Berlin travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Berlin, planned over three days
Best time to visit Berlin
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter dark Berlin. Museums, Philharmonie and Christmas markets peak, lakes and beer gardens are off.
Spring turn. By late April and May beer gardens open, pavements fill and May is arguably the sweet spot.
Summer lake and beer garden Berlin, light until about 21:30, with peak prices and fastest selling slots.
Autumn is a locals favourite. September keeps summer light with saner crowds, October brings art and light events.
Best months overall: mid May to late June, and September.
Worst months for a first trip, cold and dark, unless coming for Berlinale or a museums and music trip.
What's on
- Lucia Christmas Market at Kulturbrauerei December
Scandinavian-themed market in the old brewery courtyards, cosier than the big central markets.
- Berlinale February
The city's big winter film festival, which fills hotels.
- Karneval der Kulturen May
Street festival that takes over Kreuzberg in spring.
- Gallery Weekend Berlin late April / early May
Galleries open en masse across the city.
- Fete de la Musique 21 June
Free outdoor music all over Berlin on the longest day.
- Christopher Street Day / Berlin Pride July
Huge parade and street festival.
- Lange Nacht der Museen late August
Long Night of Museums, one ticket with museums open late.
- Berlin Art Week September
Citywide week of gallery openings, talks and fair shows in mid-September.
- Berlin Marathon late September
Marathon crowds in late September.
- Lollapalooza Berlin mid-July
Two-day pop and rock festival on the Olympiapark grounds that fills west side hotels.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Berlin
Berlin Wall Memorial
The best Wall history stop, with both walls and the death strip preserved on the street where escapes happened.
Topography of Terror
Free, unsparing documentation centre on the former Gestapo and SS headquarters site.
Reichstag Dome
Foster glass dome above the Bundestag with the best orientation view in central Berlin.
Neues Museum
Nefertiti and a superb Egyptian collection in a building that shows its own war damage and restoration.
Tempelhofer Feld
Former airport kept as a vast public field where you cycle the runways and picnic on the tarmac.
Jewish Museum Berlin
Libeskind building of voids and slanted floors holding a broad exhibition on Jewish life in Germany.
Hamburger Bahnhof - Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
Berlin's main contemporary museum, with large scale post 1960 art in a former railway station.
Boros Collection
Private contemporary collection inside a former bunker, visitable only on small guided tours.
Where to stay in Berlin
Prenzlauer Berg
first trip, all-round base, couples and families
Leafy, residential and calm at night, full of cafes and still a short ride to Mitte sights.
Mitte, Hackescher Markt / Rosenthaler Platz / Torstrasse
short, sightseeing-first trip
As central as it gets, with Museum Island and the government quarter walkable and the best transport links.
Charlottenburg / City West, Savignyplatz and Kudamm side streets
classic, quiet, grown-up Berlin
Elegant old West Berlin streets, the Kantstrasse food strip and Charlottenburg Palace, with calmer nights.
Tiergarten edge
calm design-led base
Former embassy quarter overlooking the zoo and Tiergarten, quiet while still central.
Kreuzberg, Bergmannkiez or Oranienstrasse end
food and nightlife
Superb Turkish and Middle Eastern food, bars and Markthalle Neun, with street choice that matters at night.
Friedrichshain
clubs as the point of the trip
East side and younger, on the Berghain, Sisyphos and RAW Gelande corridor, pleasant and residential by day.
Think twice about
- Kottbusser Tor, Gorlitzer Bahnhof and Gorlitzer Park
Police listed crime affected cluster with open drug dealing in and around the park and station, and the park closes at night.
- Hermannplatz and Hermannstrasse, Neukolln
Police listed crime affected area with visible street drug use and dealing around the square and station exits.
- Leopoldplatz, Wedding
Also on the police crime affected list, with visible street drug use and dealing at the square itself.
- Alexanderplatz immediate surrounds
Bleak, pickpocket heavy and charmless at night. Use it as a transport hub, do not sleep on it.
Best restaurants in Berlin
Rutz Restaurant
Berlin's only three star restaurant, with modern German tasting menus built on preservation and fermentation.
Nobelhart & Schmutzig
One star counter menu sourced only from Berlin, Brandenburg and the wider region, with no choices and no photos.
CODA Dessert Dining
Two stars for a tasting menu led entirely by dessert technique, including the famous caviar popsicle.
Restaurant Tim Raue
Two star flagship for precise, punchy Asian inflected tasting menus, with a weekday lunch as the value route.
Barra
Seasonal small plates and natural wine in a stripped back room, at prices that keep the bill human.
Markthalle Neun
Historic market hall whose Thursday Street Food Thursday is the best group dinner for people who cannot agree.
Ruya Gemuse Kebap
The locals correction to the famous doner queue, serving top rated chicken gemuse kebap by Zoo station fast.
Azzam
Palestinian Lebanese canteen for silky hummus, crunchy falafel and huge platters at old prices.
Outdoor things to do in Berlin
Sanssouci Park
The best day trip from Berlin, cycling park to park between Sanssouci, the New Palace and Cecilienhof.
Spreewald
UNESCO water forest of canals through Sorbian villages, paddled by kayak or ridden by traditional punt.
Berliner Mauerweg
Signposted trail following the former border strip, best ridden in its dense central sections.
Schlachtensee
Clear free lake with a forest loop, boat rental and a beer garden, and the locals' swim of choice.
Krumme Lanke
Smaller, shallower free lake a short walk from Schlachtensee for when that shore is packed.
Strandbad Wannsee
The classic paid lido day, with lifeguards, a huge sandy beach and a family setup.
Landwehr Canal
Guided kayak paddle along the canal to the Spree, seeing East West history from water level.
Wannsee
Seven Lakes cruise threading the Havel lakes past Peacock Island, Babelsberg Palace and Glienicke Bridge.
Best hotels in Berlin
Hotel Oderberger
Boutique hotel in a listed former public baths, with its historic swimming pool hall as the centrepiece.
Myer's Hotel Berlin
Smaller, quieter Prenzlauer Berg hotel in the same leafy streets as the area's splurge options.
Ackselhaus & Blue Home
Garden apartments in Prenzlauer Berg that suit longer stays and couples.
Circus Hotel
Independent design led boutique at Rosenthaler Platz, the best value boutique stay in Mitte.
Casa Camper Berlin
Design hotel minimalism a short walk from Hackescher Markt.
Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Hackescher Markt
Apartment space and a kitchen by Hackescher Markt for a short trip that needs room.
Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin
The grand hotel splurge, facing the Brandenburg Gate, booked for the address and service.
Circus Hostel
Budget dorms and private rooms in the same prime Mitte spot as its hotel sibling across the square.
Is Berlin expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €170 a person |
| Splurge | €400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Reichstag Dome: weeks ahead
- Neues Museum: a few days ahead
- Boros Collection: weeks ahead
- Berliner Philharmonie: a few days ahead
- Berliner Unterwelten: weeks ahead
- Vabali Spa Berlin: a few days ahead
- Sanssouci Park: a few days ahead
- Golf- und Land-Club Berlin-Wannsee e.V.: a few days ahead
- Reichstag Dome is free but timed and needs ID. Book online weeks ahead in summer.
- Book Neues Museum timed tickets ahead and do not plan around the Pergamon, which is closed for renovation.
- Boros Collection and Berliner Unterwelten are tours only with small capacity. Book weeks ahead.
- Rutz, Nobelhart and Schmutzig, CODA, Tim Raue and Barra need reservations, starred rooms 3 to 6 weeks out for weekends.
Is Berlin safe?
- Pickpocket teams work crowded U-Bahn stations, Alexanderplatz, Kottbusser Tor and club queues. Keep bags zipped and in front.
- Do not leave phones on outdoor cafe tables, where snatching is a known risk.
- Be deliberate about late night walks around Gorlitzer Park, Kottbusser Tor, Hermannplatz and Leopoldplatz.
- Demonstrations are frequent near the government quarter and Alexanderplatz. Reroute rather than panic. Emergency number 112.
- Carry cash. Spatis, Imbiss stands, flea markets and some older bars are cash only or cash preferred.
- Shops including supermarkets are closed on Sundays. Plan food, market and park Sundays accordingly.
Berlin travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Checkpoint Charlie is a replica guardhouse and photo touts. Spend the history hour at Bernauer Strasse or Topography of Terror.
- The TV Tower restaurant means paying to queue and eat mediocre food at height. Use the Reichstag Dome for views.
- East Side Gallery takes 20 to 30 minutes. Fold it into a Spree walk, do not give it half a day.
- Mustafas queue is the trap, not the kebap. Ruya by Zoo station serves the top rated version fast.
- Berghain has no advance tickets and rejection is normal. Go in ones and twos, know who is playing, accept a no gracefully.
Getting around Berlin: public transport and more
- BVG U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus covers everything. App tickets are valid at once; stamp paper tickets before boarding.
- From BER airport, FEX, regional trains and the S9 reach the centre in about 30 minutes on an ABC ticket.
- Buses 100 and 200 double as a cheap sightseeing route past Museum Island, the Reichstag and Tiergarten.
- U-Bahn runs all night on weekends. On weekdays clubs are a night bus or taxi problem.
Who Berlin suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Berlin your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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