Berlin Mitte on foot: a self-guided walk from the Reichstag past the Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island to Alexanderplatz, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Berlin. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at the Reichstag, 370 m from Bundestag station (U5), and finish at Alexanderplatz: 4.6 km, about an hour of walking and a day with the stops. Walk it Wednesday to Friday. The Reichstag dome is free but needs a registration for a date in the current or following month. Every Museum Island museum and the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre are shut on Mondays, the Humboldt Forum on Tuesdays, and the Cathedral opens at 12:00 on Sundays. The Museum Island day ticket is €24 and the Cathedral €15. Or book a tour: the Discover Berlin walking tourad (from €18, 2 to 4 hours) covers the same ground from the Brandenburg Gate to Museum Island.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

The route runs from the government quarter at the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate east along Unter den Linden to the Spree island, where the museums, the Cathedral and the Humboldt Forum stand, and on to the Rotes Rathaus and Alexanderplatz. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories, and the tours below all cover this stretch. None of them includes entry to a museum or the Cathedral. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

• Berlin: Discover Berlin Walking Tourad, by Original Berlin Walks: from €18, 4.9 stars from 6,750 reviews, 2 to 4 hours, in English or German. It runs from the Brandenburg Gate to Museum Island and also passes Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz and the site of Hitler’s bunker.
• Explore Berlin: See All The Iconic Sights & Some Hidden Gemsad, by Insider Tour Berlin: from €16, 4.9 stars from 2,716 reviews, 3 hours, in English, German or Spanish. It takes in Museum Island, Bebelplatz, the Gendarmenmarkt, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial, the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate, and drops you at Pariser Platz.
• Berlin: Reichstag, Dome and Government District Guided Tourad, by Paaßens & Kniestedt Berlin kompakt: from €16, 4.7 stars from 21,681 reviews, 2.5 hours. The booking includes the dome registration, so it is the way in when the Bundestag’s form has no date left. Berlin walking tours compares these with the tip-based walks.

1. Reichstag

Free, with a registration · dome and roof terrace daily, admission every 15 minutes, last at 21:45 · U Bundestag (U5), 370 m away

The gable of the Reichstag’s main portico, with the dome behind. Photo: Dosseman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Reichstag is on Platz der Republik, 370 m from Bundestag station, and the Hauptbahnhof is a walk of about 10 minutes. It is the seat of the Bundestag, and the glass dome on its roof has a ramp of 230 m up and down, with the government quarter below. The Bundestag takes the registration on its own form, which accepts dates only in the current and following month. A request is not a booking until the Visitors’ Service sends a confirmation, and the Bundestag can cancel a confirmed visit at short notice. The audio guide is handed out on the roof terrace and runs 20 minutes in twelve languages.

• Without a booking: the service centre on Platz der Republik, in front of the building, issues places for the same day if any are free, at least two hours before the visit. It is open 8:00 to 20:00 from April to October and 8:00 to 18:00 from November to March, 10:00 to 18:00 at weekends, and it closes at 14:00 on Tuesdays in sitting weeks.
• Photo ID: everyone aged 16 and over shows a passport or national ID card, and copies are not accepted. The entry permit is personal.
• Closed: the dome shuts on 24 December and from 16:00 on 31 December, and for cleaning from 29 March to 2 April, 19 to 23 April, 19 to 23 July and 23 August to 19 November 2027. The roof terrace stays open when the dome is shut.
• More: Reichstag dome tickets has the rules at the door.

2. Brandenburg Gate

Free · no hours · Pariser Platz · S+U Brandenburger Tor

Walk 300 m south-east from the Reichstag to Pariser Platz. The Gate was built from 1788 to 1791 to a design by Carl Gotthard Langhans, and Johann Gottfried Schadow’s Quadriga on top dates from 1793. It is 26 m high. From 1961 to 1989 it stood in the border strip between East and West Berlin, and the Berlin Wall walk follows the line of the Wall north of here. A visitBerlin information centre stands at the Gate.

• Events: the square can be closed for events, such as the New Year’s Eve party.

3. Holocaust Memorial

Free · field open 24 hours · information centre Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, last admission 45 minutes before closing · Cora-Berliner-Straße 1

Walk 370 m south down Ebertstraße. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe opened on 10 May 2005, and its Field of Stelae is 2,710 concrete blocks on about 19,000 square metres, which can be entered from all four sides. The information centre beneath it tells the story of the persecution and murder of Europe’s Jews in four rooms and takes about an hour.

• The information centre: entry is through a security gate, and the wait depends on the day. Suitcases and any bag larger than 55 x 40 x 20 cm are not taken in, and there is a free cloakroom inside.
• Closed: every Monday except 8 March, 29 March and 17 May 2027, 24 to 26 December, and from 16:00 on 31 December. On 1 January it opens at 12:00.
• Tours: a free public tour of the Field of Stelae in English runs at 14:00 on the first Sunday of the month (1 November and 6 December 2026).
• More: the Holocaust Memorial covers the four rooms.

4. Unter den Linden and Bebelplatz

Free · the square is always open · St Hedwig’s Cathedral Monday to Thursday and Saturday 11:00 to 18:00, Friday to 20:00, Sunday 13:00 to 18:00

St Hedwig’s Cathedral on Bebelplatz, with the State Opera at left. Photo: GFreihalter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Walk 1.2 km east, through Behrenstraße and along Unter den Linden, the tree-lined avenue that runs from the Gate to the Spree. Bebelplatz is on the south side, between the State Opera, the university’s law faculty and the cathedral. On 10 May 1933 Nazi students burned books in the square, then called Opernplatz. Micha Ullman’s memorial, set in the paving, is a glass panel that looks down into an empty white room of shelves, and a plaque beside it carries a line from Heinrich Heine.

• St Hedwig’s Cathedral: it reopened on 24 November 2024 after its rebuilding, can be visited free, and shuts to visitors during services and concerts. The crypt closes 15 minutes before the cathedral.
• The Zeughaus: the German Historical Museum’s arsenal building, at Unter den Linden 2, is closed with its permanent exhibition. The museum’s temporary exhibitions are in the Pei Building behind it, open daily 10:00 to 18:00, at €7 for one exhibition and €10 for all three (Museum Pass Berlin accepted).

Detour: Gendarmenmarkt

Square free · Christmas market 23 November to 31 December 2026, €2 · U6 Stadtmitte, U2 Hausvogteiplatz

The French Cathedral on the Gendarmenmarkt, with the Konzerthaus at left. Photo: HerrAdams, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Skip this on a short day: the square is 410 m south of Bebelplatz, down Französische Straße, and the detour adds 0.8 km to the walk. The Konzerthaus stands on the square between the French and German cathedrals, a pair of churches with matching domed towers. From 23 November to 31 December 2026 a Christmas market fills it. Entry is €2, free from Monday to Friday between 11:00 and 14:00 (not on 24, 25, 26 and 31 December), and free for children under 12. It is open 11:00 to 22:00 from Sunday to Thursday, 11:00 to 23:00 on Friday and Saturday, and 11:00 to 18:00 on 24 December.

• Bags: only small day bags are allowed, about A4 size or 15 litres. There is no left-luggage room, and dogs and outside food and drink are not allowed.
• Coffee: Bonanza Coffee roasts its own beans at Jägerstraße 58-60, 150 m north of the square.
• More: Berlin Christmas markets 2026 compares the markets and gives the New Year’s Eve ticket.

5. Altes Museum and Museum Island

€24 day ticket for every open museum · Altes Museum Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 · closed Mondays · Am Lustgarten

Walk 730 m east along Unter den Linden, past the Zeughaus, over the Schlossbrücke and into the Lustgarten, where the Altes Museum is on the north side. The Museumsinsel ticket costs €24, is valid for one day, and opens the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama. Single tickets are €14, so it pays from the second museum. Tickets are sold at the desks or online up to four weeks ahead, and need no time slot.

• The Altes Museum: Greek, Etruscan and Roman art. The entrance is on the Lustgarten.
• Nefertiti: the Neues Museum holds the bust, in the North Dome Hall, and is behind the Altes Museum on the island, entered through the James-Simon-Galerie. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00.
• The Pergamon Museum: it is closed until 4 June 2027, and individual tickets are expected from December 2026. The Panorama, a separate building beside the island, is open and is on the day ticket.
• Closed: every Monday. The Bode-Museum is open until 20:00 on Thursdays.
• More: Museum Island tickets lists the hours and what is in each museum.

6. Berlin Cathedral and the Lustgarten

€15 with the dome walk, crypt and audio guide · Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 18:00, Sunday 12:00 to 18:00, last admission 17:00 · bags over A3 refused

The Cathedral stands on the east side of the Lustgarten, 160 m from the Altes Museum. One ticket (€12 concession, €11 with the Berlin WelcomeCard) covers the church, the Hohenzollern Crypt, the museum, the audio guide and the walk up the dome to a view over the city. It has no time slot and is valid for a year. The cathedral recommends about 1.5 hours. Rucksacks and bags larger than A3 and suitcases are not allowed, and lockers are in the basement.

• Services: opening hours can change for services and events, which the cathedral publishes in its daily calendar.
• Views compared: the Reichstag dome is free with a registration, and the TV Tower, at the end of this walk, is a lift to 203 m from €20.
• More: Berlin Cathedral tickets covers the ticket and the access.

7. Humboldt Forum

Three exhibitions €9, five free · roof terrace €3 · Monday, Wednesday to Sunday 10:30 to 18:30 · closed Tuesdays · Schlossplatz

A façade of the Schlüterhof, the courtyard of the Humboldt Forum. Photo: Dosseman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Humboldt Forum is 250 m south of the Cathedral, in the rebuilt Berlin Palace. The €9 ticket covers “Agua. The Art and Cosmologies of Water” on the ground floor, “BERLIN GLOBAL” on the first floor and the Ethnological Collections and Asian Art on the second and third floors. Five exhibitions are free: “Insights. The Humboldt Brothers”, the Palace Cellar, the Sculpture Hall, the Video Panorama and “On Water: WasserWissen in Berlin”. Holders of the Museum Pass Berlin enter the Ethnological Collections and Asian Art free. Children and young people under 18 enter the paid exhibitions free.

• Roof terrace: €3 (€1.50 reduced), open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10:30 to 18:30 and Friday 10:30 to 20:00. It can close at short notice in snow or ice.
• Christmas market: it fills the Schlossplatz and the Schlüterhof from 18 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, free, daily 11:00 to 22:00, closed on 22 November and 24 December.
• More: best museums in Berlin covers the Humboldt Forum with the other museums beyond the island.

8. Rotes Rathaus and the Marienkirche

Free · Marienkirche open daily · Christmas market 23 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · U5 Rotes Rathaus

Walk 610 m east, over the Spree on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. The Neptune Fountain stands between the Rotes Rathaus, the red-brick town hall, and the Marienkirche, which is beside the TV Tower, is open daily, and which its parish calls the oldest church in Berlin. From 23 November the Berliner Weihnachtszeit market fills the lanes between the church and the town hall. It is open Monday to Friday 12:00 to 22:00 and Saturday and Sunday 11:00 to 22:00, closed on 24 and 31 December, and on 3 January 2027 it is open 11:00 to 20:00. berlin.de lists a 50 m Ferris wheel with closed gondolas, and an ice rink round the fountain.

• More: Berlin Christmas markets 2026 has the rink and the other markets.

9. Alexanderplatz

Free · the square is always open · TV Tower daily to 23:00 · S+U Alexanderplatz

The Urania World Clock on Alexanderplatz, with the Park Inn tower behind. Photo: Geoprofi Lars, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The square is 590 m on, past the TV Tower. The Urania World Clock shows the time in cities across the world. The TV Tower observation deck, 203 m up, is from €20 online for a timed slot, and the tower is closed all day on 23 November 2026. From 23 November to 26 December 2026 an Alexanderplatz Christmas market fills the square between the Fountain of Friendship between Nations and the World Clock. It is free and open daily 11:00 to 22:00. The station has the U2, U5 and U8 and the S-Bahn, and it is the end of the route.

• More: Berlin TV Tower tickets covers the slot and the bag rules.
• Next: the Berlin Wall walk is three U8 stops away.

Where to eat

Käfer on the Reichstag roof

Reichstag roof terrace · table reservation required · feinkost-kaefer.de or +49 30 227-9220, 10:00 to 16:00

The Käfer restaurant is on the roof of the Reichstag, reached by an entrance below and to the right of the West Portal, and a table does not replace the dome registration. GetYourGuide sells a rooftop breakfastad there.

Bonanza Coffee

Jägerstraße 58-60 · Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00

A specialty-coffee roaster 150 m north of the Gendarmenmarkt, for a stop on the detour.

The Sphere at the TV Tower

Berlin TV Tower, 207 m up · timed tickets with a meal, on tv-turm.de

The restaurant by Tim Raue sells a waffle breakfast for €33.50, a currywurst lunch for €42, a schnitzel lunch for €52 and a four-course menu from €154. It is the last stop of the day, beside the end of the route.

The best day to go

The timing that works, Wednesday to Friday: book the dome for the morning, reach the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre when it opens at 10:00, be at the Altes Museum by about 13:00 and in the Cathedral before the 17:00 last admission. The Humboldt Forum and the Christmas markets fill the late afternoon, and the Altes Museum shuts at 17:00 from Tuesday to Friday, so see it before the Cathedral.

What closes:

• Mondays: Museum Island and the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre.
• Tuesdays: the Humboldt Forum.
• Sunday mornings: the Cathedral and St Hedwig’s Cathedral.
• Services: St Hedwig’s Cathedral does not admit visitors during services and concerts.
• 23 November 2026: the TV Tower, all day.
• 24 December: the Reichstag dome, the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre and the Humboldt Forum market.

What does not close: the streets and squares, among them Pariser Platz, Bebelplatz and the Lustgarten, and the Field of Stelae. A Monday still makes a good walk: the dome, the Cathedral and the Humboldt Forum are open, and only the museums on the island and the information centre are shut.

Getting there and back

• To the start: Bundestag station on the U5 is 370 m from the Reichstag, and the Hauptbahnhof is a walk of about 10 minutes. From BER, the Airport Express reaches Hauptbahnhof in 22 to 23 minutes: see Berlin airport to the city.
• From the end: Alexanderplatz station has the U2, U5, U8 and the S-Bahn. A single AB ticket is €4.00 and a 24-hour AB ticket €11.20: see Berlin public transport.
• In reverse: start at Alexanderplatz, take the U5 to Museumsinsel for the Humboldt Forum and the Cathedral when they open, and finish at the Reichstag for an evening dome slot.
• Along the line: the U5 stops at Bundestag, Brandenburger Tor, Unter den Linden, Museumsinsel, Rotes Rathaus and Alexanderplatz, so any stop on the route can be left by train.

What to do with the rest of the day

• The Wall: the Berlin Wall walk starts at Nordbahnhof and ends at Eberswalder Straße, on the U2 line to Alexanderplatz. From Alexanderplatz the U8 reaches Bernauer Straße, at the east end of the memorial, in three stops.
• The guided walks: Berlin walking tours compares the guided and tip-based walks of this centre.
• The days: 3 days in Berlin builds the days round the bookings, and free things to do in Berlin lists what else costs nothing.
• The tickets: what to book before you go to Berlin has the closed days for every sight, and where to stay in Berlin compares the areas.

Common questions

How long is the Berlin Mitte walk?

4.6 km from the Reichstag to Alexanderplatz, measured along the streets: about an hour of walking. The Gendarmenmarkt detour adds 0.8 km. With the dome, the Holocaust Memorial's information centre, one museum and the Cathedral it fills a day.

Is the Berlin Mitte walk free?

The streets, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag dome (with a registration), the Holocaust Memorial, St Hedwig's Cathedral, the Lustgarten and the Marienkirche cost nothing. The Museum Island day ticket is €24, the Berlin Cathedral €15 and the Humboldt Forum's three main exhibitions €9. The Gendarmenmarkt Christmas market charges €2 from 23 November 2026.

What do I need to book for the walk?

The Reichstag dome, which is free but needs a registration on the Bundestag's own form for a date in the current or following month. Nothing else on the route needs a booking: Museum Island sells a day ticket at the desk or up to four weeks ahead online, and the Cathedral and the Humboldt Forum sell on the day.

Can I go up the Reichstag dome without booking?

Sometimes. The Bundestag's service centre on Platz der Republik issues places for the same day if any are free, at least two hours before the visit, to visitors with a passport or national ID card. A guided tour from €16 includes the registration.

Which day is best for the Berlin Mitte walk?

Wednesday to Friday. Every museum on Museum Island and the Holocaust Memorial's information centre are shut on Mondays, the Humboldt Forum is shut on Tuesdays, and the Cathedral opens at 12:00 on Sundays.

Where does the walk start and finish?

It starts at the Reichstag, 370 m from Bundestag station on the U5 and a 10-minute walk from Hauptbahnhof, and finishes at Alexanderplatz station (U2, U5, U8 and the S-Bahn). The Berlin Wall walk starts three U8 stops from Alexanderplatz.