Image by Ingo Jezierski / Getty Images

Berlin

Berlin's combo of glamour and grit is bound to mesmerise all those keen to explore its vibrant culture, cutting-edge architecture, fabulous food, intense parties and tangible history.

High on History

Bismarck and Marx, Einstein and Hitler, JFK and Bowie, they’ve all shaped – and been shaped by – Berlin, whose richly textured history confronts you at every turn. This is a city that staged a revolution, was headquartered by Nazis, bombed to bits, divided in two and finally reunited – and that was just in the 20th century! Walk along remnants of the Berlin Wall, marvel at the splendour of a Prussian palace, visit Checkpoint Charlie or stand in the very room where the Holocaust was planned. Berlin is like an endlessly fascinating 3D textbook where the past is very much present wherever you go.

Party Paradise

Forget about New York – Berlin is the city that truly never sleeps. Sometimes it seems as though Berliners are the lotus-eaters of Germany, people who love nothing more than a good time. The city's vast party spectrum caters for every taste, budget and age group. From tiny basement clubs to industrial techno temples, chestnut-canopied beer gardens to fancy cocktail caverns, saucy cabarets to ear-pleasing symphonies – Berlin delivers hot-stepping odysseys, and not just after dark and on weekends but pretty much 24/7. Pack your stamina!

Cultural Trendsetter

When it comes to creativity, the sky’s the limit in Berlin, which is one of Europe's big start-up capitals. In the last 20 years, the city has become a giant lab of cultural experimentation thanks to a spirit that nurtures and encourages new ideas as well as to once abundant space and cheap rent. Although the last two of these are definitely a thing of the past. Top international performers still grace Berlin's theatre, concert and opera stages; international art-world stars like Olafur Eliasson and Jonathan Meese make their home here; and Clooney and Hanks shoot blockbusters in the German capital. Highbrow, lowbrow and everything in between – there’s plenty of room for the full gamut of cultural expression.

Laid-back Lifestyle

Berlin is a big multicultural metropolis but deep down it maintains the unpretentious charm of an international village. Locals and expats follow the credo 'live and let live' and put greater emphasis on personal freedom and a creative lifestyle than on material wealth and status symbols. Cafes are jammed at all hours, drinking is a religious rite and clubs keep going through the weekend into Monday. Size-wise, Berlin is pretty big but its key areas are wonderfully compact and easily navigated on foot, by bike or with public transport.

Explore Berlin

0

Featured Story

Why Berlin is the perfect city break with a teenager

5 min read — Published October 20th, 2021

Rhonda CarrierWriter

Choosing the right destination for a holiday with teens is tough, but Rhonda Carrier found Berlin to be the ideal place.

Latest Stories from Berlin

Planning Toolkit

  • Discover some of the most unique and fulfilling experiences your next destination has to offer.

  • Deals and tips on ways to save without sacrificing the fun on your next trip.

  • Plan a day trip full of local flavor and get back in time with these same-day options.

  • Browse the various transportation options to make your trip that much easier when you arrive.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Berlin.

  • Museum

    Pergamonmuseum

    The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp…

  • Museum

    Neues Museum

    For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…

  • Museum

    Museumsinsel

    Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel …

  • Palace

    Schloss Charlottenburg

    Charlottenburg Palace is one of Berlin's few sites that still reflect the one-time grandeur of the Hohenzollern clan, which ruled the region from 1415 to…

  • Gallery

    Sammlung Boros

    This Nazi-era bunker presents one of Berlin's finest private contemporary art collections, amassed by advertising guru Christian Boros who acquired the…

  • Gallery

    Gemäldegalerie

    This museum ranks among the world's finest and most comprehensive collections of European art with about 1500 paintings spanning the arc of artistic…

  • Museum

    Museum für Naturkunde

    Fossils and minerals don’t quicken your pulse? Well, how about Tristan, the T-Rex? His skeleton is among the best-preserved in the world and, along with…

  • Historic Building

    Reichstag

    It’s been burned, bombed, rebuilt, buttressed by the Wall, wrapped in fabric and finally turned into the modern home of the German parliament by Norman…

  • Landmark

    East Side Gallery

    The East Side Gallery is the embodiment of Berlin’s grit and guts. It’s a symbol of hope, creativity and resilience – for Berliners, but also the rest of…

  • Landmark

    Fernsehturm

    Germany's tallest structure, the TV Tower has been soaring 368m high since 1969 and is as iconic to Berlin as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. On clear days,…

  • Museum

    Topographie des Terrors

    In the spot where the most feared institutions of Nazi Germany (including the Gestapo headquarters and the SS central command) once stood, this compelling…

  • Museum

    DDR Museum

    This touchy-feely museum does an insightful and entertaining job of pulling back the iron curtain on daily life in socialist East Germany. You'll learn…

  • Memorial

    Stasi Prison

    Victims of Stasi persecution often ended up in this grim remand prison, now a memorial site officially called Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen. Tours …

  • Museum

    Deutsches Historisches Museum

    If you’re wondering what the Germans have been up to for the past 1500 years, take a spin around the baroque Zeughaus, formerly the Prussian arsenal and…

  • Memorial

    Holocaust Memorial

    Inaugurated in 2005, this football-field-sized memorial by American architect Peter Eisenman consists of 2711 sarcophagi-like concrete columns rising in…

  • Area

    Potsdamer Platz

    The rebirth of the historic Potsdamer Platz was Europe's biggest building project of the 1990s, a showcase of urban renewal masterminded by such top…

  • Museum

    Jüdisches Museum

    In a landmark building by American-Polish architect Daniel Libeskind, Berlin’s Jewish Museum offers a chronicle of the trials and triumphs in 2000 years…

  • Memorial

    Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer

    For an insightful primer on the Berlin Wall, visit this outdoor memorial, which extends for 1.4km along Bernauer Strasse and integrates an original…

  • Park

    Tiergarten

    Berlin’s rulers used to hunt boar and pheasants in the rambling Tiergarten until garden architect Peter Lenné landscaped the grounds in the 19th century…

  • Historic Site

    Hackesche Höfe

    The Hackesche Höfe is the largest and most famous of the courtyard ensembles peppered throughout the Scheunenviertel. Built in 1907, the eight interlinked…

Top experiences

Whether it’s a guided tour of a historic landmark, private tasting of local delicacies, or an off-road adventure — explore the best experiences in Berlin.

Featured videos

  • Berlin's Futuristic Restaurant

  • Bike-friendly cities

  • Introducing Berlin