In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Day 1, the government quarter: the Reichstag dome (free, registered in advance), the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and the Topography of Terror. Day 2, Museum Island: the €24 day ticket, the Cathedral (€15), the DDR Museum (€13.90) and the TV Tower (from €20, a timed slot). Day 3, the Wall: Bernauer Straße, a currywurst at Konnopke’s and the East Side Gallery. Monday shuts Museum Island and the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre, Tuesday shuts the Humboldt Forum, and the Pergamon Museum is closed until 4 June 2027. Or book a walk: the Discover Berlin Walking Tourad is from €18 for 2 to 4 hours.
Before you go: what to book
| Booking | Day | Price | Hours and closed days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reichstag dome | 1 | Free, with a registration | Daily, last admission 21:45; closed 19 to 30 October 2026 |
| Holocaust Memorial | 1 | Free | Field of Stelae always open; information centre Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Topography of Terror | 1 | Free | Daily 10:00 to 20:00; closed 24 and 31 December and 1 January |
| Museum Island | 2 | €24 for the day | Closed Monday; Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie and the Panorama 10:00 to 18:00 |
| Berlin Cathedral | 2 | €15 | Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 18:00; Sunday 12:00 to 18:00 |
| DDR Museum | 2 | €13.90 | Daily 9:00 to 21:00 |
| TV Tower | 2 | From €20 | Daily to 23:00; closed 23 November 2026 |
| Berlin Wall Memorial | 3 | Free | Outdoors daily 8:00 to 22:00; centres Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 |
| East Side Gallery | 3 | Free | Always open; information centre closed on Fridays from November |
The sights are spread over a wide city, and a 24-hour ticket for zones A and B is €11.20: see Berlin public transport.
The Museum Pass
The Museum Pass Berlin is €32 for three consecutive days at more than 30 museums. On this plan the Museumsinsel ticket (€24), the Cathedral (€15), the DDR Museum (€13.90) and the TV Tower (from €20) come to €72.90. With the Pass the island is covered, but the Cathedral, the DDR Museum and the TV Tower are not, so the same sights cost €80.90. The Pass pays only on a plan with a third paid museum from its list. See Museum Pass or WelcomeCard.
Fitting the plan to your dates
The plan runs Wednesday to Friday, which keeps every sight open and puts Street Food Thursday on the evening of day two. If your days differ:
- Monday: Museum Island, the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre and the Wall Memorial’s two centres are shut. The Cathedral, the DDR Museum, the TV Tower, the Topography of Terror and the Stasi Museum are open, and the Humboldt Forum is the museum to use instead of the island: see best museums in Berlin.
- Tuesday: the Humboldt Forum and the Tempelhof airport tours are shut. It is the best day for Museum Island, and the Reichstag’s service centre closes at 14:00 in sitting weeks.
- Saturday: everything on the plan is open, and Konnopke’s closes at 19:00.
- Sunday: the Cathedral opens at 12:00, Konnopke’s and Markthalle Neun’s hall are shut and shops are closed. The Mauerpark flea market is on: see where to eat in Berlin.
- The dome in October 2026: it is closed 19 to 30 October. The roof terrace stays open.
- The TV Tower: closed all day on 23 November 2026.
- From November: the East Side Gallery’s information centre is closed on Fridays.
- In 2027: the Neues Museum is closed 15 to 17 March, and a large part of the Pergamon Museum reopens on 4 June.
- At Christmas: the Christmas markets run from 23 November: see Berlin Christmas markets 2026.
Day 1: the Reichstag, the Gate and the memorials
The Reichstag dome
Free · registered · admission every 15 minutes
Register on the Bundestag’s own form for a date in the current or following month, and take the passport or ID card that the entry permit is checked against. Bags are X-rayed and larger luggage is not taken in. If the form has no date, the Reichstag and government district tourad from €16 includes the registration. See Reichstag dome tickets.
The Spree looking west from Friedrichstraße station, with the Reichstag dome beyond the bridge. Photo: Geoprofi Lars, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial
Both free · the Gate has no hours · the information centre closes on Monday
The Gate on Pariser Platz is a short walk from the Reichstag, and the Field of Stelae of the Holocaust Memorial is beside it. Allow about an hour for the information centre underneath, where entry is through a security gate and there can be a wait.
The Topography of Terror
Free · daily 10:00 to 20:00
The exhibition stands on the site of the Gestapo and SS headquarters. It stays open until 20:00, so it is the stop to leave until the end of the day: see best museums in Berlin.
Checkpoint Charlie
Free to see · the Mauermuseum €18.50 and the asisi panorama €14 are private businesses
The corner of Friedrichstraße and Zimmerstraße is a short walk on from the Topography of Terror. The free outdoor exhibition on the square is the Foundation’s; for the history of the Wall, day three is the better use of time: see Checkpoint Charlie.
Day 2: Museum Island, the Cathedral and the TV Tower
Museum Island
€24 for the day · Tuesday to Sunday · the Bode-Museum is open to 20:00 on Thursday
Start at the Neues Museum, where the bust of Nefertiti stands in the North Dome Hall, and add the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Bode-Museum. The day ticket pays from the second museum. The Pergamon Museum is closed, but the Panorama, €12 on its own, is on the day ticket. See Museum Island tickets and the Pergamon Museum.
Berlin Cathedral and the DDR Museum
Cathedral €15 · DDR Museum €13.90 · opposite each other
The Cathedral’s ticket includes the audio guide, the crypt and the walk up to the view from the dome, and needs no slot. The DDR Museum stands opposite it on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße and is open until 21:00. See Berlin Cathedral tickets and the DDR Museum.
The TV Tower
From €20 · a timed slot · 15 minutes’ grace
Book the slot online up to 90 days ahead. The ticket cannot be cancelled, suitcases and shopping bags are refused, and there are no lockers. The Cathedral’s dome walk is the cheaper view if you drop the tower. See Berlin TV Tower tickets.
Street Food Thursday at Markthalle Neun
Eisenbahnstraße 42/43, Kreuzberg · Thursday 17:00 to 22:00
The stalls rotate each week. The hall is shut on Sunday. For the other meals, see where to eat in Berlin and Berlin food tours.
Day 3: the Wall
The Berlin Wall Memorial
Free · outdoors daily 8:00 to 22:00 · centres Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00
Start at the Visitor Centre at Bernauer Straße 119 and walk the 1.4 km of the former border strip. A guided tour is €5. The Wall Tour: Fates, Love Stories and Heroesad is from €25. See the Berlin Wall Memorial.
Konnopke’s Imbiss
Schönhauser Allee 44B · Tuesday to Friday 11:00 to 18:00, Saturday 12:00 to 19:00
The currywurst stand under the U2 viaduct is the lunch stop, and it is shut on Sunday and Monday. See currywurst and döner in Berlin.
The East Side Gallery
Free · always open · information centre at Mühlenstraße 73
A 1.3 km stretch of the Wall between Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke, painted after 1989. The “Wall Museum East Side Gallery” beside it is a private museum, €12.50 at the door. Take the S-Bahn or U-Bahn to Warschauer Straße. See the East Side Gallery.
Or the Stasi
Hohenschönhausen €9, English tours at 10:40, 12:40 and 14:40 · the Stasi Museum €12
Hohenschönhausen is the former remand prison and is seen only on a tour. The Stasi Museum is the former ministry, with an English tour at 15:00 Monday to Saturday for €5 extra. Either takes the East Side Gallery’s place: see the Stasi Museum or Hohenschönhausen.
In the evening
On a Friday night the Panorama Bar at Berghain has events from 22:00, Berghain is 18+, and Tresor says a ticket does not guarantee entry: see Berlin nightlife and clubs.
Or leave Berlin
Potsdam is 35 to 37 minutes on the S7 from Hauptbahnhof, every 10 minutes, on an ABC ticket. The Sachsenhausen Memorial is free to enter and about 55 minutes away by the S1 and a bus. See day trips from Berlin, the Potsdam day trip and the Sachsenhausen Memorial.
Where to sleep and when to go
Where to stay in Berlin compares the areas, and hotels near the Brandenburg Gate lists the hotels beside day one. The best time to visit Berlin gives the weather by month, and Berlin on New Year’s Eve 2026 covers 31 December. For the way in, see Berlin airport to the city. For the guided options, see Berlin walking tours, Spree river cruises and Berlin underground tours. For the full list of bookings, see what to book before you go to Berlin.
Common questions
Is three days enough for Berlin?
For the main sights, yes. Day one fits the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and the Topography of Terror, day two Museum Island, the Cathedral and the TV Tower, and day three the Wall Memorial and the East Side Gallery.
What should I book before going to Berlin?
A registration for the Reichstag dome, which is free but takes dates only in the current and following month, and a timed slot for the TV Tower, from €20, which goes on sale 90 days ahead. The Museumsinsel ticket (€24), the Cathedral (€15) and the DDR Museum (€13.90) need no slot.
Which days of the week should I avoid for which sights?
On Mondays Museum Island, the Jewish Museum, the Holocaust Memorial's information centre and the Wall Memorial's two centres are closed. On Tuesdays the Humboldt Forum and the Tempelhof airport tours close. The Cathedral opens at 12:00 on Sunday, and Konnopke's Imbiss is shut on Sunday and Monday.
Does the Museum Pass pay back on this itinerary?
No. The Museumsinsel ticket (€24), the Cathedral (€15), the DDR Museum (€13.90) and the TV Tower (from €20) come to €72.90. The Museum Pass is €32 and covers the island but not the other three, so the same days cost €80.90 with it.
Is the Pergamon Museum open?
No. A large part reopens on 4 June 2027, and the Ishtar Gate stays closed into the 2030s. The Pergamon Panorama, a separate building at €12, is open and is on the Museumsinsel ticket.
Can I fit a day trip into three days?
Yes, by swapping day three. Potsdam is 35 to 37 minutes on the S7 from Hauptbahnhof, and the Sachsenhausen Memorial is about 55 minutes away and free to enter.
