More than 30 million objects form the scientific collection at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, one of the most significant natural history institutions in the world. Its galleries showcase the scope of life on Earth, from deep time to the present day, while behind the scenes researchers work with specimens that rarely meet the public eye. Some areas are currently under construction, adding a sense of transition to a place already shaped by discovery.
The museum’s holdings span fossils, minerals, meteorites, animals preserved in jars, birds, insects, and DNA samples. Together they trace evolution, climate shifts, and biodiversity across millions of years. Display highlights often include towering dinosaur skeletons and meticulously restored prehistoric creatures that tell the story of ancient ecosystems. Smaller specimens — beetles, shells, feathers — reveal the fine detail of nature’s design and the methods scientists use to classify it.
Beyond the exhibition halls, laboratories and storage rooms contain carefully cataloged specimens used for ongoing research. These collections support studies in taxonomy, conservation, and environmental change. The museum functions as both a public gallery and an academic hub, where data from historic expeditions meets modern techniques such as imaging and genetic analysis.
Parts of the building are being renewed, and some galleries may be temporarily closed or reconfigured. Construction brings updated displays, improved accessibility, and better preservation for sensitive materials. Visitors encounter a mix of completed spaces and areas in transition, reflecting the museum’s continuous effort to share its collection in new and engaging ways.
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_History_Museum,_Berlin
Closed for renovations; the temporary Bauhaus-Archiv is at Knesebeckstraße 1-2 in Charlottenburg. Building designed by Walter Gropius. Inside a museum, library, cafe and shop.
Take a stroll for a few kilometers along this canal which runs right through the heart of Kreuzberg. It's peaceful and mostly traffic-free, but full of life in summer. Some parts are lined with bars and restaurants with terraces. Sit on a bench or terrace and watch the world go by on a summer evening.
The museum’s treasures include the sculpture collection with works of art from the middle ages to the 18th century. The Bode museum is best known for its Byzantine art collection and the coin cabinet.
Built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic Games, this is one of the better examples of Nazi neoclassical architecture (laying claim to the legacy of Rome, fasces and all) and is still used for sporting events. At those Olympics, African-American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals, a party-spoiler for Aryan superiority. It's the home of soccer team Hertha BSC - they were relegated in 2023 and now play in 2. Bundesliga the second tier. In 2024 this stadium hosted games in the UEFA Euro Finals, including the final itself. For a glimpse of the Olympiastadion in its original state, seek out Leni Riefenstahl's movie Olympia - clips are shown in the Kinemathek and elsewhere.
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.
Huge technical museum, on a former railroad depot, featuring from ancient water and wind mills to computer pioneer Konrad Zuse's inventions, a collection of old to new vehicles of all types -bicycles, boats, trains, etc - and the interactive Spectrum science center with various hands-on experiments. There's an actual C-17 "Candy Bomber" airplane hanging on its façade. The railroad and aeronautical sections are hard to beat.
The large square in front of the Brandenburg Gate contains the French and American embassies, the rebuilt Hotel Adlon, and the new building of the Academy of Arts.
Jewish cemetery and lapidarium with old tombstones.
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 main floor houses the antiquities collection in an ongoing exhibit called "Neue Antike im Alten Museum" (New Antiquities in the Old Museum). Directly through the front door, entering from the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden, now under reconstruction), there is a domed rotunda with red and white cameos, Greek-style, with statues of the gods. To reach the Hildesheim silver collection, go to the back of the rotunda, turn left, walk through the long gallery and turn left into a small room at the end.
The largest aquarium in Germany with over 9000 animals that are presented on three storeys in a historic building. Aquarium Berlin is found on the premises of the Zoo, but can also be visited separately. One of the best places on a rainy day with children.
The synagogue in the backyard of an apartment house is one of the biggest in Germany.