Berlin – the capital of Germany – and one of my favourite cities to visit in Europe. I’ve been there twice: 2002 with school and 2010 with Uni to visit the ITB and I always enjoyed myself. When my brother moved to Berlin a year ago, I knew that I have to visit Berlin again. At the beginning of May, I surprised Charlie with a 4 day weekend trip to the coolest city in Germany. What I love about Berlin is that you can feel and see the history everywhere. Although Berlin is a capital city, it has a very down to earth feel and is budget friendly. I can definitely imagine myself living there one day.
As any big city, Berlin has loads of sights and landmarks which are worth visiting. If you have never been to Berlin before, best spot to start exploring the city is Alexanderplatz. From there you can easily walk to main attractions such as the Berliner Fernsehturm, the Cathedral Church and the Museum Island.
Alexanderplatz
Berliner Cathedral and Spree
Once you have passed the Cathedral you can walk along the famous ‘Unter den Linden’ which brings you to the Brandenburger Tor – probably the most well-known landmark in Germany. Just a few minutes walk away from the Brandenburger Tor is the Reichstag – the meeting place of the German Chancellor Angie and the parliament. The Reichstag is free to visit and the large glass dome at the top gives you a great view across the city. A small stroll away is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It consists of a 19,000 m2 site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs – the resemblance quite looks like a cemetery from the top. Costs: FREE
Reichstag Berlin
Jewish Memorial
If you walk along Ebertstraße, you’ll end up at Potsdamer Platz. Here you’ll see parts of the Berliner Wall (covered in chewing gum) as well as the Sony Center with lots of restaurants, bars, a cinema, walk of fame and a shopping centre. The Sony Center beautifully lights up in the evening.
Parts of the Berliner Wall
Walk of Fame
Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz
Another close by attraction is Checkpoint Charlie – the only crossing point foreigners could walk or drive from West Berlin into East Berlin during the Cold War. In the BlackBox you can read about the impact of the Wall in German history and also view a gallery of photos highlighting the main events. Costs: FREE
If you need a break but still like to do more sightseeing, get on the Bus 100 in Alexanderplatz or the Zoo station. This bus will take you passed attractions such as the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, Schloss Belevue, KaDeWe and the Siegessäule. Costs: 2.60 Euro
Berlin is an incredible city and I’m already planning to go back next year. If you’re going to visit Berlin for the first time, it’s definitely worth staying 2-3 days to enjoy and fully appreciate the sights. We’ve done all these sights in 1,5 days, but missed out on the museums on the Museum Island and a boat tour on the Spree.
On our second day we went to the East Side Gallery. Watch out for the article which will follow soon!
2 Comments
April
17. September 2014 at 5:31 pmI’ve never been to Berlin and although I heard so much about it, I didn’t have the chance yet to visit that place. I am amazed with the different beautiful places that you shared in this article and among these places, I would choose to visit Alexanderplatz first too because I can see from the photo you posted that this place is so futuristic and I find it very cool and interesting.
Sina Meyer
20. September 2014 at 11:31 amThanks April – glad you like the post! Alexanderplatz is definitely a great place to start exploring Berlin. When you get the chance to travel to Germany, go to Berlin 🙂