Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Berlin - Top Sights & Tips

For the first time visitor to Berlin, Germany, the stark contrast of the city compared with other German cities might throw you off. I tell you exactly what to expect, and what to see and do when visiting Berlin.

Germany’s Berlin isn’t going to be the prettiest of cities – something is probably always under construction. If I had to choose a colour for it, it would be grey. The dankest grey you can find.

Berlin’s unique grittiness is also its charm. The city felt very young, and its strong aptitude towards the underground indie art scene and culture is admirable. Berlin-ites also have the most progressive attitudes and considerate disposition.

For a hotbed for all things young and cool, Berlin is steeped in history. Berlin is the epicentre of Hitler’s regime, so nobody leaves without a little bit (or a whole lot) of WWII history. A lot of the sites listed here would have had some war narration attached.

Join a Tour

Joining a tour would mean that you can pretty much cover most of Berlin’s attractions in a day. Since Berlin’s attractions are littered all over the city, the bike tour proved most useful. A tour with a guide to give a proper history lesson at the war sites would put Berlin into better perspective.

Since Berlin is a bike city, I decided to join a bike tour. The tour I was on was called Fat Tire Tours, and I highly recommend it. They also have Segway tours, if that’s what you’re into.

I was on the tour on an especially cold day. It was made even worse when we’re riding thanks to the wind… something I was not prepared for. Bring gloves and ear warmers.

There are free tip-based walking tours available too.

Must-Visit Historical War Sites

Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate is Berlin’s most iconic landmark. The neo-classical design makes it one of the attractive sites in Berlin. The historical gate symbolised Berlin’s division during the Cold War. Today it signifies the peaceful reunification of Berlin and Germany.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Part of the tour included a stop at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or the Holocaust Memorial. We were given some time there, which I thought was nice. The memorial was located close to the Brandenburg Gate. I took some time to walk through the large memorial, weaving my way through the peculiar grey concrete slabs. Apparently the meaning of these structures are open to interpretation. They are also coated with some sort of anti-graffiti paint.

If you’re there in summer, the company also does tours to the nearby concentration camps.

Hitler’s Last Bunker

We visited the area where Hitler’s last bunker was located. Without a tour guide to recount his final days, the area wouldn’t have made much sense.

The area looked nonchalant – it was a parking lot with boring-looking apartment buildings surrounding. The government made it so to prevent today’s Nazi’s from doing any sort of demonstration or sit-in. That still did not stop some of them from still leaving flowers in the area on Hitler’s birthday… to this day. *chills.

Berlin Wall

Or perhaps, what’s remain of the Berlin Wall. This wall was a concrete barrier that divided Berlin 1961 to 1989. Most of the wall has already been demolished, but there are sections still left erect.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie is the more well-known crossing point on the Berlin Wall during the war.

There were actors posing as guards for your phototaking pleasure… at the cost of a few Euros. I did not know this and passed my camera to a passing tourist to help snap a pic before I was stopped by the very-in-character actor: “Hallo! Take picture, pay money!” I’m cheap so I replied “NEIN WAY!” But right after he turned away, the lovely tourist quickly snapped a super awkward photo of me. Bless you, sir. Fun day at Checkpoint Charlie.

Deathstrip Watchtower

This was one of the last remaining guard’s tower from the Cold War. The observation tower is listed as an historical monument.

Gendarmenmarkt

Gendarmenmarkt is a public square in the middle of Berlin, and considered one of the most prominent in the city. This square is also the location for Berlin’s yearly Christmas market.

Surrounding this square are gorgeous buildings including Deutscher Dom, Französischer Dom and the Konzerthaus. In WWII, most of the buildings were destroyed, but has since been beautifully restored.

Bebelplatz

Another public square, Bebelplatz is close-by too. The square, though beautiful today, was once the site of mass book-burning by Nazis. Look for a glass pane in the pavements which looks into an underground library. This room has empty bookshelves to commemorate the books that were burnt.

The Greener Side of Berlin

Stroll through Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten is Berlin’s famous park. We rode through here during the tour. Without the protection of buildings, the cold here was unbearable. I imagine the park would be gorgeous and green in the summertime.

Victory Column

Located in the heart of Tiergarten Park, the Siegessäule, or Victory Column, stood out with its golden statue perched on top. We weren’t given the time to do so during the tour, but you can definitely go up the tower for a nice view of Berlin city.

Berlin Zoo

This zoo is located in Tiergarten. I did not visit the zoo – no interest to – but we rode past the zoo. That was quite nice actually, to hear the animals and sneak some peeks at them.

Other Iconic Berliner Attractions

East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery is the longest surviving part of the Berlin Wall. It is also an open-air exhibition to mix art and history. The bike tour didn’t cover the East Side Gallery, so I made my way down the next day.

It was easy enough by U-Bahn – alight at Ostbahnof station.

The gallery has some impressive artwork. The most famous is the “Fraternal Kiss” piece, which illustrated a make-out session between Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev and East Germany’s Erich Honecker.

The East Side Gallery is about 1.3 km long, but I only walked a short section of the wall before I got uninspired. Unfortunately, most of the wall has juvenile graffiti scrawled all over the actual artwork. But that’s Berlin for you.

Reichstag

The Reichstag is where the German parliament currently resides and is one of the city’s most important buildings. We only did a quick photo pit stop for the outside.

The Berlin TV Tower

The Berlin TV Tower is another iconic sight of the city. I stayed very close to the centre of Berlin, so I passed by this tower almost everyday. I decided to visit this on the last night with a friend.

Once you purchase a ticket, you have to wait for a turn to get up the tower. I don’t remember it being a long wait. From the tower, you get to see a 360 degrees view of Berlin, and the city at night was nice… Although, we did have to view it through very grimy and dirty windows. I think we were done circling the tower in about 10 minutes?

There was a bar and restaurant up there as well, so we were able to maximise the use of our tickets a little bit more by hanging out at the bar. The restaurant required reservations, but it was expensive anyway.

Berlin’s Museum Island

Berlin interestingly has a so-called Museum Island. It is really a cluster of five museums on Spree Island in the district of Mitte in Berlin. Museum Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A ticket would get you entry to all five museums. I chose to explore the compound instead, since I didn’t have time to visit all five.

The Berliner Dom, or Berlin Cathedral, is a gorgeous building near Museum Island. I didn’t enter, choosing to admire the church’s exterior while I hang out at “Lustgarten”, an open space on Museum Island.