Berlin might be known by its historical landmarks and amazing museum collections, but there are lots of fun things to do as well!
Check my list and let me know which one would attract you the most?
1. Design your own chocolate at Ritter sport
Have you ever tried Ritter Sport chocolate? It was one of my favorite brands when I was a kid! It was founded in 1912 by Clara and Alfred E. Ritter, and most famous product of this German brand is a 100g chocolate bar divided into 16 squares.
If you’re a chocoholic, come to Ritter Sport’s colorful world of chocolate at Französische street in central Berlin! It consists of a few sections: there’s a shop with not only your most loved chocolate flavors, but also limited edition chocolate. If you can’t wait to try chocolate on the spot, there’s a cafe area and a nice selection of chocolate drinks, chocolate desserts and chocolate ice cream.
But there’s more to that! You can even create your own chocolate with your own ingredients (you combine everything digitally on a big screen), and then the chocolate makers in the shop prepare it for you. And finally, you can attend one of the chocolate making workshops, check their website for more info.
2. Enjoy the view from Panoramapunkt
Did you know that Potsdamer Platz went from the busiest traffic intersection in Europe around 1900 with the road from Potsdam City to Berlin to no man’s land and was finally transformed into a vibrant hub with shops and restaurants? But there is more!
Come here to visit a fantastic observation deck, Panoramapunkt, with the fastest elevator in Europe – it takes only 20 sec to get to the observatory! You’ll get the impressive views of Berlin from above, and apart from that, there is a cafe here too!
You can spot some famous landmarks from here: the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Berlin Television Tower, and many more.
3.…or the Television tower
If you’re looking for an epic view like this where you can enjoy the sunset head to the 368 meters tall Fernsehturm, a television tower in Berlin and the tallest building in Germany! It’s situated near Alexanderplatz and was constructed in 1965-1969 to symbolise the communism influence.
Buy a ticket first and then you’ll probably have to wait for about an hour for your turn to climb up (as I did) – so make sure you have plenty of time and it doesn’t get too dark while you wait!
4. Play chess at the world chess club cafe
Have you ever heard of the World Chess Club Berlin? It’s an extremely unique coffee shop and bar where you can play chess – and it’s located in the very center of Berlin! Come to this historical space and wake up your inner chess enthusiast – and buy some chess merchandise too!
5. Visit Haribo flagman store
If you prefer gummies to chocolate, come to Tauentzienstraße to try another historical German brand, Haribo! Actually the company was founded in 1922 by Johannes “Hans” Riegel Sr, and Haribo stands for HAns RIegel BOnn.
There is no way you haven’t tried their Gummibärchen, or gummy bears. You can buy here some merchandise, some pre-packed gummies or choose and mix your own box selection. And this box above costed me less than 4€!
6. Try German cuisine
German cuisine is a heaven for everyone who loves hearty comfortable dishes.
Potatoes soups, potato noodles, Wiener Sauerbraten, sausages such as Wiener and bratwurst, more sausage dishes such as currywurst, Black Forest cake, Apfelstrudel, pretzels… Everything to make you happy!
7. Enjoy a day at the Zoo
Berlin Zoo, or Zoologischen Gartens, and aquarium were an absolute gem of my visit – and I hope they will become that for you too! Don’t miss the architectural landmark of this place are the Elephant gates (Elefantentor), have a proper look at them!
Pandas are clearly the stars of this zoo, but you can also encounter many other animals.
The aquarium of the zoo is really one of the most impressive places I’ve ever been to, you can spend hours there meditating!
Also I’d suggest you to have nice walk through the Tiergarten, a fantastic forest – like park in the very center of Berlin.
8. Ampelmann store
Ampelmännchen, or the little traffic man sign, was created in 1961 in the East part of divided Berlin by Karl Peglau, and since then it became one of the city prominent symbols. And now you can visit Ampelmann store!
Ampelmann Flagship Store opened in 2012 on Unter den Linden, the most well known avenue of Berlin (now it’s one of six shops). Ampelmännchen walks through the Wall here! Come here to buy some souvenirs, chocolates, key rings, as well as to explore a small exhibition of traffic lights.
9. Shop at the shopping malls
Right across the road from the Haribo store you can find KaDeWe, the second largest department store in Europe after Harrods! KaDeWe stands for Kaufhaus des Westens (‘Department Store of the West’ in English), and if you’re looking fot Dior, Louis Vuitton and other luxury brands, that’s your destination. Anyway, if you’re not planning to buy Dior handbags, come here for the food hall with the view.
If you’d like to shop more, try the Mall of Berlin at at Leipziger Platz. It opened a dozen years ago and has an impressive range of a few hundred shops, from home decor to skincare!
10. Count Buddy bears around the city
Did you know about that bear is a symbol of Berlin? You can find one on the city cost of arms, and of course you get a chance to count the famous buddy bears sculptures around the city originally exhibited in the streets of Berlin in 2001.
Actually those iconic painted animal figurines in four different styles were born from collaboration between sculptor Roman Strob and Klaus and Eva Herlitz. Now you can stroll around Berlin and still see some of them on display in shops, hotels or other venues, – those might be the original ones or some various on bear theme!
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Hope you liked my guide!
Yours,
Anna xxx
