Berlin with its Berlin sights for Berlin sightseeing belongs to the favorite city of many tourists and short vacationers in Germany. Again and again I am asked: What must you have seen in Berlin? Do you have any insider tips for my Berlin visit? I am only 24 hours in Berlin – which sight first and where to go eat? Since I’ve been to Berlin so many times already, I’ll give you an honest assessment as I’ve really come to love the city as a tourist, travel blogger and almost-Berliner.

What is a must-see in Berlin?

I’ve been in Berlin now probably 20-30 times for short or longer and have seen many sides of the city and many Berlin sights. Since many of my blog readers know this, I get questions again and again, what are my tips for Berlin. Gladly I tell you a little more about “my” Berlin and my assessments of the various Berlin attractions.

Of course, if you’ve been to Berlin more often, you can decide for yourself if you want to see some Berlin sights again during your 24 hours in Berlin or not. On my lifestyle blog you can already find a detailed listing of the Berlin sights top 10 travel tips.

Best way to get to Berlin

Usually you come to Berlin by car and can go directly to your hotel. But also by plane the connection is quite good – I prefer to choose the smaller airport Tegel and can take e.g. directly the TXL bus into the city or also a cab. I find it really comfortable to travel by train. The main station is for me one of the most beautiful new buildings in Berlin and always looks beautiful in photos.

Top Berlin Sightseeing

Brandenburg Gate

For me, the absolute classic among the Berlin sights – to realize that I’m back in Berlin, I’m always drawn first to the Brandenburg Gate. There is no building that looks as powerful and significant as the Brandenburg Gate.

This is the best place to take selfies and tell friends and acquaintances that you have arrived safely. When you turn around, you also look directly at my next stop…

Adlon Hotel Berlin

For me as a luxury traveler, the Hotel Adlon is always one of the most beautiful spots in Berlin. Here you can feel a very special flair and if you are lucky also get a room with a view of the Brandenburg Gate.

I can only recommend the “Lady in Red” cake or the currywurst with gold leaf if you want to feel a piece of tradition. However, if you’re more into casual wear, you’d rather walk around Berlin a bit more. In the immediate vicinity lies the…

Bundestag

A really imposing building among the Berlin sightseeing, where you like to sit down once on the large green area and simply contemplate the Reichstag building for a while. Here you then also have the second most popular selfie spot. If you sign in with your ID beforehand, you can wander through the glass dome and view Berlin from the roof.

I was extremely looking forward to the dome at the time and was a little disappointed with the view and the dome. One visit was enough for me. However, where I would go up again and again with athletic footwear on normal-warm days is the…

Siegessäule – Victory Column

Best reached via tunnels with pretty entrances and better not to run across the street…. For an entrance fee of EUR 3.00 you can see a small museum with various model buildings in size comparison and then climb the 50 meters as stairs.

The view is beautiful and most beautiful is the view of the Brandenburg Gate. After visiting the Victory Column as a must-see Berlin sightseeing I am always hungry and thirsty and so I prefer to go to the… 

Potsdamer Platz – Potsdamer Square

Here you can find modern Berlin and some typical restaurants and several shopping malls. I’ve recently gotten used to the Mall-Of-Berlin (including the food court), which is also a great photo backdrop. If you want even more views over Berlin, check out the Panorama Point. At 100 meters high, you get a great view of all of Berlin and the Berlin sightseeing for an entrance fee of EUR 6.50. Near Potsdamer Platz is the Friedrichstraße and thus also the 

Checkpoint Charlie

Although I am of the opinion it is enough if you have seen this tourist point once, but I do not want to completely undercut him to you. A great view of these historic Berlin sightseeing you have by the way from the roof terrace of the McDonalds…

I think I would refrain from taking a photo with the fake uniforms if I were you – there was already quite a lot of trouble here… The guys are not official there… From here you can walk across Friedrichstraße to Gendarmenmarkt and further on Unter-den-Linden past the Berlin Cathedral (view also nice at 50 meters height for the entrance fee of EUR 7.00) at the beginning of the Museum Island to the… 

Alexanderplatz

A large square that is always associated with Berlin. A nice view of the square can be seen from the upper floors of Saturn. Great are also photos at the end of the upper platform of the train station, but you need to have a local train ticket to go there.

Not to be overlooked, of course, is the Alex, Berlin’s television tower (panoramic view at 203 meters with an entrance fee of about EUR 21.50, in the evening EUR 13.50). However, I didn’t find the view of Berlin sightseeing from the top quite as engaging.

In the evening, you can take photos there quite badly, because you can not get directly to the glass. Also, there are often a lot of loud English people at the bar.So, now you have walked at least 8.4 kilometers and were about 2 hours on the road, if you have walked everywhere only past. However, you can hardly choose public transport for these Berlin sightseeing and must be on foot willy-nilly.

24 Hours in Berlin – Insider Tips Recommendations

Besides the typical tourist spots, there is of course so much more to see in Berlin. Places where you might even find a little less tourists and school classes. But depending on the focus of your trip and personal preferences, I have a few more tips of Berlin sightseeing for you…

Where to go shopping in Berlin?

Friedrichstraße

Here you can find the most beautiful and exclusive stores with Galleries LaFayette as a popular department store. By the way, there is very cheap parking here in Berlin a few floors down (EUR 7,- daily rate – entrance: Taubenstraße 14) and it is generally a nice starting point for a visit to the city of Berlin and the Berlin sightseeing. However, on Friedrichstraße you will not only find luxury stores, but also the traditional shopping favorites. 

Kudamm or also Kurfürstendamm

In the former West Berlin, the KaDeWe department store has always been the highlight in the area and one of the historically valuable Berlin sightseeing. On the Ku-Damm all luxury brands have settled, but you can also find normal stores.

Alexanderplatz

Here you can find cheap shopping and the opportunity to find real bargains. The Alexa shopping center is also located here. 

Mall of Berlin

Almost next to the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden you can find this new mall, which has become more and more popular. Here you also have free wifi throughout the mall and a good food court. 

Hackeschen Höfe

If you want to store a little more leisurely and art-oriented, you can hang out in the streets and courtyards of Hackescher Markt.

The Corner Berlin – Französische Straße 40, 10117 Berlin

Here you can find special designer pieces and even Louboutin high heels right next to the Gendarmenmarkt. 

Where to eat in Berlin? Restaurant recommendations

Curry36 – Mehringdamm 36, 10961 Berlin

The famous Currywurst as part of the Berlin sightseeing simply can not be missed in Berlin. Just outside the typical tourist districts you can find the most popular currywurst in Berlin. My tip: if the line is too long here, just queue at the second counter – most people don’t realize that there are two lines here.

Mustafa’s Gemüse Döner – Mehringdamm 32, 10961 Berlin

You don’t wait longer for a kebab anywhere than here. However, this is not due to the owners, but to the queue in front of it. A waiting time of at least 30 minutes should be planned here. Of course, there are also normal kebabs.

Lorenz Adlon Dining Room – Unter den Linden 77, 10117 Berlin

If you want to spend a very special evening, I can recommend a dinner in the 2-star restaurant of the Adlon Hotel. With a view of the Brandenburg Gate, you can enjoy perfect service and great cooking.

Quarré – Unter den Linden 77, 10117 Berlin

Also belonging to the Adlon Hotel, you can dine here on the curry sausage with gold leaf or, of course, have other meals or drinks. In summer, the terrace is beautiful.

Borchardt – Französische Straße 47, 10117 Berlin

This is where you meet Berlin’s high society and many celebrities at dinner. Famous is the over-plate large schnitzel. People like to sit here in the courtyard in the summer evening and then quite close together. 

Tips for those with a sweet tooth like me…

Magnum Store – Kranzler Eck, Kurfürstendamm 21-24, 10719 Berlin

Super popular at the moment is the possibility to have your Magnum personalized.

Ritter Sport Store – Französische Straße 24, 10117 Berlin

Here, too, you can have your chocolate personalized and made the way you would like it (price EUR 4.50). In addition, you can buy nice souvenirs and cheap chocolate here. In the cafe you can get Ritter Sport muffins and cakes.

Rausch Schokoladenhaus – Charlottenstrasse 60, 10117 Berlin

Here, directly at the Gendarmenmarkt, you will find not only the finest chocolates, but also works of art, such as the Brandenburg Gate made of chocolate.

vanille & marille – Hagelberger Str. 1, 10965 Berlin

Creative ice cream flavors and the cutest cups you can find in Berlin.

Mr. Minsch – Yorckstraße 15, 10965 Berlin

Delicious cakes can be found at this insider tip

Barcomi’s Coffee Roastery – Bergmannstraße 21, 10961 Berlin

American pies in Berlin – with this, the now famous Cynthia Barcomi has fulfilled a dream.

Unfortunately, if you can’t find something to eat in Berlin, you’re out of luck. There is nothing that does not exist and no trends that are not often tried here first. 

Insider Tips for Berlin sightseeing

Kreuzberg

The huge district offers many small restaurants and pubs. You meet less tourists than locals and can admire one or the other big graffiti.

Viktoriapark

Along the waterfall up to the monument for a nice view. Here you can also find a cross on the hill, as you would expect in Kreuzberg.

Bergmannstraße

The main street for Kreuzberg with small pubs and many cute stores.

Tempelhof as Berlin sightseeing

The old airfield is perfect for long walks and clear views. Who hasn’t wanted to walk across a runway?

Tempelhof harbor

A nice little harbor that looks really cute. 

Oberbaumbrücke – Oberbaum Bridge

Next to the old wall piece East Side Gallery as a popular tourist Berlin sightseeing stop is the old Oberbaumbrücke, which also looks particularly beautiful in photos. 

Hackescher Hof

At Hackescher Markt you can walk through the many different courtyards and find small stores. Meanwhile, however, there are also many tourists here. In general, many Berlin courtyards are beautiful and worth seeing.

Gleisdreieck

Behind Potsdamer Platz you can find this large park.

Zion’s Church as Berlin sightseeing

A very plain church in Berlin, which looks quite dilapidated. If you climb the church tower, you have one of the most beautiful views of the Berlin TV tower and the Berlin sightseeing.

What do you do when it rains in Berlin?

• you visit a museum on the Museum Island or one of the typical tourist attractions, like Madame Tussauds.
• you go shopping
• you go out for dinner
• you meet with friends
• take an umbrella and don’t let anything stop you from going out

Which hotel to choose in Berlin?

• Adlon Hotel
• Westin Hotel
• Regent Hotel
• nHow Hotel
• NH Collection Hotel
• Bikini Hotel
• Hilton Hotel

Where is the best place to take fashion photos in Berlin?

• at the Brandenburg Gate
• at the portico of the Old National Gallery
• in front of the Berlin Cathedral
• on the wide bridge to the museum island
• in front of the nHow Hotel with view to the Oberbaumbrücke
• in the middle of the street

I think Berlin is anyway the city where most fashion photos are taken. Not only during Fashion Week you can always find fashion fans and photographers here. Both at the Berlin sightseeing, as well as simply on the street.

My personal plans for Berlin?

I would like to finally visit the Berlin Zoo, but not on the weekend and please when the weather is nice and the trees are green. I will report to you when I have made it. Also, I would like to go to the Preußenpark, because they say you can get great traditional Thai food there….

Conclusion – Berlin Sightseeing Top 10

I have given you a few possible examples for your short vacation in Berlin with lots of Berlin sightseeing. Of course, there are 1000 more ways you can have a great time in Berlin. There are many places where you can just relax a bit and for everyone there is a spot in Berlin where he feels comfortable himself.

If you are an early riser, you are lucky enough to be able to photograph all the Berlin sightseeing even without tourists and to be able to retreat more in the afternoon. For me, Berlin is always worth a trip and I can not get enough of this city.

What is your personal tip for Berlin? What should I have seen once? Feel free to write me a comment about your favorite spots in Berlin – maybe we’ll see each other there?