What to see in Berlin in 2 Days
Make the most of your weekend by inspecting our 2-day itinerary of Berlin, and explore its top attractions, areas, and museums in just 48 hours.
This 48-hour itinerary is perfect for those travelers visiting the capital of Germany during the weekend.
This fully packed itinerary has been written as if you arrive in Berlin on a Friday afternoon and leave on Sunday at approximately the same time. If you arrive any other day of the week, please check the opening times of the museums and attractions, since these can vary.
Arrival Day
If you arrive on a Friday afternoon, you probably won’t have enough time to do any in-depth sightseeing. Nonetheless, it’s a great opportunity to stroll around the Old Town to get a feel for the city and see some of its most impressive landmarks followed by a delicious traditional German meal.
If you're arriving at the airport and looking to go straight to your hotel, check out our transfer service for easy and convenient transfer services.
After dropping off your luggage at the hotel, we recommend you head to Brandenburg Gate, which is close to Pariser Platz. This is an ideal spot to start your visit to Berlin.
Take numerous photos with the emblematic gate as your background and then walk to the Bundestag (the German Parliament). To visit the building's impressive dome and terrace, you must register online on the official Bundestag website before you travel to Berlin.
After exploring the Bundestag, walk down Ebertstrasse Street to the Holocaust Monument. This open-air monument with large stone slabs is a memorial to remember the terrible events that took place in German-occupied Europe.
Continue down the same road until you come to Potsdamer Platz. This square is one of the most important and modern in Berlin. Once divided by the Berlin Wall, it still houses a section of the wall which is interesting to see. In the center is the Sony building complex, which at night is brightly illuminated.
By then it will probably be getting late, so you might wish to stop and have a bite to eat. The restaurants in Potsdamer Platz are nice. Otherwise, you can take the metro to Alexanderplatz and have dinner in that area.
The arrival day sightseeing itinerary finishes here, since we recommend getting up early the next day to make the most of your holidays.
Day 1
After a tasty traditional breakfast, you must be at the Berlin-Gesundbrunnen U-Bahn at 10 am to buy your tickets to the Berliner Unterwelten. This museum is underneath the city of Berlin, in the abandoned bunkers and metro stations built during World War II.
After discovering one of the most original museums in Berlin, take a short metro ride to Alexanderplatz. From there, walk for at least 10 minutes until you get to Berlin Cathedral where, after checking out its enormous interior, you can climb to its observation deck at the top of the dome and enjoy some of the best views of Berlin.
The next stop is Museum Island, home to the Pergamon Museum (with one of the most impressive antiquities collections in the world) and the Neues Museum. Both galleries are extremely surprising and worthwhile. To make the most of your time on Museum Island, we recommend booking a guided tour of the area.
Take the north exit of Museum Island and walk to the old Jewish Quarter, where Kunsthaus Tacheles, once the most popular alternative art and cultural center in Berlin, until it was abandoned in 2012.
Take Friedrichstraße, the most famous shopping street in the capital, and head to Gendarmenmarkt, a beautiful and elegant public square with twin churches.
Very near the square is Unter den Linden Avenue, one of the most important arteries of Berlin. It houses numerous prominent buildings, including the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse). This stunning edifice with a portico of Doric columns reflects the tragedies of all the wars. Inside is a heart-breaking statue of a woman holding her dead son in her arms.
Adjacent to the Neue Wache is the Bebelplatz. This spacious square is famous as it is the location of the Nazi book burning.
The itinerary of day 1 finishes here. If you still have some time to spare, we suggest you walk along Unter den Linden and its adjoining streets. The pretty Nikolai quarter, near Berlin Cathedral, has many good typical restaurants.
Day 2
The last day in Berlin starts at 10 am at the Richard-Wagner-Platz U-Bahn station, where you can visit the popular Rococo Charlottenburg Palace, commissioned by Queen Sophie Charlotte, with exquisite gardens.
Back in the city center, you’ll stop at Kurfürstendamm to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This church originally built in the nineteenth century was severely damaged during the Second World War, but the ruins were kept and integrated in the new church building. Kurfürstendamm is one of the most popular boulevards in Berlin with numerous shops and department stores, one of the best is KaDeWe.
Next, take the U-Bahn line 1 (U1) in Kurfürstendamm and you’ll reach Warschauer Straße. The closest stop to East Side Gallery. This long open-air art gallery offers interesting and well-made graffiti works on the remains of the standing Berlin Wall.
To finish the weekend with a bit of history, return to the city center to visit Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous checkpoint between East and West Berlin when the Berlin Wall divided the two areas. If you have enough time, you can also visit the Topographie des Terrors.
Over 2 days in Berlin?
If you’re planning on staying in Berlin for over 48 hours, Berlin has a lot to offer. As well as numerous museums, appealing streets, neighborhoods and nearby visits like the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp or the charming Potsdam.
These are some of the best day trips from Berlin:
