 4,318 foot (1,316m) concrete canvas and turning it into a Berlin landmark. Some of the best known paintings are Dimitri Vrubel's Brotherly Kiss and Gunther Shaefer's Fatherland. The gallery is billed as an international memorial for freedom, the art reflecting the idealism and excitement of the time when the wall was pulled down in 1989.

Website www.eastsidegallery-berlin.de

Berlin Jewish Museum

The Berlin Jewish Museum in Lindenstrasse has gained an international reputation for its significant architecture and unique exhibitions. The bulk of the museum is housed in an intimidating windowless and doorless building situated alongside the yellow Baroque edifice of the Berlin Museum. Visitors enter through the Berlin Museum to explore exhibition rooms clustered around a main axis void, designed to signify the empty and invisible aspects of Jewish history. The museum and its displays are beautifully designed and can be emotionally overwhelming, mixing personal stories, interactive exhibits and mementos with more formal and informative history.

Website www.juedisches-museum-berlin.de

Hamburger Bahnhof

One of the most popular galleries in Berlin, the historic Hamburger Bahnhof in the central Tiergarten district, exhibits an extensive contemporary art collection. Built in 1846 but badly damaged during World War II, this former train station offers 107,639 square feet (10,000 sq metres) of space filled with works by the likes of Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys and Roy Lichtenstein. The permanent display is the Marx private collection, but there are changing exhibitions and good examples of transavanguardia and minimalism. The gallery holds regular free guided tours for the public, with times displayed on the website.

Website www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/hamburger-bahnhof

Potsdamer Platz

Potsdamer Platz is the heart and soul of the 'New Berlin', emerging with the fall of the Wall in 1989. The square now contains an exciting mix of restaurants, hotels, a casino, theatres and cinemas, drawing Berliners and tourists seeking culinary delights and memorable recreation. The focus of the square is the 22-storey Debis Haus designed by Renzo Piano, featuring an atrium with cathedral-like dimensions. The Kollhoff building has a panorama platform that offers a gorgeous view of the city, and is reached by Europe's fastest express elevator. The Sony Store is the most recent addition, and consists of eight buildings around a light-flooded arena, which also houses Berlin's popular Film Museum.

Website www.potsdamerplatz.de

Legoland Discovery Centre

The Legoland Discovery Centre is the first indoor Legoland in the world and provides an interactive journey through a land of creativity, learning and play. Kids will love themed areas ranging from dinosaurs to ninjas. There is a fun factory where Lego bricks are made, a 4D cinema show and even miniature Berlin sights made from Lego. Consistently rated as one of the best family attractions in Berlin, it's also a great place to celebrate birthdays as there are special party rooms for hire and all sorts of exciting perks. The park is designed mainly for kids aged between three and 10.

Website www.legolanddiscoverycentre.de

The Story of Berlin

The Story of Berlin is an interactive exhibition recounting the history of the German capital from its foundation until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It's divided into 25 themed rooms and pays attention to the feelings, thoughts and living conditions of common Berliners, excelling in recreating the atmosphere, mood and aesthetic of different periods. The museum is modern and impressively designed, with a compelling mix of historical analysis and more personal, anecdotal material. One of its main attractions is the nuclear bunker built during the Cold War in the 1970s, and admission price includes an audio tour of it.

Website www.story-of-berlin.de

Gendarmenmarkt

Said to be one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin was created as a marketplace in the 17th century. During World War II most of the buildings surrounding the square were destroyed, but have since been reconstructed and returned to their former glory. The square is dominated by the beautiful concert house, which is home to the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and is a special place to catch a performance. Other notable buildings are the twin churches of Deutscher Dom (German Cathedral) and Franzosischer Dom (French Cathedral). The Gendarmenmarkt stays busy even in winter, playing host to Berlin's best Christmas market and various concerts.

Charlottenburg Palace

Schloss Charlottenburg is the largest and oldest palace in Berlin. The 18th-century Baroque structure was originally constructed as the summer home for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Elector Frederick III who became the first Prussian king. The splendid interiors are festooned with masterpieces of art, including the largest collection of 18th-century French paintings anywhere outside of France. The surrounding gardens contain a mausoleum, pavilion and the Belvedere, which houses the porcelain museum. For centuries the best artists, architects and landscapers were commissioned to improve and enrich the palace, and the gardens are also lovely.

Website www.spsg.de

Berliner Dom

The magnificent basilica of the Berlin Cathedral was finished in 1905, and stands on the site of several earlier structures. The largest church in the city, the solemn structure was built in the neo-Rennaisance and neo-Baroque styles, and holds active services, concerts and tours. It is located on the UNESCO heritage-listed Museum Island in Berlin Mitte, which is one of the most renowned museum complexes in the world.

Cathedral visitors love the imposing Sauer organ (made by Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Sauer, a famous organ builder of the Romantic period), the stained-glass windows and the intricate mosaics decorating the dome. The cathedral's crypt contains over 80 sarcophagi of Purssian royals. Tours and audio guides are on offer.

Website www.berlinerdom.de

Pergamon Museum

Considered one of the best attractions in Berlin, the huge Pergamon Museum has three main departments: the Antiquity Collection, the Islamic Art Museum and the Middle East Museum. They house parts or replicas of reconstructed monumental buildings transported from excavation sites in foreign lands. The Antiquity Collection contains the Pergamon Altar from the second century BC, as well as the Market Gate of Miletus from Roman antiquity. The main attraction in the Islamic Art Museum is the Mshatta façade originating from a Jordanian desert palace. The Middle East Museum houses the Ishtar Gate and the Procession Way of Babylon, as well as the throne room façade of Nebuchadnezzar II.

Website www.smb.spk-berlin.de

Natural History Museum

Boasting more than 30 million objects throughout its geological, paleontological and zoological collections, the Museum of Natural History in Berlin is the biggest of its kind in Germany and one of the five largest in the world. Visitors will enjoy discovering extensive treasures and learning while they wander the exhibition halls, which take up a massive 71,000 square feet (6,600sq/m). Apart from the ever-popular dinosaur exhibit, highlights include sections on evolution, domestic animals, the cosmos and solar systems, minerals and more. The museum is well organised, with labels in multiple languages and digital audio available in 11 languages.

Website www.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de

Berlin Zoo-Aquarium

Children and families love nothing more than trips to the zoo or the aquarium, and Berlin's stunning Zoo-Aquarium combines both with a large focus on conservation and responsible enclosures. The facility is one of the most popular in Europe, entertaining millions of visitors each year with its immense biodiversity from rhinos and pandas to sharks and penguins. Thematic tours such as South America, Asia and Africa are on offer, while there are often special events during the year celebrating Halloween, Easter and Christmas which kids will love. The world's largest inner-city park, Tiergarten adjoins the zoo and a visit is pleasantly combined with a stroll or picnic through these beautiful gardens.

Website www.aquarium-berlin.de

Allied Museum

Occupying an abandoned movie theatre, this museum displays the history of the Allied forces in Germany during World War II and their peacetime presence until 1994. The Allied Museum's collections include all kinds of military memorabilia: airplanes, motor vehicles, weapons, uniforms, documents, photos and other artefacts, including the original Checkpoint Charlie shed. One section focuses on the years 1945 to 1950, covering the end of the war and the Berlin Airlift, while another explores Germany's Cold War experience between 1951 and 1994, featuring large pieces of the Berlin Wall illustrating the history of West Berlin as an island in the Soviet zone. The museum also organises periodic events such as lectures, film screening and special exhibitions.

Website www.alliiertenmuseum.de

Reichstag

The Reichstag is one of Berlin's most famous buildings and the seat of Germany's parliament since 1894. Enduring a volatile history, its 1999 renovation saw the building gutted, leaving only the facade and the addition of a glass-domed atrium that provides stunning panoramas of Berlin. Tours are on offer but visits are done by contacting the Reichstag beforehand. Although the office is helpful there are thousands of people making this request so advance planning is required to avoid disappointment. Free audio is available in a number of languages.

Website www.bundestag.de/kulturundgeschichte/architektur/reichstag

Berlin

Things to do in Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

Checkpoint Charlie

Berlin Wall East Side Gallery

Berlin Jewish Museum

Hamburger Bahnhof

Potsdamer Platz

Legoland Discovery Centre

The Story of Berlin

Gendarmenmarkt

Charlottenburg Palace

Berliner Dom

Pergamon Museum

Natural History Museum

Berlin Zoo-Aquarium

Allied Museum

Reichstag

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Brandenburg Gate

Checkpoint Charlie

Berlin Wall East Side Gallery

Berlin Jewish Museum

Hamburger Bahnhof

Potsdamer Platz

Legoland Discovery Centre

The Story of Berlin

Gendarmenmarkt

Charlottenburg Palace

Berliner Dom

Pergamon Museum

Natural History Museum

Berlin Zoo-Aquarium

Allied Museum

Reichstag