Berlin has a remarkable and turbulent history, but embraces its past. This is evident in both the art and landscape of the city. Berlin is Germany’s capital and largest city, which attracts students and artists with an abundance of museums, great nightlife and many universities. Personally, I am fascinated by the juxtaposition of the classic European 20th century buildings with the industrial architecture from the cold war era. It’s a city veiled in competing ideologies that have transformed the cityscape into what we know today.

Because of the immense amount of history that seeps from the city streets I’d highly recommend taking a walking tour of the city (there are free tours offered by Sandeman’s and originalfreetours.com). They usually last around 4 hours, but are a great way to orient yourself and get an overview of the city’s history. Even on a walking tour you will only scratch the surface of what there is to see, do and learn from this exceptional metropolis.

The Brandenburg Gate is arguably Berlin’s most iconic landmark and has an incredibly unique history. Between 1961 and 1989 when Berlin was divided by the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate stood in what was known as no-man’s land between East and West Berlin and is now often considered a symbol for European unity and peace. While you’re near the Brandenburg Gate it’s worthwhile to stop by the Reichstag, which is the building that houses the German parliament (aka the Bundestag). It has a beautiful new dome on top and has free tours to the top but make sure the make a reservation ahead of time (and don’t forget to bring your passport)!

There isn’t much in Berlin that doesn’t involve experiencing 20th century history and events in person. Checkpoint Charlie is perhaps the most well-known border crossing that existed between East and West Berlin. To this day, they still have soldiers posted at this location and the original border post. Of course, just around the corner from this location is a museum with tons of information on the division of Berlin in the latter half of the 20th century as well as stories from people who attempted to escape to the West.

A must-see when in Berlin is the East Side Gallery, which is a 1,316 meter long portion of the Berlin Wall that’s still standing with incredible graffiti artwork on the eastern side as a symbol of freedom and unity. It was created in 1990 after the majority of the wall came down and the two sides finally merged after the 28 year division. Today, it is quite possibly the longest-lasting open-air gallery in the world. One of my favorite quotes is painted on a section of the wall which reads, “Many small people who in many small places do many small things can alter the face of the world.” Don’t miss it, if you’re there!

Alexanderplatz is Germany’s most famous city square with a 368 meter high TV tower with an observation deck at the top. You can see the tower from almost everywhere in the city and likewise, from the top you can see almost the entire city. It’s a great view, but can have really long lines to get in. Finally, my favorite piece of the Berlin cityscape is the Holocaust memorial just a block from the Brandenburg Gate that’s marked by 2,711 rectangular gray stones as a tribute to the Jews who died during World War II. There is no exterior explanation of the memorial (although there is a museum beneath it), which was an intentional way to encourage Germans communicate more readily so as to discourage events like the Holocaust to happen again as a result of no one speaking up. If people were able to spread its meaning by word of mouth the memorial would also serve as a reminder that we can’t be silent to injustice.

Berlin is truly every history-lovers dream. It was the center of Europe’s 20th century chaos and has done a lot to keep it at the heart of the city in order to never forget the events that occurred. Berlin is one of my favorite cities in the world and would absolutely recommend it if you have the chance to go.

Did I miss any iconic Berlin sights? Let us know in the comments.

XOXO,

Lauren