Nollendorfplatz has long been a lively LGBTQ+ center, dating back to the Weimar Republic and continuing today. The atmosphere is open to everyone, with an easy mix of people and a steady hum of city life.
The streets around the square offer a diverse range of restaurants and shops. Many stay open until midnight or later every day, adding to the area’s late-night rhythm and giving it a welcoming, social feel.
The U-Bahn station at Nollendorfplatz stands out with its striking superstructure and towers. Their design echoes the Art Nouveau style of the former Neues Schauspielhaus across the street—now the Metropol. In the 1920s and 30s, that theater staged radical left-wing dramas, anchoring the area’s cultural edge. Today, the station is illuminated in rainbow colors, a vivid nod to the neighborhood’s identity.
A small but interesting collection of decorative arts from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods
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).
Again one of the world's most comprehensive ones. At the museum district of Dahlem.
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.
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.
Experience the Stasi Secret Police Prison first-hand. Tours are compulsory. Some of the tours are done by former inmates.
German historical museum covering everything from pre-history up to the present day. One can spend many, many hours here! The building from 1695/1730 was the Zeughaus (Arsenal) until 1876.
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.
Features a nice fountain, stately old houses and a good night time hot spot. Many people hang out in the platz in good weather.
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.
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.
The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in the Friedrichstadt with the Konzerthaus (concert hall) and in front of the statue of Germany's poet Friedrich Schiller, the Neue Kirche (New church) and the Französischer Dom (French cathedrals). Berlin’s Deutscher Dom on the magnificent Gendarmenmarkt square is not to be confused with the Berliner Dom. It was built in 1708. Since 1992 a German Parliament exhibition can be seen here entitled “Paths, Loosing Track and Detours” or the development of parliamentary democracy in Germany – ways and roundabouts. No religious services are held here. The French cathedral houses the Hugenottenmuseum. It represents the ongoing influence on Berlin by the Huguenots who emigrated from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Crown Prince Friedrich William encouraged them to settle here because most of them were skilled workers or otherwise useful to the kingdom. One memorable artwork, in room nine of the museum, pictures Crown Princess Dorothea exclaiming "But he's a refugee!" upon being presented a very valuable set of jewels by Pierre Fromery. The generally agreed-upon view of refugees as poor, without resources let alone diamonds, was blown apart by the talented French Protestants forced to leave their country due to religion. One of the most notable effects of having such a large French population was their influence on the infamous Berlin dialect. Berlinerisch words such as Kinkerlitzchen (from French "quincaillerie" - kitchen equipment) and Muckefuck (from French "mocca faux" - artificial coffee, though that etymology is not universally accepted) are unique to the area. The Französischen Dom (cathedral) itself was built to resemble the main church of the Huguenots in Charenton, France, destroyed in 1688. It has housed the museum since 1929. Closed till 2019
The synagogue in the backyard of an apartment house is one of the biggest in Germany.
This aeronautical experimental park on the grounds of Germany's first air field Johannisthal consists of a group of several individual technical monuments such as the walkable Großer Windkanal (High-speed wind channel, 1932–34), the Trudelturm (Fatty tower), a vertical wind tunnel for spinning tests (1934–36), the Schallgedämpfter Motorenprüfstand (Sound-insulated engine test bed, 1933–35) and the Isothermische Kugellabore (Adlershofer Busen, Isothermal spheric laboratories, 1959–1961), which are about 500 metres away from the other monuments.