Things to Do & Must-See Attractions in Berlin

"You are leaving the American sector."

Memorialized in film and print, Checkpoint Charlie is the most famous symbol of Cold War era Berlin.

Marking the border crossing between the American Sector (Kreuzberg) and East Berlin (Mitte), only allied personnel and foreign visitors could pass through the checkpoint. Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous security point in the Berlin Wall, but for most of its life it was little more than a wooden shack and boom gates. Today a replica shed stands in the middle of Friedrichstraße.

While you’re here, drop into the Mauer Museum (Haus am Checkpoint Charlie) to learn about the history of Checkpoint Charlie, and the audacious and often tragic attempts made by East Berliners to escape from East to West.

Alexanderplatz remains the largest urban square in all of Germany and is a central meeting place in Berlin, located in the Mitte District. At its center is the large railway station (Alexanderplatz) with connections to many subway (U-Bahn), tramway (Strassenbahn), city trains (S-Bahn) and buses.

Named after the Russian Czar Alexander I, who visited the capital of Prussia in 1805, ""Alex"" became a traffic hub when a train station was established there in 1882.

Alexanderplatz took on its present form in the 1960’s after being ravaged in World War II. After the war it became the center of East-Berlin and used as a showcase of socialist architecture. This resulted in some unattractive buildings like the former Centrum department store and the Berliner Fernsehturm (TV Tower). In 1969 two more monuments were added to the square, the Weltzeituhr (World Time Clock) by Erich John and the Fountain of International Friendship.

The notorious wall that divided Berlin for nearly 30 years was erected by East Germany at the height of the Cold War in 1961. The barrier isolated West Berlin within a heavily armed barrier of double concrete walls and gun turrets and was constructed to stop disaffected East Germans escaping to the west; it was part of a strictly enforced military fortification that separated communist East Germany from capitalist Europe.

Guards patrolling the wall’s watchtowers and mined "death strip" were ordered to shoot East Berliners attempting to escape to the west, and increasingly the wall became a canvas for protest murals and memorials.

With the thawing of relations between east and west and the downfall of communism in Poland, the Czech Republic and other central European countries, the Berlin Wall was ceremonially torn down in November 1989 with the world’s media as witness.

Sections of the wall remain as permanent reminders of the days when Germany was split.

The huge Potsdamer Platz has been a major focal point for Berliners since the 19th century, the busy meeting point of half a dozen major thoroughfares.

Historically, the square was dominated by the enormous Potsdamer train terminal, and at the turn of the 20th century it was a major dining, hotel, entertainment and shopping hub. Potsdamer Platz was destroyed by Allied raids during World War II. Before reunification the barren area was a militarized no-go zone cut in two by the Berlin Wall; this no man’s land was one of the first areas to be breached in November 1989. Since the 1990s, Potsdamer Platz has undergone a total rebirth as the new heart and inspiring symbol of the reunified Berlin. Take in the surroundings from the Panorama Observation Deck, and seek out the only pre-WWII building, the Weinhaus Huth.

Located in the Mitte district, the Gendarmenmarkt has gone through a few name changes. After being used from 1736 to 1782 by the military for sentry duty and housing their horses, it was known as the Gendarmenmarkt. After being damaged in the war, the square was renamed “Platz der Akademie” in 1950 in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Academy of Science. In 1991, it got its original name back.

The Gendarmenmarkt is arguably Berlin’s most magnificent square. It is best known for the triple architectural force composed of the German and French cathedrals (Deutscher und Französischer Dom) and Schinkel’s Konzerthaus (concert hall). The ‘domes’ refer to the domed tower structures erected in 1785 by architect Carl von Gontard were mainly intended to add stature and grandeur to the two buildings. Some of the most high-end restaurants, businesses and hotels are located around the Gendarmenmarkt, especially around the streets of Charlottenstrasse.

AquaDom and SEA LIFE Berlin is an aquarium featuring more than 5,000 aquatic animals in over 35 different displays. The AquaDom, specifically, is the largest freestanding aquarium in the world, where you can take an elevator ride through 1 million liters of saltwater and groups of various tropical fish.

The newest exhibit at SEA LIFE Berlin is the Octopus Garden. Here you can learn about the fascinating physical and mental strength of the octopus and also see the giant pacific octopus, as well as its relatives, the cuttlefish and the nautilus. At the Interactive Rockpool, you can learn about the animals that live in this sort of habitat along the coast, such as starfish and crabs, and learn what sea anemones feed on. All of the animals in this section are safe to touch, and experts are on hand to help you handle them. A variety of talks are given throughout the day at certain areas of the aquarium.

The New Synagogue in Berlin is a Moorish-style building that was built from 1859 to 1866. It was designed by Eduard Knoblauch, though he did not live to see it finished. The synagogue was built with a highly visible, large dome and had refined steel construction of the galleries and roof. It could seat 3,200 people, and it was the largest Jewish place of worship in Germany. By 1933 it was the center of the Jewish community for the 160,000 Jewish citizens of Berlin. Unfortunately it suffered great damage during the bombings of World War II. After extensive repairs and renovations, the New Synagogue reopened in May 1995. Today the Centrum Judaicum foundation is housed here. It is an institution for the preservation of Jewish memory and tradition and includes a museum. Exhibits trace the history of the synagogue, and guided tours show visitors the open space behind the restored facade, which was once the main synagogue room.

Berlin’s Central Park is Tiergarten, a huge stretch of parkland, formal gardens and leafy walkways in the city’s west.

Until the 1830s the parkland was used as a hunting ground. Today it houses the home of the German President, an array of public sculptures and memorials, canals and lakes, and a network of lovely shady avenues. The park’s avenues merge on the 66 meter (216 foot) Victory Tower, topped with a gilt angel. If you’re feeling fit, you can climb the 285 steps to a platform at the top to catch stupendous views of Berlin.

More than two thousand years of German Jewish history is displayed, analyzed and exhibited at Berlin’s fascinating Jewish Museum.

The collection is housed in the baroque Old Building (the former Collegienhaus), courtyard gardens, and the acclaimed zinc-coated postmodern complex by architect Daniel Libeskind.

Highlights of the modern wing include underground passages, the Holocaust Tower and the Garden of Exile with its disorienting corridor of pillars. The compelling architectural spaces present permanent exhibitions exploring Jewish life and traditions over the millennia, from medieval traders to 19th century scholars and the turbulent 20th century. A program of one-off exhibits explores individual stories and aspects of German Jewish life, in particular highlighting the work of artists, writers and thinkers.

The Bebelplatz is a public square in the central ‘Mitte’ district of Germany’s capital city, Berlin. Today it is best known for being the site where some 20,000 newly banned books were burned by bonfire in 1933 on order of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, because they conflicted with Nazi ideology. The square is surrounded by notable historical buildings, including the German State Opera (Staatsoper); St. Hedwig’s Cathedral (built in 1747 and modeled after Rome’s Pantheon, it was the first Catholic church built in Germany after the Protestant Reformation); and the former Royal Prussian Library (Alte Bibliothek) which is now part of Humboldt University.

All of the buildings on the Bebelplatz were destroyed in World War II and reconstructed afterward. An easily overlooked monument in the center of the square simply contains a pane of glass, which the visitor can look through to see many rows of empty bookshelves underground.

The Old Jewish Cemetery is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Berlin. It was built in 1672 and contains the grave of Moses Mendelssohn, a philosopher and the forefather of Jewish Enlightenment in the 1700s. It is estimated that around 12,000 Jewish people are buried here from the years 1672 to 1827. Unfortunately the cemetery was destroyed during World War II, and the site was used as a holding place for Jews before they were deported to concentration camps. The cemetery was reopened in 2008.

Since the cemetery suffered so much destruction during the war, not much remains of the original graves. Memorial plaques have been put up to honor Mendelssohn and other notable people who were buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery. Several thousand World War II soldiers ended up being buried here as well. Other memorial plaques and monuments here honor the Jewish community that once lived in this area and were deported during the war.

The Führerbunker, translated to English means "Leader's bunker" was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943. This bunker was a defensive military fortification designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attack; in this case, the Führerbunker was to protect Adolf Hilter during WWII, and was the center of the Nazi regime. Hitler married Eva Braun here during the last week of April 1945, shortly before they committed suicide.

The Bunker can be found at Wilhelmstrasse 77 near the corner of In den Ministergärten and Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse, a short walk from Potsdamer Platz. It may be difficult to find independently as it is located in a grey apartment block backed onto a desolate car park, bordered by small wooden posts. You will find an information sign detailing the history of the site, which replaced a plaque that was there in 2006.

The stylish, contemporary main railway station in Berlin was opened in 2006 by Chancellor Angela Merkel; it is built on the site of the Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station), which was demolished in 1957 after East Germany suspended rail services into its western counterpart. In 1993, the architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners were entrusted with creating a new station that befitted Berlin’s importance as the capital city of a re-united Germany, and the sleek terminus is made of glass and steel; it has five gleaming stories and is spanned by an arched glass roof. There are lines both above and underground and today the station is also a terminus for the S-Bahn (rapid transit commuter trains) and U-Bahn (metro line) services into and around the city from the Brandenburg region.

The Lilliputian Nicholas Quarter is an area that was developed around Berlin’s oldest parish church, the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas’s Church), dating from 1230. The area now tries to maintain its medieval character; its cobblestoned lanes worth a quick stroll if you are in the surrounding borders of Rathausstrasse, Spandauer Strasse, Mühlendamm and the Spree River. Though there are many gift stores, cafes and restaurants in the quarter, you will find locals elsewhere.

The main attractions, in addition to the St. Nicholas church, include the Ephraim Palace, a masterpiece of palace architecture of the 18th century Berlin. Equally beautiful is the Baroque style Knoblauch house built in 1760, which offers insight into world of the upper middle class world through its rooms and valuable furniture.