Friedrichshain
It’s easy to feel like Gulliver in the Land of Brobdingnag when walking down monumental Karl-Marx-Allee, one of Berlin's most impressive GDR-era relics…
Must-see attractions in Berlin & Brandenburg
Prenzlauer Berg
With its wimpy trees and anaemic lawn, Mauerpark is hardly your typical leafy oasis, especially given that it was forged from a section of Cold War–era…
Around Berlin
In January 1942 a group of 15 high-ranking Nazi officials met in a stately villa near Lake Wannsee to hammer out details of the ‘Final Solution’, the…
Berlin
The filigree Funkturm, next to the trade fairgrounds, soars 129m high (14m with antenna) and looks especially pretty when illuminated at night. From the…
City West & Charlottenburg
This smart gallery is a treasure trove for aficionados of surrealism, a fantastical art form that peaked in the 1920s. It introduces works by the main…
City West & Charlottenburg
This lovely museum trains the spotlight on applied arts from the late 19th century until the outbreak of WWII. Pride of place goes to the art nouveau…
Berlin
Germany's film history gets the star treatment at this engaging museum. Explore galleries dedicated to pioneers like Fritz Lang, ground-breaking movies…
Schloss Charlottenburg - Belvedere
City West & Charlottenburg
The late-rococo Belvedere palace, with its distinctive cupola, makes an elegant setting for the world's largest collection of porcelain masterpieces by…
Berlin
This prized collection of European design, fashion and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to today is part of the Kulturforum museum cluster. You can…
Schloss Charlottenburg - Neuer Pavillon
City West & Charlottenburg
Returning from a trip to Italy, Friedrich Wilhelm III (r 1797–1848) commissioned Karl Friedrich Schinkel to design this petite summer refuge modelled on a…
Schloss Charlottenburg - Mausoleum
City West & Charlottenburg
In the palace garden, west of the carp pond, the temple-like Mausoleum (1810) was conceived as the final resting place of Queen Luise, and twice expanded…
Spreewald
A highlight of a visit to Cottbus is this palace-and-park ensemble, which stems from the feverish brow of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785–1871) –…
City West & Charlottenburg
Three floors of exotic fish, amphibians and reptiles await at this endearingly old-fashioned aquarium with its darkened halls and glowing tanks. Some of…
Berlin
Founded in 1919, the Bauhaus was a seminal school of avant-garde architecture, design and art that was shut down by the Nazis in Berlin in 1933. The…
Berlin
Surrounded by a lovely park, this palace packs a lot of German history into its pint-sized frame. Originally a country estate of Prussian nobles, in 1740…
Memorial Leistikowstrasse (KGB Prison)
Potsdam
Now a memorial site, Potsdam's central remand prison for Soviet Counter Intelligence – colloquially known as 'KGB prison' – is a particularly sinister…
Around Berlin
Glienicke Palace is the result of a rich royal kid travelling to Italy and falling in love with the country. Prince Carl of Prussia (1801–83) was only 21…
Berlin
At the heart of Treptower Park, the gargantuan Soviet War Memorial (1949) looms above the graves of 5000 Soviet soldiers killed in the Battle of Berlin, a…
Around Berlin
'Back to nature' was the dictum in the 18th century, so Friedrich Wilhelm II had this little Havel island turned into an idyllic playground, perfect for…
City West & Charlottenburg
Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945) was a famous early-20th-century artist whose social and political awareness lent a tortured power to her lithographs, graphics,…
Friedrichshain
With its jaunty towers and turrets, crenellated walls and arched walkways, the Oberbaumbrücke (1896) gets our nod for being Berlin’s prettiest bridge…
Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum
Berlin
This Charité Hospital–run museum chronicles 300 years of medical history in an anatomical theatre, a pathologist's dissection room, a laboratory and a…
Berlin
The Stasi was East Germany's secret police who put millions of citizens under surveillance in order to oppress internal opposition. This exhibit in the…
Berlin
With lovely landscaping and around 9000 critters, this zoo in the eastern district of Lichtenberg is a guaranteed hit with tots. Perennial crowd-pleasers…
Berlin
Like arms of a starfish, five roads merge into the Grosser Stern roundabout at the heart of the huge Tiergarten park. The Victory Column at its centre…
Berlin
A masterpiece of organic architecture, Hans Scharoun's 1963 iconic, honey-coloured concert venue is the home base of the prestigious Berliner…
Around Berlin
Berlin's only surviving baroque palace, on a little island off the Altstadt, houses a branch of Berlin's Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts)…
Friedrichshain
No matter if you grew up with Nimrod, Pac-Man, World of Warcraft or no games at all, this well-curated museum takes you on a fascinating trip down…
Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof I
Berlin
This compact 18th-century cemetery is the place of perpetual slumber for a veritable roll-call of famous Germans, including the philosophers Hegel and…
Berlin
Berlin’s second public park has offered a nature retreat to city dwellers since 1866, but it considerably changed its look after WWII when two of its…
Militärhistorisches Museum – Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow
Around Berlin
Operated by the Bundeswehr (the armed forces of Germany), this exhibit is a fascinating destination for fans of aviation, technology, history and the…
Around Berlin
This lovely villa was the summer retreat of German impressionist painter and Berliner Secession founder Max Liebermann from 1909 until his death in 1935…
Kreuzberg
Berlin's pioneering urban gardening project began in 2009 on this site on Moritzplatz, which had been abandoned for over 60 years. The nonprofit group…
Around Berlin
A popular day trip from Berlin, this romantically ruined monastery near a little lake and surrounded by a lush park was built by Cistercian monks in the…
Potsdam
Attached to the actual Babelsberg film studios, this movie-themed amusement park presents stunt shows, animal shows, outdoor movie sets, a 4D cinema and a…
Potsdam
One of Potsdam's newest landmarks is this replica of the 18th-century Prussian City Palace that was partly destroyed in WWII and completely removed by…
Around Berlin
At 4km long and 2.5km wide, the Müggelsee is Berlin's largest lake. Hemmed in by forest on two sides, it's hugely popular for swimming and boating on hot…
Berlin
This darling museum is packed with fun, precious and rare sound machines, including the glass harmonica invented by Ben Franklin, a flute played by…
Berlin
Haus Schwarzenberg is the last holdout in the heavily gentrified area around the Hackescher Markt. Run by a nonprofit organisation, it's an unpretentious…
Berlin
For a retreat from the urban frenzy, skip on over to this idyllic 19th-century courtyard complex linking Oranienburger Strasse with Auguststrasse. Aside…
