8 Best Sights in Berlin, Germany

This bleak square, bordered by the train station, the Galeria Kaufhof department store, and the 37-story Park Inn by Radisson Berlin Alexanderplatz hotel, once formed the hub of East Berlin and was originally named in 1805 for Czar Alexander I. German writer Alfred Döblin dubbed it the "heart of a world metropolis" (a quote from his 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz is written on a building at the northeastern end of the square). Today it's a basic center of commerce and the occasional festival. The unattractive modern buildings are a reminder not just of the results of Allied bombing but also of the ruthlessness practiced by East Germans when they demolished what remained. A famous meeting point in the south corner is the World Time Clock (1969), which even keeps tabs on Tijuana.

The hub of Potsdam's historical center was home to the city's baroque palace for three centuries. The area was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II and then further destroyed by the East German regime in 1960. After reunification, Potsdam decided to rebuild its palace, and the re-created structure, with a combination of modern and historic elements, has housed the state parliament since 2013. Thanks to private donors, a magnificent replica of the Fortunaportal, or Fortune's Gate, now stands proudly at the center of the square. A gilded figure of Atlas tops the tower of the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), built in 1755 in the model of an Italian palazzo, its dome meant to mimic the Pantheon's in Rome. The Potsdam Museum contains a large collection of paintings, photographs, and historical objects. Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed the Alter Markt's domed Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church), which was also heavily damaged in the war and only reopened in 1981 after extensive renovations.

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.

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.

Named for the painter, sculptor, and political activist Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), who lived nearby, the square is the center of the old working-class district of Prenzlauer Berg. Kollwitz, who portrayed the hard times of area residents, is immortalized here in a sculpture based on a self-portrait. Ironically, this image of the artist now has a view of the upwardly mobile young families who have transformed the neighborhood since reunification. Bars and restaurants peel off from the square, and one of the best organic markets in town takes over on weekends.

The spiritual and commercial heart of Wedding, this square is anchored by churches: the Alte Nazareth Kirche (designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the 1830s, when the square was first developed) and the Neue Nazarethkirche, erected in the 1890s. Long considered the center of one of the city’s most downtrodden areas, Leopoldplatz has received a makeover, and the area’s residents find it a welcome respite from some of Berlin’s more hip and hyped districts. The square is a good starting point for a neighborhood stroll: you'll find beautiful (though still slightly run down) turn-of-the-century buildings, residential parks, and interesting multicultural (or multi-kulti) shops and cafés.

Neuer Markt (New Market) square has baroque-style architecture similar to that of the Alter Markt square and a handful of the city’s best-preserved buildings, some of which date back to the 18th century.

Back when this part of Neukölln was a Bohemian village, Richardplatz was its center, and today the square appears virtually untouched by time. Half-timber houses line one side, and some of the grandest turn-of-the-century apartment buildings face them on the other. It's worth exploring the lanes and alleyways running off the square and its extension, Richardstrasse; you’ll turn up some secret gardens and hidden buildings along the way. This square is the location of one of the city’s most charming Christmas markets, which takes place annually on the second weekend of Advent (usually either the first or second weekend in December): craftsmen and churches sell knitwear, candles, and all sorts of edible goodies under the light of old-fashioned gas lamps.