This page is dedicated to the cool sights of the capital: museums, oddities, lovely areas, and generally any part of the metropolis that we’re passionate about. The list will grow in the coming months. Just follow the links for more information.
- To kick things off, we’ll start with the German Museum of Technology. This impressive building near the Gleisdreieck subway station is hard to miss, on account of the airplane parked on its roof — to be precise, a candy bomber used by Western allies to drop supplies during the Soviet Berlin Blockade in 1948-1949.
- The city boasts a fantastic Computer Games Museum. The Computerspielemuseum is housed in one of the so-called “workers’ palaces” on Karl-Marx-Allee – an impressive show of Stalinist architecture – and is dedicated to digital gaming culture. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, the museum has a huge amount of hardware and software on display, from classic games and consoles to the latest developments.
- Surprise! In Berlin Mitte you can find the small but nicely-done David Hasselhoff Museum. It is tucked away inside a hostel. The actor and singer was more famous in Germany than in the U.S., and his legendary New Year’s Eve appearance at the Berlin Wall in 1989 caused a real sensation in East and West. Marvel at unique exhibits such as portraits, murals and one-of-a-kind exhibits from the series “Knight Rider” and “Baywatch.”
- For summer weather, Berlin has the Badeschiff, a floating swimming pool in the Spree! This water-on-the-water opens up a totally unique panoramic view of the Spree, the Oberbaum Bridge and the iconic TV Tower. There’s more than just a swim on offer, though. The beach area around the pool boat has become an urban recreation area with activities on and off the water. For many Berliners, the Badeschiff has become a place to hang out any time of day.
- Have you ever heard of Spreepark? It used to be the East Berlin funfair/amusement park, with a giant ferris wheel and lots of other attractions, then for years remained a coveted urbex destination and “lost place.” Now, a successive re-opening is in the works, and at least the guided tours of the area are scheduled to start again in April, 2023. Which is why we include it in our list of tips for your Berlin trip in May!
- Berlin at its queerest: Online platform GetYourGuide has teamed up with an experienced local tourist guide and “Queer Eye Germany” stars Avi Jakobs and Leni Bolt to curate an exclusive tour focusing on queer Berlin and its history. (Info available in English, but the actual tour is in German.)
- Let’s talk about special bars. Berlin has a bunch of unusual, quirky, or plain beautiful bars, some of them also with a science fiction-y or fantasy theme. And for a European metropolis, most of them do not charge horror prices. The Zyankali Bar, which calls itself an “institute for entertainment chemistry,” is certainly worth a detour, as is the 12 Grad Aetherloge in Friedrichshain – a cozy den with a steampunk aesthetic! Both are also insider tips for absinthe fans.
You can find more bar recs here (number 20 is Alice-in-Wonderland-themed!)
And we would have loved to add the first completely alcohol-free bar in Germany, Zeroliq in Friedrichshain, to this Berlin list, but unfortunately it didn’t survive the past two years. Instead, the Bar am Steinplatz in the hotel of the same name in Charlottenburg offers a classy alcohol-free menu. Proving that sober indulgence can be extremely nice!
