Cool Activities
For your free time in Berlin, we're happy to make some recommendations about other cool things that might interest you, sometimes even including our “competition" (we don't get paid for this, we're just trying to help you make the most of your time in our city).
We do our best to link to the English section of each website, if there is one. However, these websites are often updated and the new version doesn't always include an English section. Sometimes it's mixed - some of the text is in German, other parts are in English.
During the day
The Stasi Prison: The former interrogation and punishment complex of the communist state security service (in German "Staatssicherheit", abbreviated "Stasi"):
http://www.stiftung-hsh.de/?locale=en_GB
Berlin's Bunkers, built during the Third Reich and the Cold War, can only be visited with the tours of this special society:
http://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, considered best in the world, performs free lunch concerts every Tuesday:
http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/konzerte/lunchkonzerte/
Public Markets in Berlin offer various experiences, from bourgeois fineness in Prenzlauer Berg to oriental easyness in the Turkish Market:
http://www.visitberlin.de/en/experience/shopping/markets?tid=60
If it happens to be rainy and cold, don't let it bring you down - go instead to one of the very cool indoor markets:
♦ "Marheineke":
http://meine-markthalle.de/en/
♦ "Markthalle Neun":
http://www.markthalleneun.de/?lang=en
♦ "Arminius":
http://www.markthalleberlin.com/
♦ "Neue Heimat" (on Sunday afternoons):
"Behind the Scenes": How do real Berliners live? This tour company will take you into some real apartments and show you the authentic habitat of different kinds of people in different areas of Berlin:
http://www.opendoorsberlin.de/
Berlin is also known for its vintage / 2nd hand fashion and some of you might be interested in these shops:
♦ "Soeur":
https://www.facebook.com/SoeurBerlin
♦ "Veist":
♦ "Made in Berlin":
http://kleidermarkt-vintage.de/portfolios/made-in-berlin/
♦ "Townes":
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Townes/275325609260783
♦ "Paul's Boutique":
http://www.paulsboutiqueberlin.de/
♦ "Das neue Schwarz":
♦ "Class of Berlin":
♦ "Sing Black Bird":
http://unlike.net/berlin/shop/sing-blackbird
Discover new museums: With almost 200 museums, there's more than just the (indeed world known) "Pergamon":
http://www.museumsportal-berlin.de/
...speaking of museums, check out Berlin's museum pass:
http://www.visitberlin.de/en/museum-pass-berlin
Experience unique galleries:
♦ http://www.visitberlin.de/en/see/museums-art/art?tid=559
♦ https://www.berliner-galerien.de/en/quarters
♦ http://www.artnet.com/events/berlin/
If you're into contemporary art, don't miss Berlin's private art collections (you need to register in advance!):
♦ Christian Boros keeps his collection in a former Nazi air-raid shelter:
http://www.sammlung-boros.de/boros-collection.html?L=1
♦ The Hoffmann collection changes routinely and is located in a cool courtyard complex:
http://www.sammlung-hoffmann.de/index.php-%7Csite%7Csammlung%7Cen.html
♦ The Feuerle collection is one of the latest additions to this scene:
http://thefeuerlecollection.org/wordpress/
...and for an overview of the scene, have a look here:
Take a boat tour through Berlin's canals. There are short tours of about an hour as well as longer tours of about 3 hours. Personally, we think it becomes quite boring after an hour, so we don't recommend the longer tours.
♦ http://www.reederei-riedel.de/index.php?Sub=SCFA
♦ http://www.sternundkreis.de/en/Cruises/City-of-Berlin/Historical-Sightseeing/K475.htm
♦ http://www.reedereiwinkler.de/en/citytouren/c3
♦ http://www.bwsg-berlin.de/en/schedule/city-spreefahrt/
The Renaissance of Berlin's old breweries:
http://press.visitberlin.de/en/article/from-breweries-and-trend-locations
After a long day, you might want to relax in one of these Spa and Wellness places:
http://www.visitberlin.de/en/experience/leisure-time/wellness-centres-spas
► You might also want to have a look at our page about Berlin's nightlife.