131 Best Sights in Berlin, Germany

In summer, a trip to the Arena Badeschiff is a must. The outdoor pool there is set on a boat anchored on the river Spree, offering great views of the Kreuzberg skyline. It's open May 1 to late August/September, daily 8–midnight.

After he became ruler in 1740, Frederick the Great personally planned the buildings surrounding this square (which has a huge parking garage cleverly hidden beneath the pavement). The area received the nickname "Forum Fridericianum," or Frederick's Forum. On May 10, 1933, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister for propaganda and "public enlightenment," organized one of the nationwide book burnings here. The books, thrown on a pyre by Nazi officials and students, included works by Jews, pacifists, and Communists. In the center of Bebelplatz, a modern and subtle memorial (built underground but viewable through a window in the cobblestone pavement) marks where 20,000 books went up in flames. The Staatsoper Unter den Linden (State Opera) is on the east side of the square. St. Hedwigskathedrale is on the south side of the square. The Humboldt-Universität is to the west.

Commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, the Belvedere on Pfingstberg was built in the Italian Renaissance style with grand staircases, colonnades, and perfect symmetry. It served as a pleasure palace and lofty observation platform for the royals, and the towers still offer one of the best views of Potsdam.

There are more than 20,000 animals to see here, and more varied species than any other zoo in Europe, including many that are rare and endangered, which the zoo has been successful at breeding. The animals' enclosures are designed to resemble natural habitats, though some structures are ornate, such as the 1910 Arabian-style Zebra House. Pythons, frogs, turtles, invertebrates, Komodo dragons, and an amazing array of strange and colorful fish are part of the three-floor aquarium. Check the feeding times posted to watch creatures such as seals, apes, hippos, penguins, and pelicans during their favorite time of day.

A church has stood here since 1536, but this enormous version dates from 1905, making it the largest 20th-century Protestant church in Germany. The royal Hohenzollerns worshipped here until 1918, when Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and left Berlin for Holland. The massive dome wasn't restored from World War II damage until 1982; the interior was completed in 1993. The climb to the dome's outer balcony is made easier by a wide stairwell, plenty of landings with historic photos and models, and even a couple of chairs. The 94 sarcophagi of Prussian royals in the crypt are significant, but to less-trained eyes can seem uniformly dull. Sunday services include communion.

Finding Alexanderplatz is no problem: just head toward the 1,207-foot-high tower piercing the sky. Built in 1969 as a signal to the West (clearly visible over the wall, no less) that the East German economy was thriving, it is deliberately higher than both western Berlin's broadcasting tower and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. You can get the best view of Berlin from within the tower's disco ball–like observation level (also home to Berlin's highest bar; currently closed due to COVID); on a clear day, you can see for 40 km (25 miles). One floor above, the city's highest restaurant rotates for your panoramic pleasure. During the summer season, order fast-track tickets online to avoid a long wait.

Nicknamed the "Rotes Rathaus" (Red Town Hall) for its redbrick design, the town hall was completed in 1869. Its most distinguishing features are its neo-Renaissance clock tower and frieze that depicts Berlin's history up to 1879 in 36 terra-cotta plaques, each 20 feet long. Climb the grand stairwell to view the coat-of-arms hall and a few exhibits. The entrance is inside the inner courtyard.

The Berlin branch of a swish London gallery, Blain|Southern occupies a breathtaking loft space that once housed the printing presses of Tagesspiegel, the daily Berlin newspaper. Since opening in 2010, the gallery has highlighted star artists like Douglas Gordon, Lawrence Weiner, and Jannis Kounellis.

At the northern tip of Museum Island is this somber-looking gray edifice graced with elegant columns. The museum is home to the state museum's stunning collection of German and Italian sculptures since the Middle Ages, as well as the Museum of Byzantine Art, and a huge coin collection.

You can visit the former working and living quarters of playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, actress Helene Weigel, and scholars can browse through the Brecht library (by appointment only). The downstairs restaurant serves Viennese cuisine using Weigel's recipes. Brecht, Weigel, and more than 100 other celebrated Germans are interred in the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof (Dorotheenstadt Cemetery) next door. The house can only be visited on tours, which take place every half hour, in German. Call ahead to schedule an English tour.

Named after the surrounding neighborhood of Britz in southern Neukölln, this garden is really more of a large park—albeit one where flowers take center stage year-round in stunning seasonal exhibitions, like the Tulipan tulip festival in April and May or the dahlia festival in late August. Small brooks, streams, and other waterways surround the lake in the center of the park, while hills and meadows provide ample space to amble and play. The rose garden and so-called witches’ garden (actually a traditional herb garden) are year-round pleasures.

This enjoyable, lesser-known museum of art deco, art nouveau, and functionalist furniture, dishware, jewelry, and paintings is hidden away in plain sight, just across the street from Schloss Charlottenburg. It provides a lovely glimpse into a time when every object was made with great care and artistic creativity—and when artists in booming creative cities like Berlin and Vienna were at the top of their game.

Set in the renovated 1950s-era Amerika Haus building, C/O Berlin focuses on contemporary photography by established and emerging international artists. The gallery's rotating exhibitions have profiled legendary photographers such as Annie Leibovitz and Irving Penn, while its themed group shows have featured the likes of Nan Goldin, Gerhard Richter, and Weegee.

On the shore of the lake in the southwest corner of the park, you can relax at the Café am Neuen See, a café and beer garden. For a particularly nice walk here from the S-bahn stop at Zoologischer Garten, take the path into the Tiergarten before sunset, then turn right at Schleusenkrug to follow the Landwehrkanal around the back of the zoo. Sneak a peek at the owls, flamingoes, and ostriches for free.

From its perch on Am Kupfergraben, Contemporary Fine Arts (CFA) Berlin has a perfect view of Museum Island and its hordes of daily visitors. Those looking for a different kind of Berlin art scene will find it in this elegant gallery. Housed in a David Chipperfield–constructed, ultramodern building, it stands out from its Prussian surroundings. CFA has been a fixture in Berlin since the early 1990s, showing Berlin-based artists like Jonathan Meese and Anselm Reyle, and big-timers like Juergen Teller and Julian Schnabel.

Within the Sony Center is the small but fun Museum für Film und Fernsehen, which presents the groundbreaking history of German moviemaking with eye-catching displays. Descriptions are in English, and there's an audio guide as well. Memorabilia include personal belongings of Marlene Dietrich and other German stars, while special exhibitions go into depth about outstanding directors, movements, and studios. A good selection of films, from the best classics to virtually unknown art-house finds, are shown in the theater on the lower level. A shop on the ground floor sells books and other media for cinephiles.

A must if you're traveling with children, this museum will enchant anyone who's interested in technology or fascinated with trains, planes, and automobiles. Set in the remains of Anhalter Bahnhof's industrial yard and enhanced with a glass-enclosed wing, the museum has several floors of machinery, including two airplane rooms on the upper floors crowned with a "Rosinenbomber," one of the beloved airplanes that delivered supplies to Tempelhof Airport during the Berlin Airlift of 1948. Don't miss the train sheds, which are like three-dimensional, walkable timelines of trains throughout history, and the historical brewery, which has a great rooftop view of today's trains, U-bahn lines U1 and U2, converging at the neighboring Gleisdreieck station.

Just as much a draw for its architecture and history as for the quirky, off-kilter art shows and events that take place here, Direktorenhaus is a relative newcomer to the Berlin art scene and also the producer of the annual Illustrative Festival each September. This Spree-side building was once part of the State Mint. The large, Berlin-heavy roster of artists includes Olaf Hajek, Daniel Becker, and Lauren Coleman. The gallery has no public hours, and viewings are by appointment.

The once-bustling street of cafés and theaters of prewar Berlin has risen from the rubble of war and Communist neglect to reclaim the crowds with shopping emporiums. North of the train station you will see the rejuvenated heart of the entertainment center of Berlin's Roaring Twenties, including the Admiralspalast and the somewhat kitschy Friedrichstadt Palast.

In March 2012, Romanian gallery Plan B moved into an industrial space deep within the Tagesspiegel building complex. This is the place to see offbeat Eastern European art.

Bortolozzi consistently spots and cultivates the hottest young talent in the city (like Danh Vo), showing their work in a quirky, wood-paneled space.

Founded in 1841, this is the oldest artist association in Germany. Its lavish townhouse gallery spaces often highlight the work of its 120-odd artist members.

This concentration camp was established in 1936 and held 200,000 prisoners from every nation in Europe, including British officers and Joseph Stalin's son. It is estimated that tens of thousands died here, among them more than 12,000 Soviet prisoners of war. Between 1945 and 1950 the Soviets used the site as a prison, and malnutrition and disease claimed the lives of 20% of the inmates. The East German government made the site a concentration-camp memorial in April 1961. Many original facilities remain; the barracks and other buildings now hold exhibits. Allow three hours at the memorial, whose exhibits and sites are spread apart. Oranienburg is 35 km (22 miles) north of Berlin's center.

This is without a doubt the most elegant square in former East Berlin. Anchored by the beautifully reconstructed 1818 Konzerthaus and the Deutscher Dom and Französischer Dom (German and French cathedrals), it also hosts one of Berlin's classiest annual Christmas markets.

Built in 1905–07, this series of eight connected courtyards is the finest example of art nouveau industrial architecture in Berlin. Most buildings are covered with glazed white tiles, and additional Moorish mosaic designs decorate the main courtyard off Rosenthaler Strasse. Shops, restaurants, the variety theater Chamäleon Varieté, and a movie theater populate the spaces once occupied by ballrooms, a poets' society, and a Jewish girls' club.