Skip the queue and immediately read about attractions in Berlin that are relevant to you: Museums + Culture and art Museum Island , East Side Gallery , The Berlin PhilharmonicCruizeThe Spree RiverCulinaryCulinary tour in Hebrew History and commemoration The Berlin Wall Memorial Site , Sachsenhausen camp , Memorial sites for the city’s Jews (including the Holocaust Memorial) , The Reichstag , The memorial site for the Russian soldiers , GDR Museum Major attractions Brandenburg Gate , TV Tower , Potsdam Square Introductory tours in Hebrew Nadav’s Insider Tours in Berlin , Amir in Berlin Nature and parks Templehof , Tiergarten , Victoria Park , Grunwald and Toifelsberg Forest Shopping and discounts Malls Flea Markets Mauer Park , With children Zoo , Legoland , Madame Tussauds , Recreation and leisure Ice Bar out of town Dresden , Potsdam neighborhoods Kreuzberg neighborhood
Museum Island
Five museums rebuilt after being destroyed in World War II. These are the Pergamon Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte National Gallery, the Altes Museum and also the Buda Museum. A huge treasure trove of valuable items and antiques from different periods in history and from different parts of the world.
Museum Island is one of the most prominent attractions in Berlin especially for early ticket purchases. It is possible to buy a pass which acts liks an entrance ticket to all museums . It will arrive directly to your smartphone. The ticket also includes skipping the queue to some of the museums. Museums that you can not skip the queue with this particular ticket are the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum but even so it is a good deal overall. Starting at only 18. Purchasing tickets separately for each of the museums costs about 10 euros per museum.
If you insist on skipping the queue at Pergamon and the new museum, for example, you can do soon a guided tour in English, which costs 59 euros per participant. On this tour you will hear from an expert guide explanations about these two museums and you will also receive a pass for the other museums that are in the complex.
The Viator company that markets the latest tour also has a special product,The Berlin Welcome Card dedicated to Museum Island . It will cost you 46 euros (more than twice in comparison with the basic Wellcome Card) but will probably cover all your tourist needs related to museums.
In addition to the Museum Island, there are many other museums in Berlin on a variety of topics, from the Museum of the Topography of Terror to the Sausage Museum. In this article You will find a list of recommended museums in Berlin.
The Spree river
If you want to see as much of Berlin as possible but your time is limited, a cruise on the Berlin River is the ideal way to soak up the city.
Take an hour-long tour of the Reichstag (German Parliament building) through the new Government Quarter to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
Other attractions you will see while cruising, Lutherbrook (Luther Bridge), Schloss Belvoy (Belvaux Palace), Victory Column, Siegessäule, the new Central Station, Berlin Cathedral, Museum Island and also the Nicholas Quarter, the oldest residential area in Berlin.
Cost, 17 euros per participant.
For those who want to delve deeper and immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the city through a cruise on the Spree River, there is also a two-and-a-half hour tour that costs 22 euros per participant.
Kreuzberg neighborhood
The Kreuzberg district is one of the coolest areas of the city both culinary and cultural. You can try an evening tour of about three hours that includes food, street art and especially a fun stroll in the Kreuzberg area. The tour includes tastings such as curry sausage or Turkish delicacies and a lot of graffiti on the walls, in case you need to test your new phone camera. This trip goes out in groups of up to 12 people, in English only, and costs from 65 euros per participant.
Kreuzberg in not the only cool place in Berlin, there are a few more neighborhoods worth getting to know. We wrote about them here.
Culinary tour in Hebrew
Tourists who come to Berlin can enjoy a city that a full multi cultural experience, thanks to many immigrants from Europe or the middle east who have settled there in the past decade. This means that the local culture and art as well as the food and nightlife scene are well covered here by guides who speak many world languages and will be happy to host you for a few hours in the city and reveal to you the secrets they themselves have discovered over several years of living here. You will probably not the same familiar mentality with any local guide who speaks a language other than your native language.
One of the most successful guides in the city is Itai Novik, a culinary expert who has traveled all the way from Israel, through Milan to Berlin and has become a local culinary anchor. Novik offers a private tour with a variety of tastings and unlike guides who have no real background in the field, traveling with Novik is like getting into the set of the Master Chef reality show. Wandering with him in the city is a whole experience and an opportunity to try special foods that you can hardly reach without him.
Book a culinary tour with Itay
On November 2, a zoom meeting will be held with Itay and you are welcome to join. The topic of the meeting, Berlin in November and December, where to go, what to eat, when to arrive, and everything related to your winter vacation in the city.
The Berlin Wall Memorial Site
Not far from Mauer Park is the Berlin Wall Memorial. This is where you will be impressed not only by a section of the preserved wall but also understand what life was like in the time when there was a death strip between West Berlin and East Berlin, discover the guard and observation tower, and be impressed by the fortifications that kept the East Germans on their side. There is a lot more information found on the site and it is definitely a justified visit that will give you a clearer and more comprehensive picture than a visit to the East Side Gallery.
Activities and tours in the Berlin Wall area
East Side Gallery
And if we mentioned the East Side Gallery, we will not deprive this mandatory site. In fact, you have another option here to experience the Berlin Wall through an artistic filter. These are parts of the original wall that have been spray-painted with graffiti and real artwork. The section runs along the Spree river and is the most interesting open gallery in Berlin and one of the best known in the world. There are many guided tours that come here and this is a recommended spot on any trip to Berlin.
Activities and tours in the East Side Gallery area
Templehof
During the period of tension between East and West in Berlin, Templehof Airport served as a site that made it possible to connect besieged West Berlin with the free world with the help of air trains that brought and unloaded cargo. This huge airport was one of the largest buildings in the world at the time it was built, before the war. Today it is an abandoned airport and the vast area has made it a very popular park in Berlin that allows those who want to get away from the bustling city the opportunity to fly their kite quietly over green fields.
Memorial sites for the city’s Jews and the Jewish Museum
It is impossible to talk about commemoration and memory in Berlin without touching on the Jewish issue that is close to us. There are three sites in the city that require a visit, not only by Jews buy by every citizen of the world. The first and most familiar is the memorial site for Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust – the well known structure of concrete blocks of varying sizes that covers a large area and receives a lot of attention. Besides memorial site there is also The Jewish Museum With many exhibits including exhibits about Jewish families who lived in the city before the Holocaust. The third site is Museum of Topography of Terror . All German sites refer not only to the victims but also to the ones responsible – the Germans themselves or according to their narrative, the Nazi regime of those years.
Activities in the area of the memorial site for the Jews of Berlin
Introductory tours in Hebrew
Berlin has been blessed with an impressive number of local guides and those cover many world languages. Until the Covid times, dozens of tour guides worked here. It has all shrunk considerably, at least for now.
Two companies that offer leading introductory tours are Nadav’s Insider tours and Amir’s in Berlin. Until the crisis each of them took out a daily introductory tour that was open to all and usually fully bookes. Today you will have to settle for a private tour that is more expensive but suitable for the Covid period. Nadav’s insider tour is offered on foot or by car and lasts three hours. You can choose a regular car or cabriolet. The basic cost runs about 150 euros. Every additional hour is 25 euros and the cost of the vehicle, if you chose a private motorized tour, another 60 euros.
Amir’s private tour is flexible in terms of hours. The recommended duration is five hours, but you can go on a more concise tour or rather a more in-depth tour and even go further out of the city, for example to Potsdam. This tour costs 330 euros for a group of friends or family when the pick-up is from your hotel, at a time convenient to you.
In both cases you will enjoy a relatively quick visit to the best attractions of the city.
For more details on Nadav’s private tour
For details on Amir’s private tour
The Reichstag
Berlin list of best attractions cannot go without the impressive glass dome parliament building. The glass dome is a new part of Parliament and was built by a British architect. The German Parliament sits in this building and you can come and tour the dome, look out over the Parliament Quarter of Berlin and be impressed by the special place. This is relevant as long as you remember to book in advance, otherwise your chances of entering spontaneously are quite small given the large number of tourists interested in this prominent attraction.
Activities and things to do in the Reichstag area
GDR Museum
The history of Berlin is of course made also from the Cold War period and the museum dedicated to the GDR (East Germany) is a great way to look inward into this period. The purpose of the museum is to show the complicated life created during the communist regime in East Germany and the direct consequences such as side-by-side escape attempts, espionage methods, and so on. An interesting place also for lovers of nostalgia and collectors of all kinds.
Lego Land
Time to also talk about Berlin with kids. A favorite attraction in Berlin that is open from 10:00 to 19:00 every day is the Lego land, designed for children aged 3 to 10 (but that does not mean that you adults have to stay away from the coveted Lego blocks). Trivia lovers will be happy to learn that the place has five million Lego blocks and many opportunities to develop the imagination. In Lego Land you will also find a model of Berlin, a mini Berlin, made of two million cubes.
It’s possible Purchase tickets for the phone And skip the queue (just show the phone at the entrance to Legoland). A very good experience overall. The price is between 15 and 20 euros.
Speaking of attractions for kids here A post we published in Hebrew It has a variety of other options.
Madame Tussauds Berlin
The Madame Tussauds in Berlin allows you to take selfies with more than 120 figures from a variety of fields, from musicians through actors, athletes to politicians, some familiar to you and some with more local fame. Aside from the light-hearted celebrities as befitting a museum in Berlin, some more serious figures like Karl Marx and Anne Frank or Bertold Brecht are honored.
This is also an attraction that can be purchased with tickets arrving to your phone . Price is between 20 and 25 euros.
hop on hop off bus
Not an attraction per se, but it is without a doubt one of the best ways to get a first glimpse of many attractions that Berlin has to offer. In every popular city you will find the hop on hop off bus. There are several companies that operate such buses and we recommend going for a ride where there is live instruction rather than an audio guide.
With this bus for example, you will discover Potsdamer Platz, Museum Island, Unter der Linden Avenue, Brandenburg Gate, the Government Quarter, the Holocaust Memorial, Berlin Central Station, Kudam Shopping Street, Humboldt University and other interesting sites.
Smoking is not allowed on this bus. Pets are allowed. Tours begin at 9:30 p.m. The full route of the tour lasts two hours but as mentioned you can get on and off for one day as much as you want.
The ticket can be canceled up to 24 hours before the start of the activity. This is an electronic card that comes to your smartphone and will cost you 19 euros.
Soviet Memorial Site
The memorial site for the Russian soldiers (Soviet Union at the time) is a site that many tourists tend to miss but is considered one of the most prominent attractions in Berlin. A huge site where 5,000 Red Army soldiers are buried (out of millions killed in the war). According to the Russian side, the land on which the soldiers are buried was specially brought from Russia so that the soldiers’ bones would not have one last rest inside German soil. Once a year there is a march to the site and sometimes there is also a controversy about music events that the locals hold at the place.
Brandenburg Gate
Admittedly this attraction does not appear first on our list but in any list based on popularity, it should probably be first in order. The Brandenburg Gate, which dates back to the 18th century, is now a symbol of German unification even though it was here long before the partition of Germany. Next to it is Paris Square and adjacent are the famous Adlon Hotel and the American Embassy. The Academy of Arts is also here. In general, a great deal of political and public activity may begin here in the square that is considered the symbol of the city of Berlin.
Activities and things to do in the Brandenburg Gate area
TV Tower
An attraction that is visible from many parts in the city. It is a structure built by East German engineers in an attempt to prove their advantage in the technological competition between East and West. In the West, the disco ball at the top of the tower was formerly called “Pope’s Revenge” following the appearance of a cross whenever the sun’s rays hit the building. Why revenge? Because the East was secular and atheistic and no one intended to produce an effect of religious significance. Further up the tower, a revolving restaurant. There are better restaurants in Berlin but none offers such a panorama.
To purchase tickets – the TV tower without a queue
Tip: You can also celebrate this attraction at a two-course lunch Which is served to you at heights. And if you are in a romantic mood, then there is also Dinner option (3 courses).
Mauer Park
Our list of best of Berlin goes on with a happy and bouncy destination and this is Mauer Park which is not far from the memorial site to the Berlin Wall. In fact every week there is a celebration here when the day you need to aim for is always Sunday. Tens of thousands come to the area to enjoy the flea market, the food complex and of course the well-known musical activity where you may also get to sing in front of a large and cheering crowd. A vibrant and colorful experience not to be missed.
Activities and things to do in the Mauer Park area
The Berlin Philharmonic
Another rather impressive though relatively new structure is the Berlin Philharmonic Building. For fans of the genre, this is an extraordinary experience, as orchestras from all over the world come here. Others can simply be impressed by the architecture of the building.
Website of the Berlin Philharmonic
Grunwald Forest and Toifelsberg Site
We move west and reach the Grunwald forest. A forest in a fairly large area where there are wild boars and birds of various kinds. Here in the area was once an American intelligence station, on a place now called Toifelsberg, the Devil’s Mountain in German. The West Germans created a hill formed from accumulated garbage that was collected in the city after the war. On that hill, using electronical equipment, the Americans found that they can listen to the East’s secret transmissions. The Americans left many years ago and today it is a pilgrimage site for graffiti lovers or travelers looking for the more esoteric side of the city.
The huge golf balls you will see, have previously covered antennas and are designed not only to protect them but also to hide the direction in which they were directed or their unique shape.
Activities and tours in the area
Tiergarten
The next destination is a bit confusing as its name Tiergarten means zoo but the zoo is generally a different entity at the end of the park. You can come to Tiergarten mainly to relax in an environment with lots of trees, green vegetation and people who are looking for a place to relax within this urban park that was formerly part of West Berlin before the union.
Activities and things to do in the Tiergarten area
Victoria Park
Victoria Park in the Kreuzberg neighborhood does not tend to be included in lists of must-see sites but we add it to the list as it is a relatively small and endearing park located in the heart of a very cool and trendy neighborhood is the Kreuzberg area. The park itself is located on a hill and allows a beautiful view of the south and center of Berlin. There is also a small and artificial waterfall here but mostly the option to catch a beautiful sunset. A very romantic and pleasant place, not to be missed.
Zoo
If we are already in the Tiergarten, we will not forget to pay a visit to the Berlin Zoo where more than 20,000 animals make it one of the largest in the continent. This site is recommended to everyone. The transition between the zoo and Tiergarten Park is natural and desirable. You can start the day at the zoo and then continue with a picnic or sports activity in the park.
Activities and tours in the Berlin Zoo area
Potsdam Square
A name that means a lot to locals as well as tourists. The beginning of the square dates back to the days when the area was outside Berlin and served as a link between the city of Berlin and the city of Potsdam. Later the square became one of the busiest places in Europe but it was long before World War I where the compound was damaged and then continued to deteriorate when it was in the midst between East and West. The Germans tried to bring the square back to its glory days and gave a lot of attention to the environmental planning. Today you will find there the famous Sony Center , Daimler City and other attractions that bring a lot of tourists.
Activities and things to do in the Potsdamer Platz area
The malls
With all due respect to history, World tourists come to Berlin also for the shopping experience. Among the prominent malls in Berlin we will mention the Das Schloss With its animated ceiling and no less than a hundred stores including h & m, Tommy Hilfiger, Bonita and others. Potsdamer Platz Arkden With 130 stores in various fields, a cinema complex, a casino and more. Berlin Mall The second largest in the city with 76,000 square meters, 270 fashion stores, electronics, restaurants and more. one more isAlexa Center With 50,000 square feet of stores and last on the list, Bikini Berlin, another large mall near the zoo that has been operating since the 1960s and also has a wide variety of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Potsdam and Sansusi Gardens
And if you feel you have had too much of the city, you can take a day tour to Potsdam and Sensei Palace. This is a guided tour in English and German that starts at 10:00 and lasts 4 to 5 hours. A convenient bus will take you from Berlin to see the UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the Rococo-style palace lived the Prussian king Frederick who cultivated vines and figs in the garden, sometime in the 16th century. This tour starts from three different points in Berlin and costs about 41 euros per participant.
There are also versions in Hebrew with Nadav’s insider tours and with amir in Berlin And there is another private and English version which includes a train ride to Potsdam and costs about 169 euros per participant.
Dresden
Another very popular destination for departing from Berlin is the city of Dresden. A day tour in English will allow you to get instruction in the first part of the day and later wander around the city yourself and enjoy the parks, baroque buildings or just enjoy the banks of the Elbe River. The tour takes with a private bus and the cost starts from 65 euros per participant. Here too there is aHebrew version with Nadav’s travel company, which will cost you even less.
Sachsenhausen camp
Israeli tour companies in Berlin are less likely to travel to a site that was used during the Nazi period as a concentration camp north of Berlin, but you can Join a private tour in English.
Ice Bar
If winter in Berlin scares you, here’s an attraction that might help you get ready. Not far from the Berlin dungeon And from the GDR Museum is the Berlin Ice Bar. The ice bar as it is called is a bar that is made entirely of ice.
To cope with the temperature that drops below zero, you will receive gloves and coats at the entrance, and at the very beginning of your visit you will be complimented with a cocktail in the front bar. Two more drinks will be served to you later in a glass made of ice. If you are under 18 you can go into an ice bar like everyone else but instead of beer you will settle for soft drinks.
How much will this frozen experience cost you? A little less than 20 euros. According to the rumor not only tourists come here but also locals who enjoy the winter concept. The electronic tickets can be purchased and displayed on your smartphone at the entrance.
The Berlin Ice Bar is open daily except Monday from 12 noon until late at night (weekends until 2:00).
