Best time to visit Berlin, month by month: weather, daylight, the Christmas markets, the Berlinale, the Marathon, the Festival of Lights and the Karneval der Kulturen

💡 The Short Version: There is no single best month, so choose by what you want. May to September have mean highs of 19.6°C to 25.2°C, with 221 to 237 hours of sunshine a month from May to August, and July has 15 days at or above 25°C. December has 41 hours of sunshine and 7.7 hours of daylight on the 15th, and it is the month of the Christmas markets, which open on 23 November. The Berlinale runs from 10 to 21 February 2027 and the Berlin Marathon is on 26 September 2027. The Festival of Lights is every October. Or book a walk: the Discover Berlin Walking Tourad is from €18 for 2 to 4 hours.

Berlin month by month

Highs and lows are the mean daily maximum and minimum in °C, and rain is the monthly total in mm with the number of days with 2.5 mm or more. The weather is the World Meteorological Organization’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Berlin-Tempelhof, the former airport about 6 km south of the Brandenburg Gate (NOAA archive), so the centre may differ a little. Daylight is the length of the day on the 15th in hours, calculated for Berlin’s coordinates.

Schloss Bellevue at the edge of the Tiergarten under snow. Photo: GPSLeo, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

The weather in numbers

• Heat. July is the warmest month, with a mean daily high of 25.2°C, 15.5 days at or above 25°C and 5 at or above 30°C; August has 14.3 and 4.1, and June 9.8 and 2.5.
• Cold. January has 16.8 frost days and February 15.1, and December 13.9. Snowfall averages 35.1 cm in February, 27.6 cm in January and 22.5 cm in December, over 18 years of record.
• Rain. The year adds up to 572 mm. July is the wettest month (71.7 mm) and June the next (58.2 mm); April is the driest (29.3 mm), then February (36.0 mm).
• Storms and fog. Thunder falls on 24.5 days a year, most in July (5.1 days), June (4.7) and May (4.4). Fog falls on 18.4 days a year, most in November (3.8) and October (2.9).
• Sunshine. 1,736 hours a year: 237 in July, 230 in June, 224 in May and 221 in August, against 51 in January and 41 in December.
• Daylight. From 7.7 hours on 15 December to 16.8 on 15 June. The shortest day, 21 December, runs from about 08:15 to 15:54, and the sun sets at about 16:01 on 31 December.
• Clocks. Germany changes on the last Sunday of October (25 October 2026) and of March (28 March 2027).

Dates that shape a visit

• The Festival of Lights. It has run in October since 2005. The 2026 edition, the 22nd, is held from 9 to 18 October, nightly from 19:00 to 23:00, free, on 37 illuminated sites including the TV Tower, St Mary’s Church, the Berlin Cathedral and the State Opera (festival-of-lights.de).
• The Christmas markets. From 31 October to 10 January 2027, with the main ones from 23 November: see Berlin Christmas markets 2026. New Year’s Eve is in Berlin on New Year’s Eve 2026.
• The Berlinale. The 77th Berlin International Film Festival runs from Wednesday 10 to Sunday 21 February 2027. The European Film Market is from 10 to 16 February, there are two Audience Days on 20 and 21 February, and the awards ceremony is on Friday 19 February. Tickets go on sale on berlinale.de before the festival.
• The Berlin Marathon. Sunday 26 September 2027, now the GENERALI BERLIN-MARATHON, with more than 58,000 participants and a route past the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column (visitBerlin). The inline skaters, the mini-marathon and the children’s run are on the Saturday. The roads and public transport change that weekend.
• The Karneval der Kulturen. Berlin’s street festival of the city’s communities, held every Pentecost weekend, with a street party on Blücherplatz in Kreuzberg and a parade, free to attend: the Senate’s portal counts more than 500,000 visitors and more than 5,000 performers. Pentecost Sunday is 16 May 2027 (berlin.de).
• Public holidays. 25 and 26 December 2026, 1 January 2027, Good Friday on 26 March, Easter Monday on 29 March, 1 May (a Saturday), Ascension on 6 May, Whit Monday on 17 May and 3 October 2027 (a Sunday). International Women’s Day, 8 March, is a public holiday in Berlin. Shops are shut on Sundays except on 6 and 20 December 2026.
• Trade fairs. International Green Week, 15 to 24 January, ITB Berlin, 16 to 18 March, and IFA, 3 to 7 September, are fair weeks: see where to stay in Berlin.

Which month for what

• Walking weather. May, June and September, with mean highs of 19.6°C, 23.1°C and 19.9°C.
• Long days. June, with 16.8 hours of daylight on the 15th.
• The heat. July and August: put the indoor sights in the middle of the day, as in 3 days in Berlin.
• Christmas. Late November and December, with 7.7 to 8.8 hours of daylight and a mean high of 4.4°C in December: wear layers.
• Film. February: the Berlinale, with a mean high of 5.1°C.
• Short days. December and January, with 7.7 and 8.2 hours of daylight.
• Indoors in bad weather. The DDR Museum is open daily from 09:00 to 21:00: see the DDR Museum. The Berlin Story Bunker is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, and Berlin Story Bunker Entry Ticketad is from €18. See Berlin underground tours and the best museums in Berlin.

The view from the Luiseninsel in the Großer Tiergarten. Photo: Leonhard Lenz, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Plan the rest

Where to stay in Berlin compares the areas and hotels near the Brandenburg Gate lists the closest. Once you have your dates, 3 days in Berlin fits the sights round the closed days. Where to eat in Berlin and currywurst and döner in Berlin cover the meals, Berlin food tours compares the tastings, Berlin nightlife and clubs the evenings, and what to book before you go to Berlin has the hours for every sight. For the way in, see Berlin airport to the city and Berlin public transport. Day trips from Berlin covers the trips out.