Curated Berlin plans, ready to follow

Berlin is big. It covers roughly eight times the area of Paris inside its city limits, and the most common mistake on a short trip is not which sights you pick but the order you pick them in. Put Museum Island, the East Side Gallery and Charlottenburg Palace in one day and you will spend a solid two hours on the U-Bahn getting between them. These plans are sorted by route, not by ranking.

Each one groups places you can reach on foot or on a single train line, gives a realistic time window per stop, and ends in a neighborhood where staying the night makes sense. They also mix and match: the three-day classic covers the landmarks, while the family day and the rainy-day plan are built to swap in for a single day when the weather or your traveling companions change the plan.

Not sure yet how long you need, or still deciding what to see at all? Start with the full list of things to do in Berlin, then come back and pick the plan that matches your days on the ground.