Architecture

Secret Tours Berlin starts at Hackescher Markt and leads for two hours through the courtyards of the Spandauer Vorstadt, from the eight Hackesche Höfe from 1906 to the Rosenhöfe and the Otto Weidt Workshop for the Blind. For 20 euros, this special city tour in Berlin reveals a district that is completely overlooked from the street.

The bike tour through Spandau's Old Town, lasting one to two hours, is one of Berlin's shortest cycling tours and leads from the market to the Spandau Citadel, a Renaissance fortress from 1594 with the 30-meter-high Juliusturm. Afterwards, it passes through the Kolk with its cobblestones and along the Lindenufer back. Easily manageable for children.

The Futurium near the Central Station is one of Berlin's photo spots that works with light: Over 8,000 cassette elements made of metal reflectors and printed cast glass make the facade look different with every position of the sun. The Skywalk on the roof is publicly accessible, and admission is free. Tripods, selfie sticks, and flashes must be left outside.

Bücherbogen am Savignyplatz has been utilizing four connected brick arches under the city railway in Charlottenburg since 1980. In four thematic rooms, specialized books on architecture, art, fashion, film, and design are available, along with Berlin titles and children's books. Twelve booksellers provide advice here while the S-Bahn runs above the vault.

The Wall Museum East Side Gallery is located in the old mill granary at the Oberbaum Bridge, i.e., in the former death strip. In 13 rooms, over 100 screens, original wall segments, and interviews with contemporary witnesses recount the years from 1945 to 1990. Those looking for 'Ostalgie' in Berlin will find a counter-narrative here: the GDR from the perspective of those who wanted to leave.

In the Kollhoff Tower at Potsdamer Platz, Europe's fastest elevator travels to the 24th floor in about 20 seconds, where a panoramic view over the city center begins at an altitude of over 100 meters. To the east are the Brandenburg Gate and the TV Tower, to the west the Victory Column and the Radio Tower. With an admission fee of 9 Euros, this is one of Berlin's most affordable viewpoints.

The Stage Bluemax Theater on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz was originally an IMAX cinema designed by Renzo Piano and was converted in 2007 for the Blue Man Group, which had its own venue here until 2025. Today the compact auditorium with around 600 seats works as a guest performance venue for musicals, currently Fack Ju Göhte.

do you read me?! is located on Auguststraße, between the galleries of Spandauer Vorstadt, and houses around 2,000 titles from over twenty countries within a few square meters. The focus is on international magazines, with dedicated sections for Japanese issues and rare books. Magazines cost between twelve and thirty euros.

Hidden in a Wilhelminian old building on Weinbergsweg in Berlin-Mitte is one of the city's most remarkable design hotels: The Gorki Apartments combine Berlin living culture with boutique hotel comfort, without sacrificing anonymity. Instead of room numbers, there are engraved keys, instead of a lobby, a green courtyard.

After the war, Potsdamer Platz, on the border of Tiergarten and Mitte, lay fallow for almost fifty years because the Berlin Wall ran right through it. Since 1998, a complete district covering 68,000 square meters has stood here, through which approximately 100,000 people pass each day. The Panoramapunkt in the Kollhoff Tower takes guests up 100 meters in about 20 seconds.

The KaDeWe on Tauentzienstraße opened on March 27, 1907, and with over 60,000 square meters of retail space, it is the largest department store on the European continent. Eight floors, a gourmet food floor with several hundred types of cheese, and over eight million visitors per year make it a landmark that also happens to be a department store.

In the Ehrenhof on Stauffenbergstraße, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators planned the assassination attempt on Hitler, and here they were shot the very same night after its failure. Admission, public tours and the audio guide of the German Resistance Memorial Center are free, and scenes for Operation Valkyrie were filmed here.

On Reinhardtstraße stands a massive high-rise bunker from 1942, with trees growing on its roof. Inside, Karen and Christian Boros have been displaying their collection of international contemporary art since 2008, viewable only by guided tour.

The Gropius Bau on Niederkirchnerstraße, directly on the border between Kreuzberg and Mitte, is one of Europe's most renowned exhibition venues. Its 19th-century Neo-Renaissance building hosts exhibitions that set international standards.

nhow Berlin in Friedrichshain is Europe's first music hotel and one of the city's most striking design hotels. Star designer Karim Rashid transformed all 304 rooms into futuristic worlds of color and form directly on the Spree, just a few minutes' walk from the East Side Gallery.

Choriner Straße is one of Berlin's pure Gründerzeit photo spots: Ten apartment buildings are listed as historical monuments, the oldest dating from 1864, and the enclosed block-edge development creates long vistas with stucco facades and archways. Two monument ensembles extend into this area. Photography is done from the sidewalk; courtyards and stairwells are private.

The Tempodrom started in 1980 as a circus tent at Potsdamer Platz and has stood since 2001 as a concrete building with a 37-meter-high folding roof on the site of the former Anhalter Bahnhof. The Great Arena accommodates up to 4,200 guests and is built like a modern amphitheater; in the basement, there is a saltwater pool 13 meters in diameter under a concrete dome.

Behind the sandstone facade on Gerichtstraße in Wedding lies Berlin's first crematorium. Since 2013, it has become the silent green Kulturquartier, offering concerts, film programs, and exhibitions in the cupola hall and the underground concrete hall.

A former World War II high-rise bunker, right in the heart of Berlin-Mitte, near the Deutsches Theater: The Boros Collection transforms war architecture into one of the city's most exciting venues for contemporary art. Since 2008, collectors Karen and Christian Boros have invited visitors on guided tours through Berlin's most extraordinary private museum, spanning 3,000 square meters.

The ICC is the largest among Berlin's photo spots: approximately 313 meters long, almost 40 meters high, with a silver-gray aluminum facade, a protected monument since 2019, and closed since 2014. Interior viewings are only possible during rare special openings. From the outside on Messedamm, the main work of high-tech architecture can be photographed at any time.

The Gasometer Berlin Schöneberg combines two Berlin photo spots in one: the green steel framework from 1910, 78 meters high and a listed building, and the round glass building that has been inside it since 2024. The rooftop terrace at 66 meters offers a 360-degree view of the city, but it is only accessible as part of a guided tour.

Since 2007, Pro qm has been located in a Poelzig building on Almstadtstraße, just a few steps from the Volksbühne. The thematic bookstore collects titles on city, politics, architecture, design, and theory, with more than half of them in English. Books are not sorted alphabetically, but by the ongoing debates.

Boulevard Berlin is the largest shopping center on Schloßstraße in Steglitz, formed in 2012 from the merged department stores Wertheim and Karstadt. Across approximately 64,000 square meters of retail space, Galeria, Media Markt, Douglas, and SportScheck line a covered city promenade. Renovations begin in 2026, with an indoor adventure world opening in 2027.

The Vienna House by Wyndham Andel's Berlin in Lichtenberg represents an urban design hotel concept with real substance: 557 rooms with modern interiors, a Michelin-starred restaurant high above the rooftops of Berlin, and a wellness area that welcomes both hotel guests and day spa visitors alike.

Grimm's Hotel at Potsdamer Platz, on the border of Kreuzberg and Tiergarten, combines a fairy-tale design concept with a modern Berlin city hotel. Each floor is dedicated to a different Grimm's fairy tale. This sparks curiosity.