W E L C O M E TO TH E
G O O D L I F E
I N
B E R L I N
P L A N N I N G
Berlin requires a bit of foresight mostly in that it is such a large and spread out city.
It's best to consider tackling one theme & district at a time as recommended in the Itinerary Suggestions below.
Overall, it's a good idea to make bookings for key restaurants as the best ones (regardless of style or price point) will book up in advance, and although Berlin has come leaps and bounds in terms of culinary offerings in the last few years, the average standard is often still a bit mediocre.
You're well advised to avoid Traditional German food here (save that for Munich instead: yes, really!) and instead focus on wonderful international restaurants, or truly impressive contemporary German cooking.
M U S E U M & S I T E B O O K I N G
Note that unfortunately, the spectacular Pergamon Museum with the Ishtar Gates of Babylon is closed until 2027.
The Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum) is also closed until the end of 2025.
The Neues Museum is best booked with a Time Slot Ticket to save waiting. In most cases, your guide should be able to help you with this, but in case you wish to go on your own, this is good to know.
The New National Gallery requires the same.
S U G G E S T E D I T I N E R A R Y P O I N T S
DAY I
Berlin Highlights & Car Tour
This day is all about covering Berlin’s huge monumental sites in the Eastern Central part of the city.
You’ll see the Brandenburg Gate, the Adlon Hotel, walk by the imposing Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, two beautifully preserved Prussian squares (the Gendarmenmarkt and the Bebelplatz), and the Humbolt University, where Einstein once lectured.
It’s a perfect opportunity to go for lunch on top of the Reichstag as well.
After lunch, it’s worth having a car and driver with your guide to make it easier to visit some of the further sites. It's absolutely possible to visit many of these without, but you'll find that it's a bit of a slog reaching them on foot, awkward with public transport, and not quite far enough to justify a cab.
We recommend visiting the chunk of Berlin wall in Niederkirchnerstraße, as the site is more or less unmolested, and also allows access to the sobering Topography of Terror exhibition detailing unrelated Nazi atrocities which occured at the same site.
This is also a perfect opportunity to cruise by Checkpoint Charlie if desired (the truth is, there’s not much there, but if a pilgrimage of sorts is desired, by all means), and then further on to see the beautiful Lustgarten at the Museum Island before heading back to your hotel to wind down before dinner.
DAY II
Scheunen Viertel & Museums
This day allows you to explore the closest thing Berlin has to an intact Old Town, and then duck into a couple of the world-class museums at the Museum Island.
Starting in the Scheunenviertel (literally ‘the Barn Quarter’), stroll through Berlin’s former Jewish Quarter full of stunning Jugendstil or Art Nouveau courtyards, lovely shops, cafés & bakeries, and enjoy the beautiful buildings along the way.
Berlin is in many ways the most important city for Jewish Heritage in Europe, and you'll also get a chance here to see the wonderful former Jewish Girls' school, now home to galleries and great restaurants.
After lunch – you are spoiled for choice in this district – head back to museum island and stop in at the Neues Museum to see Queen Nefertiti, in our opinion a wonder of the modern world, and supplement this with, for example, a trip through the Alte National Galerie to visit the works of the early French impressionists, and German Romantics such as Karl Friedrich Schinkel, and Caspar David Friedrich, amongst many others.
DAY III
Off to Potsdam in the Countryside
Generally, for a short visit to Berlin during the warm season, Potsdam is by far the best choice for a third day.
The former Prussian royal city, Potsdam's Park Sanssouci is in its entirety a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and just generally a fantastic day full of strolling about in nature discussing literature, art, poetry, botany, silly parties with famous people, and the more quotidian telling of dirty stories about the monarchy.
This trip can be done by train, but is by far best accomplished with a guide, and a driver who will open up the opportunity to work in some of the further sites that are otherwise more challenging to reach – The Wannsee Conference House, Track 17 Jewish deportation site memorial, and the Glienicker Brücke (Bridge of Spies) are all good choices.
All could be included or you could pick one so as to prioritise spending more time exploring the nuances of the many follies and hidden wonders in the park.
M E E T Y O U R G U I D E
All of our guides can offer you a spectacular experience. As each person has a slightly different look at the world, due to their own unique interests and specialties, we'd encourage you to read a few profiles.
