What was the best thing you did in Berlin

Going back year after year, now amounting to just under 150 nights in total.

We did several walking tours and a highlights of 2 of the museums using The Original Berlin Walks back in 2019. Would highly recommend especially the one to Potsdam.

My favorites were the Bundestag tour and Topography of Terror. Sign up for the Bundestag tour, not just the dome, as soon as dates open; they fill in a day or two. TofT was haunting. I found the Nazi history it represents upsetting but necessary if you believe history repeats itself.

Hard to pin it down to one favorite thing, but I can say the three best things I did were:

1. A general walking tour with Original Berlin Walks that lasted for 1/2 day and covered several of the basic tourist areas and sights (including some WWII);

2. A walking tour of Potsdam (train to Potsdam, walking tour of the whole town) - this took the better part of the day but was so worth it, even without going through the palace itself;

3. visiting museum island - the Pergamon Museum and the Bode (my two favorites) but also the Neues and the Altes museums.

Those were my 3 faves, but high on my list was also my visit to the Reichstag building and just walking around the neighborhood where I stayed near Savignyplatz in the Charlottenburg neightborhood.

Hiring Dr Finn Ballard to be our private guide for two four-hour tours, one on World War II and one on the Cold War. Engaging and informative, and made the most of our limited time in Berlin

You can get advance tickets to walk to the top of the Reichstag for nice views overlooking Berlin. I also really enjoyed the Topography of Terror exhibit (very somber and moving) with its photos and explanations of the SS reign of terror. Well worth your time. These were 2 of my favorite things to do in Berlin (I've been there 3 times)

The small exhibition at Tranenpalast is fascinating and moving and really taught me a lot. I spent ages examing the map of Friedrichstrasse station outlining how they enforced the east/west border there.

The DDR Museum is very interesting. And I also found the Stasi HQ museum fascinating.

(You may gather that I have a particular interest in Cold War history).

I had more days in Berlin so luckily didn't have to make the hard choices you will!!

If you are interested in something "off the beaten path" take a look at the bunker tours offered by this museum/tour company, Berliner Unterwelten, official website: https://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en/index.html

another link for general info that is a bit easier to get a quick overview than the above, but not the official website: https://www.introducingberlin.com/berliner-unterwelten

I did the "Dark Worlds Tour". Fascinating. The current reviews on TripAdvisor are still good; my visit was pre-Covid. The place is easy to reach on public transport. Across the street from the starting building, there is a public park which contains an anti-aircraft tower from WWII. I wandered that before my bunker tour started.

So many great things to do. Really does make it tough to narrow down. We spent a week there in March 2023 and barely scratched the surface. I put Berlin up there with Rome, Paris and London.

In addition to what has been mentioned (which are great stops), we did a river cruise (which gives you a different perspective of the city and may help you decide on things you want to see), the East Wall Gallery, the Wall Memorial, Tempelhofer Feld. We also decided to spend time in neighborhoods and liked Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg. Did and enjoyed Rick Steves walks (can’t remember if there was one or two parts but we spilt into 2 days). We ate traditional German, ate Turkish, ate Indonesian, and ate Italian (not quite as good as Italian in Italy but pretty good). Did Neues, Alte and Pergamon. Loved Adolph Menzel works in Alte. Also loved the Tiergarten. Kids liked the spy museum. Did not care for Checkpoint Charlie. Could have been great but felt really “touristy” (so did spy but the kids loved). Shopped in Ku’Dam area. Kaiser Wilhelm was closed and kind of disappointing (check to see if reopen before heading). Memorial to Murdered Jews was worthwhile (close to where you are staying). Also did a graffiti walk and checked out some punk locations since I am sort of a rocker. Nice experience to go to the top of the Berlin Cathedral also.

Anyway, lots to see and do and with almost all of what I’ve listed, you can’t miss. Have some curry wurst, baklava, Mezzo Mix, doner kebab for me!

Enjoy!

We are also history buffs and very interested in tours regarding WWII and the Cold War and again finding numerous.

Often forgotten are the German Resistance Memorial Center, the war museum in Karlshorst and the Military History Museum at former airport Gatow.

You will never run out of things to do in Berlin if you enjoy history! I just came back from my fourth trip there and still have a long list of places I'd like to see.

Assuming it's your first time in Berlin, I would stick to the sights that are near where you are staying or within a reasonable bus or ubahn ride. There are plenty of them - the Tiergarten, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, Topography of Terror, Tranenpalast. Checkpoint Charlie is super touristy but there is a good outdoor exhibit about the Berlin wall nearby. The Reichstag Dome is fascinating - do look into booking tickets as soon as you can. I would also add the East Side Gallery to a first-timer's list. A boat ride on the Spree might also be a nice way to see a lot of sights.

Berlin is huge, and some other interesting sights (the Allied Museum, Tempelhof, the villa in Karlshorst where the Allies surrendered, Bridge of Spies and Cecilienhof in Potsdam, the Soviet memorial in Treptower Park) are a ways out of the center of the city.

I have yet to make it to any of the museums on Museum Island - since you are only there for four days, read up on what's in those museums before you commit any of your limited time to visiting them. Make sure it's something you really want to see.

Rick's free audio app has a good walking tour of Berlin that starts at the Reichstag dome and goes to, I think, Alexanderplatz, passing lots of historic sights on the way.

Pergamon info -

The altar has been inaccessible since 2014, amid construction work on the museum’s north wing. On Oct. 23, the rest of the museum — one of the most visited in Germany — will close for four years. Although the altar room and north wing are set to reopen in 2027, other parts of the building will not be accessible for a further decade.

Pergamon closing

Know that you cannot do everything you would love to do. Expect to return. I’ve visited Berlin two times each for a week at a time & I still have so much more to see. So pick 1-2 places per day and really enjoy experiential travel as opposed to checklist travel. Make one of those days a day trip day. Visiting Potsdam or Leipzig is a great day trip. Sachsenhausen is one hour by train and a concentration camp in which not only the Nazis tortured & terrorized Jewish people, the SOVIETS CONTINUED DOING SO when they “liberated the camp”. They kept Jewish people as prisoners through 1950 when the Soviets ran out of money.

Thank you everyone! Some great suggestions that I will definitely check into. I was in West Berlin Christmas 1987. We went on a bus tour to East Berlin on December 23rd and there was such a stark difference between East and West Berlin that it was startling especially the lack of celebration of the holidays. We went through Checkpoint Charlie and the East Germans stopped the bus for 10 minutes and checked every nook and cranny before we reentered West Berlin. So going to Checkpoint Charlie now is definitely not going to be the same and presently not on our schedule.

What was the best thing you did in Berlin

Best thing? It's got to be going to a former Soviet military base outside Berlin and exploring the abandoned bunkers that housed nuclear warheads that were to be turned over to the East German military in the event of nuclear war for the purpose of "engaging" West Germany.

Is there anything in particular about WWII or the Cold War that interests you? Focus on sites related to that special interest. For me, the Berlin Airlift is one of the USA's finest moments, so Tempelhof Airport and the Luftbrücke (Air Lift) Memorial near the airport were "must sees" for me. There's even a Berlin Airlift mural inside the airport, complete with my hero, Gail Halvorsen, who initiated candy drops to the kids of Berlin shortly after the Air Lift began.

The best thing I did in Berlin: over the years since the first time in 1971, always having Berlin as one of travel places, having been there 25 times out of 26 trips to Germany, a min of 3 nights to 14 consecutive nights.

One of the better things I've done was going to the esoteric , non-tourist frequented areas, sites, cemeteries, and museums, ie the Resistance Museum the first time in 1989, Berlin-Karlshorst, Koepenick, the site of the Prussian War Ministry,

1. seeing the famous Invalidenfriedhof, when there was no English explanations at all, that singular historical cemetery, seeing the Brandenburg Gate from the eastern side for the first time in 1984.

2. Going over to East Berlin solo during the Cold War days in 1987 and 1989 , not through Checkpoint Charlie, but through Bahnhof Friedrichstraße.

3. purposely including (west)Berlin as part of my trip's itinerary in 1971....a tremendous thrill, eye-opener, re: the language, culture, history, and geography, of course, the Berlin beers.

4. Tracking those specific sites connected with Prussian-German history located in Berlin and in the Greater Berlin area, Neuhardenberg, Wustrau/Brandenburg, Wünsdorf, Neuruppin, and so on.

"...overwhelmed by the choices." So very true. If you are including sites in both west and east, it is indeed overwhelming. One has to set priorities as to which places and sites to visit and just plan on coming back for some more.

Part 2 here:

I draw a distinction on the general topic of WW2 sites in Berlin: 1. Nazi sites, 2. military sites.

If you're after military sites, numerous ones can be seen, especially if you're interested in the esoteric military sites, some of which have been listed above.

There are more connected with WW2, eg., Seelow. Take the regional train to Frankfurt an der Oder, change to the S-Bahn to Seelow (yes, you are in a way backtracking). and if you get a rental car, you can get to Berlin-Krampnitz.(the ruins of the place)

Have been to Berlin 5 times and take a different tour with Insider Tours each time. Always excellent and I learn so much. The last time I also toured with Jeremy the Berlin Expert. Met up with Lee Evans who also does tours in Berlin and who helped Rick write some of the Berlin guidebook pages.
My top recommendations in Berlin would be Track 17, the Olympic Stadium, and Wannsee Villa.
Going to Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück Concentration Camps were important to me and places I always recommend, but they are not really in "Berlin".

Time to go back there though. More places to see and more tours to go on. A good guide and tour can make your visit here so memorable.

Leave out Checkpoint Charlie. It is less than a shadow of what it was and my city did not use the opportunity of conserve this place in a much better and authentic way.

Info: Seelower Höhen Memorial is closed until Feb 2 2024.

Btw: Pergamon is closing these days partly until 2037. There are heartbreaking stories of people who want to see this place before closing because they assume that this is the last change in their lifetime to see it.

... but high on my list was ... just walking around the neighborhood where I stayed near Savignyplatz in the Charlottenburg neightborhood. [@Nancy]

Berlin absolutely abounds with historical treasures but this ^^^^, this is what gives the visitor a feel for the every day community of Berlin. This really is about any city you visit, taking some daily living time.

Private tour with Bernd Gutberlet was fabulous! He tailored it to our interests.

We usually go on a food tours to learn about a city ...

You're probably aware of the KaDeWe Food Hall -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-nV_U1ff1s

I will reiterate my point that what you see should be highly tailored to any special interests you have.

There are varying opinions on the value of Checkpoint Charlie. For me, it was a must see on my first trip to Berlin -- not because I wanted to see what is there now but because I wanted to stand where history happened, surrounded by the buildings that saw it happen. Why? The 1961 standoff at the checkpoint is of huge interest to me. The book Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Frederick Kempe provides an excellent, readable history on this topic.

I don't think anyone has thrown out the Soviet Memorial at Treptower Park as worthwhile -- another must see for me on my first trip due to my interest in WWII/Cold War history.

The guide I would recommend in Berlin -- Robert Sumner. At the time of the fall of the Wall, he was the 15-year-old son of a high-ranking East German bureaucrat and was falling into the East German punk underworld. He was a squatter after reunification. He has a PhD with a thesis written on prostitution in WWII concentration camps. Smart but very approachable. He has a wealth of stories to share and can give a first-hand, lived history of Berlin that few guides can.

Aside... he likes to incorporate the current government buildings into his general Berlin tour. I think that's not of that much interest to most people visiting Berlin, so make sure he knows you very much want to focus on WWII/Cold War sites if you choose him.

Oh yeah... since others are giving their Berlin credentials... 54 nights there since 2016... a visit every year except 2020!

Going to Sachsenhausen and Ravensbrück Concentration Camps were important to me and places I always recommend, but they are not really in "Berlin”.[@Ms Jo]

Latching onto ^^^^ and staying within Berlin, one could consider a visit to the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial and the Stasi Prison (and if you've seen the movie Bridge of Spies, you'll immediately recognize the cell area.)

Here for a pamphlet https://www.stiftung-hsh.de/history/dence-overview/

After reading your comments we are most interested in the Cold War and the Berlin Airlift and leave the museums for another trip back. I agree that the Airlift was one of America's finest moments. The book Armageddon about the Airlift made me want to go to Berlin back in 1987. Is a boat ride on the Spree worthwhile. Any recommendations on the food tours?

Again thank you so very much for your input.

So pleased to read that someone is interested in the Berlin Airlift. Too few people know about this huge humanitarian effort today. It is one of my favorite themes to talk about.

Walking around East Berlin while being followed by a Stasi flunky. A visit to the Pergamon was mind blowing.

(My information on East Berlin may be slightly out of date. ;))

Hey! I found my trip report for my first trip to Berlin in 2016: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/2-5-week-trip-to-germany-and-austria

Walking around solo in East Berlin in 1987 and 1989, both times in August, I definitely could tell that this place was different...dramatically different. You basically stayed in the area the commie authorities wanted you to see, ie East Berlin's "display window" (Schaufenster"), ie Unter den Linden, Pariser Platz, Brandenburg Gate, etc., signs were everywhere telling where you could not go...all in German., no other language at all.

Uniformed guards all over, plus, you knew if you did not see one that someone was watching you with his binoculars all the time.

In spite of all that, that sort of charged atmosphere, no uniformed Vopo ever approached me to demand my passport (Reisepass vorzeigen) , nor was I ever stopped in the streets for any reason.

While “touristy” (and doing touristy stuff is not all bad since you are tourists), a river cruise can be good because it gives you a different perspective of the city and it’s relaxing. If you don’t do a river cruise a walk along the river might be nice. Great architecture along the way.

I think that going to Tempelhof Airport/Airfield is a great idea for many reasons, including but not limited to the historical element, a nice day out at the park, a view at how Berlin has embraced its history in interesting ways, and it forces you to get out into a neighborhood. We took a picnic and our kids got to play and make friends with local Berliners. Easy to get there from anywhere in the city since the public transportation is so outstanding.

Enjoy Berlin, you’ve made a great destination choice! You can tell because there are a lot of passionate replies to your simple question.

I finally did a river cruise this trip in June in the greater Berlin area, took the Havel River cruise in Potsdam.

You sign up in the Tourist Office in Potsdam Hbf. Taking this river cruise in Potsdam was an activity I had been wanting to do for a long time, just never got around to it.

It is a serene, peaceful, relaxing cruise, not very crowded, and not at all " touristy." The other cruise people were all Germans, only a few Russian tourists or they could have been residents. What you see are cultural and historical sites connected with Prussian history, eg., Schloss Babelsberg.

I was there last in 1991 and we saw the last portion of the wall. What was really nice was the Pergamun Museum.

Ms. Jo-- Thank you for the recommendation of Jeremy the Berlin Expert https://www.theberlinexpert.com. Contacted him and we have a Cold War tour with him.

Loved the history museum . I searched out the Memorial to the Mentally I'll and Disabled who were killed by the Nazi....it was moving and I wanted to remember and honor this population.

Everyone above has named so many sights that I won't add to those. But one of the best things I ate was a donut at Sammys Berliner Donuts (Berliners are filled donuts). Without hesitation, I can say that the raspberry and basil donut I ordered was the best donut I have ever eaten. It had a raspberry glaze and filling, but was not filled with the sickeningly sweet raspberry goop that so many places in the US use. This was actual pureed raspberries with just a titch of sugar. And the basil cream that mounded the top was decadent. The flavors melded together like perfection. Stop there. You will not regret it.

I searched out the Memorial to the Mentally I'll and Disabled who were killed by the Nazi....it was moving and I wanted to remember and honor this population.

dianejay, I just noticed this and saw this as well. I have a grandson with special needs and so I appreciated this on a very personal level. It was a very moving memorial and I'm glad I visited it here.

Jeff Mills at Tresor 1999?

Best thing I did in Berlin? Be born. ;) Probably doesn't help you much, though.

We did a walking tour that we loved, but unfortunately it was long enough ago that I don't remember the name of the company or the guide. But I would imagine there are a lot of great ones out there that will point out things like the bullet marks in a building you pass on the way or an innocuous looking building that was the site of something interesting.

The Jewish Museum is not just a Holocaust museum, but one that shows Jewish life across the centuries in Berlin. I learned so much about Jewish life and life in general in earlier times. Great history museum, great religious museum, and beautiful balance of the beauty of life and the starkness of death in the Jewish community. To understand the impact of the Holocaust, we need to understand that it was LIFE that was ended and focus on the people and how they lived.

If you want Cold War in a more fun way, try the DDR Museum. Interactive and fun, historical, with a focus on the people and how they lived. It's not as stark as the endless pictures of walls and guard towers. If you want to understand that but also appreciate human ingenuity, visit Checkpoint Charlie. The museum there is NOT overrated.

And Nefertiti's bust is so much better in person than anything I could have imagined. It is absolutely worth seeing, even if you see nothing else in the museum.

There are lots of great suggestions here, but one I haven’t seen yet. My daughter and I were there in 2021 and visited the Berlin Zoo. We very much enjoyed it. The panda exhibit was great.

Tear down the wall
But that was more than 30 years ago dont do it today

Thanks for the updated info on Seelower Memorial,

@ Katie.....I'll comment on only Berlin-Karlshorst as recommended above and also the Resistance Museum.

From Berlin Hbf take the S-3 Direction: Eckner, Karlshorst is the 2nd to the last stop, the bus outside takes to the Museum , just about a minute from it. The bus goes down Treskow Strasse (aptly named after one of the chief Army Resistance officers) where it is the terminus. If you want to walk the stretch, it's ca 35 mins. I've done it both ways, taking the bus as well as doing the 40 min walk.

If you don't understand German, the Museum has available audio guides. Focus is the war on the Eastern Front, the ideological backdrop, the Nazi war of extermination , military operations on the Nazi-Soviet War , etc, etc,

On the Resistance Museum: The primary focus conveyed is that the resistance to the Nazi regime stemmed not only from the military.

The building in which it is housed wreaks with significant and poignant history as it is the former General Staff building, the street on which it is situated , aptly named Stauffenberg Strasse , was the famous Bendler Strasse. Out front above the doors, the arches are dates salient to Prussian-German military, 1807, 1813, etc.

I've been there a few times, the last ca 15 years ago, perusing every single display As for audio guides I am sure they are available now.

So many memories from Berlin. I was there the day that JFK gave his famous "Isch bin Eine Berliner" speech. I watched it on Telefunken with my grandparents. They were so impressed with Kennedy. I could truly go on for hours about the city and area but here I want to make one comment. Check Point Charlie is more than a tourist spot. For people like me, it is an important placeholder for the memories of how the city was divided and what we needed to do to visit family trapped in the East. As a child smuggling fruit and unobtainable items into the East, there is a lasting mental image of that spot and a strong feeling of the anxieties that are associated with entering and later leaving the Soviet controlled city.
I had watched the wall being built. I had seen the Soviets installing wire, towers, mine fields. I had watched the guards patrolling literally on the other side of the fence from my grandfather's garden. I had heard the shots in the night when escapes were attempted and heard on the news the next day of Eastern escapees who were successful and those who were not.
Check Point Charlie evokes a strong connection to the value of our freedoms in that we could enter and leave through it. When I saw it again in the 80's, I remember thinking how diminutive it seemed.
When I take my wife to Berlin for her first visit, we will go there. She needs to see it. I need to explain it to her. I will relive those memories.