The best things to do in Berlin in 2025

Berlin’s most famous, biggest and busiest vintage scene is at Mauerpark. This Sunday flea market sees storeholders selling everything from clothes by local designers to eclectic collections of vintage items. It also hosts the immensely popular weekly outdoor singing session, Bearpit Karaoke. You can also try out the the flea markets on the RAW cultural site in Berlin-Friedrichshain, and for fresh fruit and vegetables or baked goods, head to Neuköllner Wochenmärkte on Tuesdays and Fridays.

🤫 Insider tip: When your pocket money runs out, take a short walk to the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a community torn in half by the dangerous border strip.

🥙 Discover more of the best markets in Berlin

The Berlin clubbing scene is world famous, and rightly so. The most famous is Berghain, a techno temple whose fame as an ‘out-there’ venue sees queues as long as six hours, with possible rejection when you reach the front. If that happens, check out Sisyphos (famous for its 10 pm Friday to 10 am Monday hours), Renate, KitKatClub and rooftop Klunkerkranich. 

The best way of getting in? 1) If you don’t like techno, learn to love it. 2) If you go to a club ‘just to see it’ instead of genuinely liking the vibe, you probably won’t get in. 3) Learn the DJs’ names in case you’re asked. 4) Obviously, don’t turn up drunk.

🤫 Insider tip: Politely ignore any hangers on wanting to ‘go in together’. Cool, calm and collected groups of one to three are more likely to get past the notorious bouncers.

After Tempelhof Airport ceased operation in 2008, the city opened the runways to the public. Now you can stroll down the runways where Second World War Stuka dive-bombers took off and where, during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 after the Soviets blockaded West Berlin, the Western Powers dropped supplies for the city’s 2.5 million residents.

Today, the 368-hectare open space of runways and grasslands is much enjoyed by walkers, kite surfers, cyclists, runners, skaters, and goshawks. There are designated sections for dogs to run free, basketball courts, a baseball field, beer gardens, and even small allotments where Berliners can grow their own veg.

🤫 Insider tip: There’s little to no shade, and summer picnics here can get hot, hot, hot. Pack an umbrella for coverage and don’t skimp on those cold bottles of maté!

After years of renovation, Berlin’s grandest square is back, reopened in March 2025. Gendarmenmarkt shows off layers of 18th-and-19th-century grandeur, with the German Cathedral, French Cathedral (which, despite their names, are both churches), and Konzerthaus — much of it painstakingly rebuilt after heavy World War II damage. Today, it’s the backdrop for Classic Open Air concerts in summer, and in winter, the much-loved Christmas market fills the square with Glühwein, fairy lights and a properly festive buzz.

🤫 Insider tip: Climb the French Cathedral’s tower for some of the best views over the square.

Ask any local Berliner what their favourite thing to do in the city is, and you can bet your bottom euro that many of them will say that it's plentiful green spaces. Tiergarten by the Brandenburg Gate is the most famous and makes a refreshing break from your sightseeing. In its lifetime, it has been a hunting area for wild animals, a public park as created by Frederick the Great, and a site of destruction during and post-WW2, where much of the greenery was destroyed. Today, newer trees have been grown, and it is once again a relaxing park in which you can while away your summer days. Check out Volkspark Friedrichshain and Treptower Park for sunbathing and vibes. 

🤫 Insider tip: Café am Neuen See has a seriously scenic beer garden on the water – and you can hire a row boat for about €10. 

Going to the Jewish Museum can make for a challenging, and full-on experience, but a visit here should certainly be high on your things to visit in Berlin. Since 2001, the museum has showcased the vast experiences of the Jewish people, both their past and present, covering everything from the documentation of Jewish German families to Jewish history from the Middle Ages to today. Admission to the core exhibition is free. 

🤫 Insider tip: under 18s can see all of the Jewish Museum’s temporary exhibits for free. 

🏛️ Discover more of the best museums in Berlin

The wider Brandenburg region has around 3,000 lakes. Many are accessible by public transport and are a gorgeous way to cool off in summer or exhilarating spots to ‘ice dip’ in winter. Overwhelmed? Wannsee to the city’s west and Müggelsee to the east are the classic destinations, but there are plenty of others to discover. You can grab some cold radlers and take the S-Bahn to the Schlachtensee Lake in southwestern Berlin for forest vibes. There are more to choose from than you could swim in in your lifetime: check out our list of the best lakes in Berlin for our full guide. 

🤫 Insider tip: Plotzensee in north-western Berlin charges you €8 for entry … but it’s worth it. From play equipment for children on the right, currywurst and pizza stores in the middle, and a dance floor, sofas, a bar, and a naked sauna on the left, it’s nothing if not left of field. 

It might get overrun by tourists, but visiting the outdoor East Side Gallery is still a rite of passage when visiting Berlin (especially if it’s for the first time). It’s 1316 metres long, and you’ll spend about an hour there, and the most famous of the lot is the one you’ve probably seen on Instagram: the Berlin Wall Kiss (actually called ‘My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love,’ by Dmitri Vrubel, which is a bit of a mouthful) featuring socialist state leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. 

🤫 Insider tip: go before 10am, and 9am on weekends, to have the famous spot to yourself. That’s especially if you want to snap a good photo, as things get seriously packed out after that.

The Badeschiff pool in Treptow is a famous floating barge pool, right next to the River Spree. You can sip Aperol spritzes from its bar and lean back in the various deckchairs overlooking the Instagram-worthy pool in front of you. But don’t be tempted to take a quick snap. Badeschiff is one of the many venues where you are not allowed to take photos. Just note it’s not open all year round, so check its website for opening times. 

🤫 Insider tip: it might appear to be somewhere you can rock up to whenever you feel like it, but booking is actually essential to avoid dissapointment, particularly on those hot summer days. 

Kinos make up a large part of the creative heart of Berlin – and there are plenty to choose from. Wait outside the paper-pasted walls outside the Kino Intimes (built 1909), to watch art-house and foreign films, as well as current-day favourites. B-Ware Ladenkino is another independent pick with a sparkling disco ball when you enter, where you can rent DVDs, if you still have a player, from its stacked shelves. The scenic Freuiluftkino is found in Kunstquartier Bethanien’s courtyard in Kreuzberg. 

In Rosenthaler-Platz, Mitte, Kino Babylon was built in 1928 and was once a specialty cinema in East Berlin. In recent times it has been a Berlin International Film Festival venue and shows everything from silent films with orchestral music to more recent and celebrated films from the 21st century.

🤫 Insider tip: Don’t speak German? Don’t panic. Many screenings have English subtitles – just make sure to check the website in advance.