The key places at a glance
| Place | Theme | Hours | Price | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topography of Terror | The Nazi apparatus of terror (Gestapo, SS) | Daily, see the page | Free | Mitte, near Checkpoint Charlie |
| Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe | The Holocaust | Field of stelae freely accessible | Free | Near the Brandenburg Gate |
| House of the Wannsee Conference | The "Final Solution" | Daily 10am-6pm | Free | Wannsee |
| Sachsenhausen memorial | The former concentration camp | Daily 8:30am-6pm (winter 4:30pm) | Free | Oranienburg |
| Plötzensee memorial | Executions by the Nazi justice system | Mar-Oct 9am-5pm; Nov-Feb 9am-4pm | Free | Bus 123 |
| German Resistance Memorial Centre | The 20 July 1944 plot | Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm | Free | Stauffenbergstraße |
| Treptower Park | The Soviet war memorial | Freely accessible | Free | S-Bahn Treptower Park |
| Karlshorst museum | The 1945 surrender | Tue-Sun 10am-6pm | Free | S3 then bus 296 |
Hours and prices checked in October 2026. The Plötzensee memorial is closed from 24 to 26 December, on 31 December and on 1 January.
The Third Reich and terror
The Topography of Terror stands on the site of the former Gestapo and SS offices, a short walk from Checkpoint Charlie. The exhibition explains how the regime organised repression. It is the best introduction, free and with no booking.
A few minutes' walk from the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe honours the victims of the Holocaust; an underground information centre complements the field of stelae. To understand how the genocide was organised, the House of the Wannsee Conference, where a meeting of senior Nazi officials took place on 20 January 1942, displays the documents of the time. Admission is free.
Camps, executions and resistance
The Sachsenhausen memorial, in Oranienburg north of Berlin, is the former concentration camp. Allow half a day; the visit is not recommended for children under 12.
The Plötzensee memorial, in the north-west of the city, stands in the former prison where Nazi justice had nearly 3,000 people executed between 1933 and 1945, among them resistance fighters. The execution shed is visited in silence. Admission is free; bus 123 stops at "Gedenkstätte Plötzensee".
The German Resistance Memorial Centre, in the Bendlerblock, recalls the attempt to overthrow Hitler on 20 July 1944 and the execution of the plotters in the courtyard. The exhibition is free and covers the whole of the resistance, civilian and military.
The Battle of Berlin and the end of the war
The Soviet memorial in Treptower Park, inaugurated on 8 May 1949, is the largest in the city; it honours the Red Army soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin. The Karlshorst museum, in the east, shows the room where Germany signed its unconditional surrender in the night of 8 to 9 May 1945: read the page on the Karlshorst museum and the Lichtenberg guide to plan your day.
In the centre, the Reichstag was taken by the Red Army at the end of April 1945, and the Memorial Church, destroyed by bombing in 1943, kept its ruined tower as a war memorial.
Visiting the bunkers
To see the shelters and tunnels of the war, the association Berliner Unterwelten offers guided tours of bunkers and galleries. Book ahead in its online shop.
How to plan your visit
- Half a day: Topography of Terror in the morning, then the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, in the centre.
- One day: add the House of the Wannsee Conference or the German Resistance Memorial Centre.
- One more day: Sachsenhausen, a full half-day, or Karlshorst and Treptower Park for the Battle of Berlin.
Most of these places are free. For the city's other free activities, see free things to do in Berlin. To place these sites within the division of the city, see on the trail of the Berlin Wall and the guide East Berlin and Ostalgie.
Practical tips
These places are demanding: alternate them with breaks. For transport, see transport in Berlin. Many sites have audio guides in French; check their websites.
