Is Berlin Worth Visiting? 23 Reasons to Visit Berlin

I often see people ask, is Berlin worth visiting? Of course I’m biased since I live in Berlin, but I definitely think this city is worth a visit, or several. It’s such a fascinating city with so much to offer for any kind of traveler. I think there are tons of reasons to visit Berlin, and I’ll tell you all about them in this article.

In my opinion, it’s worth visiting Berlin for the history alone. But there are so many things to do in Berlin, and there’s so much more to the city than its past. Maybe not all of my reasons to visit Berlin will resonate with you, but I’m betting at least a few will encourage you to go to Berlin.

Reasons to Visit Berlin

After reading these reasons to visit Berlin, I’m sure you’ll see why you should go to Berlin at least once in your lifetime. Also see why it’s worth visiting Germany.

World class museums

If you like museums, Berlin is a wonderful city to visit. For many people, one of their reasons to visit Berlin is the choice of world class museums.

Museum Island is the most well known complex of museums here. The five museums are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Pergamon Museum is the most visited museum in Germany.

But it’s not just Museum Island. Berlin has around 175 museums in total, including the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology), the Jewish Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Stasi Museum, Topography of Terror Museum, the German History Museum, and so many more.

Planning on visiting a lot of museums while you’re in Berlin? A Welcome Card might be a good choice.

City of Art

Berlin is a creative city with an artist soul. It’s worth visiting Berlin for the arts since there are so many art museums and galleries offering both permanent collections and special temporary exhibitions.

Check out the Hamburger Bahnhof art museum, Museum of Photography, Neue Nationalgalerie, Gropius Bau, to name a few. If you’re looking for artistic souvenirs from Berlin, there are lots of unique finds at flea markets, or try the outdoor Art Market along the Spree River near the Berliner Dom.

Unbeatable Street Art

Street art is such a big deal in Berlin, it deserves its own section. As one of the best cities in the world for street art, it’s definitely worth visiting Berlin for the urban art scene.

Go out in search of street art on your own or book an inexpensive tour like this one to have an expert show you around and tell you stories about the pieces you’re seeing.

Berlin even has a museum dedicated to graffiti and street art, called Urban Nation. It’s definitely a hidden gem in Berlin.

It’s beautiful in its own way

So many people call Berlin ugly, and maybe it is if you’re comparing it to beauties such as Paris or Rome. Berlin is not a city that will immediately strike you as beautiful.

But the beauty is there. It’s just a little more hidden, and you might have to work for it. When the sun shines after weeks of winter gloom, you can’t help but smile at that beauty.

Summer days are super long, and those last few hours of light, when it seems too late for the sun to still be up, are wonderful. When the leaves turn colors in the fall, you couldn’t possibly think Berlin wasn’t pretty.

Give yourself some time here to really see the city’s beauty. You can see some of the popular sights with 1 day in Berlin, but if you have 3 days in Berlin or more, you can venture further and see beyond the initial harshness.

Theater and Opera Houses

Did you know that Berlin is the only city in the world with 3 opera houses that still hold performances? Check out the Deutsche Oper, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and the Komische Oper.

Aside from Opera houses, Berlin has many other venues showing theatrical and musical performances, such as the Friedrichstadt Palast, Admiralspalast, and the Konzerthaus at Gendarmenmarkt, just to name a few.

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Have questions about planning your trip to Berlin?

Join the Facebook group here to chat with Ali (she runs this site) and other people who have been to Berlin for tips.

Clubs and Nightlife

Berlin is world famous for its nightlife and club scene, and this alone is one of the best reasons to visit Berlin for many people. Whether you’re interested in dancing the night away or getting into something a bit more X-rated, Berlin has a club for you.

>>Read: 51 Amazing Berlin Bucket List Sights to Include on Your Trip

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Here’s another fun fact about Berlin: One of the few cities in the world that has 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites is Berlin.

I’ve already mentioned the Museum Island complex earlier. It consists of the Pergamonmuseum, Altes Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Bode Museum, and Neues Museum.

Another well known UNESCO site here is the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin. Sanssouci Palace, the New Palace, and many others located in Potsdam are included, as well as the Peacock Island Palace and a few other palaces in southwest Berlin.

This makes a day trip to Potsdam from Berlin an excellent idea, especially if you’re in Berlin for 4 days or longer.

Berlin’s third UNESCO site is less known, but it’s called Berlin Modernism Housing Estates UNESCO Site. This is a collection of six housing estates spread around the city that were built roughly 100 years ago and represent an innovative approach to creating apartments for that time.

>>Read: What to Wear & What to Pack for Berlin, Germany: Your Ultimate Berlin Packing List

Delicious and Interesting Food

Let’s get one thing straight: Berlin doesn’t really compare to cities like Paris when it comes to food. But it’s still an excellent place to experience a unique variety of cuisines.

Because Berlin is a city of many nationalities, it has so many different types of cuisine on offer. Of course there are delicious German restaurants in Berlin, but you can also get tasty Vietnamese, Turkish, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Syrian, and so much more. Almost every country in the world is represented here.

Cold War History

For history buffs, there’s no better place to visit than Berlin for Cold War history. For decades, Germany was divided into East and West, and Berlin itself was divided as well.

Berlin is chock full of museums and other attractions where you can learn about life during the Cold War and how it affected the city. Check out the Stasi Museum, the DDR Museum, Tempelhof Park, Glienicker Brücke (Spy Bridge), or take a Trabi tour.

Check out my full list of places to see Cold War sites in Berlin.

Berlin Wall

Yes, the Berlin Wall is also a Cold War connection, but the Wall itself played such a huge part in shaping the city, that I feel like it’s a reason to visit Berlin all on its own.

The East Side Gallery is one of the top sights in Berlin as well as one of the most popular sections of the Wall that’s still standing. But it’s just one of many.

The Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse is a fantastic outdoor memorial about the Wall and how it affected a community. Platz des 9th November is a lesser visited spot dedicated to the historical day the Wall came down.

Check out my full list of places to see the Berlin Wall remains plus other Wall attractions such as border crossings, watch towers, and museums.

World War II History

As the capital of Germany, Berlin has a unique historical connection to World War II. You can visit multiple Holocaust Memorials here, including the well known Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and several smaller ones located in and around Tiergarten Park to honor those who suffered and were killed.

Topography of Terror is an excellent museum that sits on the location that was the Gestapo headquarters where the Holocaust was planned out. Visit the German Russian Museum where Germany signed their unconditional surrender on the night of May 8-9, 1945.

You can see the Platform 17 Memorial and the remains of the Anhalter Bahnhof, train stations where Jews were sent off to concentration camps. And you can visit Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp a little ways north of Berlin to learn more about the Holocaust.

Berlin is a good place to visit if you’re interested in learning more about WWII. Check out my full list of places to see World War II sites in Berlin.

It’s super quirky

I think one of the reasons you should visit Berlin is that it’s so quirky.

Every city in the world has its own unique personality, but Berlin is on a whole other level with its quirkiness. Sometimes it’s like being on another planet.

From people wearing strange costumes no matter what day of the year it is, to people walking around in fuzzy slippers and pajamas, almost nothing surprises me anymore.

You might have to venture a little farther than the tourist areas of Mitte to see some of these quirks. But once you do, you’re bound to see some wacky things.

And sometimes it’s fun to travel someplace that doesn’t follow the rules and doesn’t stay inside the lines.

Different than the rest of Germany

I think sometimes travelers from outside of Europe think visiting one city in a country is enough to get a feel for what the country is like. Maybe it’s because the countries are so much smaller if you’re used to someplace like the US or Canada.

But European countries like Germany have so many regional differences despite the smaller geographic areas. The culture, food, dialect and accents are so different from one end of the country to another.

Visiting Berlin will show you a drastically different view than if you traveled to Munich or Hamburg or the Black Forest. You’d never visit New York City or Los Angeles and assume the rest of the US was like that, right?

The same goes for Berlin. It’s a very different city, and one of the reasons you should visit Berlin is to see and experience that uniqueness.

>>Read: 1 Week in Germany Itinerary: Berlin and Munich

Innovative Craft Beer

Germany is well known for its beer, but the traditional Reinheitsgebot beer laws can be quite limiting. Craft beer is everywhere these days, but Berlin is a fantastic place to see where locals are breaking the rules of German beer.

There are so many great craft beer bars and breweries in Berlin. That alone is a reason to visit Berlin, if you like good beer.

It’s kid friendly

Despite Berlin’s reputation as a party city, it also has lots to offer for families and people traveling with kids. Some of Berlin’s kid friendly activities include the Berlin Zooligical Garden and Berlin Tierpark.

Berlin has two zoos because of the time when the city was divided. The Berlin Zoo on the west is one of the most visited zoos in Europe, and Tierpark in the east is less touristy.

Kids will also love Legoland, Little Big City, German Museum of Technology, DDR Museum, and the Ritter Sport chocolate shop. And while the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp might be too heavy for young kids, places like the Holocaust Memorial are a less graphic way to teach kids about history.

>>Read this if you can’t decide whether to visit Berlin or Munich.

Lots of Nature

Ok Berlin is a big, gritty city, so why do I have nature as one of the reasons to visit Berlin? Well, I think you can appreciate nature here even more than in more obvious cities simply because it’s a grimy city.

Berlin has so many parks, and on the outskirts of the city, there are lots of lakes and hiking trails. If you love nature but want the conveniences of a city, Berlin is a great place to visit.

Cherry blossoms

Many cities around the world boast gorgeous cherry blossoms. But lots of Berlin’s cherry blossom trees were planted in places where the Berlin Wall once stood.

This makes for some interesting photos in places where you can see the beauty of the trees combined with Berlin Wall remains. If you’re in Berlin in spring, don’t miss it.

Here’s my list of places to see cherry blossoms in Berlin.

Christmas markets

Christmas markets are lots of fun, and it’s a great way to enjoy December even when it’s cold, dark, and gloomy. And while every town and city in Germany has Christmas markets, Berlin’s Christmas markets are quite unique.

Sure, there are traditional Christmas markets here. But you’ll also find quirky ones like Holzmarkt, a vegan Christmas market, a medieval themed market, a Nordic one, a Japanese one, an Italian one, and so many other non traditional Christmas markets.

It’s an affordable city

Berlin isn’t as cheap as it used to be, but compared to other major cities in western Europe, it’s still one of the more affordable ones to visit. One good reason to visit Berlin is that it’s easy on the wallet.

Many major attractions are free to visit. The East Side Gallery, Holocaust Memorial, Topography of Terror, and so many others have no entry cost. You can take a tour of the Reichstag Building for free, too. And there are quite a few free museums in Berlin.

Check out my extensive list of free things to do in Berlin.

Even aside from the free things, there are lots of cheap things to do in Berlin, too. Climbing the Victory Column is much cheaper than the TV Tower. The Germany History Museum, Stasi Museum, German Museum of Technology, and the DDR Museum are just a few of the inexpensive museums in Berlin.

Read more about how to travel to Berlin on a budget.

It’s easy to get around

Lots of Berlin’s major sights are in Mitte within walking distance from each other, but there are quite a few attractions in other parts of the city. Luckily Berlin has a good public transport system to connect you.

With Ubahns, Sbahns, trams, and buses, you can get to just about every corner of Berlin. It’s not perfect – often there’s at least one line down for construction – but overall it’s a good network and makes it easy to see several areas of Berlin.

Lots of Events and Festivals

Berlin is a festive city, and there’s almost always something going on. If you’re in Berlin in summer, look for beer festivals, food festivals, and concerts.

While Berlin in winter isn’t the most fun time to visit because it’s so cold and gloomy, it’s a great time to enjoy Christmas markets. If you love New Year’s Eve, Berlin is epic. Plus the Berlinale Film Festival is in February, and it’s one of the top film festivals in the world.

Spring in Berlin brings cherry blossom festivals, ice cream week, the Performing Arts Festival, and in general, the city simply feels alive. Berlin in autumn means it’s time for the Berlin Festival of Lights, German Reunification Day, and the Berlin Marathon.

>>Read: When is the Best Time to Visit Berlin?

Well-connected to other parts of Germany and Europe

I hesitated to put this one on the list of reasons to visit Berlin because the Berlin Airport still isn’t as well connected as you might expect for a major city and capital of Germany.

But you can get flights to lots of cities around Europe. Better yet, getting around in Germany is easy using trains, so it’s not difficult to include Berlin on a multi-city trip in Germany.

You can get from Berlin to Munich in 4-5 hours. Berlin to Hamburg is only 2 hours, Berlin to Dresden is about 2 hours, and Berlin to Leipzig is only about an hour.

It’s also easy to reach several other countries. You can be in Poland in less than 3 hours, and Prague is about 4 hours away by train. Vienna is a little farther away at 7.5 to 9 hours, but that 7.5 hour train is direct with no switches.

And while you could spend your whole vacation in Berlin, it also makes a great base for day trips to cities near Berlin.

Check Deutsche Bahn for schedules, routes, and prices for trains throughout Germany and beyond.

You can be whoever you want to be

One of my favorite things about Berlin is that it’s a city where you can be whoever you want to be. This is not a city that demands conformity.

Berlin doesn’t care if you’re dressed up or wearing pajamas. The city doesn’t judge you for being different or weird or free-spirited.

This city is so weird, and anything goes. So even though I’m a casual leggings-and-hoodie type person, I feel comfortable here because I know no one cares what I look like or how I dress.

Be you. Is it worth visiting Berlin? Yes, because it’s a place where you can be yourself, and that can be a wonderful thing.

Berlin Travel Resources

I want you to have the best trip to Berlin, and hopefully this list of reasons to visit Berlin helps you see why you should go to Berlin. But there are lots more tips on the site!