Savignyplatz is a small park in West Berlin that feels calm and relaxed, especially on sunny days. Benches and green spaces invite quiet breaks, while tall trees offer welcome shade. Locals and visitors often pause here to slow down and enjoy the open air.
The square is known for its easy atmosphere. People sit with a book, chat in small groups, or simply watch the neighborhood go by. It’s a natural spot to linger a little longer, letting the rhythm of the city move around the edges.
All around the park, cafés and restaurants line the surrounding streets. Outdoor tables fill up quickly when the weather is good, creating a steady buzz. A coffee enjoyed here becomes part of the scene, with steady foot traffic and regulars passing by throughout the day.
A cuboid made of concrete. On the front side of the cuboid is a window, through which visitors can see a short film of two kissing men. The video will be changed every two years and will also show kissing lesbians.
With the Kreuzberg, a hill in Kreuzberg 61, the Prussian National Monument by Schinkel and a waterfall. Superb panoramic views across south Berlin.
Erected in 1818 to a classically-inspired design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel as a guardhouse for the imperial palace, since 1993 this compact building has housed a small, but extremely powerful war cenotaph, the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany, continuing its use under East German rule as the primary "Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism". The interior of the Doric column-fronted building is intentionally empty, but for a small but moving sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz depicting a mother cradling a dead child. The statue is positioned beneath a round hole in the ceiling, exposing the figures to the rain and snow.
Also known as "Picasso und seine Zeit", this not so large, but precious museum hosts a very good collection of paintings and sculptures signed by Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Giacometti, and others from the first decades of the 20th century.
The main street of former East Berlin. It is a big avenue, featuring neoclassical East German buildings, fountains and lakes.
The largest zoo in the world, both in terms of number of species (1500) and animal population (14,000). It is especially famous for its pandas. The Elephant Gate (Budapester Straße), one of the two entrances and next to the Aquarium, is a traditional photo stop for most visitors because of the architecture.
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.
Built 1859-1866 this is one of the most architecturally stunning synagogues in Germany to survive both the Nazi era and the war.
Also known as "der hohle Zahn" (the Hollow Tooth), this church in Breitscheidplatz is a memorial to Kaiser Wilhelm, and one of Berlin's most famous landmarks. Thick walls and plain decor mark it as neo-Romanesque, but with what's left of the Gedächtniskirche, it's tough to distinguish it as any one style. Allied bombing left only one tower standing on 22 November 1943, but a new location for worship designed by Egon Eiermann was completed in December 1961 (it's the octagonal structure with blue stained glass windows). There is a small memorial museum beneath the tower filled with artifacts from the original church, which was built from 1891-95 to architect Franz Schwechten's specifications.Controversy arose after the war over the various options presented by the half-ruined cathedral - should it be torn down completely and rebuilt? Or should the destroyed sections be left standing as a memorial? The four major sections of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (central space, foyer, new tower and chapel) surround the ruined tower of the old church bridge and show the time gap between old and new. Mosaics and other remnants from the old church serve as a monument against war.
The last Mies van der Rohe building (a dwelling house) in Germany before his emigration to the U.S. (1938). Now there are small contemporary/modern art exhibitions.
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.
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.
Millions of visitors leaving East Berlin by train said tearful goodbyes to their friends and relatives from the East at this former border checkpoint. Hardly a year after the wall came down, the building was turned into a nightclub until it was forced to close in 2006. It re-opened as a museum in September 2011 and now houses a permanent exhibition that brings the absurd normality of everyday life in the divided city back to life.
With an impressive, circus-tent-like roof over its courtyard and remains of the pre-war Hotel Esplanade incorporated into the modern structure.
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).
One of the oldest buildings in Charlottenburg and actually the reason for the whole city to be built.
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.