You already have your ticket, your backpack ready and you are looking for a perfect 3-day itinerary in Berlin ? In this post we are going to suggest a great route, with the places to visit each day, maps and all the necessary information so that you can prepare your trip in the best possible way.
Every city is unique, but Berlin is especially unique. It is vibrant, chameleonic, cosmopolitan, full of life, art and culture… But above all, it is full of history. A history that caused too many wounds, some healed over the years and others left indelible scars that to a certain extent determined the strong personality that this city has today. And that is why Berlin sometimes also shows its other side: the cold, hard and dark one.
You're not going to get to know Berlin in 3 days , that's clear, but if you organize yourself well you'll be able to make the most of your time. How? Don't worry, I'll give you a hand...
3-day itinerary in Berlin: day-by-day itinerary
I spent five years of my life in the German capital and I still have a strange love-hate relationship with it. Despite this, it will always have a place in my heart. It won me over the first time I saw it, I discovered it slowly and on sunny days I always thought it was the perfect city. I came to love it, but I also hated it intensely. And because of this I know for sure that it is a unique city, one that leaves no one indifferent and is worth visiting.
Berlin has a lot to offer the traveler, so if you only have a few days to explore it, keep reading because in this post we show you a perfect three-day itinerary in Berlin so you can discover the best places in the city.
Berlin in 3 days itinerary tips:
- Buy the Berlin WelcomeCard if you plan to visit many iconic sites and museums: it includes discounts on attractions and transportation.
- If you prefer to visit the city with a local guide, take a look at the best free tours in Berlin . We especially recommend the free tour of the essentials and the free tour of the Wall and the Cold War .
- To make the experience as pleasant as possible, avoid travelling to Berlin in winter : it can get very cold (spoilt by those who went in February).
- Some visits, such as the Reichstag dome, require advance booking. It is also a good idea to book tours to Sachsenhausen or underground Berlin.
- Wear comfortable shoes: you're going to be walking a lot. A lot. Berlin is best explored on foot, but if you prefer to explore by public transport, check out Berlin's official public transport page to find out how to get anywhere in the city.
– DAY 1 in Berlin –
The first of the 3-day route in Berlin begins in the very centre of the city. Very close to the U-Bahn station Stadmitte you will find Gendarmenmarkt (1), the most beautiful square in all of Berlin with its perfect symmetry and the permanent soundtrack of some street musician.
Checkpoint Charlie (2) was the most famous border crossing during the Cold War years . Today it is an excessively touristy place, but like almost everything in this city, full of history.
On the way to one of the most modern squares in the city, you can make a short stop at the Topography of Terror (3). Located in the same place that once occupied the Gestapo headquarters, this permanent documentation centre will bring you closer to the dark past of Nazism and its main institutions.
Already at Potsdamer Platz (4) you will be surprised to find the spectacular 100-metre-diameter stretched canvas roof of the Sony Center. If you look closely, you will find a little piece of history among all the modernity, the remains of the luxurious Grand Esplanade hotel .
Just a few minutes' walk down Ebertstraße takes you to the Holocaust-Mahnmal (5). This memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe is a goosebump-inducing monument with its 2,711 symbolic concrete slabs. From here you can probably already see the city's star monument, the impressive Brandenburg Gate (6).
And another of the highlights of this first day of our itinerary through Berlin is undoubtedly the old Reichstag building (7), the seat of the German Parliament . The enormous glass dome designed by architect Norman Foster takes center stage. Don't forget to register in advance to visit it on its official website .
Don't miss the opportunity to explore the area closest to the Reichstag, stroll along the banks of the River Spree and admire the spectacular architecture of the ultra-modern buildings you'll find there. Among others, the Federal Chancellery (8) or the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders building (9), home to the parliamentary library and one of the largest in the world.
As your stomach will probably have started to growl a while ago, try some of the hearty German dishes at Ständige Vertretung . Always busy, it is quite likely that if you go at rush hour you will share a table with other diners… The perfect excuse to strike up a conversation with locals while you eat a delicious knuckle of pork or some delicious homemade meatballs.
From there, head towards the famous Unter den Linden avenue (10). It is a kilometre and a half long from the Brandenburg Gate to the Museum Island, where you will find the Humboldt University and the State Opera . And there are tourist attractions such as the Neue Wache (11), the building of the New Guard which commemorates the victims of the war and the dictatorship. Under a small circular window, exposed to the sun, rain and snow, is the statue Mother with Dead Child by Käthe Kollwitz, depicting the suffering of Berliners during the Second World War.
The Schlossbrücke bridge connects Unter den Linden with Museum Island . This island in the middle of the Spree River is home to no less than five major museums, as well as the Berlin Cathedral or Berliner Dom (12).
Take advantage of this first day to discover some of the wonders that these museums contain, such as the beautiful Ishtar Gate, the Pergamon Altar or the market gate of Miletus, all inside the Pergamonmuseum (13), for which you can buy advance tickets here . Or the famous bust of Nefertiti on display at the Neues Museum (14).
And we don't see a better way to end the first day of our 3-day itinerary in Berlin than on a boat ride at dusk . We'll see the city from another point of view and with very different lighting, and we'll end up falling in love with it. You can book it here .
– DAY 2 in Berlin –
With renewed energy after an intense first day discovering some of the most important areas of the city, start this second day of our three days in Berlin very close to where you ended the previous one. Next to the museum island is the oldest district of the city, Nikolaviertel (1). Although the bombings of the Second World War reduced it to rubble, it was rebuilt in the 80s and, despite having a somewhat artificial air, it is well worth a short visit.
On your way to Alexanderplatz you will pass the Rothes Rathaus (2) or red town hall. Once you reach the famous Alexanderplatz (3) you can enjoy the lively atmosphere that always prevails here. You will have already noticed the huge Fernsehturm (built in 1969 by the former German Democratic Republic) and perhaps you have not missed the strange world clock “Urania”.
Take Dircksenstraße (4) for a stroll filled with street art to Hackescher Markt (5). Explore the interconnected Art Nouveau courtyards, known as Hackesche Höfe . It's best to start your visit at the Rosenthaler Straße entrance where you'll find the most impressive courtyard of all, the Endellscher Hof . If it's the weekend, you're in luck because you can enjoy the market for fresh produce, local specialties and crafts, which takes place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Hackescher Markt square .
Although there was never a Jewish ghetto in Berlin as such, don't forget that you are in what is known as the Jewish quarter ... And so, continuing along Oranienburger Straße, you will come across the New Synagogue (6). The façade of this building, destroyed by a bombing in 1943, was restored and today houses a museum and a centre for the Jewish community. Nearby is the old Jewish Cemetery (7), where you won't find tombstones or mausoleums, but you will find a chilling monument at the entrance.
If you're already starting to get hungry, you've come to the right place. There are plenty of places to eat good food at good prices both at Hackescher Markt and the surrounding area, as well as on Oranienburger Straße.
Take the S-Bahn to Ostbahnhof to visit the East Side Gallery (8). This open-air gallery features the works of artists from around the world in 103 murals painted on the most famous section of the Berlin Wall , which is over a kilometre long. If you can time your visit to coincide with the start time of this free tour of the Berlin Wall , don't hesitate and book it!
Bordering the East Gallery on one side, the Oberbaumbrücke (9) rises over the River Spree . This bridge became a symbol of reunification, connecting the districts of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, separated for years by the Berlin Wall.
Crossing the Oberbaumbrücke you will have arrived at one of the trendiest districts in the whole city. Popularly known as the “Turkish quarter”, Kreuzberg (10) is the perfect place to end your second day of sightseeing. Wander around while enjoying street art, streets full of activity, markets and plenty of bars and restaurants where you can relax after a long day of sightseeing. There is no better place in the whole city to try Berlin’s famous Döner Kebab.
– DAY 3 in Berlin –
We begin this third day in the city's green lung. In the Tiergarten (1) there is room for everything and for everyone. 210 hectares of canals, paths for practising sports or getting lost in nature, meadows for sunbathing (even in a nudist area), cafés... As well as government buildings and museums. Among so much immensity, don't miss some places of interest such as the Memorial to Soviet Soldiers , the Siegessäule (Victory Column) , or the monument dedicated to Otto von Bismarck .
And before you know it, you'll probably stumble upon the city's zoo, the well-known Zoologischer Garten . I'm not a fan of zoos, so I'm not going to strongly recommend you visit this place, it's up to you, just remember that in these places the animals live locked away from their natural habitat with the sole purpose of entertaining those who pay for it.
Leaving the Tiergarten behind you will come to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (2), a church that was badly damaged during the bombings of 1943 and was not rebuilt afterwards. This striking appearance is intended to keep the senselessness of war in the minds of all those who see it every day.
Kurfürstendamm (3) was the nerve centre of West Berlin. Today, the large avenue is home to a number of fashion shops, some of which are very select. Even if you don't want to be seduced by the attractive shop windows, it is an area of the city that is worth strolling through. The continuation of Kurfürstendamm or Ku'Damm (as Berliners know it) is home to the most famous department stores in the country. In the luxurious KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) (4) you can find everything, but the incredible delicatessen section on the sixth floor deserves special attention.
Since KaDeWe is more of a “look, but don’t touch” kind of place, or in this case “eat”, take advantage of the opportunity to replenish your energy with one of the typical currywursts found around the Zoologischer Garten station.
With our bellies full, we continue the third day of our Berlin itinerary. Either by U-Bahn or bus, head to Schloss Charlottenburg (5). You can enjoy visiting the luxurious interiors of this baroque palace, but without a doubt the best thing about this place are its beautiful and immense gardens… A true haven of peace in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the big city.
If you still have time and energy, you can take the S-Bahn to the former Tempelhof Airport (6) and end the day enjoying the extensive and central park that it has become today. One of the best places in the city to watch the sunset.
This is , for us, the best itinerary for a three-day trip to Berlin , where you can explore and get to know the essential attractions of the German capital. Have we gone all out? Maybe so, but we're here to play 😉 Are you missing something? What are the must-sees for you in 3 days in Berlin?
