Mitte
First-timersThe centre: Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate, the memorials and most of the sights. Central and least characterful.
10 hostels · from €8
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Berlin city guide
Things To Do In Berlin
Cheap, scruffy, enormous and the best nightlife in Europe — with a twentieth century written into the streets more plainly than anywhere else.
54
Hostels in the city
8.4
Average, from 192,627 reviews
1961–1989
The Wall stood for twenty-eight years
€3.80
An AB zone transport ticket
9x
The size of Paris by area
A city that spent the century being divided and is still working it out
Berlin is nine times the size of Paris and about a fifth as dense, which is why it feels like a collection of towns rather than a capital. Nothing is close to anything else and the U-Bahn is how you live.
The history is unavoidable and the city does not hide from it. The Holocaust Memorial sits in the middle of town, the Topography of Terror occupies the Gestapo headquarters site, and the Wall's route is marked across the city in a double line of cobbles.
What people actually come for is the nightlife, which is serious, international and unlike anywhere else — Berghain has a global reputation and a door policy to match, and the wider club culture around it was added to Germany's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2024.
It is also the cheapest major capital in western Europe, though noticeably less so than it was ten years ago.
Four days minimum. The museums alone need two.
Where to stay
Pick a district and live in it. Crossing Berlin takes longer than you think.
Kreuzberg
Food and barsSouth: Turkish markets, canal-side drinking, street art and the best cheap eating in the city.
9 hostels · from €10
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Friedrichshain
NightlifeEast: the East Side Gallery, Boxhagener Platz, the big clubs and a young international crowd.
7 hostels · from €11
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Prenzlauer Berg
Quieter and handsomeNorth: restored nineteenth-century blocks, cafés, playgrounds and the Mauerpark flea market on Sundays.
4 hostels · from €18
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Neukölln
Value and young crowdSouth-east: cheaper beds, a dense bar scene and the Tempelhof airfield on its doorstep.
2 hostels · from €26
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Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 12 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Berlin
Start with the history, because Berlin does it better than anywhere. The Topography of Terror, on the site of the Gestapo and SS headquarters, is free and unflinching. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is free and open at all hours, with an information centre below it. The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse is free and shows a preserved section with the death strip intact, which the tourist stretches do not.
Museum Island holds five state museums — the Pergamon, the Neues with the Nefertiti bust, the Alte Nationalgalerie and two more. A day ticket for all of them is about €24. Parts of the Pergamon are closed for long-term renovation, so check what is open before you go.
The East Side Gallery is a 1.3km stretch of Wall painted by artists in 1990, free and permanently crowded.
Tempelhof, a Nazi-era airport closed in 2008 and now a public park, lets you walk and cycle the runways. Free, enormous and very Berlin.
Free things
Free things to do in Berlin
A remarkable amount of the essential Berlin is free. The Holocaust Memorial, the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse and the East Side Gallery all cost nothing.
The Reichstag dome is free with an advance booking — register online days ahead, bring photo ID, and you walk a glass spiral above the parliamentary chamber.
Tempelhofer Feld is free and vast, and so are the Tiergarten, Treptower Park with its enormous Soviet war memorial, and the Mauerpark flea market and open-air karaoke on Sundays.
The state museums are free for under-18s, and several offer free entry on the first Sunday of the month — book ahead, as slots go.
Walking the cobbled double line marking the Wall's route across the city costs nothing and is the best way to understand the geography.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Berlin
Berlin eats cheaply and internationally rather than traditionally. A döner is €5 to €8 and is effectively the city's national dish — it was invented here in its current form by Turkish workers in the 1970s.
Currywurst is the other one, €4 to €6, and is a sausage with curried ketchup that you should try once and need not repeat.
Kreuzberg and Neukölln have the best cheap food: Turkish, Syrian, Vietnamese and Lebanese at €8 to €14. The Turkish market on Maybachufer runs Tuesdays and Fridays.
A restaurant main is €12 to €20 and a beer €4 to €6, less in a Späti — the late-opening corner shops that sell cold bottles and are a genuine institution.
Drinking in public is legal and normal here, which changes the economics of an evening considerably.
More on food and drink in Berlin
Nightlife
Going out in Berlin
The reason many people come. Berlin's club culture is internationally serious and was added to Germany's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2024.
Berghain is the famous one — a former power station in Friedrichshain with a notoriously strict door, no phones inside, and sets that run from Saturday night into Monday morning. There is no formula for getting in. Go in a small group, sober, dress plainly in black, do not queue loudly in English, and accept that you may be turned away for no stated reason.
There is far more than Berghain: Sisyphos, Renate, About Blank, Watergate and dozens of smaller places.
Nights start very late. Arriving at a club before 1am marks you out; 3am is normal.
A beer is €4 to €6 in a bar and €2 to €3 from a Späti. Club entry is €15 to €25.
More on nightlife in Berlin
Getting around
Getting around Berlin
The U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses run on one ticket system. An AB single is about €3.80 and a day ticket about €10, which most visitors need since the city is too big to walk.
Buy before boarding and validate the ticket in the machine on the platform. There are no barriers, which visitors misread as an honour system — inspectors board in plain clothes regularly and the fine is €60 with no discretion.
The airport is in zone C, so you need an ABC ticket at about €4.40. The FEX train takes 30 minutes to the Hauptbahnhof.
Cycling is excellent and flat, with hire from €10 to €15 a day.
For the rest of Germany, the Deutschland-Ticket is a flat monthly pass covering all regional and local transport nationwide — €63 a month since January 2026, sold as a monthly subscription you can cancel, and valid on regional trains but not ICE. If you are travelling Germany for a few weeks it pays for itself quickly.
Costs
What Berlin costs
The cheapest major capital in western Europe, though rising. Dorms are €18 to €38, a main €12 to €20, a beer €4 to €6 in a bar.
A day is €45 to €85.
The savings that matter: the major memorials are free, drinking in public is legal and Späti beer is €2 to €3, and Kreuzberg and Neukölln feed you well for €8 to €14.
Museum Island at about €24 for all five is fair value if you use it properly, and the Reichstag dome is free with a booking.
Carry some cash. Berlin is better than it was but plenty of bars, Spätis and smaller restaurants still take nothing else.
Safety
Staying safe in Berlin
Berlin is a safe city for its size and violent crime against visitors is rare.
Pickpocketing is the main issue, concentrated at Alexanderplatz, on the U-Bahn, at Warschauer Strasse and in club queues.
Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg has an established open drug trade. It is not somewhere you are likely to be harmed, but you will be approached repeatedly and it is best avoided at night.
Transport tickets: validate them. Plainclothes inspectors work the U-Bahn constantly, the fine is €60, and "I did not know" is not a defence anyone accepts.
Cycle lanes run across pavements in places and Berlin cyclists move fast — stepping into one without looking is the most common visitor mistake here.
Club nights run long and drug use is present; drink water, stay with people you came with. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Berlin
A palace town, a lake district and a difficult but necessary memorial.
Potsdam
Sanssouci palace and park, Prussian architecture and the Cecilienhof where the 1945 conference was held.
Sachsenhausen
A concentration camp memorial and museum. Free, sobering, and a serious rather than casual visit.
Spreewald
A biosphere reserve of canals and waterways navigated by punt, with cucumbers as the local obsession.
Dresden
A rebuilt baroque city on the Elbe, and the gateway to Saxon Switzerland.
Day trips from Berlin
What's on
What is on while you are there
A film festival in February, and Christmas markets in every district.
Staff pick
9–18 October
Festival of Lights (Colours of Love)
Experience the magic of the Festival of Lights in Berlin, one of the world's most renowned light art festivals. Each autumn, the city transforms…
Staff pick
20 Jun – 21 Nov
The Schlager Night Of The Year
Die Schlagernacht des Jahres is a popular German Schlager music event featuring top stars and newcomers performing live. The 2024 edition includes artists such…
Staff pick
12 Sep – 4 Oct
Festival of Berlin Industrial Culture
The Festival of Berlin Industrial Culture transforms the city into a vibrant showcase of its rich industrial heritage, inviting guests to explore both iconic…
Staff pick
2–4 October
Design Börse Berlin
Design Börse Berlin is a renowned vintage fair that brings together top designers, galleries, and collectors from across Europe to the historic Trabrennbahn Karlshorst.…
Staff pick
29 Oct – 1 Nov
JazzFest Berlin
Jazzfest Berlin is one of Europe’s most prestigious jazz festivals, bringing together legendary musicians and emerging artists from around the world. Known for its…
Staff pick
7–14 November
Berlin Freedom Week
Berlin Freedom Week in Berlin, Germany, is a citywide celebration dedicated to the enduring values of freedom and democracy, inspired by the historic fall…
Staff pick
14 November
Korn
Korn is a nu metal band from California known for their Billboard 200 #1 albums like Follow the Leader and Issues. They have sold…
Staff pick
18 November
Muse
Muse is a globally acclaimed British rock band known for their electrifying live performances and genre-blending sound that fuses alternative rock, electronic, and symphonic…
Hostels
Where to stay in Berlin
The largest and cheapest hostel scene in western Europe, concentrated in Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Mitte. Live from Hostelworld.
Lekkerurlaub
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Minimal Hostel No.41
Dorms from €29 a night
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Sandino - Solo Traveler Sanctuary
Dorms from €15 a night
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EastSeven Berlin Hostel
Dorms from €18 a night
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BIG MAMA Berlin
Dorms from €20 a night
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Eastener Hostel
Dorms from €15 a night
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Kiez Hostel Berlin
Dorms from €17 a night
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Circus Hostel
Dorms from €17 a night
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Minimal Hostel Kreuzberg
Dorms from €23 a night
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Pfefferbett Hostel
Dorms from €20 a night
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MEININGER Berlin Tiergarten
Dorms from €18 a night
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BackpackerBerlin
Dorms from €19 a night
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When to go
May to September for the outdoor city. Winter is grey but the clubs do not care.
Jan
Cold, grey and cheapest. Club season, indoors
Feb
Still grey. Berlinale film festival mid-month
Mar
Improving. Beer gardens starting to open
Apr
Good. Parks filling and terraces out
May
Excellent. Long evenings and the canal drinking starts
Jun
The best month. Light until late and everything outdoors
Jul
Warm and busy. Lakes and open-air clubs
Aug
The same, slightly quieter. Lake swimming at its best
Sep
Superb. Warm, thinner crowds, everything still open
Oct
Autumn in the parks. Festival of Lights
Nov
Grey and dark. The hardest month
Dec
Christmas markets across the city. Cold and busy
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. Berlin is flat, continental and open to the east, so winter is colder and summer hotter than the western German cities — and November is genuinely bleak.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
The doing line is low because the major memorials cost nothing. Club entry at €15 to €25 sits outside these figures.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Berlin travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
How do I get into Berghain?
There is no formula, and anyone selling you one is guessing. Go in a small group, go sober, dress plainly and in black, do not talk loudly in English in the queue, and go late — 3am or later. People are turned away constantly for no stated reason, and being refused is not a judgement on you. There are dozens of excellent clubs with easier doors.
Do I need to validate my transport ticket?
Yes, always, in the machine on the platform before boarding. There are no barriers, which visitors read as an honour system — plainclothes inspectors work the U-Bahn constantly and the fine is €60 with no discretion.
How many days do I need?
Four minimum. Berlin is nine times the size of Paris, the museums alone need two days, and the memorials deserve unhurried time. Pick a district to base in rather than trying to cross the city repeatedly.
Is Berlin still cheap?
The cheapest major capital in western Europe, but noticeably less so than a decade ago. Dorms €18 to €38, a main €12 to €20, Späti beer €2 to €3, and a day around €45 to €85.
Can I visit the Reichstag dome?
Yes, free, but you must register online in advance — days ahead in summer — and bring the photo ID you registered with. You walk a glass spiral directly above the parliamentary chamber, which is the point of its design.
Is Museum Island worth it?
About €24 covers all five museums and is fair value if you spend a day. Check what is open first — parts of the Pergamon have been closed for long-term renovation and people arrive expecting the whole thing.
Is it safe?
Yes, for a city this size. Pickpocketing at Alexanderplatz, on the U-Bahn and in club queues is the real risk. Görlitzer Park has an established open drug trade and is best avoided at night — you are unlikely to be harmed but you will be approached repeatedly.
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