The 15 Most Memorable Experiences to Have in Berlin

With a city filled with so many landmarks, stolpersteine, clubs, Tinder users, and all those other promising excitements, we expect you’ll leave Berlin with more than enough memories to romanticize alluring stories to your very own future generations. Here is a list of places and events that will certainly leave a mark or two somewhere inside of you. As far as how much of it you will remember, that’s up to your own impairments and recall capabilities.

If visiting this park doesn’t inspire you to love Berlin then really, what will? The fact that the city has decided to keep this massive piece of land as a park instead of throwing up some corporate buildings or soaring condos should give you a pretty good insight into the working brain of Berlin. Pushing the politics aside, visit the DIY gardens, see some fireworks on the weekends, and watch one of the greatest sunset views Berlin has to offer. The crowd, the scene, and the energy in Tempelhof will mark your memory with some of the very best images.

Grab a beer and head over or under one of the many bridges keeping Berlin connected. Locals and tourists alike hang out on bridges in all neighborhoods of Berlin. Besides for being overly sentimental and romantic, it’s a genuinely nice spot to drink a beer or two. If drinking a beer freely in the outdoors isn’t memorable enough, feel out the openness of the crowd. It’s an attractive and easy way to meet new people from all over the world. Some of the most attractive and trendy bridges can include Waschauer Bridge (Oberbaumrücke), Admiralbrücke, Elsenbrücke, among several others.

Sorry vegans and vegetarians, but you’ll have to cross your personal political and humanitarian lines in this city, because skipping out on a döner kebab can be a grave mistake. It’s a Berlin staple and you’ll just have to catch this cheap eat for a hangover breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

The Berlin corner bars are a staple to the city’s past, and hopefully present life. Every neighborhood and almost every street has their own corner bar with its very committed locals, but this may not be the place for you if you are intimidated by a strictly German-speaking atmosphere. If you’re curious about Berlin and how it used to be, then try out your German in one of these bars, and don’t be surprised if one of the regulars ends up smacking you with a kiss or two on the lips—they are way friendlier than you would expect your typical German to be, especially when its four or five beers later.

Do we really need to explain any further? If Berlin is blessed with a sunny, warm summer’s day then expect the Berlin lakes to be filled to the max. You might ask yourself if anyone in this city actually works, but maybe they’re all taking their sick days? We think the latter is unlikely. Some of the most visited lakes are Weissensee, Plötzensee, and Wannsee among several others. Nudity and fence hopping are welcome.

This outdoor activity might be enticing in the summertime, but it’s totally magical in the fall and winter. The abandoned theme park takes on an eerie energy, and if you’re lucky you can catch the Ferris wheel turning with only a ghostly explanation. Exploring Plänterwald’s forest with a few old or new friends is a sure setting for some unforgettable moments.

Berlin is big on its history, and why shouldn’t it be? Sometimes we forget just how recent some of these sites are, until maybe we meet some of the Berliners who lived through these tense times. Take a day to visit Berlin’s Museums, like the Stasi museum, Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall, and many other Berlin landmarks. Explore the city’s scarred memory with a certain sensitivity and you’re sure to be touched by what was and what is the city of Berlin.

It’s impossible to avoid talking about the clubs and parties in Berlin when we’re talking about memorable moments. With all the good and the bad that comes with the clubs and parties of Berlin, one thing is for certain: the freedom to dance however you feel with no shame, shyness, or judgement attached is true to the Berlin club scene. This is not the place to be uptight or fearful, this is a place to let go and swim. The freedom feelings of the Berlin club scene and parties is one freedom you won’t be able to forget.

If you are brave enough to liberate yourself from any prudence you may have been raised with, KitKat Club is the place to lose your clothing and your conservative mindfulness and go with the flow—as far as you’re willing to go. Try not to wear your surprises on your face, because in this club, less is more.