In Berlin’s government district, the Federal Chancellery stands as the working home of Germany’s head of government. It contains the Chancellor’s personal offices and the teams that run day‑to‑day policy, communication, and coordination across the cabinet. It is also one of the largest government headquarters in the world—its scale often compared to the White House, yet the Berlin complex is said to be roughly ten times larger.
The architecture is meant to communicate how German democracy works. The Chancellery sits directly in the line of sight of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, but its overall height is intentionally lower. This visual hierarchy serves as a reminder that the government is accountable to parliament—often called the people’s house—and that legislative oversight stands above the executive in the constitutional order.
High above the offices, a semi‑official apartment occupies part of the top floor. The compact, two‑room residence measures about 200 square meters. It has been used only once: former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lived there during his term. Successors chose private homes elsewhere in the city.
Public entry is generally restricted. However, guided tours are occasionally offered, most commonly in late summer around August. On those rare days, visitors get a closer look at a building that usually reveals itself only from the outside—and primarily through its symbolism and scale.
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Chancellery_of_Germany
A splendid 15th-century Gothic church with many fine accoutrements.
Official residence of the (largely ceremonial) President of Germany since 1994. Only Roman Herzog (president 1994-1999) actually lived here, his successors have preferred a quiet apartment on the outskirts of Berlin, but this is where the president will usually host guests and do public events. Guided tours are possible, but plan to book up to nine months ahead and be prepared for having to reschedule if the president decides to hold an event on short notice which preempts tours.
From 1941, 12,000 tons of concrete in a 15-m-high and 20-m-diameter cylinder were built to test the load-bearing capacity of the Berlin soils (turns out glacial sands are no good basis for gargantuan architecture) for Albert Speer's Germania buildings. Too massive for later blasting, this is one of the more bizarre remains of the Third Reich.
The only surviving Berlin city gate and a potent symbol of the city. This is the point where Straße des 17. Juni becomes Unter den Linden. The gate was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791 and was intended to resemble the Acropolis in Athens. The Brandenburg Gate now symbolizes reunification, after dividing East and West Berlin for decades. This is the site of Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev open this gate, Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall" speech.
Built in 1542. An impressive traditional country estate with stately architecture, it is an enclave of untouched regional cultural history and architectonic epochs. The 80-hectare mixed forest also provides a wide network of paths for walking and rambling.
The main street of former East Berlin. It is a big avenue, featuring neoclassical East German buildings, fountains and lakes.
This outdoor and indoor history museum documents the terror applied by the Nazi regime. It is on the site of buildings which during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 were the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, the principal instruments of repression during the Nazi era.
The Bierpinsel ("beer brush") is a building in Steglitz which resembles an observation tower and is famous for its pop-art appearance. The futuristic, landmarked building was built from 1972 to 1976 and has since been used as restaurant, night club, bar, radio station and art café.
With the Kreuzberg, a hill in Kreuzberg 61, the Prussian National Monument by Schinkel and a waterfall. Superb panoramic views across south Berlin.
Spectacular building by Mies van der Rohe contains its own collection and temporary exhibitions.
The charming Baroque water palace of the Hohenzollern electors surrounded by the Dahme river and an English garden.
Features many objects and even whole rooms in Wilhelminian style. Only accessible by guided tour (English tours can be arranged).