Berlin is an awesome city with plenty of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, museums, markets, colorful houses, tours, attractions, and actually everything you could wish for in a big modern city.
I have been to Berlin 4 times. The first time was with Roman a few years ago and the second time was not long ago by myself in September and also we’ve biin in Berlin for the ITB tourism convention. When we came for the convention we’ve stayed for the weekend in Berlin so I wrote a post about Weekend in Berlin – recommendations for things to do in the city, cafes and restaurants.
When I traveled with Roman it was snowing so during our time in Berlin we rented a car and visited the Tropical Islands, in order to feel a little bit like as if it was summer.
When I traveled alone I stayed at the Circus Hostel which was amazing and in an excellent location. I found a pretty good price for it; 50 euro per night for a single room (tips on how to find cheap hotels). Crossing the street they also have the Circus Hotel.
There are probably more cool things to do in Berlin, but here are my top 12 for 2024:
Tips before flying to Berlin
SIM card
I personally recommend Esim, which is an electronic SIM. I like Airalo. I was very satisfied with their user experience (simple tutorial videos for operating the SIM card) and everything worked without any special problems.
Blog followers have a 15% discount code for the Airalo company to purchase an ESIM – to redeem the discount, click on this link. The discount code is already included in the link. See it at checkout.
The biggest drawback at the moment is that some devices do not support an electronic SIM. How will you know that your device supports eSIM ? Very simply go to this link and you will know.
Where to sleep in Berlin?
Berlin has many cool neighborhoods to sleep in. We liked the Kreuzberg Neighborhood which is a fun and young neighborhood. There are also the areas of Alexanderplatz
And a bed that is very comfortable for those who want to explore Berlin.
To search for a hotel or apartment in Berlin
Car rental in Berlin
Berlin and Germany in general have very convenient public transportation. But for those who want to explore the suburbs or reach more distant attractions like the Tropic Island, I recommend renting a car. You can search for a car in the search engine Papam Papam. Personally, I really like to search through it because it saves me time (instead of going to several websites) and it also has the option of filtering out non-recommended rental companies.
Attractions & Activities in Berlin
There are many more cool things to do in Berlin that I did not do and do not appear on the list. You can get ideas for other cool things you can do on the various attraction sites and even order through them (sometimes at a discounted price). The first attraction site is called tiqets, the second is the site Get Your Guide or via Viator.
Go to a hilarious standup show
One of my favorite entertainments are standup shows , so when I found an ad about a standup show that cost 18 euro (including pizza) and had great reviews, I knew that I had to go there – Cosmic Comedy show.
Every Thursday and Saturday they have an open mic night. It means that eight different comedians (some with a lot of experience and some that are pretty new) star for about 10 minutes each. They open the doors at 8pm (I recommend to go early in order to get a good seat), at 8:30 they serve the pizza and at 9pm they start the show.
I enjoyed the show so much. Some of the comedians really made me laugh out loud and some of them less, but they were all good and the host was really funny too. At the end of the show my cheeks were in pain because I had laughed so much.
They also have nights on which only two experienced comedians appear for about 40 minutes each. I wanted to go to that night too but I had so many things to do that I didn’t have the chance to go there again.
Address
Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße 41, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Cool Food tour
Before we arrived in Berlin, we checked with Visit Berlin about things we could do in town and one of the recommendations was a food tour. We always like to do food tours on our travels because it’s a great way to see the city and taste the local food, so of course we thought it was a good idea. We received a recommendation for the tour with Fork and Walk Berlin tours and were very pleased. The tour was about 4 hours in East Berlin on Saturday. We got to know a really cool area we hadn’t known much about previously, and also to visit special local places and eat great food. Our guide Dov was really charming and interesting. In short, we highly recommend this tour.
Vivid Grand Show
Content update – this show is no longer available – you can find other shows options here
A few years ago, while visiting Berlin, we got to watch two shows and had a great time, we thought this could be a good recommendation for those looking for something to do on an evening in Berlin. We’ve come across many recommendations for Vivid Grand Show, and to our delight, Friedrichstadt-Palast theatre wanted to host us for the show. The theatre itself is impressive and very prestigious. Beyond that, the show was amazing. Some parts were funny, while others left us astonished. The set was also really high-quality and the dancing and acrobatics were amazing. We left the show very excited, and I definitely think it’s something worth going to see if you’re in Berlin.
Enjoy a drink on a rooftop bar – Klunkerkranich Bar
I really like bars that are on rooftops. This way you can drink wine and enjoy a nice view, with a good breeze. A girl that I met in a bike tour (Chi-An) told me that her Airbnb host recommended her a bar, so we decided to go there together and check it out.
We went there around 6pm, which was a great time before the sunset. The bar is a big roof with many tables and places to sit and there is also a covered area with a DJ and place to drink. I chose a rosé and Chi-An had a beer.
At the entrance we paid 3 euro each. They charge 3 euro after 4pm because after that hour they bring a DJ and need to cover this expense. I really loved this bar. It’s a popular place among the locals and it’s highly recommended.
Address
Karl-Marx-Straße 66, 12043 Berlin, Germany
Go to the Blue Man Show
Content update – this activity is no longer available – you can find other shows options here
If you are looking for another great idea for a fun evening I highly recommend the Blue Man Show. It’s a very elaborate show that’s very funny and enjoyable. It’s fit for both kids and adults. I went there with Roman the first time I visited berlin and we really liked it.
Sit in good coffee shops
In Berlin there are so many good coffee shops that every few steps you want to stop and sit in one, to relax in between the different activities. There are healthy coffee shops, ones with special designs, fancy ones, and coffee shops that are great for just working on your laptop or reading a book. I wrote about my favorite place in the post “Trendy coffee shops in Berlin”.
Go to a huge flea market on Sunday
Every Sunday there is a huge flea market in Mauerpark. Even if you don’t plan to buy anything, it’s really nice to wander around there and be impressed by the cool things they sell like: furniture, bags, clothes, souvenirs, tools, wallets, and more.
Another great thing to do is to sit in the park itself and enjoy the street performances there are there.
In the market itself there are many drinks and food stalls so my recommendation is to wander around and then to buy some food and drinks and have a little picnic on the grass in the park and enjoy the shows.
Go on awesome tours
I love tours – special tours are my favorite activity to discover any city and honestly in Berlin is where I have done the most. One of the main reasons is because I travelled solo and tours are a great way to meet people. I chose different and unique tours like a self-guided food tour, a beer tour, an abandoned places tour and a bike one. For more details check out my post “The most amazing tours in Berlin”
Visit cool neighborhoods
Berlin is full of cool neighborhoods that are worth visiting. You can wander for hours and stop to eat in a nice restaurant or a coffee shop.
I liked the hipster neighborhoods Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. In Kreuzberg I wandered a lot during my self-guided tour. It’s a lovely neighborhood with so many beautiful buildings and good places to eat at. Friedrichshain is full of street art and cool shops.
Eat yummy food
In Berlin there are endless restaurants with all the cousins in the world. There are many local traditional restaurants, Asian ones, Mediterranean ones, and more. There are also many street foods like Currywurst which is the most popular food. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should. I wrote about some great restaurants I tried in the post “Recommended restaurants in Berlin”
Wander around the city
The public transportation in Berlin is very simple and makes it easy to move around, but I recommend you to sometimes give up on using the train and to walk instead. You’ll be surprised how much it is fun to walk on Berlin’s streets. You will see lots of street art and graffiti and discover some cool parks and hidden gems. Walking in Berlin is addictive; you can spend hours without noticing, so walk with comfortable shoes.
Go shopping
Usually I don’t shop while traveling, but I found the store Primark in Alexander Platz. I must admit that I had never been in a store of this chain but I had heard a lot about it, so when I saw it, I decided to go in. The store was three floors with clothes and accessories.
At one point I got a headache but I found two cute sweaters, a coat, and a hat. I barely managed to close my suitcase after this unpredicted buying, but after sitting on it and with a lot of strength I was able to close it eventually.
There are many other shops and malls in Berlin so if you are looking for a shopping experience, don’t worry; you will find it. For me one store was enough 🙂
I hope my post helped you. If so, I would very much like you to respond here in the comments, and if you have any more questions, then you are also welcome to ask them in the comments or on the blog’s social networks: Facebook and Instagram. Looking for more information about Berlin ? I have in the blog more posts about Berlin and posts about Germany.
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More posts I wrote on that
Weekend in Berlin – recommendations for things to do in the city, cafes and restaurants
The most amazing tours in Berlin
Trendy coffee shops in Berlin – The best coffee shops Berlin
Recommended restaurants in Berlin
ITB Berlin Convention – From a travel blogger’s viewpoint
All you need to know about Nuremberg, Germany
Top things to do in Franconian Switzerland, Germany
Crazy themed Cafes in Bangkok