Berlin's most important attractions
Plan your Berlin trip around the top sights - and find hotels right nearby.
Landmarks
Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de · CC BY-SA 3.0Brandenburg Gate
Berlin's world-famous emblem and a sign of reunification. It stands on Pariser Platz, right beside the Adlon and the Holocaust Memorial.
Mfield, Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com; edit by Waugsberg (rotation 0,4°) · GFDL 1.2Reichstag
Meeting place of the German Bundestag, topped by Norman Foster's well-known glass dome. Booking ahead is advisable to visit the dome.
Marek Heise Fotografie, Berlin · CC BY-SA 4.0Gendarmenmarkt
For many the finest square in the city: the Deutscher Dom, Französischer Dom and Konzerthaus come together as a harmonious ensemble.
Avda · CC BY-SA 3.0Potsdamer Platz
Modern Berlin in its purest form: the Sony Center, Berlinale Palace and towers by Renzo Piano and Helmut Jahn. The square was built from scratch after reunification.
Taxiarchos228 · FALAlexanderplatz
Berlin's major transit junction, where the World Clock, TV Tower and Galeria department store meet. This is where everything converges.
ernstol · CC BY-SA 3.0Charlottenburg Palace
The city's largest palace, all baroque splendour with palace gardens, Belvedere and mausoleum. Half a day is plenty for a visit.
Nikolai Schwerg · CC BY-SA 3.0Olympic Stadium
Host of the 1936 Olympic Games, now the ground of Hertha BSC and a stage for big concerts. The architecture is striking.
Ansgar Koreng · CC BY 3.0 deBerlin Cathedral
Set on Museum Island, it is the main Hohenzollern church and impresses with its dome and the view across the Lustgarten.
History & wall
Roger Wollstadt · CC BY-SA 2.0Checkpoint Charlie
The best-known border crossing from the Cold War era. Today it offers an open-air exhibition with the Mauermuseum right alongside.
Lklundin · CC BY-SA 3.0East Side Gallery
A preserved 1.3 km section of the Berlin Wall covered by 105 paintings. It counts as the longest connected open-air gallery in the world.
Alexander Blum · CC BY-SA 4.0Holocaust Memorial
The field of stelae designed by Peter Eisenman sits between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz and ranks among Europe's most significant memorials.
Parks & nature
Franz Richter (User:FRZ) · CC BY-SA 3.0Mauerpark
Laid out on the former wall strip, it is now Berlin's best-known Sunday park with a flea market and amphitheatre karaoke.
beedubz · CC BY-SA 3.0Tiergarten
Berlin's grand inner-city park spanning 210 hectares between Brandenburg Gate and Zoo Station. It takes in the Victory Column, English Garden and Café am Neuen See.
Coooohen · CC BY-SA 4.0Tempelhofer Feld
The disused airport is now Berlin's largest park: 4 km² for skating, picnicking and kite-surfing. Its former runways are open to everyone.
Leonhard Lenz · CC0Müggelsee
Berlin's biggest lake, with lidos, sailing boats and the Müggelturm. In summer the loveliest recreation area of the capital.
Times · CC BY-SA 3.0Wannsee
Berlin's best-known bathing lake, with the Wannsee lido, Pfaueninsel island and boat lines to Potsdam. Summer at its purest.
Shopping
Marek Śliwecki · CC BY-SA 4.0Kurfürstendamm
The west's best-known shopping boulevard, a 3.5 km run of KaDeWe, boutiques and cafés, with the Memorial Church standing at its far end.
Jörg Zägel · CC BY-SA 3.0KaDeWe
The largest department store in continental Europe, with seven floors and the legendary Gourmet food hall. A fixture of Berlin.
