21 Best Sights in Berlin, Germany

Half museum, half theme park, the DDR Museum is an interactive and highly entertaining exhibit about life during communism. It’s difficult to say just how much the museum benefits from its prime location beside the Spree, right across from the Berliner Dom, but it's always packed, filled with tourists, families, and student groups trying to get a hands-on feel for what the East German experience was really like. Exhibitions include a re-creation of an East German kitchen, all mustard yellows and bilious greens; a simulated drive in a Trabi, the only car the average East German was allowed to own; and a walk inside a very narrow, very claustrophobic interrogation cell.

This reconstruction of the former 15^th-century palace that once stood on this site now houses a range of globally focused collections, including the Ethnological Museum and Asian Art Museum, which display more than 500,000 cultural objects from around the world; Humboldt University Lab, which explores science and society; and Berlin Global, which looks at Berlin's connection to the rest of the world through such topics as entertainment, fashion, war, and boundaries. The Forum also includes regularly changing temporary displays, such as the history of ivory and a children’s exhibit. Controversial from the start, due to the razing of the ‘70s-era East German Palast der Republik that formerly stood on the site and the display of colonial-era objects (some of which will be repatriated to their countries of origin), this sprawling museum makes a fascinating day out to see both the building itself and the exhibits inside. Note that you will need to buy individual timed tickets for each exhibit either online or onsite at the ticket office; it isn’t currently possible to buy one ticket to see everything. Though there are several cafés, make a reservation for Baret, the restaurant on the rooftop, if only to see one of the finest panoramic views of Berlin.

Using a mix of historical objects, art exhibitions, interactive exhibits, and virtual reality, the history of Germany's Jews from the Middle Ages through today is chronicled in the museum's permanent collection (revamped in 2020), from prominent historical figures to the evolution of laws regarding Jews' participation in civil society. A few of the exhibits document the Holocaust itself, but this museum celebrates Jewish life and history far more than it focuses on the atrocities committed during World War II. An attraction in itself is the highly conceptual building, designed by Daniel Libeskind, where various physical "voids" in the oddly constructed and intensely personal modern wing of the building represent the idea that some things can and should never be exhibited when it comes to the Holocaust. ANOHA Children's World, across from the main museum, contains a 7-meter (23-foot) tall circular wooden arc with more than 150 sculptured animals inside, all made from found objects.

A larger and grander palace than Sanssouci, the Neues Palace stands at the end of the long avenue that runs through Sanssouci Park. It was built after the Seven Years' War (1756–63). Impressive interiors include the Grotto Hall with walls and columns set with shells, coral, and other aquatic decorations. The royals' upper apartments have paintings by 17th-century Italian masters. All visits are at scheduled times when you buy a ticket.

Prussia's most famous king, Friedrich II—Frederick the Great—spent more time at his summer residence, Schloss Sanssouci, than in the capital of Berlin. Executed according to Frederick's impeccable French-influenced taste, the palace, which lies on the northeastern edge of Sanssouci Park, was built between 1745 and 1747. It is extravagantly rococo, with scarcely a patch of wall left unadorned. Visits to the palace are only allowed at fixed times scheduled when tickets are purchased. During peak tourist months, timed tickets can sell out before noon, so book online in advance. From Schloss Sanssouci, you can wander down the extravagant terraced gardens, filled with climbing grapevines, trellises, and fountains to reach the Italianate Friedenskirche, or "Peace Church," which was completed in 1854, and houses a 13th-century Byzantine mosaic taken from an island near Venice.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rare is the children’s museum that inspires parents to join in the exploring—and even arouses the curiosity of childless adults. The Labyrinth Kindermuseum in Wedding, which occupies a large old match factory, is truly worthy of its name: a labyrinthine hall of hands-on amusements, funded by the Senate Administration for Education, Science and Research to encourage maximum child development. Rotating thematic exhibitions allow children to play, build, create, and, of course, run around.

A must-see when traveling with children is the Legoland Discovery Centre, the Danish toy company's only indoor park. Children can build their very own towers while their parents live out their urban development dreams, even testing if the miniature construction would survive an earthquake. In a special section, Berlin's landmarks are presented in a breathtaking miniature world made up of thousands of tiny Lego bricks.

This former no-man's-land between East and West Berlin (the name translates to "Wall Park") was off-limits to the public from 1961 to 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell. After reconstruction, the area reopened as a rough-around-the-edges park in 1994; renovations completed in 2020 have given the park more green space and trees, plus a popular playground and skatepark. Today it's filled with hipsters, musicians, and tourists on sunny days and for the weekly Sunday flea market. It's also home to the hugely popular open-air Bearpit Karaoke Show, which runs Sunday afternoon from spring through late fall and attracts a boisterous mix of people of all ages.

Across the parking lot from the Philharmonie, the Kulturforum's Musikinstrumenten-Museum has a fascinating collection of keyboard, string, wind, and percussion instruments. These are demonstrated during an 11 am tour on Saturday, which closes with a 35-minute Wurlitzer organ concert for an extra fee; there's also a 6 pm tour (with no concert) on Thursday.

Berlin's famous sports attraction is the 1936 Olympic Stadium, which received a thorough modernization in 2004. American sprinter Jesse Owens won his stunning four gold medals here in 1936; these days, the local soccer team Hertha BSC is the star of the arena. The stadium hosted the World Cup soccer final match in July 2006 and served as a spectacular backdrop to the first European Athletics Championships in 2018. Different themed tours are offered throughout the year; one option is touring on your own with an audio guide, but only a guided tour will show you the nonpublic areas. Tours in English are offered less frequently, so check the website or call ahead for the schedule.

Located 300 feet above Potsdamer Platz at the top of one of its tallest towers, the Panoramapunkt (Panoramic Viewing Point) not only features the world's highest-standing original piece of the Berlin Wall, but also a fascinating, multimedia exhibit about the dramatic history of Berlin's former urban center. A café and a sun terrace facing west make this open-air viewing platform one of the city's most romantic. Purchase a VIP ticket to bypass the elevator queues.

This sprawling country estate consists of a beautiful early-18th-century Schloss, a manor house, and grounds complete with a working farm—all of which are quite a contrast to the stark, modernist 1960s and 1970s housing that fills the Britz neighborhood. Don’t miss the small research library in the manor’s attic or the restaurant located in the so-called Schweizer Haus, the old dairyman’s living quarters, and manned by Matthias Buchholz, a Michelin-starred chef who left a career in Berlin’s top restaurants to make something of this local outpost. The Museum Neukölln is on the grounds, too, in the former cow stalls of the Schloss Britz, and you'll also find special exhibitions (such as Toulouse-Lautrec posters) inside the Schloss.

A grand reminder of imperial days, this showplace served as a city residence for the Prussian rulers. In the 18th century, Frederick the Great made a number of additions, such as the dome and several wings designed in the Rococo style. By 1790 the complex had evolved into a massive royal domain that could take a whole day to explore. The Altes Schloss is the main building of the Schloss Charlottenburg complex, with the ground-floor suites of Friedrich I and Sophie-Charlotte. Paintings include royal portraits by Antoine Pesne, a noted court painter of the 18th century. The upper floor has the apartments of Friedrich Wilhelm IV; a silver treasury and Berlin and Meissen porcelain can be seen on its own. The Neuer Flügel (New Building), where Frederick the Great once lived, was designed by Knobelsdorff, who also built Sanssouci, and houses a ballroom called the Golden Gallery and the Silver Vault with beautiful tableware (Silver Vault closed for remodeling work at the time of this writing). The lovely gardens include a mausoleum and the Belvedere tea house, which holds a porcelain collection.

After Frederick the Great died in 1786, the ambitious Sanssouci building program ground to a halt, and the park fell into neglect. It was 50 years before another Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, restored Sanssouci's earlier glory, engaging the great Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel to build the small Schloss Charlottenhof for the crown prince. Schinkel's demure interiors are preserved, and the most fanciful room is the bedroom, decorated like a Roman tent, with walls and ceiling draped in striped canvas. Friedrich Wilhelm IV also commissioned the Römische Bäder (Roman Baths), about a five-minute walk north of Schloss Charlottenhof. It was also designed by Schinkel, and built between 1829 and 1840. Like many other structures in Potsdam, this one is more romantic than authentic. Half Italian villa, half Greek temple, it is nevertheless a charming addition to the park.

This glass-and-steel construction wraps around a spectacular circular forum. Topping it off is a tent-like structure meant to emulate Mt. Fuji. The architectural jewel, designed by German-American architect Helmut Jahn, is one of the most stunning public spaces of Berlin's new center, filled with restaurants, cafés, the Legoland Discover Museum, the Museum für Film und Fernsehen (Museum of Film and Television), offices, and apartments.

The quiet greenery of the 520-acre Tiergarten, originally planned as the royal family's private hunting grounds, is a beloved oasis today, with some 23 km (14 miles) of footpaths, meadows, and two beer gardens, making it the third-largest urban green space in Germany. The inner park's 6½ acres of lakes and ponds were landscaped by garden architect Peter Joseph Lenné in the mid-1800s. The park's most popular attraction is the 85-acre Berlin Zoo (Tiergarten literally translates to "animal garden").