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.
H.Helmlechner · CC BY-SA 4.0Regent Berlin
Five-star property on Gendarmenmarkt with the Charlotte & Fritz restaurant.
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.