Famous Place to Visit in Berlin

1. Grosser Tiergarten and the Victory Column:

Grosser Tiergarten was transformed into a public oasis in 1700 and now spans more than 500 acres of English-style parklands. It’s planted with an abundance of trees, large expanses of grassy lawns and picturesque floral borders, as well as being home to a number of important monuments. These include a late-19th-century statue of Queen Luise and a monument to Frederick Wilhelm III that features reliefs illustrating his peaceful reign.

2. Pergamon Museum:

Designed by Alfred Messel, and later Ludwig Hoffmann, the Pergamon Museum was built to complement the nearby Kaiser-Wilhelm Museum (now the Bode Museum), which had grown too small to house the artifacts garnered from German excavations throughout the world. The idea for the new museum came about in 1907 and completion took twenty years - from 1910 to 1930. The monumental building consisted of three wings arranged around a courtyard that opened up towards Kupfergraben, a canal. The museum opened during one of Germany's most turbulent periods and was subsequently largely destroyed in the bombing of Berlin during World War II. 

3. Berlin Cathedral Church:

The first church on this site was built in 1465. This rather modest building later served as the court church for the Hohenzollern family, whose palace was just across the street. The church was replaced by a cathedral, built in 1745-1747 to a Baroque design from Johann Boumann. Between 1816 and 1822 it was remodeled into a classicist building following a design by the esteemed Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

4. The Topography of Terror:

A place where terror is tangible, a place of remembrance and a warning from history, the “Topography of Terror” exhibition is located on the site where between 1933 and 1945 the principal instruments of Nazi persecution and terror were located: the headquarters of the Gestapo, the high command and security service of the SS, and from 1939 the Reich Security Main Office. With more than a million visitors each year, it is one of the most frequently visited museums and memorial centers in Berlin.

5. Berlin Zoological Gardens:

Berlin Zoological Garden and Aquarium, German Zoologischer Garten und Aquarium Berlin, zoo and aquarium in Berlin, containing one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive animal collections. It is generally considered the oldest zoo in Germany, having been founded in 1841 when the Prussian King Frederick William IV presented his pheasantry and menagerie to the citizens. The zoological garden was officially opened in 1844 with municipal support. Many rare species, including pygmy hippopotamuses, Indian elephants, and orangutans, have been bred there. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, 4,000 birds and mammals and 8,300 aquarium specimens were housed in the zoo. The grounds were totally destroyed during the war, however, and only 91 animals survived.

6. The Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Museum:

The Botanic Garden offers 43 hectares for guests to stroll and explore. Laid out between by 1897 and 1910 by architect Alfred Koerner, the garden comprises three sections: the Arboretum (woody plants and rose collection), plant formations from similar geographical regions from around the world, and a section dedicated to systematic botany comprising around 1500 plant species. The landmark Tropical Greenhouse offers a magnificent example of late nineteenth-century art nouveau design in glass and steel. Twenty-five meters high and set on the eastern edge of the garden, it towers over another 14 display greenhouses placed around it.

7. The Nikolai Quarter:

The Nikolai Church is the oldest church in the city with parts of it being 780 (!) years old. After several alterations and its total destruction in World War II, the church is now rebuilt, since 1983. But it’s not a parish church, but mainly a museum and concert hall. A little tip: every first Wednesday of the month, admission is free. And another note: photography costs extra and must be done without flash or tripod.

8. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church:

The Gedächtniskirche or Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is the symbolic center of West Berlin, an anti-war memorial to peace and reconciliation. Following allied bombing during WWII, the original west Tower has remained standing as a ruin and is hauntingly named the "hollow tooth" as it is literally an empty husk. Immediately recognizable and located on the Breitscheidplatz at the start of the busy shopping district which includes Tauentzienstraße and Ku'damm, this is the only building on the square which was spared by the bombing and deliberately preserved as a partial ruin.