Martin-Gropius-Bau

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.

Includes East Asian and Indian sections.

Experience the Stasi Secret Police Prison first-hand. Tours are compulsory. Some of the tours are done by former inmates.

The complex consists of eight interconnected courtyards. Plenty of designer boutiques can be found here.

The Bendlerblock building complex has long held ties to the German military, first serving as the offices of the Imperial German Navy and today housing the Berlin offices of the Ministry of Defense. It was here where, on 20 July 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and other officers led a coup that sought to remove Hitler and the Nazis from power. They failed and were summarily executed in the courtyard, where a memorial stands for these men who are considered German heroes by many. Inside the building you'll find the German Resistance Memorial Center, a permanent exhibit dedicated to the July 20 plot and other individuals in the German resistance.

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.

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.

More than 30 million objects in the scientific collection and a fascinating exhibition in one of the most significant institutions of its kind in the world. Some parts still under construction.

Want to feel like one of the angels in Wim Wenders' classic film Der Himmel über Berlin (a.k.a. Wings of Desire)? Climb to the top of Gold-Else, as the statue of Victory on the top of the Victory Column is known. Just don't jump off if you're not actually an angel. Unfortunately there is no elevator, so be prepared for 285 steps to the platform at 50.7 m.Else was built to commemorate Prussian military prowess in the wars against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870-71), and moved to her present location by the Nazis. Five roads run into a traffic circle called Grosser Stern, in the centre of which is the Siegessäule. Else is visible from much of the city district known as Tiergarten. At the base of the statue are reliefs of war scenes representing the conflicts which this monument memorializes. The Allies forced Germany to take those panels down in 1945, but they were remounted in 1984 and 1987. It also served as a backdrop for a speech by then senator Obama in 2008, after his request to speak in front of Brandenburger Tor caused a political debate in Germany.

Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels made Bebelplatz (then called Opernplatz) infamous on 10 May 1933, when he used the square across from Humboldt University to burn 20,000 books by "immoral" authors of whom the Nazis did not approve. Their list included Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Arnold Zweig, Kurt Tucholsky and Sigmund Freud. Today a monument is the reminder, though it blames Nazi students for the episode. When entering the square it's easy to miss the monument. It is in that part of Bebelplatz bounded on one side by the Opera House and on the other side by Humboldt University. Look dead centre: the monument is underground. A piece of plexiglass allows the viewer to look underground into a large, white room, filled with entirely empty, blank white bookcases. The room is large enough to hold the 20,000 books that were burnt. The absence of books reminds the viewer just what was lost here: ideas. But the event did reveal things to come, as ethnically Jewish author and philosopher Heinrich Heine, whose books were burned, let one of his characters say in an 1821 play: "This was only the foreplay. Where they burn books, they will also burn people." He was correct.

A man-made hill of about 120 m in the Grunewald, created after the Second World War from debris of the city. On top is the Field Station Berlin, a former US listening station. Inside the building complex you can see lots of graffiti art. The hill can be accessed without any restrictions and is free; however, the building complex is surrounded by fences and requires a ticket (tours are available as well).

This imposing building houses the Federal German Parliament or "Bundestag" and was completed in 1894 to meet the need of the newly-unified German Empire of the Kaisers for a larger parliamentary building. The Reichstag was intended to resemble a Renaissance palace, and its architect, Paul Wallot, dedicated the building to the German people. The massive inscription in front still reads: "Dem Deutschen Volke" - 'For the German people'. The Nazi leader Adolf Hitler exploited the fire which gutted the Reichstag building in 1933 by blaming the Communists for the arson and for attempted revolution. There is good evidence to suggest, however, that his followers were actually responsible and that this was a manufactured crisis. The iconic photo symbolizing the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany shows a Soviet soldier planting the Soviet flag on top of the building and there are to this day graffiti left by Soviet soldiers on some walls of the Reichstag which were deliberately preserved by the new Germany as a memento of the war. It's perhaps the only national parliament to have traces left by a foreign army deliberately preserved. When German reunification became a reality, the new republic was proclaimed here at midnight on 2 October 1990. The Reichstag building is well-known in the art world thanks to Paris-based Bulgarian artist Christo's mammoth 'Wrapped Reichstag' project in 1995. The entire building was swathed in silver cloth for two weeks that summer.The Reichstag has undergone considerable restoration and alteration, including the addition of a spectacular glass dome designed by the British architect Norman Foster completed in 1999. You can visit the Reichstag building proper and even listen to a parliamentary debate but you need to book on their website sometimes weeks or even months in advance. Fortunately its much easier to visit the glass dome. You can reserve a visiting time and date on their website or in the small building across Scheidmannstrasse, except during the high season you should be able to arrange a time later the same day or the next day. Photo ID or passport is required to make the booking. A passsport is required during your visit. This is a very popular tourist attraction in Berlin and can get quite crowded however it is worth the effort. The helical path up the inside of the dome is a lot of fun and the 360 degree views at the top are splendid.

One of the oldest buildings in Charlottenburg and actually the reason for the whole city to be built.

Small terrace on the top of the Park Inn, publicly accessible. Take the elevator to the 40th floor, and follow the signs up the stairs. Pay the attendant who also serves beer and coffee. Great views of the Fernsehturm. In the summer, consider base jumping off the roof with Jochen Schweizer. It is often closed in bad/windy weather, so look for a notice posted near the elevator that the terrace is closed.

Specializes in 19th-century painting and sculpture; Monet, Manet, Cézanne, C. David Friedrich and other important 18th- and 19th-century artists are well-represented.

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.

A small castle in late classical style. It was built 1868 by Martin Gropius (uncle of the Bauhaus-founder and other architects, the von Siemens family changed the castle a bit around 1900 and they enlarged the dimensions of the park, which is today renovated and nice to wander around when the sun is shining. Located within a few minutes' walking distance from Biesdorf station (take the S5 from the city centre) or Elsterwerdaer Platz station (U5).