The Gendarmenmarkt is a grand square in Berlin’s Friedrichstadt. It brings together three striking landmarks: the Konzerthaus concert hall with a statue of poet Friedrich Schiller out front, the Neue Kirche (New Church), and the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral). The ensemble forms one of the city’s most elegant urban stages.
Berlin’s Deutscher Dom on the Gendarmenmarkt is often confused with the larger Berliner Dom, but they are different buildings. Completed in 1708, the Deutscher Dom holds no religious services today. Since 1992 it has presented a permanent exhibition on the history of German parliamentary democracy, titled “Paths, Losing Track and Detours.” The displays trace how representation and lawmaking evolved in Germany, with all the progress and setbacks along the way.
Opposite stands the Französischer Dom, home to the Huguenot Museum (Hugenottenmuseum) since 1929. The cathedral was designed to resemble the main Huguenot church in Charenton, France, which was destroyed in 1688. Here, the story of the French Protestants who came to Berlin after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes unfolds through documents, portraits, and everyday objects. The cathedral was noted as closed until 2019.
The museum highlights how Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm welcomed Huguenot settlers, many of whom were skilled artisans and professionals. Their arrival reshaped the city’s economy and culture. In one vivid scene, an artwork in room nine shows Crown Princess Dorothea reacting to a lavish gift of jewels from Pierre Fromery with the words, “But he’s a refugee!” The moment challenges old assumptions about refugees as poor and powerless, revealing the resources and talents many brought with them.
The Huguenot presence also left its mark on local speech. Berliners adopted expressions with French roots, and some became staples of the Berlin dialect. Words like Kinkerlitzchen (linked to the French “quincaillerie,” meaning small hardware or knick-knacks) and Muckefuck (possibly from “mocca faux,” or artificial coffee, though the origin is debated) show this blend of languages in daily life.
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neue_Kirche,_Berlin
The town hall of Berlin is known as such because it is made of red brick, not due to its former political persuasion. There are nice Prussian rooms inside, which are worth a look.
A remarkable medium-sized classical castle by the famous K.F. Schinkel built 1820 to 1824, also called "Humboldtschlösschen", because Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt (and their family) lived here once. Still privately owned.
The city's Protestant cathedral and the burial place of the Prussian kings. You can climb to the top and get a view of the city.
The Gemäldegalerie contains an astounding array of paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Goya, Velasquez and Watteau. The collection contains works from the old Bodemuseum on Museumsinsel in the East, now closed, and the former Gemäldegalerie in Dahlem. Its strong points are German paintings of the 13-16th centuries, Netherlandish painting of the 15th and 16th centuries, Flemish paintings of the 17th century, and miniature paintings of the 16th-19th centuries. In the newer section of the museum, designed by architects Heinz Hilmer and Christoph Sattler, there is enough space to display 1,150 masterpieces in the main gallery and 350 in the studio gallery - of the almost 2,900 pieces in the European painting collections. Established in 1830, the newly built gallery from 1998 has about 7,000 sq m of exhibition space (a complete tour of the 72 rooms covers almost 2 km).
Germany's national centre for contemporary non-European art. The house is a leading centre for the contemporary arts and a venue for projects breaking through artistic boundaries. This architectural landmark was an American contribution to the international building exhibition INTERBAU 1957 as an embodiment of the free exchange of ideas. Colloquially called Schwangere Auster (Pregnant Oyster).
The district town hall was the main town hall for West Berlin during the Cold War. The freedom bell (a present from the American people) and several memorials from that time can be found here. On the main balcony in 1963 U.S. President John F. Kennedy made his famous statement, "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’". On 10 November 1989 Helmut Kohl (chancellor (Bundeskanzler) 1982-1998) and Willy Brandt (former Bundeskanzler and mayor of Berlin) cheering the crowd as they saw the end of the Berlin Wall the night before. The town hall is an emotional place for most people in Berlin (especially West Berlin).
Not far away from Schloss Tegel (at the "große Malche") you can take a look at the oldest tree in Berlin, an oak which has been growing there since about 1192 (so it's actually older than Berlin itself). The name ("fat Mary") allegedly stems from the brother Humboldt who named the tree after their overweight cook.
Became famous from the film named after this street. During the Cold War, the street was split, with one section belonging to East Berlin and one to West Berlin.
The synagogue in the backyard of an apartment house is one of the biggest in Germany.
A domed church 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 there are still many treasure chambers in the basement.
Designed by Hans Poelzig in 1929, it is the first self-contained broadcasting house in the world and it is still in use today.
With an impressive, circus-tent-like roof over its courtyard and remains of the pre-war Hotel Esplanade incorporated into the modern structure.
This castle is one of Berlin's oldest castles and where Prince Carl used to reside. Be sure to check out Glienicke Bridge, the bridge that became renowned for the exchange of Western and Eastern secret agents. You can also visit Glienicke Park.
The old town of Köpenick is surrounded by water. Especially noteworthy are the Köpenick Palace which houses a museum of applied art and the Neogothic town hall.
An observation tower without an elevator in Southeast Berlin, from which you can see that there is a great deal of forest around Berlin. There is a cafe at the tower.