Berlin isn’t just a city that comes alive in summer – although that’s certainly a great time to visit – and in some ways there’s something deeply atmospheric about visiting the epicenter of the Cold War in winter, when you can see your breath curl away in the night and imagine you’re a spy. Dive right into the rich history of this pulsing city.
Walk the wall
You can get a sense of its scale and the role it played in the day to day lives of people on either side at the Berlin Wall Memorial (Gedenskatte Berliner Mauer). Here you’ll find the final standing piece of the wall, as well as an exhibition that gives an impression of the fortifications, along with a viewing platform.
Visit Checkpoint Charlie on the corner of Zimmerstrasse and Friedrichstrasse to see the famed crossing point, a scene for attempted escapes across the border both in real life and movies.
The Platz to be
Alexanderplatz plays such a large role in the life of Berliners that most of them just call it ‘Alex’. The largest public square in the city, it’s a heaving place full of transport hubs, but also a place to take the pulse of the capital.
Many of Berlin’s finest attractions are a short walk away, so park up your rental car and explore on foot.
The 368-meter-tall TV Tower looms over the square, with a viewing platform open to the public at the very top. Book ahead to skip the lines.
You’re only steps from the Rotes Rathaus (the City Hall), and the iconic Brandenburg Gate, finished in 1791. The Gate was inaccessible to the people during much of the Cold War, and it reopened in 1989 as a symbol of freedom and unity.
Cross to Museumsinsel – the Museum Island – a UNESCO World Heritage site that houses five museums. You’ll find the Pergamon, Bode, Neues, Alte Nationalgalerie and Altes Museums here, spanning thousands of years of history.
Highlights include the bust of Queen Nefertiti in the Neues Museum’s incredible Egyptian collection, while elsewhere on the island you’ll find Roman, Greek and Etruscan antiquities, Renaissance art and more recent acquisitions. You can easily spend a whole vacation here.
Finish your museum tour by seeking out the stunning Jewish Museum, designed by Daniel Libeskind to resemble a Star of David torn apart by an explosion. Close by is the 19th century Neue Synagogue with its golden dome, and the Holocaust memorial.
Park Life
Even if you’ve visited all those concrete blocks above, you’ll have noticed what a green city Berlin is, dotted with parks and outdoor spaces. The 520-acre Tiergarten is the city’s green heart, a great place to wander, stop for a coffee, idle by a lake, see a concert or visit the numerous memorials inside.
Nearby Potsdamer Platz is where the British, Russian and American sectors all met during the Cold War, while just outside the city to the south-west sits the Grunewald Forest, perfect for a day trip.
Lakeside beaches, wonderful views, abandoned buildings and memorials, historic restaurants and more are crammed into this wonderland – once the preserve of Berlin’s rich, it’s now deeply democratic.
A city with its past running throughout it, but given exuberance by the young people who flock to it, Berlin is a city of hope. Car rental in Berlin will allow you to explore its many fascinating districts and unlock the door to all of Germany beyond it.
