Gate in Berlin
The Brandenburg Gate is the symbol of Berlin and of German reunification, an 18th-century neoclassical triumphal arch at the western end of Unter den Linden. Free, always accessible, and floodlit at night. It stood in the no-man’s land between East and West for 28 years. Today it anchors a public square where history is present in every direction. No visit to Berlin starts anywhere else.
Practical
On foot
Free and low-cost routes that stop at Brandenburg Gate.
The Berlin City Free Walking Tour covers the city's history from the Prussian Empire to the Cold War in one 2.5 to 3 hour walk, passing the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, and remnants of the Wall. It is the definitive budget orientation for a city defined by its modern history.
Nearby
Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
Alexanderplatz is the large public square in former East Berlin, dominated by the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), the World Clock, and the Galeria department store. Free to walk through.
Bebelplatz is the square on Unter den Linden where the Nazi book burning of May 1933 took place. Free.
The Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) is the largest church in Berlin, a baroque revival building on Museum Island with a green copper dome. Entry is paid at a modest price and includes access to the dome walkway with views over the Lustgarten, the Spree, and the TV Tower.
The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse is the central memorial site of German division, with a preserved section of the Wall, the death strip, a watchtower, and an open-air exhibition documenting escape attempts and the lives disrupted by the border. Free.
Bernauer Strasse is the street where the Berlin Wall divided neighbors, families, and apartment buildings overnight on August 13, 1961. Free to walk.
Boxhagener Platz is a neighborhood square in Friedrichshain with a Saturday food market and a Sunday flea market. Free to browse.
Working out what Berlin costs?
The whole of Berlin