Berlin

Germany

Berlin

Berlin is a funky city full of art and culture and steeped in history. It’s also huge. It’s a city that has seen many transitions from the classical days to a seat of Kaisers to WWII and the soviet control (think Berlin Wall). It’s also a fun city with great restaurants, bars, and clubs. You can easily spend a long weekend here (and probably a full week) enjoying all of the museums, shops, eateries, and soaking in the laid back culture.

Length: 3-6 Days

Transportation: Trains (S-Bahn and U-Bahn)

Best Guide Book: Rick Steve’s Berlin

Day 1 – Berlin

Day 2 – Berlin

Day 3 – Berlin

Day 4 – Potsdam

Day 5 – Berlin

Day 6 – Sachenhausen Memorial and Museum OR Lake Müggelsee

  • Option 1:
  • Option 2:
    • Train to Lake Muggelsee (train and bus, boat, or uber, approx 40m – 1h20m)
    • Beaches: Müggelsee lido and Seebad Friedrichshagen
  • Dinner – select from Berlin Restaurant recs
  • Lodging – same place (night 5/6)

In-Depth Itinerary

Day 1 – Berlin

You can spend as long or as little in Berlin as you want. We recommend at least 2 days (but really many more) and recommend you don’t skip Potsdam.

If you’re arriving by plane: Brandenburg is the major airport. You can grab a train from the airport that will deposit you downtown. Follow arrows in the airport for the train. Take a look at the Rome2Rio app for easy ways to see how to get around/which bus you need. You could also opt to take a taxi or Uber (especially if you’re traveling with a few people) straight from the airport.

If you arrive by train (or are connecting via train station) it’s the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. From here grab the S-Bahn to your hotel (it’s just as easy as a taxi or bus and your train ticket into Berlin covers the connecting S-Bahn ride into town). In general to get around Berlin you’ll be using the U-Bahn (ie its subway) – consider a day pass if you’ll be riding more than once a day or a WelcomeCard if the math works out for you for 3 days.

Now you’re actually in Berlin. One thing to know – it’s split into sections: Eastern Berlin, Central Berlin, Western Berlin. Eastern Berlin has most of the famous sites. Central Berlin holds Tiergarten Park. Western Berlin has the Bahnhof Zoo.

For your first day, head to a few sites (you may have more or less time depending on what time you land). We recommend you start at the German History Museum learning about the history of Germany since 500 AD. Consider the Museumpass. It gets you into more than 50 museums and you’ll likely make up the value during your visit (includes national museums and the big name ones). The pass lets you skip the line and go right into the museum. This is a better deal than Museum Island Pass.

After reveling in history, head to the Topography of Terror to learn about the Gestapo at the documentation center in their headquarters.

Finally head to the Berlin Wall Memorial. Most of this is an outdoor park with a Visitors Center and Documentation Center (located on Bernauer Strasse) which details the extensive history of the wall and the stories of those who attempted to cross the wall. It’s a really great exhibit and you’ll see a guard tower, areas where escape attempts were made, and original wall fragments. Don’t forget to head to the roof on top of the building to get the bird’s eye view.

Berlin Wall Memorial

For dinner we recommend starting very traditional and German at Lutter & Wegner (world famous for their sauerbraten) or select from Berlin Restaurant Recommendations.

We loved staying central in the old East section at Hotel Luc. However, another popular option is in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, consider Myer’s Hotel, Hotel Jurine, The Circus Apartments, Circus Hotel, or Soho House Berlin. You can also consider the old West part of Berlin near Savingyplatz (old french quarter) at Pension Peters. .Other good choices include Das Stue, Hotel AMO, Regent Berlin, Grand Hyatt Berlin, and Radisson Collection Hotel. Since you’re going to be in Berlin multiple nights you may also want to consider an apartment rental (night 1/6).

Day 2 – Berlin

The real intro to Berlin should be a walking tour (at 10:00) of the city. On this 3.5+ hour tour (wear comfy shoes) you’ll see all of the main highlights: the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, Hitler’s Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, Nazi Air Ministry, Holocaust Memorial, the Reichstag (Parliament), Museum Island, the Bebelplatz (scene of the Nazi Bookburning), Topography of Terror, Neue Wache (War Memorial), among others.

Plan to visit the Reichstag after your tour. While you’ll need an advanced reservation (and your passport) spiraling up to the top of the Parliament building will give you 360 degree views of the Berlin skyline.

Reichstag Dome

Grab a drink on your wander back at Windhorst. Then dine at Lokal or select from our Berlin Restaurant recommendations.

After your tour, grab dinner at one of our Berlin Restaurant recs.

Day 3 – Berlin

Berlin has some amazing museums and today is museum day. Again, wear your comfy shoes. With only a few days in Berlin you won’t have time for everything. Head to Museum Island. Make sure you purchase a combo pass. If you are visiting at least 2 museums on the island get the Museum Island Pass (it covers all 5 on the island). Or consider the Museum Pass Berlin which will covers some not on the island as well.

The two you absolutely should not miss are the Pergamon Museum (Berlin/Germany’s massive antiquities museum) and Neues Museum (famous collection of Egyptian artifacts). Then we recommend the excellent art collection at the Alte Nationalgalerie. With additional time you can add on other museums including The Altes Museum and Bode Museum (but we’d opt for these after the other three).

The Ishtar Gate of Babylon at Pergamon Museum

Once you finish with your museums take a boat ride along the lovely Spree river. Several boat companies offer a pleasing 1 hour trip complete with drinks and an English audioguide (though we liked Berliner Wassertaxi). The boats leave from docks near the Cathedral near off Unter den Linden (near the DDR museum). Pick a boat with open deck seating.

After your boat tour, head to the Berlin Brewery Brauerei Lemke Berlin for its charming beer garden. Have dinner tonight at Monsieur Vuong (Berlin has excellent Vietnamese food) or select from Berlin Restaurant recommendations.

Day 4 – Potsdam

Today we actually recommend you leave Berlin and head to Potsdam (a short 30m train ride away). Sanssouci Palace is closed Monday and New Palace is closed Tuesday so don’t head to Potsdam on one of those days. The palaces and parks of Potsdam are a Unesco World Heritage site and make for a lovely day trip from Berlin, easily reached by the S-Bahn. Situated on lake Wannsee, Potsdam was the royal seat of Prussia and is filled with ornate royal buildings, Prussian history, luscious gardens, and for years has been an escape for Berliners for centuries.

To get there (Potsdam Hauptbahnhof) either take the Regional Express/RE1 train which goes directly to Potsdam 2x/hour from any of the following stations: Hauptbahnhof, Friedrichstrasse, or Zoologischer Garten or the S-Bahn (which takes longer) which goes to Potsdam 6x/hour via the S7 line. Once you arrive to Potsdam, you have a choice: bus or bike. If you can, we recommend renting a bike for the day (easily attainable at the train station) because it’s so easy to get around, mostly flat, and makes for a lovely day. However, if you really don’t like biking, you can catch a bus to and through the park.

Start by visiting Sanssouci Park, a large royal park hosting many palaces. Frederick the Great built an impressive collection of palaces around this park. The two to see are the Sanssouci Palace and New Palace. Get a combo ticket online or at one of the big palaces which covers the royal buildings in the park. It takes about 10 minutes to bike or 30 minutes to walk between the two main palaces or you can grab the #695 bus to make the trip much quicker. Schloss Sanssouci was Frederick the Great’s summer palace and is filled with Rococo interiors that you’ll wander through. New Palace is an even bigger palace with 200 rooms that Frederick the Great built to impress foreign dignitaries.

New Palace

There are a many other palaces in Sanssouci Park which you can pop into with your combo ticket if you would like. They include the Norman tower, Chinese Tea House, the New Chambers, and Orangery. If you want to see the Klausberg Belvedere it’s an additional cost.

The Orangery Palace at Potsdam

From the palaces, bike through quaint Potsdam to the Brauerei Meierei beer garden set right on river and enjoy a pleasant lunch.

After lunch, you can opt to visit Cecilienhof where the Potsdam Conference was held at the end of WWII and the Bridge of Spies.

Bike back to the historical old town square, Alter Markt. Potsdam’s Old Market Square holds Nikolaikirche and its massive dome which you should step inside to see, the Altes Rathous (Old Town Hall), and the Stadtschloss (Brandenburg State Capitol). Check out the the Museum Barberini‘s website ahead of time to see if you want to stop by before continuing onto the palaces – it offers rotating temporary exhibits of famous artists.

For dinner you can choose to stay in Potsdam at Der Butt or Restaurant KochZIMMER or head back to Berlin and select from Berlin Restaurant recommendations.

Day 5 – Berlin

Today is your chance to see the things you haven’t yet seen. The Gemaldegalerie is a fantastic art museum with a fine collection of work by Europe’s greatest master painters. The East Side Gallery is the largest remaining stretch of the wall and now the “world’s longest outdoor art gallery”. You’ll get to see plenty of street art and Berlin Wall history as you wander the mile along. Charlottenburg Palace, while not as impressive as the Sanssouci palaces, still boasts and opulent interior. If you love palaces, this might be a great choice. The Stasi Museum tells the story of communist-era State Security (ie the Stasi) who were headquartered in the building of the museum. The Checkpoint Charlie Museum contains artifacts from people’s crossing of the Berlin Wall. The DDR museum gives an overview of what life looked like for the average citizen in Soviet-controlled Berlin. We don’t usually send you shopping but the KaDeWe Department store is impressive and has everything under the sun. At Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church you’ll see the WWII bombed remains of the original church (dedicated to the first emperor of Germany) built alongside a new church. Consider a wander through the Bahnhof Zoo which has a great group of animals to visit (both summer and winter! We went in winter and it was very enjoyable).

Day 6 – Sachenhausen Memorial and Museum OR Lake Müggelsee

If you have a full 6 days and are willing to leave town we suggest one of two options: Sachenhausen Memorial or Lake Müggelsee.

Sachenhausen was a Nazi concentration camp from 1933 until 1946 when it fell under Soviet control and became the largest “Soviet Special Camp” until 1950. Sachenhausen was one of the first concentration camps built under the Nazis and became a model for the other extermination and concentration camps that followed. It’s about a 45 minute train ride from Berlin and easily accessible. The museum on site exhibits artwork created by inmates, archival photographs, and artifacts from life in camp. You should absolutely grab an audio guide on site (which will give you context and talk you through the history) and the Friends of the Sachsenhausen Memorial offers public tours Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 2pm in English or consider a guided tour with Civitatis Tours who will also transport you from Berlin.

Berlin is actually surrounded by lakes, and it’s largest is Lake Müggelsee which takes anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours to reach by train, bus, boat, or Uber (depending which you select). On a nice day, this area is lovely. Here, you’ll find beaches and bathers. If you’re not into bathing, it’s also nice for hiking – a trail runs along most of the shoreline and trails head into the surrounding forest, or opt to trek to Devils Lake or Müggelturm Lookout Tower on top of Berlin’s highest natural hill for a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. You can also easily grab a canoe or speedboat from a vendor along the shore as well. Head to Müggelsee lido and Seebad Friedrichshagen as some of the best beach options. Have a leisurely lunch at one of the snack shacks.

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