Heading to Berlin for the first time? Here’s the perfect 3 day itinerary for you to get a good feel of the city.
When to Visit:
I personally visited in January 2024 which to me was a great time. Yes Berlin is cold and drizzly during this time but there are so many museums to see and a lot of history to learn about, so I think January is a great time to visit! Personally, I prefer to spend Euro summer on a sunbed at a beach club that walking from museum to museum which is why I deliberately chose January as the time to go.
Getting Around:
Berlin has excellent public transport and with many sites located in close proximity to each other so I would highly recommend exploring the city by foot and public transport. Make sure to invest in a good pair of walking shoes as you do spend most of the day on your feet!
I downloaded the BVG app which allowed me to purchase 24hr public transport tickets for the zones that I needed to go that day which was perfect and simple for me. It included all modes of transport, bus, train, tram ect. and was reasonably priced. You can also set the app to English to make it easy to use!
Day 1 - Explore the WWII memorial sites
There are a handful of free and paid walking tours that offer this same or similar route that I took to see the following sites. Personally I prefer just to see these locations in my own time and to be able to read at my own pace so II opted to explore them by foot myself but if you prefer a guide explaining the history to you and being able to ask them questions then I would recommend going on a tour. They also offer segway tours if walking just isn't your thing.
I started off at the Reichstag Building - the government building. You can book free tours/entry in advance.
From here I walked to the Brandenburg Gate. Today it serves as a symbol of unity between East and West Berlin following the fall of the wall.
I then walked into Tiergarten to the Memorial to the Victims of the Berlin Wall.
I then followed the road back to see the Memorial to the Murdered Jews. It’s impressive architecture is comprised of 2710 columns arrange in a labyrinthine.
And continued my walking journey to the Topography of Terror to see some of the remains of Berlin Wall and to learn about its history.
From here I continued walking down Niederkirchnerstrabe to discover Checkpoint Charlie - an important crossing and demarcation point between East and West Berlin at the time of the fall of the wall in 1989.
Now for me this journey took me about half a day but it would depend on how long you spend reading all the history and signs at each stop.
For lunch I grabbed a delicious and well priced Kebab from Checkpoint Kebab and a coffee from a nearby coffee shop
I then headed over to the Jewish Museum for a couple of hours. The Jewish Museum is known for its impressive, complex architecture, a symbol of the complexities in Jewish-German History.
After the British Museum I visited the German Spy museum which was rather fun but also interesting and then headed up Potzdamer Platz for 360 degree views of Berlin city and to watch the sunset. Unfortunately it was cloudy so the sky wasnt pretty colours but at least when its dark the lights are pretty and you cant tell the sky is grey.
For dinner I got Curry 61 and apple strudel and hot chocolate for dessert.
Day 2 - Museum Island
I started off at Alexander Platz for brunch with a beautiful view of the city. Yes I was solo travelling but I wasn't goinng to let that stop me from having a nice dining experience.
This was such a beautiful view of the city and the food was delicious. The portion size looks small but it filled me up until the afternoon. It was a set menu (they do cater for alleriges and dietary requirements) and you get the choice of tea or coffee with your breakfast.
The view was great from up here but for the price and the cloudy sky it wasnt worth the money for me. I paid $70AUD for the breakfast and view. Overall I think thats more economical than just paying to go up for the view but the dirty windows were quite a disappointment for the high price tag. From my experience there are other cities that charge the same price or less and have a much better viewing platform.
I personally think Potsdamer Platz is more worth the money.
From here I walked down Bundesstrabe 5 to Museum Island where you will see the famous Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) and find numerous museums to explore.
Before crossing the bridge to Museum Island, I stopped at the DDR museum. Known for being one of the most interactive museums in the world, it did not disappoint! It was from from the usual museum experience of near silence and people moving slowly from exhibit to exhibit. When I went it was very busy and many children running or around engaging with the exhibits so I often had to wait for someone to move on before I could see it for myself. Overall great museum and I would recommend!
After DDR I headed over to museum island to see the Berliner Dom up close and I had a stroll through Humboldt Forum to admire the architecture.
There are a handful of museums on museum island (Duh!) but given my short stay in Berlin I was determined to focus on mainly just the WWII history.
I do find I get a bit of bored and culture fatigue going from museum to museum so I spent the afternoon at Berlin Mall.
The shopping center is massive!! It has hundreds and hundreds of shops and so was the perfect way to get a bit of a break from just seeing museums and also stay out of the cold.
There was a few notably ccool features here like this slide from the top floor to the ground! I would of loved that as a kid.
After a few hours shopping and relaxing the sun had set so I headed to the Brandenburg Gate to admire it at night with the beautiful lights.
It was my birthday so I picked up a small bouquet to celebrate.
Day 3 - Charlottenburg Palace
I had actually planned to go to the Sachsenhausen Concentration this day as I wanted to see as much WWII history as I could, but when I went to theh meeting point I couldnt actually find the group and I didn't have a German phone number/Sim to be able to call the company which was rather disappointing.
In the end I decided to go and visit Charlottenburg Palace instead which is roughly a 35 minute train journey from Berlin center. Honestly maybe this was a blessing in disguise this palace is so underrated and is a definite must see when you are visiting Berlin.
The palace and gardens were beautiful, even in January. The interior is beautiful, I would highly recommend visiting.
I headed back to Berlin in the afternoon where I visited the Wall Museum. Before I headed to the museum, I stopped for a quick snack at Curryteufel which I would recommend.
After coming out of the museum, I walked down Muhlenstrabe to admire the entire East Side Gallery.
At this point my phone had run out of battery as I made the nistake of leaving the hotel without my trusty portable charger (never again!) so I missed out on snapping any pics.
I headed back to my hotel after this to prepare for my early morning flight out of Berlin.
Other activities I would recommend:
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Day trip to Potsdam
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