Berlin

private art galleries

As Berlin is a city of art, it is quite easy to find an art gallery on your way. They provide a nice opportunity to have a look at modern artists' work in a not-so-crowded environment for free.Some gallery streets with more than about a dozen galleries are Auguststraße, Linienstraße, Torstraße, Brunnenstraße all Mitte, north of S-Bahn station Oranienburger Straße, Zimmerstraße Kreuzberg, U-Bahn station Kochstraße and Fasanenstraße Charlottenburg. You can find a list of all the exhibitions and gallery openings as well as a map on Berlin Art Grid (http://berlinartgrid.com) A directory listing of all Berlin's art galleries can be found on The Art of Berlin: Complete Berlin Art Gallery Directory (http://www.theartofberlin...).

Art Center Berlin Friedrichstraße

(http://www.art-center-ber...), Friedrichstraße 134, Tel. +49 30 27879020. Four floors of exhibitions with a relatively good variety of genres and artists. A very nice oasis of calm from the busy Friedrichstraße.

Galerie Eigen & Art

Auguststraße 26, Tel. +49 30 280 6605 (http://www.eigen-art.com). One of the most famous German art galleries, home to the Neue Leipziger Schule Neo Rauch et al.

loop -- raum fur aktuelle kunst

(http://www.loop-raum.de), Jägerstrasse 5, 10117. Known for being the "incubator" of future famous Berlin artists. Primarily featuring sculpture video, and painting.

zoo

Berlin has two zoos and an aquarium. The Berlin Zoo in the west is the historic zoo that has been a listed company since its foundation. It's an oasis in the city and very popular with families and schools.

Berlin Zoo

The largest range of species in the world. The zoo lies directly in the heart of the City West opposite Bahnhof Zoo at Hardenbergplatz and is especially famous for its pandas and Knut, the polar bear cub born in captivity in late 2006 -but has since died in March 2011. The Elephant Gate Budapester Straße is the second entrance next to the Aquarium and a traditional photo stop for most visitors because of the architecture.

Aquarium

Part of the Berlin Zoo, located at Budapester Straße in an historic building. Still the largest aquarium in Germany and a host to an amazing variety of fish, crocodiles etc. One of the best places on a rainy day with children.

Tierpark Berlin

Located in Friedrichsfelde, the Tierpark is more spacious than the historic Berlin Zoo and has been open for some 50 years. The compound also comprises a small château with its adjacent park.

landmarks with observation decks

While Berlin has relatively few high-rise buildings, there are several monuments with observation decks. Probably the most famous of all is the TV Tower near Alexanderplatz, the tallest tower in Germany and second largest in Europe, which has a rotating café at the top spinning 360 degrees in just 30 minutes! 40 seconds is all it takes to reach the top by lift. But there are also other great observation desks, the main ones are listed below for others have a look in the district pages.

Bundestag

The German Parliament building, near the Brandenburg gate, was renovated by Sir Norman Foster and reopened in 1999 with a spectacular new glass dome, which offers a great view of Berlin. Visitors may book (http://www.bundestag.de/h...) free tours of the building and enter with confirmed reservation at scheduled times through the north portal. Due to continued terrorist threats, individual visitors now need to register upfront to visit the glass dome and terrace (http://www.bundestag.de/b...). Book well in advance as individual entry is limited to a max. of guests per day. The booking form is only available in German, so joining a tour is an easier option for last-minute travellers.

Berliner Funkturm

150 meter high lattice tower with open-air observation deck 124 meters above ground. Only observation tower on insulators! Located in the Western fair district, out of city center.

Berliner Fernsehturm

Alexanderplatz (http://tv-turm.de/en/index.php). The TV tower is Germany's tallest construction: 368 meters high. Observation deck 204 meters above ground. Costs €12 or €7.50 for kids <16 as of 2012. Be wary of the weather changing; the fog can come in during the rather long queues and you may not be able to see anything at the top. There is a restaurant and a bar in the observation deck. You need to buy tickets from the ticket office, then join a separate queue to get into the tower.

Siegessäule

Victory Column, Tiergarten. €3 December 2011 An old 1865-1873, 60 meter high monument with panoramic views of the very center of the city. Unfortunately there is no elevator, so be prepared for 285 steps. The statue of Victoria on the top is the place where the angels congregate in the famous film Der Himmel über Berlin by Wim Wenders. It has also become something of a symbol for the annual Love Parade techno music festival.

Kollhoff Tower

Potsdamer Platz (http://www.panoramapunkt....). The fastest elevator in Europe takes you approximately 100 meters high. Open 10AM - 6PM. Tickets €5,50 discounted €4.

history

Berlin does not attempt to hide the less savory parts of its history: a visit to the Topography of Terror (http://www.topographie.de/en/) Mitte, for example, provides interesting but sobering insights into the activities of the Gestapo in Berlin during the Nazi years 1933-1945. Many of the walking tours also discuss scenes both of Nazi activity and of Cold War tension and terror.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

(http://www.holocaust-mahn...).

Opened in the spring of 2005, this gigantic abstract artwork covering an entire block near the Brandenburg Gate, including an underground museum with extensive details on the Holocaust and the people who died during it. The blocks start out at ground level on the outer edges of the memorial, and then grow taller towards the middle, where the ground also slopes downwards. 3.5 million visitors in the first year make it one of the most visited memorials in Berlin - and it's worth it, as it's one of the most impressive memorials in Berlin.

Berlin Wall

A large stretch of intact Wall can be found to the east of the city center along the River Spree in Mühlenstraße near the Oberbaumbrücke.

Known as the East Side Gallery (http://www.eastsidegaller...), it is a section of the wall that is preserved as a gallery. This can be easily reached from Ostbahnhof or Warschauer Straße. It has many beautiful murals, politically motivated and otherwise. Another place to try is near the Martin-Gropius-Bau museum, currently under reconstruction. Two small pieces are also in Potsdamer Platz and in its neighbourhood at the corner between Ebertstraße and Bellevuestraße).

Berlin Wall Memorial (Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer)

(http://www.berliner-mauer...). Tram M10, U-Bahn Bernauer Straße U8 or S-Bahn Nordbahnhof S1, 2, or 25, follow the signs in the stations - wall is Mauer in German. Often missed by tourists but an absolute must for anyone interested in this part of the city's history. It's a memorial to those who died crossing so you won't, fortunately, get the tackiness of the Checkpoint Charlie area; instead you will be left with a haunting feeling of what life with the wall may have been really like. The monument itself is a gigantic wasted opportunity, blank and featureless. The inscription on the outside, declaring it a monument to the victims of the "communist reign of violence", has sparked emotional debates and angered many local residents. The documentation center across the street on Bernauer Straße is excellent although most of the documentation is in German. The viewing platform gives you a tiny hint of the true scale of the Wall and how terrifying the "no man's land" between the two sections of walls must have been. When the documentation center is closed, both walls can be visited. There is some space between the concrete plates which allow you to look at the area between the walls. There are also several small holes.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie, a crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War, is no more.

Formerly, it was the only border crossing between East and West Berlin that permitted foreigners passage. Residents of East and West Berlin were not allowed to use it. This contributed to Checkpoint Charlie's mythological status as a meeting place for spies and other shady individuals. Now the remains of the Berlin Wall have been moved to permit building, including construction of the American Business Center and other institutions not given to flights of John Le Carré-inspired fancy.

Tempelhof airport

was used in the Berlin Airlift Berliner Luftbrücke in 1948-49; in 1951 a monument was added to commemorate the airlifts over the Berlin Blockade. The airport was featured in movies like Billy Wilder's "One Two Three". The terminal building is still fascinating; the halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe, are still known as the largest built entities worldwide, and was described by British architect Sir Norman Foster as "the mother of all airports".

churches

There are some historically interesting and architecturally remarkable churches which are the following:

Berliner Dom

The biggest and most impressive church in Berlin, built at the turn of the century 19th/20th as an expression of imperial power. Located next to the museum island. Entrance is €7, and you can climb on top of the dome for a beautiful view over the Berlin center.

The Twintowers of the Deutscher Dom German Cathedral and the Französischer Dom French Cathedral face each other at the Gendarmenmarkt in Central Berlin, flanking the Konzerthaus.

Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche

Highly symbolic church, dating back to 1891-95, with two modern buildings designed by Egon Eiermann in 1961, a hexagonal bell tower and an octagonal worship hall, aside the ruins from World War II.

Marienkirche

Located near Alexanderplatz, this is not only the highest church tower in Berlin 90 m, but also one of the oldest churches left in the historical center of Berlin which is totally torn down in this area. Entrance is free and inside are many treasures from the old days.

Nikolaikirche

The oldest church in Berlin, dating back to the beginning of 13th century at least the stones next to the ground. Does not serve as a church. Changing exhibitions inside, entrance free.

St. Hedwigs Kathedrale

Domed Church located at Bebelplatz/Unter den Linden, the oldest mid 18th century and one of the biggest Catholic churches in Berlin, interior was redesigned in a modern style in the 1950s - but still many treasure chambers in the basement.

Friedrichswerdersche Kirche

Nice church located near Unter den Linden/Museum Island, finished in 1830 by Schinkel - English Neogothic style. Nice exhibition inside neoclassical statues and an exhibition about Schinkel's life and work upstairs, entry is free.

New Synagogue Neue Synagoge Oranienburger Straße – Today the building houses the Centrum Judaicum foundation which opened in 1995, an institution for the preservation of Jewish memory and tradition, a community congregation centre for study and teaching. Until the infamous Kristallnacht pogrom of November 1938 when the Synagogue was attacked by Nazi thugs and heavily damaged, Jewish citizens had enjoyed full equality and civic rights, enshrined in the 1850 Prussian constitution.