Things to see and do in Berlin
Places to Visit
Reichstag & Glass Dome
A soaring cathedral of glass and steel rising above the building where democracy once burned. At dawn the mirrored cone catches the first rays and throws them straight down into the parliament chamber below — a deliberate symbol of transparency after decades of darkness. Walk the spiralling ramp while the city awakens in molten gold; from the top you can trace the exact scar where the Wall once stood.
Brandenburg Gate
Once the ultimate symbol of division, now bathed in soft light while drum circles, beer bikes, and protesters share the square. The quadriga on top catches the moon like a silent sentinel watching history repeat itself in new costumes.
Museum Island
Five UNESCO-listed museums floating on a bend of the Spree. Nefertiti’s 3,300-year-old gaze still follows you, the Pergamon Altar looms like a Babylonian mountain, and the Ishtar Gate’s lapis-lazuli lions glow as if freshly fired. At night the colonnades are lit turquoise and the river reflects a constellation of culture.
East Side Gallery
1.3 kilometres of death machine turned into the world’s longest open-air gallery. The concrete is alive — fresh paint appears overnight, the famous kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker drips with new irony every season, and a Trabant forever bursts through the Wall. At twilight the Spree mirrors a burning sky and the murals glow like stained glass in a cathedral of freedom.
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Thirty minutes north, the gate still lies: “Arbeit Macht Frei”. Walk the Appelplatz where prisoners stood for hours in snow, see the pathology lab and the crematorium ovens. The silence here is heavier than anywhere else in Germany. Every Berliner visits once. You should too.
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
2,711 concrete stelae rise and fall like a frozen grey ocean in the very centre of the city. Step inside and the noise of Berlin vanishes. The slabs grow taller, the ground dips, and suddenly you’re alone in a maze of tombs while tourists above take selfies on the edges. Some places should hurt.
Accommodation choices for Berlin
Maritim ProArte
Our Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin lies on Friedrichstrasse, one of Berlin's main thoroughfares. Our team will welcome you with a smile at this superior design hotel. In addition to the modern furnishings of your well appointed hotel room, you can enjoy free Wi-Fi. Refined marble bathrooms underscore the stylish ambience of your hotel room. The splendid "Unter den Linden" street is a stone's throw away. Experience superlative shows on Berlin's most popular stage in the nearby Friedrichsstadt-Palast. You can find out about further event highlights in the metropolis in our Event Tips. Sightseeing, meetings, shopping or cultural experiences - at the Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin you right in the midst of the action.
Mercure Berlin Templehof
This Mercure hotel in the Neukölln district of Berlin offers air-conditioned rooms and a modern restaurant. Boddinstraße Underground Station is just 100 m away. All of the bright rooms at the Mercure Hotel Berlin Tempelhof Airport have satellite TV. Some rooms have WiFi internet access. The Mercure Berlin’s Rix breakfast room serves a rich breakfast buffet. Rix Bar and Restaurant serves international and German cuisine, as well as a selection of fine wines. Hasenheide park and the former grounds of Tempelhof Airport are a 5-minute walk away.
Leonardo City West
The Leonardo Hotel Berlin City West offers attractive, modern rooms with a 32-inch flat-screen HD television and WiFi access. A varied hot and cold breakfast buffet gets your day off to a tasty start. Round off the evening with a drink in the welcoming lobby bar before catching up on sleep in your room. The Güntzelstraße underground station lies right outside the hotel, providing quick access to major sights including the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag building and Potsdamer Platz. The hotel also boasts convenient links to the exhibition grounds and the ICC conference centre.
