City guide · Berlin
Berlin
The scar and the rebirth of a wall — European history converges on Unter den Linden
The capital of Germany, on the North German Plain where the Spree and the Havel meet. Berlin grew from twin trading towns of the 13th century into the Prussian royal seat and the imperial capital, and passed through the ruins of the Second World War and twenty-eight years of Cold War division: the Brandenburg Gate once stood in the no-man's-land of the East–West confrontation. After reunification in 1990 Berlin was reborn with astonishing powers of repair — the glass dome of the Reichstag, the classical buildings of Museum Island, and streets full of graffiti and clubs stand side by side; remembrance and the avant-garde are the two faces of this city.
History
How the city came to be
Berlin originates with the twin trading towns of Berlin and Cölln on the banks of the Spree, first recorded around 1237 and merged in the 14th century. As the residence of the Electors of Brandenburg and later the Prussian capital, it grew with the expansion of the Hohenzollern dynasty, and in the age of Frederick the Great Unter den Linden and a host of palaces and theatres rose. In 1871 it became the capital of the German Empire, and industrialisation made it one of Europe's largest cities; in the Weimar Republic years Berlin was a centre of avant-garde culture. After the Nazis came to power Berlin became the hub of the Third Reich, and the Battle of Berlin at the end of the Second World War reduced the city centre to ruins. After 1945 the city was divided into four-power occupation zones, and in 1961 East Germany built the Berlin Wall. On 9 November 1989 the Wall fell, in 1990 Germany was reunified, and in 1999 the federal government and parliament moved back to Berlin.
- c. 1237Berlin first appears in written records
- 1701The Kingdom of Prussia founded; Berlin is the royal capital
- 1871Berlin becomes the capital of the German Empire
- 1945After the Battle of Berlin the city is divided into four-power occupation zones
- 1961The Berlin Wall is built; the city is split
- 1989The Berlin Wall falls
- 1990The two Germanies unify; Berlin becomes the capital of the unified Germany
- 1999The federal government and the Bundestag move back to Berlin
Stories
Stories of the city
Stories of Museum Island, Berlin
History · Museum Island, Berlin
The story of Museum Island is itself a history of the German nation. In 1830 Prussia built the Altes Museum on a small island in the Spree, and King Frederick William III ordered that the art treasures formerly locked away in palaces be opened to ordinary citizens — in the Europe of that day, turning a royal collection into a public museum was itself a declaration: art belongs to the people. Over the following century the Neues Museum, the National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum rose one after another on the island, which was consciously fashioned into a "sanctuary of science and art". The clearest expression of that ambition is the Pergamon Museum, completed in 1930: German archaeological teams brought back from the Middle East the base of the 2nd-century BC Pergamon Altar and Babylon's Ishtar Gate and Processional Way, and rebuilt them at full scale inside the museum — visitors do not look at artefacts, they walk straight "into" the gates of ancient Babylon. The island's fate rose and fell with Germany's: wartime bombing reduced the Neues Museum to a ruin, in the East German period the island belonged to East Berlin and some exhibits were scattered to the Soviet Union and partly returned; after reunification the whole island was placed on the World Heritage List, a decades-long master restoration plan began, and a new "archaeological promenade" was built underground to link the museums. Walking the island today, every step treads on Prussia's enlightenment ideal, the empire's archaeological ambition, the ruins of war and the rebuilding after unity.
History of Museum Island, Berlin
History · Museum Island, Berlin
Museum Island occupies the northern end of an island in the Spree in central Berlin and gathers five museum buildings erected between 1824 and 1930: the Altes Museum (1830), the Neues Museum (1859, holding Egyptian antiquities and the famous bust of Nefertiti), the Alte Nationalgalerie (1876), the Bode Museum (1904) and the Pergamon Museum (1930). The collections span six thousand years, from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece and Rome to Byzantine and Islamic art. In 1999 UNESCO inscribed the whole island on the World Heritage List as a "unique testimony to the evolution of museum buildings and collecting concepts". The "Museum Island Master Plan", launched after reunification, continues today, and the James-Simon-Galerie (2019) has become the new main entrance. Since October 2023 the Pergamon Museum's main building has been closed for comprehensive renovation; the south wing is expected to reopen first in 2027, while the full reopening of the Pergamon Altar hall must wait until the 2030s — check the official announcements before your trip.
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Local life
Food and local daily life
Brandenburg Gate
Must-try
- Currywurst
- Döner kebab
- German pork knuckle / schnitzel
Currywurst (Berlin's famous snack), döner kebab (Berlin's national fast food), German pork knuckle / schnitzel, Berliner Pfannkuchen (jam doughnuts), pretzels
| Where to eat | Around Unter den Linden and Potsdamer Platz restaurants; for local flavour, Kreuzberg's Turkish market and small places |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | At snack stands, eat standing and return your tray |
| Typical price per person | EUR 12–25 ≈ CNY 100–208 |
| Tips | Have your currywurst and chips 'mit Mayo'; don't eat or drink on memorials in the memorial areas (especially the Holocaust Memorial). |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Superbass · CC BY-SA 4.0
Museum Island, Berlin · Currywurst
Must-try
- Currywurst
Currywurst (Berlin's national snack, with fries and mayonnaise); a döner kebab (widely credited with having been turned into its national form in Berlin); Berlin sour-gherkin soup and potato dishes; German cake (Kuchen) with coffee at a riverside café
| Where to eat | There is a café inside the James-Simon-Galerie on the island; the Hackesche Höfe and the area around Monbijou Park, both within walking distance, are dense with restaurants; for an authentic currywurst, try an established stall in the old town across the river |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | In German restaurants you generally choose your own seat, being shown to a table or seating yourself and then waiting to order; when paying, the custom is to state the tip directly as a spoken total (a €38 bill can be settled by saying "40") or to leave 5%–10%; bringing your own water is uncommon in restaurants, and ordering a drink first is the local habit |
| Typical price per person | About €15–30 per person (roughly RMB 115–230, reference prices); a street-food meal about €6–12 |
| Tips | A museum day is physically demanding, so take a mid-way rest at a café on the island; the Hackescher Markt area offers far more dinner choice than the island itself, and crossing the bridge to eat after your visit is a common local rhythm |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Before you go
Rules to know in Berlin
Germany: most shops close on Sundays
Do
- Shop for food and essentials on Saturday
- If you need to shop on Sunday, go to shops at railway stations, airports or petrol stations
Don’t
- Planning a shopping trip for Sunday
There is no penalty — you will just find everything closed. Sunday is protected as a day of rest by the constitution, and each state allows only a few 'open Sundays' a year.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: Library of Congress law blog: Germany's shop opening laws