A quick guide for Berlin
Are you in Berlin for the first time and don't want to miss out on any of the highlights in this exciting city? Our 72-hour tour will take you to the most famous landmarks in Berlin and to its most beautiful places. Be guided through a sightseeing tour of Mitte, go shopping on Kurfürstendamm and in City West, and experience neighbourhood life in the districts of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. With our 72-hour programme, you won't miss out on any top sights during your first visit to Berlin.
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Day 1 in Mitte: from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate
Morning: Alexanderplatz & Nikolaiviertel
Start your first day in Berlin at the World Clock at Alexanderplatz. Let the surrounding buildings take you back in time to the GDR of the 1970s, watch the lively goings-on as people pass by and look up across the S-Bahn railway tracks at the TV Tower, the first highlight on the tour. From the top you'll have a phenomenal view over the whole city, and with the Berlin WelcomeCard you can enjoy a discount on the admission price to the tower. Eat up the view while enjoying breakfast or brunch at the restaurant sphere that rotates over Berlin at a height of 200 metres.
You can continue the tour westwards, past the Rotes Rathaus (red town hall), where the Berlin mayor's office is. Berlin's oldest district, the Nikolaiviertel, awaits your visit by the Spree. You can stroll around the picturesque neighbourhood surrounding St. Nicholas' Church. A bit further downstream of the river on the other side you'll find the Berlin Cathedral with its gigantic dome - one of Berlin's landmarks and something you most definitely should not miss.
Museum Island is not only a top Berlin attraction for art lovers. This ensemble consists of five museums that are on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites. The Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the Bode Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie together form one of the most important museum complexes in the world, and you have free entrance to them with the Berlin WelcomeCard.
Buy your Berlin Welcome Card Museum Island
Afternoon: Gendarmenmarkt, Holocaust Memorial and Brandenburg gate
Back on the magnificent Unter den Linden boulevard, you can see the Berlin City Palace, still under construction, on the left behind the Schlossbrücke (palace bridge). Over Bebelplatz and St. Hedwig's Cathedral which is a little hidden behind the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera), the journey continues with a short detour to Gendarmenmarkt, surely the most beautiful square in Berlin. Enjoy the harmonious ensemble of the concert house in the centre, flanked by the German and French cathedrals, from one of the many restaurants and cafés around the square.
Charlottenstraße on the western side of the square and then Behrenstraße going westwards will now lead you past the Komische Oper to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which is also known as the Holocaust Memorial. Walk through the memorial with its 2,711 concrete pillars and take in its contemplative atmosphere.
From here it's just a few metres down Ebertstraße before you'll find yourself in front of the most famous landmark of Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate. Few buildings are as closely connected with the history of Berlin as the former city gate is. After the fall of the Berlin Wall it became a symbol of German unity. Following a short walk around Pariser Platz the tour continues through the gate onto the Platz des 18. März. Now you'll be able to recognise the Siegessäule (Victory Column) in the distance, in the centre of the large Tiergarten park.
The next highlight of our tour is also a truly historic place. The Reichstag, the seat of the Deutscher Bundestag (German parliament), has not only had an eventful history since the Reichstag fire in 1933. You can book a guided tour through the dome - the Alte-Fritz adventure tour is especially worthwhile.
At night: Enjoy the nightlife around Hackescher Markt
To finish off the tour we recommend either a drink at Capital Beach, directly on the riverbank of the Spreebogenpark with a view of the main railway station - or a beer at Zollpackhof on the other side of the Spree. From there you can also comfortably reach Hackescher Markt, where you can spend the evening at any one of the numerous restaurants, cafés and bars.
Day 2 in City West: Between Charlottenburg Palace and the Gedächtniskirche
Morning: Charlottenburg Palace
Begin your second day like royalty, with a stroll around Charlottenburg Palace. Initially constructed as a summer palace, today it is the most splendid palace in Berlin, with extensive gardens. Located directly by the Spree, you'll feel like you've been transported back in time to the rococo period and the days of the Prussian kingdom as you stroll through the park.
Park of Charlottenburg Palace © visitBerlin, Foto: Wolfgang Scholvien
Schlossgarten Charlottenburg
Afternoon: Ku'damm & Zoo
A short ride from there on the U7 metro will take you directly to Adenauerplatz in the middle of the legendary Kurfürstendamm - the most famous shopping street in Berlin. Here you can peruse the latest designer fashions or simply marvel at the impressive building façades during your walk along the boulevard. The next highlight is waiting for you at the end of the Ku'damm: the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church) on Breitscheidplatz. The ensemble consists of the ruins of the church destroyed in the war and a new building next to it. It is a monument for peace and reconciliation and a symbol of Berliners' will to rebuild in the post-war period.
Today the church is encircled by several tall buildings such as the Upper West, the Zoofenster and the Europa Center, the oldest shopping centre in Berlin. You can reach Kaufhaus des Westens at Wittenbergplatz in just a few minutes via the adjacent Tauentzienstraße. KaDeWe is the most famous department store in Germany. Ansbacher Straße and Kurfürstenstraße will take you to Olof-Palme-Platz. And here waiting for you at the end of the tour are two more highlights: Zoologischer Garten and the Aquarium Berlin, that you can gain reduced admission to with the Berlin WelcomeCard.
At night: Enjoy the nightlife of the City West
You can round off the day right next door, at the Monkey Bar in the 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin. The cocktail bar with panoramic windows offers you a breathtaking view over Tiergarten and City West. Alternatively, you can retreat to the Schleusenkrug on warm summer evenings, a cosy beer garden directly on the Landwehr Canal in Tiergarten.
Day 3 in Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain: Berlin Wall and neighbourhoods
Morning: Along the river Spree to the East Side Gallery
Enjoy an easy-going start on the third day with a late brunch the way the Berliners love them. Things taste even better when there is a view to match. So check out one of the many cafés by the Landwehr Canal or the Neuköllner Schifffahrtskanal (Neukölln Ship Canal). You can then digest your brunch on a walk along the canal. There are unique gems in the way of restaurants, bars and clubs awaiting your visit. Freischwimmer, Club der Visionäre, Badeschiff and IPSE are just four of the locations on the island that form a summertime bar biotope on the left and right of the Flutgraben channel.
Schlesische Straße and Falckensteinstraße then lead you to Oberbaumbrücke, surely the most picturesque bridge in Berlin. From here you have one of the most beautiful views of Berlin in both directions - towards Alexanderplatz with the TV Tower and out of the city with the Molecule Men in the Spree.
Just around the corner from Oberbaumbrücke you'll find the East Side Gallery stretching out before you. The longest connected piece of the former Berlin Wall is covered with many different and amazing artworks. The most famous painting is the brotherly kiss between Honecker and Brezhnev. And there are plenty more historic events depicted along the 1.3 km open air gallery.
Afternoon & night: Exploring the neighbourhoods in Kreuzberg
Over Schillingbrücke, Bethaniendamm and Mariannenplatz you can continue on until Oranienstraße. From Heinrichplatz to Moritzplatz there are so many bars and restaurants that there is certain to be something to suit all tastes. You can review your stay in Berlin over a beer, wine or cocktail. And for those who wish to venture deeper into the night: the legendary SO36, Prince Charles and Ritter Butzke are just three places for an fun-filled club night.
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