The Berlin Wall fell on the 9th of November 1989, and the wall, the 155 km of the concrete, the guard towers, and the “death strip”, has been almost entirely removed from the city. The line of the wall is marked by the double row of the cobblestones that run through the streets of the centre, and the Berlin of the 2026 is the most comfortable city in Europe: the wide streets, the green spaces, the cafés on the street corners, the public transport that runs on the time (the U-Bahn, the S-Bahn, the trams, the best public transport in the Germany, and the cheapest in the western Europe), and the atmosphere, the relaxed, the tolerant, and the slightly anarchic, that is the essential Berlin. Berlin is the city that has absorbed the trauma of the 20th century, the two World Wars, the division, the wall, and has emerged as the most liveable, the most creative, and the most comfortable city in Europe. Here is your guide.

Berlin, The Heart of Germany

• The landmarks, the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate: The Reichstag: the German parliament, the 1894 building, the Norman Foster glass dome (the 1999 renovation, the climb, the spiral ramp, the view of the city, the Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, and the best free view in the Berlin. The dome is free, and the essential strategy: book online weeks in advance, the tickets are released in the slots, and the summer slots sell out in the hours), and the history, the 1933 fire (the Reichstag Fire, the pretext for the Nazi seizure of the power), the Soviet graffiti on the walls inside (the 1945, the Red Army soldiers who captured the building and wrote their names in the Cyrillic), and the first session of the reunified German parliament on the 4th of October 1990. The Brandenburg Gate: the most famous landmark in the Germany, the 1791, the Quadriga, the chariot, the four horses, the goddess Victoria, and the symbol of the division (the wall ran in front of the gate, the East Berliners could see but not approach the gate) and the reunification (the 22nd of December 1989, the gate was opened, and the 100,000 people crossed). The gate is free, and the essential time: the early morning (the 7am, the gate empty, and the photograph that is yours alone) or the sunset (the light on the Quadriga, and the most beautiful gate in Europe). More Germany →
• The museums and the memorials, the essential Berlin: The Museum Island: the 5 museums on the island in the River Spree, the UNESCO World heritage site, and the essential museums, the Pergamon (the Ishtar Gate of the Babylon, the most beautiful archaeological reconstruction in the world. The museum is partially closed for the renovation until the 2027, and the essential check before the visit), the Neues Museum (the bust of the Nefertiti, the most beautiful woman in the world, the 3,300-year-old Egyptian queen, and the best single object in the Berlin. ~€14), and the Alte Nationalgalerie (the 19th-century paintings, the Caspar David Friedrich, the German Romanticism, and the best painting collection in the Berlin). The Museum Island Pass (~€24 for the all 5 museums, the 1-day pass, and the essential value). The memorials: the Holocaust Memorial (the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the 2,711 concrete stelae of the varying heights on the sloping ground, the most powerful memorial in Europe. Free, and the essential experience: the walk through the stelae, the ground sloping beneath your feet, and the sense of the disorientation and the loss), the East Side Gallery (the 1.3 km of the Berlin Wall that remains, the murals, the most famous, the “Fraternal Kiss” of the Brezhnev and the Honecker, the Trabant breaking through the wall, and the most beautiful open-air gallery in the world. Free), and the Checkpoint Charlie (the most famous crossing point between the East and the West, the tourist trap, the actors in the uniforms charging the €5 for the photograph, and the essential warning: the museum next to the checkpoint, the Mauermuseum, ~€17, the best history of the wall and the escapes, is worth the entry; the checkpoint itself is the photograph and the shrug)
• The neighbourhoods, the Kreuzberg and the Prenzlauer Berg: The Kreuzberg: the Turkish quarter, the Markthalle Neun (the market hall, the Thursday Street Food Thursday, the best food market in the Berlin, the global street food, and the best dinner in the city. ~€15 for the 3 dishes), the Görlitzer Park (the green space, the locals, and the essential Sunday afternoon in the Kreuzberg), and the bars (the Luzia, the candlelit, the cocktails, and the best bar in the neighbourhood). The Prenzlauer Berg: the gentrified East Berlin, the cafés, the organic bakeries, the families, and the most beautiful streets in the Berlin, the Kollwitzplatz (the market, the Saturday, the best brunch in the city at the Anna Blume, the café, the florist, and the coffee. ~€12 for the breakfast), the Mauerpark Flea Market (the Sunday, the vintage, the clothes, the best flea market in the Berlin, and the karaoke in the amphitheatre, the Bearpit, the 3pm, the crowds, the terrible singers, and the best free entertainment in Europe)