2 days in Berlin

Day by day

1. Day 1: Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag and its glass dome

   Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and its glass dome, Museum Island and Berlin Wall Memorial, then Friedrichshain in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Brandenburg Gate

      It faces Pariser Platz and the Unter den Linden boulevard on one side and the Tiergarten on the other.

   2. Late morning

      Reichstag and its glass dome

      A spiral ramp winds up inside the dome above the debating chamber, with an audio guide pointing out the landmarks around you.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Currywurst

      Imbiss stands across the city, including the long-running stall under the elevated U2 tracks at Eberswalder Strasse and stands around Mehringdamm in Kreuzberg.

   4. Afternoon

      Museum Island

      The Lustgarten lawn in front is a good place to rest.

   5. Late afternoon

      Berlin Wall Memorial

      The Documentation Centre has a viewing platform over the preserved border installation.

   6. Evening

      Friedrichshain

      Big-name clubs near the Spree and Ostkreuz, the RAW-Gelände and bar streets around Simon-Dach-Strasse.

2. Day 2: Neues Museum and Berlin Cathedral

   Neues Museum, Berlin Cathedral, East Side Gallery and TV Tower (Fernsehturm), then Kreuzberg in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Neues Museum

      Rebuilt by David Chipperfield in 2009 while keeping its war scars, the Neues Museum holds the 3,300-year-old painted bust of Queen Nefertiti, Egyptian papyri and sculpture, and prehistoric treasures including the conical golden Berlin Gold Hat.

   2. Late morning

      Berlin Cathedral

      A walkway around the outside of the dome, reached by 270 steps, gives a view over Museum Island and Unter den Linden.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Döner kebab

      Kebab shops everywhere, especially in Kreuzberg around Kottbusser Tor and Mehringdamm, where the best-known stands have long queues.

   4. Afternoon

      East Side Gallery

      Murals include Dmitri Vrubel's fraternal kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker.

   5. Late afternoon

      TV Tower (Fernsehturm)

      A fast lift reaches the observation deck at about 200 metres, with views across the whole city, and a revolving restaurant sits just above.

   6. Evening

      Kreuzberg

      Bars on Oranienstrasse and around Kottbusser Tor, canal-side venues and clubs by the river.

Before you go

• Reichstag and its glass dome: Entry is free but requires advance online registration with the names of all visitors; slots fill days ahead.
• Neues Museum: Timed tickets are recommended, especially at weekends.
• TV Tower (Fernsehturm): Timed tickets sell out at weekends and around sunset; book ahead.

If it rains

• Swap in Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Mitte): Walk into the centre of the field, then visit the free Information Centre beneath it; do not climb or jump on the slabs.
• Swap in Topography of Terror (Kreuzberg): Allow at least 90 minutes; the indoor exhibition is text-heavy but among the clearest histories of the period.
• Swap in Jewish Museum Berlin (Kreuzberg): Walk the underground axes first to understand the building, then visit the main exhibition upstairs.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 11–14 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 7.7 hours in December to 16.8 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Metro. U-Bahn lines cover the inner city and run all night on Friday and Saturday nights; during the week, night buses replace them.

More or fewer days

• One day in Berlin
• 3 days in Berlin
• 4 days in Berlin
• 5 days in Berlin
• 7 days in Berlin

Questions travellers ask