A Weekend in Berlin: What to See in 2 Days

Before you go: the bookings to make in advance

Only one visit this weekend is impossible without prior registration, and it is free: the Reichstag dome. Two others are better bought online.

• Reichstag dome: access to the dome and the roof terrace is free, but by registration only, through the Bundestag's online form (or by fax or post, never by phone). You are asked for the surname, first name and date of birth of each visitor, and an official photo ID is checked at the entrance. Slots are set every quarter of an hour, the last one at 9.45pm. Register as soon as your dates are known: weekend slots go quickly. See our Reichstag guide.
• TV Tower: the standard ticket is bought online for a specific day and time slot; its price varies with the date and time chosen. In the evening and at weekends, the wait at the ticket desk can be long.
• Museum Island: tickets for the state museums are sold online up to four weeks ahead. The Museum Island ticket gives access to every museum on the island for one day.

Without registration, there is still one option for the Reichstag: the visitor service's walk-in point, on the Platz der Republik in front of the building, issues personal access passes, if places remain, up to two hours before the slot, or for the following two days. It opens from 10am to 6pm at weekends; photo ID is required for every visitor aged 16 and over.

Prices checked in October 2026 on the official websites. The Reichstag dome is closed for maintenance from 19 to 30 October 2026; the roof terrace remains open during that time.

Day 1: from the Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz

The first day follows a west-to-east line of about three kilometres, done on foot. It crosses the government quarter, runs along Unter den Linden and ends at the foot of the TV Tower.

Morning: Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and memorial

Start early at the Brandenburg Gate, served by Brandenburger Tor station (U5 and S-Bahn S1, S2, S25, S26). Before 9am, Pariser Platz is almost empty. Five minutes to the north, the Reichstag houses the Bundestag; you walk freely around the glass dome on a spiral ramp, with a free 20-minute audio guide available in English. Allow an hour, including the security check, and bring your photo ID.

Then head south, past the gate, to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Cora-Berliner-Straße 1. The field of 2,710 concrete stelae is open day and night. The free underground Information Centre opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm, last entry 45 minutes before closing; it is closed on Mondays.

Midday: Unter den Linden

Go back to the Brandenburg Gate and walk east along Unter den Linden. The avenue leads to Museum Island in twenty minutes on foot, past Humboldt University, the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great and Bebelplatz. Have lunch on the way or around Gendarmenmarkt, two streets south of the avenue.

Afternoon: Museum Island and the cathedral

Museum Island brings together five state museums on an island in the Spree. In one afternoon, pick just one. The most popular is the Neues Museum, which displays the bust of Nefertiti; it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Note that the Pergamonmuseum is closed for renovation and will reopen on 4 June 2027. All the museums on the island are closed on Mondays.

Keep an hour for Berlin Cathedral, on the Lustgarten. It opens from 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 12pm to 6pm on Sunday, last entry one hour before closing. The ticket covers the church, the Hohenzollern crypt, reopened in March 2026 after restoration, and the dome gallery, 50 metres up.

Late afternoon: Alexanderplatz and the TV Tower

Cross the Spree eastwards and reach Alexanderplatz in a quarter of an hour, passing St Mary's Church and the Neptune Fountain. The TV Tower, Panoramastraße 1A, opens its observation deck from 9am to 11pm. Go up late in the day to see the city in daylight and then lit up. If you prefer another view, swap them: book an evening slot at the Reichstag and the tower in the morning. Then have dinner around Hackescher Markt, ten minutes away on foot.

Day 2: the Wall, Prenzlauer Berg and the East Side Gallery

The second day is devoted to divided Berlin. It assumes a Sunday, the day of the Mauerpark flea market; on another day, replace the market with a walk through Prenzlauer Berg.

Morning: the Wall memorial on Bernauer Straße

Head to the Berlin Wall Memorial, by S-Bahn to Nordbahnhof (S1, S2, S25, S26), tram M10 or U-Bahn U8 to Bernauer Straße. The open-air exhibition, open daily from 8am to 10pm, follows the course of the border for more than a kilometre: remains of the Wall, the patrol path, traces of escape tunnels. The Visitor Center, Bernauer Straße 119, and the Documentation Center, Bernauer Straße 111, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm; the Documentation Center's viewing tower, last ascent at 5.45pm, overlooks an intact section of the border strip. Everything is free.

Midday: Mauerpark and Prenzlauer Berg

Follow Bernauer Straße east to Mauerpark, about fifteen minutes on foot. The Mauerpark flea market is held every Sunday from 10am to 6pm, free entry: second-hand clothes, records, bikes, furniture, and plenty of food stalls for lunch on the spot. From spring to autumn, open-air karaoke starts at around 3pm in the park's amphitheatre.

Mauerpark opens onto Prenzlauer Berg, a district of restored old apartment buildings, tree-lined squares and cafés. Walk south down Kastanienallee; our Prenzlauer Berg guide covers the streets and addresses in detail.

Afternoon: Hackesche Höfe

At the bottom of Kastanienallee, tram M1 takes you to Hackescher Markt in a few stops. The Hackesche Höfe, a group of eight connected courtyards, the first decorated with Art Nouveau ceramics, can be walked through freely. On Sundays most shops in Germany are closed; the courtyards stay open and the cafés serve, but if shopping interests you, move this stop to Saturday evening.

The evening: East Side Gallery and Kreuzberg

End the weekend at the East Side Gallery, the longest stretch of the Wall still standing, covered with murals painted in 1990. From Hackescher Markt, the S-Bahn reaches Ostbahnhof station in a few stops. Then walk along the Wall on Mühlenstraße, freely accessible at any time, to the Oberbaumbrücke, the brick bridge carrying the U1 line. Across the Spree lies Kreuzberg, where you will find places for dinner around Schlesisches Tor station; our Kreuzberg guide points the way.

If it rains, replace this end of the day with the DDR Museum, on the bank of the Spree opposite the cathedral.

The hour-by-hour plan

Getting around over the weekend

The first day is done entirely on foot. The second requires three or four journeys on public transport. A single ticket for zones A and B, which cover this whole plan, costs €4 and is valid for two hours in one direction; the 24-hour AB ticket costs €11.20 and pays off from the third journey. For several people, the 24-hour small-group ticket, for up to five people, costs €35.30 (prices checked in October 2026). Paper tickets must be validated before boarding. Our guide to Berlin transport explains zones, apps and ticket checks.

To keep journeys short, stay in Mitte, between the Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz, or in Prenzlauer Berg: our guide on where to stay in Berlin compares the districts.

Further reading

If you only have one day, see our plan for what to do in Berlin in one day. With an extra day, our Berlin in 3 days itinerary extends this plan with other districts and other museums.