Berlin Museums & 1-Day Travel Guide
1. Alexanderplatz
2. Television Tower
3. Museum Island
4. Berlin Cathedral
5. Mauerpark
6. Prater Biergarten
What to do in Berlin for one day?
How to get the most out of your 1-day Berlin stay – With some travel planning (and this travel guide!), you may be able to cover a couple of outstanding Berlin museums and a few other iconic sights in the German capital.
In case you have more than two days, you may want to take a look at our 3-day Berlin travel guide & itinerary!
Berlin Television Tower, Alexanderplatz | Photo: Tobias Breyer / Pixabay
On your first day, you will start at Alexanderplatz in Berlin Mitte, where you will soak up the morning atmosphere in the German capital.
Alexanderplatz is the eye-catching central square where people pass by, meet, hang out, go for a cup of coffee, have a kebab or a beer and take a selfie. Besides, there are great shopping opportunities in the shopping centres surrounding the vibrant plaza. It is an ideal spot to start your sightseeing!
Now it is time to enjoy one of the best views of Berlin, namely from the impressive and iconic Television Tower.
Close to Alexanderplatz, you will find the 368-metre-tall elegant structure from 1969, the result of a 4-year construction project undertaken by the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Berlin Television Tower | Photo: Bernd Joisten / Pixabay
The labourers worked in shifts to deliver and complete the tower. It was not a low-budget project since it cost 200 million Marks, way above the budget.
As the tallest tower in Germany, and 220 metres higher than the Berlin Radio Tower, from the 1920s, in the western part of Berlin, it was intended to be a symbol of strong East German power.
The lift is like a dream since it moves unbelievably fast – only taking 40 seconds to reach 203 metres! Try it to arrive at a magnificent view on a clear day!
Today, the eye-catching tower is both a landmark in the city and a popular tourist attraction with an observation deck and a rotating restaurant way above the streets of Berlin.
Visit the Pergamon Museum, Bode Museum, Neues Museum, Altes Museum or Alte Nationalgalerie | Photo: Sosinda / Pixabay
Today is museum day, and you will now walk over to the museums on Museumsinsel, the Museum Island centrally located in Berlin, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features several museums – some of the best cultural attractions you can visit in Berlin.
You will select two of five outstanding Berlin museums here, depending on your interests, one for a morning visit and one for an afternoon visit. These specific museum attractions span a broad diversity within the fields of geography, history and arts, and you will easily get carried away in the phenomenal collections.
Before arriving, check available museum passes, since they may be good value for you.
Pergamon Museum | Photo: Photomat / Pixabay
The Pergamon Museum is an outstanding museum featuring a richness of treasures from lost worlds of ancient countries in the East such as Iran, Asia Minor, Egypt, Babylon, Uruk and Ashur, excavated by proficient archaeologists. You can explore the more than 2000-year-old wonders in the Antiquity Collection, the Islamic Art Museum and the Middle East Museum here behind the massive museum walls. The museum is named after the Pergamon Altar, a fabulous Hellenistic structure made of white stone.
Fortunately, the museum survived the deterioration during the Second World War, and it has become one of the most popular attractions.
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If you are interested in ancient cultures, it is hard to use less than a couple of hours here – and most likely it will be more!
Three Girls and a Boy, Berlin | Photo: Achim Scholty / Pixabay
Inside a neoclassical frame, designed by the classicist architect Friedrich August Stuler in the 19th century, the Neues Museum has created a collection of artefacts of cultural interest. The works originate from Europe and the Middle East and stretch across multiple periods – from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages and across a development of architectural styles – from classic to modern. In particular, the Egyptian exhibition is a draw – with its bust of Nefertiti herself and a genuine papyrus collection, together with many authentic tombs and mummies.
The museum building was severely damaged during the Second World War, and it was not until 2003 that comprehensive renovations began with the British architect David Chipperfield in charge. That took six years, and finally, in 2009, the museum reopened to the public.
Bode Museum | Photo: Photomat / Pixabay
This fine museum was built in 1904 in a baroque revival style by order of the German Emperor William II. In the past, the Bode Museum was known as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III but was in 1956, renamed after its original director, Wilhelm von Bode. Most strikingly, he displayed paintings and sculptures in the same museum, a radical change to the traditional way of designing a museum exhibition.
Moreover, the museum features an impressive coin cabinet, one of the most significant numismatic collections worldwide – with around 500,000 unique pieces. Also, a considerable number of medals are included in the exhibition.
Alte Nationalgalerie | Photo: Wikilmages / Pixabay
Alte Nationalgalerie, or the Old National Gallery, was erected, by order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia, in a neoclassical and Renaissance revival style. The museum was founded in 1861 as a temple-like building with the first collection of 262 paintings, donated by Johann Heinrich Wagener and housed in the Akademie der Künste. The King’s dream was to combine arts and science.
Today, the current museum building houses sculptures and paintings from the 19th century. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, these art pieces were united in the same building. They had for some years been dispersed in the New National Gallery (Neue Nationalgalerie) and in Charlottenburg Palace. The Old National Gallery reopened in 2001 for its 125th anniversary, now with the unified collection that had survived the Second World War.
Altes Museum, Berlin | Photo: Waldo Miguez / Pixabay
The neoclassical Altes Museum was the first museum established on the Museum Island. Completed in 1830 by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, it is one of the most significant neoclassical structures existing. It impresses with its eighteen Ionic columns, its atrium and rotunda adorned with magnificent antique sculptures.
A papyrus collection and the bust of Nefertiti were earlier exhibited here (2005 – 2009), but this former Egyptian part of the museum is displayed at the Neues Museum.
The current collection includes exquisite Greek, Etruscan and Roman art and classical antiquities. Some of the sculptures were previously on display at the Pergamon Museum.
Berlin Cathedral | Photo: Monica Jim 0 / Pixabay
After a couple of incredible and enriching museum experiences, you will now walk over to the Berlinerdom, Berlin’s Cathedral, also on the Museum Island.
The neo-Renaissance Cathedral, as it stands today, is the result of several reconstructions and deliberate remodelling. Most recently, it was rebuilt after the destruction during the Allied bombing in the Second World War.
Over the years, the architectural style changed from baroque, introduced by Frederick the Great in 1750, to neoclassicist, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1820-1822. More remodelling followed under Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the current structure was completed in 1905.
Berlin Cathedral | Photo: Achim Scholty / Pixabay
After the somewhat ‘history-heavy’ museum visits earlier today, it is time for a distinct cultural experience. You can visit the Cathedral for a small fee and climb the dome for spectacular views of the surrounding city.
Inside the church, you will notice the carved pulpit, the staircase, the gold altar and the magnificent organ featuring more than 7,000 pipes. If you have time, you may also visit the crypt below, which contains a large number of coffins from the 1600s.
Mauerpark | Photo: Valentin Baciu / Pixabay
Take the U-bahn U2 up to Mauerpark, a large open space in the northern part of the city. If you happen to be here on a Sunday, you may experience the flea market brimming with secondhand clothes, vintage bags, old vinyl records, musical instruments, jewellery, and much more. It is a popular and hip place where Berliners come to participate in the karaoke sessions at the amphitheatre on Sunday afternoons.
The park has a historical side as well. When Berlin was divided, the current park was the borderland of the Berlin Wall from 1961 to 1989 – and therefore ‘no man’s land’. After the reunification, the architect Gustav Lange designed the new park, Mauerpark, as a recreational space for the Berliners. It opened in 1994, precisely five years after the Wall fell.
Stroll along the many eye-catching traces of the former Wall – you can continue down to the Berlin Wall Memorial.
The Berlin Wall | Photo: Maria Tortajada / Pixabay
The last thing today is a visit to the Prater Biergarten (weather permitting), a stone’s throw from Mauerpark. It is recommended to make a reservation if you want to eat in the restaurant here since it is very popular! It seats 600 people at the traditional tables and benches between the trees. Try Kartoffelsalat, Pretzels or Bratwurst – and do what the Berliners have done since 1837 – have a beer in the garden! It is Berlin’s oldest beer garden.
In recent years, Prater got a renaissance after the fall of the Wall. It reopened in 1996 with new ideas, including readings of the East German writer Peter Wawerzinek. Prater was handed over to the district of Prenzlauer Berg – and the building to Volksbühne, which managed to give the traditional Biergarten a renaissance!
Enjoy your evening here among locals (and tourists)!
Museum Island Berlin Best Museum | Berlin Museums to Visit
Which sights to see if you have more than one day in the city? You may then want to check out our 3-day Berlin itinerary & travel guide, which has suggestions for day 2 and day 3 in Berlin.
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Berlin Museums & Travel Guide for 1 Day
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Berlin Museums & Travel Guide for 1 Day:
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Berlin museums / travel guide 1 day
