46 Best things to see & do in Berlin

Germany’s most fertile art city spans all eras, from ancient treasures to cutting-edge contemporary. One of the world’s great art destinations.

An extraordinary UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site home to five world-class museums, covering 6,000 years of cultural and art history. An essential stop on any Berlin itinerary.

Award-winning, hands-on museum dedicated to life in the former East German Republic.

This thrilling and immersive attraction takes you on a journey through the darker side of Berlin’s crime and punishment history, with live actors, special effects, and interactive storytelling bringing chilling tales of the past to life. Expect medieval torture chambers, plague-infested streets, and witch trials. Min age 5 years, but we’d advised 13+.

A mind-bending and interactive museum that challenges your perceptions and stimulates the senses through an entertaining variety of optical illusions, mind-bending visual tricks, puzzling exhibits, gravity-defying experiences, and sensory experiences. Great fun for families.

The first museum to be built on Museum Island set in a stunning neoclassical building, houses exhibits from the Collection of Classical Antiquities. The permanent Greek collection is displayed on the ground floor, with special exhibitions on the second.

Built in 1969 in the former East Berlin as a symbol of German Democratic Republic (GDR)’s technical prowess, this distinctive, 368m tall Fernsehturm telecommunications tower has become an iconic landmark soaring above the city skyline. The observation deck features floor-to-ceiling windows, offers a 360-degree view of Berlin’s skyline, plus informational panels and audio guides that provide interesting facts about the city’s history and landmarks.

A massive exhibition covers German history from the Dark Ages to the modern day in an entertaining fashion. History buffs could spend all day here, but the rest should head straight for the most interesting sections devoted to the 19th-century Weimar and Nazi eras. Open daily.

Museum Island’s Neues Museum houses prehistoric and early historic collections, notably an excellent Egyptian Collection – including the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti.

This gallery showcases one of the world’s largest collections of 19th-century sculpture and paintings, with additional collections of neoclassical, Romantic, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork.