Germany & Berlin Complete Guide 2026: Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag Dome, Museum Island, Holocaust Memorial, Potsdam, Hamburg, Cologne & Dresden
Browse more guides: Germany travel | Europe destinations Germany & Berlin Complete Guide 2026: Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag Dome, Museum Island UNESCO, Holocaust Memorial, Potsdam, Hamburg, Cologne & Dresden TL;DR I have walked Berlin in every season I could schedule, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion: this is the most honest capital in Europe. Brandenburg Gate from 1791 anchors the city, the Reichstag glass dome opened by Norman Support in 1999 lets you stand above the parliament chamber for free, and Museum Island earned UNESCO listing in 1999 with five museums on the Spree including the Pergamon, Bode and Neues home of Nefertiti. The Holocaust Memorial finished in 2005 by Peter Eisenman holds 2,711 concrete stelae south of the Gate, and the layout asks you to slow down. Checkpoint Charlie, the East Side Gallery 1.3km mural and the Topography of Terror trace the divided years, while Mauerpark on Sunday and Tempelhof Field show how the city reuses its scars. Po...