From world-famous tourist attractions to off-the-beaten-path hidden gems, Berlin, Germany, is one of the top vacation destinations in Europe.
The capital city of Germany offers a little something for everyone. It boasts numerous historical landmarks, museums, galleries, parks, and a vibrant nightlife scene.
Millions of travelers flock to Berlin each year in search of a cultural experience that they won’t find anywhere else. It’s a city that is renowned for it’s warm and inviting people and for offering a way of life that is somehow both all-cylinders-firing and relaxed at the same time.
In fact, Berlin is well known for featuring many striking contrasts. Centuries-old structures stand right alongside modern buildings designed by some of the most revered names in architecture. It’s a place where the past and present intersect in a gloriously satisfying way.
Berlin was THE city of the 20th Century, and it’s carried this momentum into the 21st century. The diversity at the heart of this city makes it one of our favorite places to visit in the country, and we’re quite certain that you too will fall in love with it’s charm.
If you’re thinking about visiting Germany anytime soon, keep watching to learn what we think are the best things to do in Berlin.
Landwehr Canal
If you’re looking for a reason to fall in love with Berlin, look no further than the Landwehr Canal. This spot is arguably the best place in the city to people-watch. The canal connects two of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city — Neukolln and Kreuzberg — and is basically the heart of Berlin’s thriving bohemian counterculture scene.
Grab a 1 euro beer from a spatkauf – essentially a German version of an American bodega – and pop a squat along the canal’s banks underneath a nice shady weeping willow tree.
You’re certain to run into a few bearded hipsters in addition to Turkish families and pretty much every other kind of person you can imagine. The diversity here is really something to behold.
A well-marked path runs parallel with the canal and takes you pretty much anywhere throughout Berlin. Additionally, you’ll find benches, bocce ball courts, biergartens, and many other inviting diversions to keep you hanging around.
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Reichstag
This dazzling neo-Baroque style tower houses the German Parliament known as the Bundestag. Over the years, it’s survived two world wars, the rise and fall of Nazi rule, countless bombings, and the country’s dramatic division, only to come out on the other side of all that as a symbol of a reinvigorated era in German politics.
If you visit the incredible space designed by the great Sir Norman Foster, a trip to the top is an absolute must. But you should know that you now need to book in advance by filling out a form over at visit.bundrstag.de at least three business days in advance.
Hackesche Hofe and Haus Schwarzenberg
Underneath it’s rugged exterior, Berlin hides a number of exquisite urban courtyards tucked behind the Alibau buildings that somehow managed to survive the second world war. At the heart of the city’s central-most neighborhood Mitte, Hackesche Hofe is a collection of eight cafe and boutique-lined public courtyards that date back to 1907.
They were restored to their original glory in 1996 and ever since they’ve been one of the premier places to shop and dine in the city. Right down the street on Resenthaler Straße , Hjaus Schwarzenberg is essentially Hackesche Hofe’s rough-around-the-edges, tatted-up twin brother. The street art here is incredible, and it gives you an eye-opening look at what the majority of Berlin looked like before it was gentrified.
The Berlin Wall
Since being torn down decades ago, the East Side Gallery remains the largest remaining section of the wall that once divided East and West Germany. Adorned with more than twelve dozen murals created by numerous international artists in 1990, the remaining portion of the wall stands as a powerful and aesthetically arousing reminder of this milestone in the country’s history.
The Berlin Wall Memorial stretches one and a half kilometers along the former border wall on Bernauer Strasse. It’s known for being one of the most visited sites in the city. Every year, over a million visitors come to see the last chunk of the wall that still stands.
Museum Island
Affectionately known as Berlin’s “Louvre on the Spree”, this daunting cluster of 5 world-class art museums is undeniably one of the most prominent highlights of the city’s majestic cityscape.
In 1999, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Museum Island, or Museumsinsel as it’s known in German showcases artwork and cultural relics from the stone age to the 1800s.
Take in the antiquities housed at the Altes Museum and Pergamonmuseum before feasting your eyes on 19th-century art over at the Alte Nationalgalerie. From there, mosey on over to the Bode-Museum to appreciate Renaissance and Medieval-era sculptures.
Last but certainly not least, the Neues Museum is famed for being the home of the fabulous yet somewhat scandalous bust of Nefertiti, which Egypt has been trying to repatriate for close to a century.
Berlin’s Bustling Nightlife Scene
Ever since the libertine 1920s when everyone from Clark Gable to Marlene Dietrich partied here, Berlin’s reputation for having a vibrant, unrestrained nightlife has been an established fact. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Berlin’s nightclub scene has routinely put the city on lists of the best places to let loose and party in Europe.
The hippest clubs in the city can be found in places like old abandoned warehouses, power plants, apartment complexes and other ingeniusly repurposed locales. The absolute best clubs can be found in hoods like Friedrichschain, Kreuzberg & Neukolln.
Electronic music is what you’ll hear the most pumping out of bustling clubs late into the early morning hours. Local favorite clubs include Griessmuhle, Kater Blaue and ://about blank. If hip hop is more of your jam, check out Prince Charles, and if you’re style is more fetish-oriented, check out KitKatClub for a wild experience you won’t find anywhere else.
While some might think that Punk is dead, they’re sorely mistaken because over at SO36, liberty-spikes, patched vests, and anarchy are still in vogue in this mosh pit-lovers utopia.
Berlinale
Established in 1951, The Berlinale is the world’s most popular film festival when it comes to attendance numbers. The festival is a prominent fixture on the international cultural calendar. Every year, Postdamer Platz gets transformed into a marvelous, shimmering stage that hosts some of the biggest names in the realm of cinema.
Screenings take place throughout the city as well including at the Zoo Palast theater in Tiergarteren and in a former crematorium known as silent green Kulturequartier in Wedding.
Mauerpark
If you’re into second-hand finds and discovering buried treasures, check out Mauepark. This bustling flea market happens every Sunday in the summer months and sells everything from vinyl and cds to designer and handmade clothing, and pretty much everything else you can imagine.
While the markets popularity means that the prices on some items can be a little steeper than expected, you can still come across hard-to-find rarities that don’t break the bank. Mauerpark also serves as the venue for the weekly outdoor singing event, Bearpit Karaoke.
Literally thousands of visitors, both locals and tourists alike, flock to the event to have a go at singing their favorite songs every Sunday.
Brandenburg Lakes
Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin, is also known as the land of three thousand lakes. It’s especially beautiful to see in the wintertime, but if the cold doesn’t suit you, it’s still quite inviting in the warmer summer and spring months.
Quite a few of the lakes are accessible via the public transit system and each one has it’s own unique vibe. Some of them are better for swimming while others are best suited for sunbathing or fishing. Whatever you’re tastes may be, you’re sure to find one that’s the right fit for you.
After spending the night partying, spending a day relaxing out on the water or sitting lakeside sipping a cold beverage is the perfect way to recover.
Markthalle IX
In the late 1800s, 14 covered marketplaces opened up, replacing the traditional open-air ones while making significant improvements to hygiene measures.
Locals saved this market from being closed down back in 2009. Today, it’s stalls are stocked with locally-sourced produce and hand-cut meats.
You’ll also find over at Markthalle IX one of our favorite microbreweries in the city, Heidenpeters. A couple of doors down is Sironi bakery from Milan. What better way to wrap up a day than by picking up a nice loaf of bread and a pint?
The market regularly hosts themed events such as the immensely popular Street Food Thursday. It can get a bit crowded but all and all it’s well worth checking out.
Tiergarten
Historically, Berlin’s ruling class used to use these grounds for boar and pheasant hunting. That is until renowned landscaper Peter Lenne carved the land into what it is today in the 18th century. With it’s lush woodsy tree groves, meandering shaded paths, spacious green lawns, and bubbling creeks, the Tiergarten is one of the most popular and spacious city parks in the world.
For those that need a little reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle, Tiergarten is the perfect place to have a picnic or simply kick back and relax with a good book. During the summer months, several charming Biergartens will tempt your taste buds, including Teehaus im Englishen Garten and Cafe am Neuen.
Unfortunately we’ve got to wrap things up. There are so many incredible things to see and do in Berlin that we haven’t gotten a chance to cover yet, but we’ll have to save those for another video. Let us know in the comments if you’d like to see more of what Berlin has going for itself, and if you have a few personal favorite spots in town, let us know as well.
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As always, thanks for watching and Happy Travels! We’ll see you soon with more travel content covering some of the top vacation destinations on the planet.