Before you go: bookings and closing days
Only one booking is essential, but the whole first day depends on it:
- Reichstag dome: free visit, only with prior registration via the Bundestag's online form. Entry is every quarter of an hour, the last at 21:45. Visitors aged 16 and over must show an original photo ID. Without registration, the service point near the building, on Platz der Republik, issues any remaining places no later than two hours before the time slot. Note: the dome is closed for cleaning and maintenance until 2 October and again from 19 to 30 October 2026 (the roof terrace stays open).
- Neues Museum: dated tickets are sold online up to four weeks ahead, recommended at weekends and during school holidays.
- Humboldt Forum: exhibitions and the roof terrace are booked by time slot on the museum's ticket shop.
Then check the closing days. On Mondays, the Neues Museum, the Gemäldegalerie, the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust memorial's information centre and the Bernauer Straße documentation centre are closed. The Humboldt Forum closes on Tuesdays. So avoid putting days 1, 2 or 3 on a Monday (see the "Monday" version below), and day 2 on a Tuesday.
Day 1: the government quarter and the Kulturforum
9:00-9:30, the Brandenburg Gate. Start early on Pariser Platz (S-Bahn and U5 Brandenburger Tor), before the groups arrive. The gate is freely accessible at any time. History and the best times for photos in our Brandenburg Gate guide.
9:45-11:45, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. A 5-minute walk south, the field of 2,711 stelae is open day and night. The underground information centre (Cora-Berliner-Straße 1, 10117 Berlin) opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, last admission 45 minutes before closing; admission is free. See our Holocaust memorial guide.
12:00-13:30, Potsdamer Platz. Reach the square in 10 minutes on foot along Ebertstraße and have lunch there. The Panoramapunkt platform at the top of the Kollhoff Tower (Potsdamer Platz 1, 10785 Berlin) opens daily from 10:00 to 19:00, last ride up at 18:30. Details in our Potsdamer Platz guide.
14:00-17:00, the Gemäldegalerie. The Kulturforum is 10 minutes' walk away. The Gemäldegalerie (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Dürer, Caravaggio) opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00; a ticket costs €14. The €22 Kulturforum ticket also covers the Neue Nationalgalerie, open until 20:00 on Thursdays. Right next door, the Philharmonie can be toured by day or heard in the evening.
Evening, the Reichstag dome. Cross the Tiergarten on foot (about 25 minutes) or take the S-Bahn from Potsdamer Platz to Brandenburger Tor (one stop). Book a slot close to sunset: the dome's spiral ramp then offers the finest light over the city. Full details in our Reichstag guide.
Day 2: Museum Island, Alexanderplatz and the Wall
10:00-12:00, the Neues Museum. Arrive at opening time via the James-Simon-Galerie (Bodestraße, 10178 Berlin; U5 Museumsinsel, S-Bahn Hackescher Markt). The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00; a ticket costs €14, or €24 for the "Museum Island" ticket valid for one day in all the island's museums. Start with the bust of Nefertiti before the groups arrive. The Pergamonmuseum remains closed for renovation: its official reopening is set for 4 June 2027 for the north wing and the central section with the Pergamon Altar. See our Museum Island and Neues Museum guides.
12:15-13:30, Berlin Cathedral. On the Lustgarten opposite, the Dom opens from 9:00 to 18:00 Monday to Saturday and from 12:00 to 18:00 on Sunday, last admission at 17:00. A ticket costs €15 (€12 reduced) and includes the audio guide, the Hohenzollern crypt and the dome walkway, 50 metres up. See our Berlin Cathedral guide.
14:00-15:30, the Humboldt Forum. The rebuilt palace, across the street, opens Wednesday to Monday from 10:30 to 18:30. Several areas are free (palace cellar, sculpture hall); the BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition and the ethnological and Asian art collections cost €9 each, the roof terrace €3. See our Humboldt Forum guide.
16:00-18:00, the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße. Walk 15 minutes to Alexanderplatz, then take the U8 to Bernauer Straße (about ten minutes). The open-air exhibition is open daily from 8:00 to 22:00; the visitor centre and the documentation centre, with its viewing tower, close at 18:00 (Tuesday to Sunday). Everything is free. See our Berlin Wall Memorial guide.
Evening, the TV Tower. Return to Alexanderplatz on the U8. The TV Tower (Panoramastraße 1A, 10178 Berlin) is open daily from 9:00 to 23:00; a standard ticket costs from €20, cheaper online than on site.
Day 3: Kreuzberg, the East Side Gallery and Friedrichshain
9:30-10:00, Checkpoint Charlie. Take the U6 to Kochstraße. The former border crossing can be seen for free from the street; go early, before the crowds. What is left to see in our Checkpoint Charlie guide.
10:00-11:30, the Topography of Terror. A 5-minute walk away, on the former Gestapo and SS headquarters site (Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin), the documentation centre opens daily from 10:00 to 20:00; admission is free. See our Topography of Terror guide.
12:00-15:00, the Jewish Museum. Allow 15 minutes on foot to Lindenstraße 9-14 (10969 Berlin; U1, U3 and U6 Hallesches Tor, U6 Kochstraße). The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, last admission at 17:00. The core exhibition in Daniel Libeskind's building is free; temporary exhibitions cost €10. Book a time slot online to avoid queuing. See our Jewish Museum guide.
16:00-17:30, the East Side Gallery. From Hallesches Tor, the U1 or U3 reaches Warschauer Straße in about a quarter of an hour. Walk along the 1,316 metres of painted Wall on Mühlenstraße, between the Oberbaumbrücke and Ostbahnhof: access is free and open at all times. See our East Side Gallery guide.
Evening, Friedrichshain. Head back towards Warschauer Straße, then on to Simon-Dach-Straße and Boxhagener Platz, about ten minutes on foot, for dinner and drinks. Addresses and streets to explore in our Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg guides.
Alternative: Charlottenburg or Potsdam
If you have already seen the Wall, spend the third day in the west. Charlottenburg Palace opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30 from April to October (16:30 in November and December); the Old Palace ticket costs €12, with an entry time fixed at purchase. Finish with the Memorial Church and the Kurfürstendamm. For Sanssouci in Potsdam, the palace opens Tuesday to Sunday (from 10:00 to 17:30 from April to October); a ticket costs €14 with a fixed entry time and a limited number of places per day. Potsdam is in zone C: buy an ABC ticket.
Itinerary summary
| Day | Stops | Booking | Main journeys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial, Potsdamer Platz, Gemäldegalerie, Reichstag dome | Reichstag required (free) | On foot, 5 to 25 minutes between stops |
| 2 | Neues Museum, cathedral, Humboldt Forum, Bernauer Straße, TV Tower | Neues Museum and Humboldt Forum recommended | On foot on the island, U8 Alexanderplatz-Bernauer Straße |
| 3 | Checkpoint Charlie, Topography of Terror, Jewish Museum, East Side Gallery, Friedrichshain | Jewish Museum recommended | U6 Kochstraße, U1 or U3 to Warschauer Straße |
Admission budget
| Site | Full price |
|---|---|
| Reichstag dome, Holocaust memorial, Topography of Terror, Bernauer Straße, East Side Gallery | Free |
| Gemäldegalerie | €14 (Kulturforum ticket €22) |
| Neues Museum | €14 (Museum Island ticket €24) |
| Berlin Cathedral | €15 |
| Humboldt Forum, roof terrace | €3 |
| TV Tower | From €20 |
| Jewish Museum, core exhibition | Free |
Prices checked in October 2026. The paid admissions on this itinerary come to €66 per person at full price. Under-18s get in free at the Berlin State Museums (Neues Museum, Gemäldegalerie). The Museum Pass Berlin, at €32 for three days, covers the permanent exhibitions of participating museums: it pays off as soon as you add a third museum.
Transport tickets for 3 days
Berlin is divided into zones A, B and C; the whole itinerary is in zone AB. A single AB ticket costs €4.00 (valid for two hours in one direction) and a 24-hour AB ticket €11.20. There has been no 7-day pass since January 2026. For three days, three 24-hour tickets come to €33.60; the CityTourCard 72h AB costs €35.60 and the Berlin WelcomeCard 72h AB €39.50, with discounts at partner sites (€11 instead of €15 at the cathedral with the WelcomeCard) and the option to bring up to three children aged 6 to 14. As most stops are reached on foot, a few single tickets are often enough on days 1 and 3. Potsdam and BER airport require zone C. All the details in our Berlin transport guide.
Adapting the itinerary
If it rains
Day 2 is spent almost entirely indoors: keep it for the wettest day. The Jewish Museum, the Topography of Terror and the Gemäldegalerie are other shelters. Our guide what to do in Berlin when it rains has more ideas.
With children
Under-18s get in free at the Berlin State Museums and the Jewish Museum. The trips up the Reichstag dome and the TV Tower appeal to children; at the Reichstag, 14- and 15-year-olds need a document with their name and photo (a school ID is enough). The German Museum of Technology, in Kreuzberg, can replace the Topography of Terror on day 3.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
On Sunday, the cathedral only opens at 12:00: swap it with the Humboldt Forum. On Monday, focus on the sites that are open: Brandenburg Gate, field of stelae, Reichstag dome, Topography of Terror, Checkpoint Charlie, East Side Gallery, the Bernauer Straße open-air exhibition, the cathedral, the Humboldt Forum and the TV Tower. On Tuesday, replace the Humboldt Forum with another museum on the island.
Further reading
If your stay is shorter, follow our itinerary what to do in Berlin in one day or our plan for a weekend in Berlin. To choose a well-placed hotel for these three days, read where to stay in Berlin, and to set your dates, see the best time to visit Berlin.
