Germany Things To Do

The infamous former border crossing between East and West Berlin is a popular snapshot site. The nearby Mauermuseum documents Berlin Wall escape efforts.

Daniel Libeskind’s stunning zig-zag building itself is worth the visit, but inside you’ll find thoughtful and interactive permanent exhibition covering 2,000 years of German-Jewish history.

Plundered by soldiers, abandoned by history, wrapped by artist Christo, and then modernized and topped with a glass dome by architect Norman Foster, the German parliament building has seen lifetimes of political and social change. Ascend the spiral ramp in the dome.

Berlin boasts a huge selection of museums, but some of the finest are collected on Museum Island. A must-see is the Pergamon Museum – home of the massive Ishtar Gate of Babylon.

Friedrichshain’s East Side Gallery (www.eastsidegallery.com) offers almost a mile of the former dividing wall covered with generations of graffiti. The Berlin Wall Documentation Center, Memorial, and Chapel provide a thoughtful look at this history.

The place to be in the former East Germany. Take the elevator up to the top of the 656-foot TV Tower (Fernsehturm) and enjoy coffee and cake in its kitschy revolving restaurant. Then visit the World Clock and people-watch near the plaza’s fountain.

Enjoy an hour-long look at Berlin from the Spree River, or splurge on a four-hour tour. Each boat has comfortable seats and table service.

Kids will love Berlin’s coolest and possibly most photographed local, Knut the polar bear, born in 2006. The 88-acre animal park’s regal sandstone Elephant Gate delights grownups.

This historical market square has fronted the courthouse of Frankfurt since the original pre-Roman settlement. The irregularly shaped square is dominated by the “justice fountain.”

This red-sandstone church (the “Dom”) held the coronations of the Holy Roman Emperors, even though it didn’t (and still doesn’t) have a bishop’s seat. Built in the 14th century, it’s still the main church of Frankfurt.