Schloss und Schlosspark Glienicke

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.

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).

With the Kreuzberg, a hill in Kreuzberg 61, the Prussian National Monument by Schinkel and a waterfall. Superb panoramic views across south Berlin.

A fortress built between 1560 and 1590 to Italian design on the site of a 12th-century castle. The Juliusturm housed part of the huge indemnity (in physical gold coins) France had to pay after the war of 1870/71 until what was left of it was returned to France after Germany's loss in World War I. The term "Juliusturm" remained in usage in German for a large "rainy day fund" into the 1960s. Museums housed within the citadel cover the history of the town of Spandau, monumental public art in Berlin, and artillery.

Designed by Daniel Libeskind with an excellent exposition on the Jewish life in Berlin and the impact of the Holocaust. You can easily spend a day here. There is a metal scanner and other security features you'd rather expect at an airport than a museum.

Places with markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays are popular with locals at Winterfeldplatz. Buy a coffee and browse amongst the stalls; this is a place to unearth hidden gems. Breakfast is served usually until 14:00-15:00.

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.

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.

In this house the surrender of Germany was signed on May 9th, 1945, ending WWII in Europe. This museum describes the history of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union between 1941 and 1945 and the GDR/German-Russian relationship ever since. Historic rooms, permanent exhibition and special exhibits.

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 charming Baroque water palace of the Hohenzollern electors surrounded by the Dahme river and an English garden.

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 area to the north of Tiergarten, along the bow of the river Spree (Spreebogen), is home to the German federal institutions such as the parliament (Bundestag, in the historic Reichstag building) and the federal government, as well as the new central train station (Hauptbahnhof) across the river.

150-200 m along the Wiener Straße (bypassing the fire house and the public swimming pool) from U-Bahn Görlitzer Bahnhof, the park is famous for the Turkish families barbecuing on summer weekends, failed contemporary art and relaxed atmosphere of students. It does have a reputation of being full of pickpockets and drug dealers though and the police makes regular visits to this place to check on the situation.

The meeting point of one of the leading oppositions against the GDR regime and is a great Neogothic church. Also the only ecumenical Lord's supper with Protestants and Catholics together took place in the Gethsemanekirche (2003).