Berlin at a glance
- Free or open access: Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, East Side Gallery, Bernauer Straße, Topography of Terror, Gendarmenmarkt, Potsdamer Platz, Hackesche Höfe, Reichstag dome (by registration), the Jewish Museum's permanent exhibition.
- Book ahead: the Reichstag dome (free, registration required, ID needed) and the TV Tower (timed slot).
- Closed: the Pergamonmuseum until 4 June 2027, according to the Berlin State Museums.
- On Monday: most museums on Museum Island, the Neues Museum, the Jewish Museum and Charlottenburg Palace are closed.
The government quarter and the centre
| Place | Time | Price | Ticket tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandenburg Gate | 20 minutes | Free | Open access day and night; morning light is the best |
| Reichstag and dome | 1 hour | Free | Registration with the Bundestag required, ID needed; dome closed for maintenance 19 to 30 October 2026, roof terrace still open |
| Holocaust Memorial | 45 minutes | Free | Field of stelae open 24 hours a day; information centre Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6 pm |
| Gendarmenmarkt | 30 minutes | Free | Square open access; Deutscher Dom exhibition Tuesday-Sunday |
| Potsdamer Platz | 1 hour | Free (Panoramapunkt €9) | Panoramapunkt daily 10 am-7 pm |
| Victory Column | 45 minutes | €4.50 (reduced €3.50) | Cash only, 285 steps |
Museum Island and the old town
| Place | Time | Price | Ticket tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museum Island | Half a day | €14 per museum; Museumsinsel ticket €24 | From two museums, the €24 island ticket is cheaper; everything closed on Monday |
| Neues Museum (Nefertiti) | 2 hours | €14 | Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6 pm; audio guide included |
| Berlin Cathedral | 1.5 hours | €15 | Monday-Saturday 9 am-6 pm, Sunday noon-6 pm; dome included |
| Humboldt Forum | Half a day | €9 for the collections | Closed Tuesday; ground-floor spaces and terrace free |
| TV Tower | 1 hour | From €20 online | Timed ticket, more expensive at the box office; book online |
| DDR Museum | 1.5 hours | €13.90 (reduced €8.50) | Daily 9 am-9 pm |
| Hackesche Höfe | 30 minutes | Free | Courtyards open daily 9 am-10 pm |
The Pergamonmuseum is closed for renovation and reopens only in part on 4 June 2027 (Pergamon Altar, Hellenistic architecture, Museum of Islamic Art). Our page on the Pergamonmuseum explains what you can see in the meantime and what to visit instead. To choose among the museums that are open, see our best museums in Berlin.
The Wall and the Cold War
| Place | Time | Price | Ticket tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Side Gallery | 1 hour | Free | Open 24 hours a day; come early to avoid the crowds |
| Bernauer Straße Memorial | 2 hours | Free | Outdoors daily 8 am-10 pm; centres Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6 pm |
| Checkpoint Charlie | 15 minutes | Outdoors free; Mauermuseum €18.50 | Mauermuseum daily 10 am-8 pm |
| Topography of Terror | 2 hours | Free | Daily 10 am-8 pm |
| Jewish Museum Berlin | 3 hours | Permanent exhibition free | Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-6 pm; only temporary exhibitions are charged |
For the story of the fall of the Wall and where to see it, read our page on the fall of the Berlin Wall.
West Berlin and Potsdam
| Place | Time | Price | Ticket tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlottenburg Palace | Half a day | €12 per wing; combined ticket €19 | Tuesday-Sunday 10 am-5:30 pm until October, 10 am-4:30 pm in November and December; garden free |
| Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam | A full day | €14; sanssouci+ ticket €22 | Fixed entry time for the palace; Potsdam is in the ABC fare zone |
How to organise your visits
Group them by area, as our Berlin in 3 days itinerary does: one day for the government quarter and the Wall, one day for Museum Island and Mitte, one day for Kreuzberg and the east. If you only have one day, what to do in Berlin in one day gives the hour-by-hour route. For a first look on foot, a two-hour guided tour of the Third Reich and the Cold War is the most-booked in our selection: it passes the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and other places in this guide, with the history told on the spot. It is presented in the box on this page.
To save on admissions, compare the passes in our guide to the WelcomeCard or Museumspass, and read our transport in Berlin for U-Bahn and S-Bahn tickets.
Read next
After these classics, move on to the districts of Berlin to choose where to linger, the viewpoints of Berlin for panoramas, or the free things to do in Berlin to keep the budget down.
