25 essentials: what to see and visit in Berlin in 1, 2 or 3 days

One of the most fashionable cities in Europe today is, without a doubt, Berlin.

Furthermore, in recent times the German capital has become a very popular destination among Spaniards to travel on a long weekend or a long weekend.

En Berlin You find a city in whose visit you will see how the history of the prussian era with the closest and darkest times of the Nazism and the German Democratic Republic, one of whose main exponents is the old wall.

But, above all, it is a city with a great cultural atmosphere and animation in its streets, the result of which is a place with great attractions for your trip.

At Berlin visit you will see highlights monuments, in addition to having an incredible offer of museums of all characteristics, highlighting the enclave known as the Museum island.

In addition, you can walk through diverse neighborhoods with a great atmosphere in their streets.

Best places to see and visit in Berlin

To help you plan your sightseeing trip to berlin and know what to visit, below you have a list with 25 places of interest to see in Berlin, which include recommended visits and interesting topics that will help you enjoy your trip.

To begin with, here are some general tips with the basic and most interesting information to plan your visit to Berlin, as well as useful tricks for your stay in the German capital.

• Tips for your trip to Berlin
• What to eat and drink on your trip to Berlin

Mitte, historic center of Berlin

El Mitte neighborhood It is the historic center of the German city and where several of the most interesting places to see and visit are concentrated, such as the Brandenburg Gate or Reichstag.

I can tell you that the Mitte neighborhood will focus a good part of your visit to Berlin.

Brandenburg Gate

If you are looking for an icon image of Berlin, surely it comes to mind Brandenburg Gate, Historical Berlin monument that It has become one of the historical symbols of the city.

Built in 1791, it has witnessed important historical moments, such as when the victorious troops of Napoleon, or like when she was isolated and semi-abandoned during the time of the Berlin Wall.

Now when visit Berlin, you will verify that the Brandenburg Gate It is perhaps currently the point with the highest concentration of tourists.

In fact, you will see that it is the true center of the city, located very close to the Reichstag, Germany's Parliament building, and separating the great avenue Unter der Linden and the great Tiergarten park.

Berlin Reichstag Parliament

An essential visit on your trip to Berlin is climb to the dome of the Reichstag, headquarters building parliament of germany, which has been designed by the prestigious architect Norman Foster, and for whose visit you must reserve in advance.

Here you have all the information you need to know before your visit.

• How to book tickets to visit Foster's Dome at the Berlin Reichstag

Holocaust Memorial of the Jews in Berlin

The victims of the Holocaust suffered by the Jews in Germany, during the Nazi era they have various memorials en Berlin, especially in the old Jewish quarter, also known as Farm District.

But, without a doubt, the memorial that will impress you the most during your Berlin visit is the Monument to the murdered Jews.

Also know as Holocaust Memorial, It is of very recent construction since it was inaugurated in May of 2005.

Of course, don't expect to find a typical monumental complex.

When you go to see it, very close to the Brandenburg Gate, you will find a very extensive esplanade of 19.000 square meters, where 2.711 concrete stelae are arranged.

Although they all have the same width of just under a meter, the height of each slab is different, ranging between 9,2 and 4,8 meters.

The slabs of stele field of the Berlin Holocaust Memorial They are arranged in parallel and perpendicular rows, and since the surface of the ground has different slopes, and because of the different height of each stele, when you walk through this labyrinthine monument, a feeling of anxiety arises.

The designer of the Monument to the murdered Jews, Peter Eisenman, wanted to convey discomfort and confusion in this way.

In the monument area there is a Information Center underground, where they are shown exhibitions and the names of all the Jews murdered during the Nazi Holocaust are preserved.

There you can also rent a audioguide with voiceovers in German and English (3 euros), and you can also sign up for free guided tours of the Holocaust Memorial, in German or English, which last an hour and a half.

Los Holocaust Memorial Information Center hours They are, from May to September, from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 20 p.m., and the rest of the year, from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m., with Mondays closed to visitors.

La Admission to the Information Center is free.

Frank Gehry's Whale Tail in Berlin

The continuous combination of historical architecture and avant-garde architecture that you will find during your Berlin visit has one of its greatest expressions in the DZ Bank building.

This is located in the paris square (Parisian Square), where the Brandenburg Gate It opens towards the main axis of the city, the Unter der Linder avenue.

Outwardly the DZ Bank building It will not catch your attention, and you will be surprised to know that it is one of the most outstanding works of the prestigious architect Frank Gehry, the same one that designed the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, or the curious Prague Dancing House.

When after the fall of Berlin Wall The urban remodeling of the surroundings of the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin authorities established very strict rules so that the area could recover the configuration and architectural aesthetics prior to the Second World War.

These guidelines marked a very austere façade design in which the succession of vertical windows prevailed, the complete opposite of the daring aesthetics of the architecture of Ghery.

Therefore, when designing the DZ Bank building, which ended in 2000, Gehry He reserved his great aesthetic contribution for its interior.

This way, when you find yourself in the paris square, do not hesitate to enter the sober and official banking building, from whose lobby you can see its famous whale tail. What is it about?

Inside the building there is a large covered patio five stories high, at the base of which is the surprising auditorium, which you will already recognize as a work by Gehry.

Thus, the conference auditorium, which is known as the whale tail, is an original architectural structure almost 30 meters long and 12 meters high, covered by an original elliptical glass structure.

Book Burning Monument in Berlin

As you can imagine, there are many traces of the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis.

But above all you will find these traces in the so-called Jewish quarter, Farm District, where you can see some monuments that commemorate various events that occurred at that time in the Berlin city.

Now, surely the monument The most surprising thing you will find is the one located in Bebelplatz.

This small pedestrian plaza located in the axis of the Unter der Linden avenue, very close to the Museum island and Alexanderplatz, is distinguished by being surrounded by various monumental buildings.

So in Bebelplatz you will find from the Humbold University, until Opera and St. Hedwig's Catholic Cathedral.

In front of the university building is where you can see the monument commemorating the Burning of Books of Jewish authors that the Nazis carried out on May 10, 1933.

During this sad event, the hitler youth at the orders of Goebbels They burned about 40.000 books.

Where to see Monument to the Burning of Books

Take note in case you are not accompanied by a guide during your visit (who would show you the place), since it is not easy to see.

More or less you will find it in the center of the pedestrian plaza of Bebelplatzt, between the aforementioned building of the Humbold University and the Berlin Opera,

Specifically, in the cobblestone floor a glass platform under which you can see a space that emulates the shelves of a library, all white.

To locate the aforementioned glass platform, let yourself be guided by the tourists who gather together taking photos of the ground.

In daylight, and with the white background, it will be difficult for you to distinguish this library. However, at night, the light that illuminates it and comes from the ground will give you a strange feeling.

Berlin Catholic Cathedral

You may know that the Berliner Dom, a building that stands out for its large dome, is the protestant cathedral de Berlin. But do you know that in the German capital, and very close to the previous one, you have the Catholic cathedral?

In your Berlin visit, one of the areas where you will see the greatest concentration of monuments is Bebelplazt, in the area known as Forum Fredericianum, almost where the great Unter der Linten avenue runs alongside the Museum island.

Precisely one of the neoclassical buildings of this monumental area is the Berlin Catholic Cathedral.

Known as the St. Hedwig's Cathedral (St Edwige), it will be very easy for you to recognize the building because its design emulates the famous Agrippa Pantheon in Rome.

The Catholic cathedral building was Built in 1773, and became the second of the monuments in the aforementioned Forum Fredericianum area. Located at the bottom of the Bebelplatz, is dedicated to the patron saint of Silesia and Brandenburg, Saint Hedwig of Andechs.

With its façade of unmistakable neoclassical style, its large dome with a striking green roof, and the characteristic Greek-style circular floor plan, this monument was the only Catholic church in Berlin until the mid-19th century.

In fact, the Prussian king Frederick II the Great, its promoter, wanted this church to be the reflection of religious freedom.

You should know that the St. Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin It became a center of opposition and denunciation of Nazism. In fact, after the sad event of the night of the Broken Glass, its canon prayed the next day in memory of the murdered Jews.

El Father Lichtenberg, which was his name, was arrested and in 1943 he died on the way to the Dachau concentration camp. Currently his remains are in the crypt of the church.

Of course, when you visit the St. Hedwig's Cathedral, you will see a building completely rebuilt during the period from 1952 to 1963, since it was destroyed during the Second World War.

The new dome has a more reinforced concrete structure than the original, and eight new chapels were incorporated.

Kollwitz Pieta at the Berlin New Guard

On your walk through the Mitte neighborhood you must enter the building New Guard where you can see a shocking artistic work by the German sculptor Kathe Kollwitz.

• Kollwitz Pieta at the Berlin New Guard

Fassbender & Rausch chocolate shop in Berlin

During your Berlin visit You will also have the opportunity to meet one of the most famous chocolate shops in the world, an establishment that dates back to 1863.

• Fassbender & Rausch chocolate shop at Gendarmenmark in Berlin

Places to see in and around Alexanderplatz in Berlin

Another of the places in the German city that will focus your visit is the enormous Alexanderplatz square and its surroundings, where you will be able to see several monuments and interesting places.

To highlight the Protestant cathedral Berliner Domas well as the old San Nicolás neighborhood.

Alexanderplatz is going to become, without a doubt, one of the nerve centers of your Berlin sightseeing tour.

Not only because of the monuments or corners that it concentrates, but because very close to this large square there are other points of attraction, such as the Museum island or Jewish quarter, or the Farms.

When visit Berlin, you will see that Alexanderplatz It is a space of enormous dimensions, more than a square.

Indeed, it groups from some gardens with some of the most important monuments in Berlin, such as the Marienkirche church or Red Town Hall, to a very lively commercial and communications area, crowned by the imposing Fernsehturm television tower.

Marienkirche Church in Berlin

La St. Mary's Church is a gothic style church, the oldest in the city of Berlin and the main monument of Alexanderplatz.

• Marienkirche Church on Alexanderplatz

Monument to Marx and Engels in Berlin

El Marx Engels Forum Monument I remind us that Alexanderplatz was under the control of the former German Democratic Republic.

• Marx Engels Forum monument at Alexanderplatz in Berlin

Berliner Dom Cathedral in Berlin

One of the emblematic monuments of your Berlin visit will be, without a doubt, the Berliner Dom, or what is the same, the Berlin Cathedral.

This great temple is located in the center of the most monumental area of ​​the German capital, at the entrance of the Museum island, and next to the great Alexanderplatz square.

Due to its dimensions, it is the largest church in berlin, and you find it almost next to the oldest church, St. Mary's Church.

Likewise, the main façade of the protestant cathedral de Berlin It faces the large esplanade where the Altes Museum, the first one you will see on the aforementioned Museum Island.

In reality, this great temple of neo-baroque style of which its imposing dome stands out, it was built between 1895 and 2005, replacing the building of the previous cathedral.

And the church that you will see now is the result of a major reconstruction carried out in the 70s of the last century, after suffering serious deterioration at the end of the Second World War.

Medieval St. Nicholas quarter in Berlin

Very near Alexanderplatz You should not miss visiting the area of old medieval quarter of berlin, known as the San Nicolás neighborhood, and which has been completely restored after the Second World War.

• Old medieval St. Nicholas quarter in Berlin

Best places to visit along the former Berlin Wall

In your Berlin visit You will notice that you can still see several places with sections of the old wall that during the time of the Cold War separated the current German capital into two parts.

Checkpoint Charlie at Berlin Wall

This point, a old border crossing, is the most famous of the remaining enclaves of what was known as the Berlin Wall.

Here you have extensive information for your visit.

• Checkpoint Charlie of the former Berlin Wall

East Side Gallery at Berlin Wall

There are few places Berlin where you find sections of the old wall that separates the German capital, but perhaps the most prominent, and without a doubt the longest, is the one known as East Side Gallery Wall.

Located on the street Mill Street, On the banks of Spree river, at the gates of Turkish Quarter, the East Side Gallery Wall It is an artistic expression of the drama of the separation of Berlin by a wall.

With 1,3 kilometers in length, this section of the old berlin wall muestra 103 wall paintings made by artists from various countries around the world.

It was in the early 1990s when they began to make these mural paintings that came to Berlin after the fall of the aforementioned wall, to capture a tribute to freedom in their artistic creations.

Nowadays it has become one of the most popular visits among tourists who travel to Berlin, because in that place you have an artistic reflection of what the wall meant in the history of the city and Germany.

Here you have more detailed information about what it is and how to visit the East Side Gallery in Berlin.

• East Side Gallery of the former Berlin Wall

Museum Island in Berlin

The city of Berlin is characterized by the dozens of museums that you can visit there, but the most important are concentrated in the one known as Museum island, which has been declared Heritage awarded by the Unesco

Pergamon Museum in Berlin

The aforementioned Museum Island has in Pergamon museum its greatest exponent, and there you can see impressive archaeological remains of the Antiquity.

• What to see when visiting the Pergamon Museum on Berlin Museum Island
• Schedules and ticket prices to visit the Pergamon museum

Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin

The majestic Charlottenburg Palace is the best exponent in Berlin of the time of the prussian emperors, and during your visit you can stroll through its sumptuous halls and its pleasant gardens.

• This is the visit to Charlottenburg Palace

Berlin Jewish Quarter

At the old Jewish Quarter you will be able to see interesting corners that remember the presence of the Jewish community in the German capital.

• Hackesche Hofe courtyards of the Jewish Quarter of Berlin
• This was Tacheles, an alternative art squat in Berlin

Berlin Turkish Quarter

On a walk through the Turkish quarter of Kreuzberg You will be able to see the most multiracial side of the city of Berlin.

• This is the visit to the Turkish neighborhood of Kreuzberg in Berlin

Excursions and tourist activities in Berlin

Here you have extensive information about tours and guided visits that you can sign up for on your trip to Berlin, with excursions to its surroundings.

• The best tours and excursions in Berlin and surroundings
• Spree River Cruises in Berlin

Public transport in Berlin

Practical information on how to get around Berlin by public transport

• Public transport prices and which transport card to buy in Berlin