3 Days in Berlin
The classic first-timer plan: Mitte landmarks on day one, Berlin Wall history in Kreuzberg on day two, Charlottenburg and the Tiergarten on day three.
Mitte: landmarks back to back
Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Museum Island. Berlin's must-sees sit close enough together that the whole day works on foot.
- Morning9:00am – 10:30am
Start at Brandenburg Gate
Pariser Platz, the Hotel Adlon and the Holocaust Memorial are all right here. Give the first half hour to standing around and getting your bearings.
💡 Tip: Café Einstein Unter den Linden, a Berlin breakfast institution, is a five-minute walk. - Morning10:30am – 12:00pm
Reichstag dome
Norman Foster's glass dome over the German parliament. Entry is free, but nobody gets up there without registering first.
💡 Tip: Register online at bundestag.de at least a week out, and bring the same photo ID you signed up with. - Lunch12:30pm – 2:00pm
Lunch on Gendarmenmarkt
Berlin's handsomest square: the Konzerthaus flanked by the German and French domes. Restaurants line the side streets.
- Afternoon2:00pm – 6:00pm
Museum Island
Large parts of the Pergamonmuseum are closed for renovation, so aim for the Neues Museum and the Nefertiti bust instead. One area ticket covers all five houses.
- Evening6:00pm – 7:00pm
TV Tower at sunset
The deck sits 666 feet (203 m) above the city. Book a timed slot; the sunset ones go first.
- Dinner8:00pm
Dinner at Hackescher Markt
The courtyards around Hackescher Markt hold a dense run of restaurants, most of them modern German rather than traditional.
Berlin Wall history and Kreuzberg
East Side Gallery, Checkpoint Charlie, Görlitzer Park. A walking day through the years the city was split in two.
- Morning9:30am – 11:30am
East Side Gallery
0.8 miles (1.3 km) of the original Berlin Wall, painted with 105 murals in 1990, running along the Spree river. Go early; the crowds build after lunch.
- Lunch12:00pm – 1:00pm
Markthalle Neun
A covered market hall from 1891. On Thursday evenings it runs Street Food Thursday, with stalls from a couple of dozen kitchens.
- Afternoon2:00pm – 3:30pm
Checkpoint Charlie + Wall Museum
The old crossing between the American and Soviet sectors. The guard house is a replica; the escape stories in the Mauermuseum next door are the real substance.
- Afternoon4:00pm – 6:00pm
Walk through Kreuzberg 36
Bergmannstraße, Görlitzer Park, Oranienstraße. Kreuzberg 36 is the old West Berlin postal code, and this Kiez, the local word for a neighborhood you can walk end to end, is Turkish and punk at the same time.
- Dinner8:00pm
Dinner in Kreuzberg
From currywurst at a sidewalk stand to Michelin stars, Kreuzberg covers every price bracket inside a few blocks.
West Berlin and the Tiergarten
Charlottenburg Palace, the Kurfürstendamm and KaDeWe: the half of the city that stayed western, ending with a walk back through the Tiergarten.
- Morning9:30am – 11:30am
Charlottenburg Palace
The largest surviving Prussian palace in Berlin. The baroque garden behind it is free to walk.
- Lunch12:30pm – 2:00pm
KaDeWe gourmet floor
The sixth floor of KaDeWe is a food hall built around counters: oysters, sushi, pasta, Berliner Buletten (local meatballs). Eat standing up like everyone else.
- Afternoon2:30pm – 4:00pm
Kurfürstendamm + memorial church
The city's window-shopping boulevard, 2.2 miles (3.5 km) end to end. The bombed-out Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, left as a ruin on purpose, anchors the eastern end.
- Afternoon4:30pm – 6:00pm
Tiergarten walk
Berlin's green middle, from Zoo station back toward the Brandenburg Gate: about 2.5 miles (4 km), roughly 50 minutes at an easy pace.
- Dinner8:00pm
Farewell dinner in Mitte or on the Ku'damm
Pick whichever end is closer to your hotel. Both have plenty of options for a last night.
Hotels in the right neighborhoods
Hotel Adlon Kempinski
The grande dame of Berlin hotels, right on Brandenburg Gate.
H.Helmlechner · CC BY-SA 4.0Hotel de Rome
Rocco Forte's Berlin flagship on Bebelplatz, in the former Dresdner Bank.
Hotel AMANO Grand Central
Design hotel with rooftop terrace and bar, right at Berlin Hauptbahnhof.
Discover all Berlin attractions
Other itineraries
Berlin with Kids
A family weekend in Berlin: the zoo, Tempelhofer Feld, the Mauerpark flea market and enough downtime built in that nobody melts down by 3pm.
Berlin When It Rains
A rainy-day plan for Berlin: three museums on Museum Island, a covered lunch near Hackescher Markt and an afternoon inside the KaDeWe.