How to spend 3 days in Berlin

I fell in love with Berlin over the 3 days we were there. I have never been to another city that had the same energy that I felt while being in this city. Both the Cold War and World War II truly made their mark on this historic city, I found myself continuously wondering what it must have been like to be a citizen when the city was divided between East and West. I did research ahead of time, but after I watched a multi-part documentary on Netflix that took me through the Cold War History which made me grateful I was able to see this city in person. Besides the vast history of the City, I loved going to the different neighborhoods and restaurants and fell in love with the beauty of it. Berlin was another city I could see myself easily living in. Although the city is known for its huge clubbing scene, we only ended up going to a few of the many bars in the city.

Day 1: Afternoon 

We arrived in Berlin in the mid afternoon and checked into our accommodations at Hotel Zoo- which ended up being my favorite place we stayed the entire trip! The Lobby was decorated beautifully and there was a really fun bar in the lobby that we would end up going to at night. After we checked in, we immediately made our way to the Brandenburg Gate. In this area you will not only find the historically significant Gate, but you will also be able to see the Holocaust Memorial and the Reichstag Building. After this, we walked through to the city to walk around the Humboldt University campus for a bit. 

Day 1: Evening

That evening, we went to watch the Berlin Symphony perform. The auditorium space was absolutely gorgeous and the musicians were beyond talented. One of the performances that stood out the most to me was the harpist they brought in that night; I have never seen a harpist of that caliber perform live before and I was blown away. If you need a nighttime activity to immerse yourself in culture - I would definitely recommend doing this. 

Day 2: Morning

Right away in the morning, we headed to get coffee and breakfast at BagCo Backwaren - a super cute cafe that was nearby our hotel. There were lots of locals working and studying there and it was super homey. We then made our way to the East Side Gallery to learn more about the history of the Berlin Wall and admire all the artwork that has been created from artists across the world as a sign of hope and remembrance. We spent around an hour admiring the art, but we definitely could have spent many hours here. When planning your time in Berlin, definitely set aside a good chunk of time to see the Berlin Wall. It was one of the most powerful historical sites I’ve ever been to. 

Day 2: Afternoon

After we left the Berlin Wall, we made our way to see Checkpoint Charlie - if I were to go back and do this again, I would have gone to see Checkpoint Charlie while I was near the Brandenburg Gate, since it was a bit out of the way from the East Side Gallery. After this, we went to the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood for lunch and shopping. We went to Tossakan for lunch, which is known for their Thai Food because we were looking to change up our diet from what we were used to eating on the trip! After lunch, we really started to explore the area and I fell in LOVE with this neighborhood. It felt very cozy and almost like I was back in my New York neighborhood when I was here. There were tons of young families and couples who seemed to be in a similar life stage that Patrick and I are in. I was ready to move in! We stopped by Cafe Anna Blume for some drinks and sat outside on the patio while it was lightly raining. I loved this Cafe because the service was great and the street was beautiful with unique architecture. I would love to go back here and just sit and read here for hours. After this, we made our way back to the Hotel for a break. 

Day 2: Evening

That evening, we decided to go out near our hotel. We started the night by having a drink in our Lobby bar at Hotel Zoo and then we made our way to Schwarzes Cafe, which is a bar that’s open 24 hours. The bar felt like a house that turned into a restaurant. The drinks and atmosphere were immaculate and I could’ve stayed there all night if we didn’t have plans for the next day. After the bar, we went to get late night Pizza at Romero. All together, a perfect night. 

Day 3: Morning

We started our day off going to the Scheunenviertel Neighborhood for some shopping! We stopped by a coffee shop called, ‘The Barn’ to get our caffeine fix for our day. This coffee shop had a super cute aesthetic and great coffee. It’s a great place if you want to grab your coffee to-go or sit and stay with a friend to chat. This area had so many cute stores, it reminded me of a less commercial Soho, New York. Although there were lots of stores with brands we recognized, there were also other high-end unique stores that we were super excited to check out. We slowly made our way to City Center, taking pictures of the TV Tower and stopping in stores along the way. There was a sweet riverwalk that had lots of restaurants along the way. 

Day 3: Afternoon

We decided to head back to the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood for more shopping, because we loved it so much over there. While we were exploring the area, we came across a farmers market that hosted many local vendors with clothing, food and drinks. This area has more standalone boutiques than the Scheunenviertel Neighborhood. Afterwards, we walked around for a while and stopped at a beer garden called Prater Garten, a super old beer garden in the neighborhood. After this, we decided to go back to the Hotel and get ready to go out.

Day 3: Evening: 

That evening, we made our way to ‘Monkey Bar’, a trendy rooftop bar nearby our hotel. It was a bar that had super fun cocktails and good energy. It was pretty busy when we got there so we were lucky to get a seat. This was the closest we got to going clubbing on our trip. If we didn’t have to leave for the airport the next day, we probably would have tried to venture to a new neighborhood and experience a Berlin club - but that is definitely on the bucket list for when we go back to Berlin next! After we went out, we went to ‘Zaddy’s’, to get Doner Kebab for a late night snack. After this, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for our long journey home the next day.