Berlin, Germany
Berlin is huge (nine times the area of Paris) and its sights do not cluster politely, so a three day plan lives or dies on routing. This one carves the city into three coherent zones: imperial and government Mitte on day one, the Wall and Kreuzberg on day two, and Prenzlauer Berg plus the Alexanderplatz side of the east on day three. Much of the best of Berlin is free: the Reichstag dome, the East Side Gallery, the Holocaust Memorial, the Topography of Terror, and Tempelhof's runway-turned-park cost nothing.
Two things need booking before you arrive. The Reichstag glass dome is free but requires advance registration with passport details on bundestag.de; slots for popular times disappear one to two weeks out. And if Museum Island matters to you, know that the Pergamonmuseum proper is closed for renovation (not due to reopen fully for years), so the Neues Museum with the bust of Nefertiti is the island's must-see, and it rarely sells out.
Government and imperial Berlin in one straight line: everything today sits along or just off Unter den Linden, from the Gate east to the island, ending in the Hackescher Markt courtyards.
Brandenburg Gate and Pariser PlatzFree
The city's symbol, best photographed early before the tour buses. Stand on the west side and you are in the former death strip; the Wall ran directly behind the Gate.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeFree
One block south: 2,711 concrete stelae you walk into and get lost among. The free underground information centre puts names and letters to the abstraction; give it 45 minutes.
Reichstag domeFree, advance registration required
Your pre-registered slot (book free on bundestag.de with passport details, ideally two weeks ahead; bring the same passport). The spiral ramp up Norman Foster's glass dome comes with a good free audio guide keyed to the view.
Lunch near Unter den Linden10-20 EUR pp
Walk east along the linden boulevard. Augustiner am Gendarmenmarkt does proper Bavarian plates around 15-20 EUR on Berlin's most beautiful square (currently framed by the twin cathedral domes), or grab a quicker sandwich at Zeit fuer Brot, famous for its cinnamon rolls.
Museum Island: Neues MuseumAbout 14 EUR; island day ticket about 24 EUR
With the Pergamonmuseum closed for long-term renovation, the Neues Museum is the island's essential ticket: the bust of Nefertiti, Schliemann's Trojan finds, and a stunning ruin-and-restoration building by David Chipperfield. About two hours.
Berlin Cathedral and the LustgartenFree outside; Dom about 10 EUR
Walk the island: the bombastic Berliner Dom (climb the dome gallery for 10 EUR if legs allow) and the Humboldt Forum in the rebuilt palace, whose ground floor and roof terrace are free to enter.
Hackescher Markt and the Hoefe20-35 EUR pp
Cross to the S-Bahn arches and the Hackesche Hoefe, eight linked Art Nouveau courtyards; do not miss the grittier Haus Schwarzenberg alley next door with its street art and the free Otto Weidt workshop museum. Dinner nearby: Schwarzwaldstuben for south-German comfort food or Zur letzten Instanz if you booked (Berlin's oldest restaurant, 1621).
Cold War day, run south to north along the former border, then into Kreuzberg to eat. The history is heavy in the morning so the afternoon is deliberately food and canal.
Berlin Wall Memorial, Bernauer StrasseFree
The place to actually understand the Wall: a preserved full border strip with watchtower, the open-air exhibition, and the Documentation Centre viewing platform. Free, and far more informative than Checkpoint Charlie. Ninety minutes.
Topography of TerrorFree
S-Bahn and a short walk south: the free indoor-outdoor documentation of the Gestapo and SS on the site of their former headquarters, alongside one of the longest surviving Wall segments outside the East Side Gallery.
Checkpoint Charlie, briefly, then lunch at Mustafa's or Curry 365-10 EUR pp
Look at the replica guardhouse for five minutes (it is a photo stop, not a museum visit), then U-Bahn to Mehringdamm where Berlin's two street-food institutions stand side by side: Mustafa's Gemuese Kebap (expect a queue) and Curry 36 for currywurst. Both under 8 EUR.
Bergmannkiez and the Landwehr canalFree
Walk east through Kreuzberg's gentler half: Bergmannstrasse's shops, Marheineke market hall, then north to the canal and along Paul-Lincke-Ufer, the prettiest stretch of water in the city. Tuesday or Friday afternoon, the Turkish market runs on Maybachufer.
East Side GalleryFree
U-Bahn or walk over to the 1.3 km stretch of Wall painted by artists in 1990, including the Fraternal Kiss. Go late afternoon when the west-facing murals catch the light and the morning crowds have thinned.
Oberbaumbruecke and a river viewFree
The double-deck brick bridge next to the gallery is Berlin's most beautiful, linking Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain across the Spree. Cross it at golden hour.
Dinner and bars in Kreuzberg or Friedrichshain20-40 EUR pp
Back on the Kreuzberg side, Markthalle Neun hosts Street Food Thursday until 22:00 (Thursdays only); otherwise book Defne on the canal for excellent Turkish, then bar-hop around Schlesisches Tor or across to Boxhagener Platz.
The lived-in east: Prenzlauer Berg's cafes and Wall-era backstory in the morning, then tram down to Alexanderplatz for the TV Tower and the DDR Museum, ending with a beer garden or a Sunday at Mauerpark if the calendar cooperates.
Breakfast in Prenzlauer Berg10-15 EUR pp
Berlin takes breakfast seriously and this is its capital: Cafe Anna Blume on Kollwitzstrasse (the tiered breakfast for two, about 22 EUR, is the classic order) or any bakery on Kastanienallee.
Kollwitzplatz, Kastanienallee, and the KulturbrauereiFree
Wander the restored tenement streets that show what all of East Berlin once looked like, then the red-brick Kulturbrauerei brewery complex, home to the free Museum in der Kulturbrauerei on everyday life in the GDR.
MauerparkFree
On Sundays this is unmissable: the flea market, the outdoor karaoke in the amphitheatre from about 15:00 in summer, and grill smoke everywhere. On other days, walk the park's Wall stretch briefly and move on. Sunday visitors: flip this day's order and come after 12:00.
Tram M1 to Alexanderplatz and the TV TowerAbout 27 EUR online
Ride the M1, East Berlin's best sightseeing tram, down to Alexanderplatz. The 368 m Fernsehturm's viewing sphere is the highest lookout in the EU; book a timed ticket online (about 27 EUR) to skip the ground-floor queue.
DDR Museum or NikolaiviertelFree to 14 EUR
Ten minutes toward the river: the hands-on DDR Museum (sit in a Trabant, open a Stasi-bugged flat, about 14 EUR) is genuinely fun; the rebuilt medieval Nikolaiviertel next door is a pleasant free wander if museums are done for the day.
Beer garden finale15-30 EUR pp
In warm months, Prater Garten back in Prenzlauer Berg (Berlin's oldest beer garden, since 1837, self-service, a half-litre around 5.50 EUR) is the correct last evening. In winter, swap for dinner at Konnopke's currywurst under the U2 viaduct plus a bar on Oderberger Strasse.
The U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams, and buses run on one ticket system: an AB single costs about 3.80 EUR (valid two hours, one direction) and a 24-hour AB ticket about 10.50 EUR, which pays for itself by the third ride. Buy in the BVG or DB apps or at machines, and remember paper tickets must be validated in the small stamp boxes before boarding; inspectors are plainclothes and the fine is 60 EUR. Trains run all night on weekends. From BER airport, the FEX or RE trains reach Hauptbahnhof in about 30 minutes on a normal ABC ticket (about 4.70 EUR). Distances are real here: this itinerary assumes you ride between zones and walk within them.
Mitte (around Hackescher Markt)
Walking distance to Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate, and the courtyards of the Hackesche Hoefe, with S-Bahn links everywhere. The most convenient base for a first visit and priced accordingly.
Prenzlauer Berg
Cobbled streets, Kastanienallee cafes, and the best breakfast culture in Germany. Quiet at night, 10 minutes by tram M1 to Mitte, and noticeably cheaper than Mitte for apartments.
Kreuzberg (Bergmannkiez or along the Landwehr canal)
The lively option: canal-side bars, Turkish bakeries, and record shops. Perfectly placed for day two of this plan and for nightlife, but pick Bergmannkiez over Kottbusser Tor if you want to sleep before 02:00.
Register for the Reichstag dome on bundestag.de before your trip (free, needs full passport details for everyone in the group) and carry that passport on the day; security will check it against the booking.
Berlin's heaviest history is free: the Wall Memorial, Topography of Terror, Holocaust Memorial, East Side Gallery, and the GDR everyday-life museum in the Kulturbrauerei all cost nothing, so budget your paid entries for the Neues Museum, the TV Tower, and the DDR Museum.
Validate paper transit tickets in the stamp boxes before boarding; an unstamped ticket counts as no ticket and the plainclothes inspectors' 60 EUR fine is not negotiable. App tickets validate themselves at purchase.
Sunday shuts the shops (almost all retail closes, by law) but opens the city: Mauerpark flea market and karaoke, brunch everywhere, and museums all run. Plan shopping for Saturday.
Cash still matters more here than anywhere in Western Europe: plenty of bakeries, kebab shops, and bars are cash-only or card-reluctant. Keep 50 EUR in small notes on you.
Many restaurants and nearly all clubs are closed on Mondays or Tuesdays, and good dinner spots in Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg fill by 19:30 on weekends; book a day or two ahead.
Skip the Checkpoint Charlie private museum and the costumed photo soldiers; the free state-run sites (Bernauer Strasse and the Topography of Terror) tell the story far better.
Three days covers the essential triangle: imperial Mitte, the Cold War sites, and one lived-in eastern neighbourhood, which is what this plan does. It is not enough for Berlin's full museum landscape (170-plus museums) or for side trips: Potsdam's Sanssouci palaces and the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial each need a half to full day, so add a fourth day if either is a priority.
Berlin is the cheapest capital in Western Europe: 45-80 EUR per person per day on the ground is realistic, since most major sights are free and a filling kebab or currywurst lunch runs 5-8 EUR. Expect roughly 40-55 EUR total in paid entries on this plan, about 10.50 EUR a day for a transit day ticket, and dinner mains around 12-20 EUR. Doubles in decent Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg hotels run 90-150 EUR a night, well under London or Amsterdam.
Yes, and it is the one hard requirement of a Berlin trip: entry is free but only with advance online registration on bundestag.de, which asks for the full name, birth date, and passport number of every visitor. Popular daytime and sunset slots go one to two weeks ahead in summer. If you forget, the service centre kiosk next to the building sometimes issues short-notice slots for the next 2 hours, but it is a gamble.
Mostly no. The main Pergamonmuseum building closed in October 2023 for a renovation measured in years, taking the Ishtar Gate and the Pergamon Altar off view; partial reopening is not expected until 2027 at the earliest. The separate "Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama" building opposite the island still shows Yadegar Asisi's 360-degree panorama of ancient Pergamon. For Museum Island itself, make the Neues Museum (Nefertiti) your anchor instead.
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