During the Cold War, tears flowed copiously in this glass-and-steel border-crossing pavilion where East Berliners had to bid adieu to family visiting from West Germany – hence its ‘Palace of Tears’ moniker. The exhibit uses original objects (including the claustrophobic passport control booths and a border auto-firing system), photographs and historical footage to document the division’s social impact on the daily lives of Germans on both sides of the border.
Tränenpalast
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.45 MILES
Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel …
0.47 MILES
For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…
0.42 MILES
The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp…
0.99 MILES
This compelling exhibit tells stories of terror and persecution in Nazi Germany.
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17.08 MILES
This glorious park and palace ensemble is what happens when a king has good taste, plenty of cash and access to the finest architects and artists of the…
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16.79 MILES
Frederick the Great's famous summer palace, this rococo gem was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747 and sits daintily above vine-draped…
Nearby attractions
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This Nazi-era bunker presents one of Berlin's finest private contemporary art collections, amassed by advertising guru Christian Boros who acquired the…
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In this small, elegant exhibition hall, Deutsche Bank presents changing high-calibre exhibits of contemporary art, especially from emerging art centres in…
3. Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
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Marx and Engels studied here, and the Brothers Grimm and Albert Einstein taught here: Humboldt is Berlin’s oldest university, founded in 1810 in a palace…
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On the northern tip of Museumsinsel, this palatial edifice houses a comprehensive collection of European sculpture from the early Middle Ages to the 18th…
5. Reiterdenkmal Friedrich der Grosse
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Seemingly surveying his domain, Frederick the Great cuts a commanding figure on horseback in this famous 1850 monument that kept sculptor Christian Daniel…
0.36 MILES
This hulking behemoth is a fine example of Stalinist Zuckerbäckerstil (wedding-cake style) architecture, but a tall wall allows only glimpses of the…
0.37 MILES
No celebrity in town to snare your stare? Don’t fret: at this legendary wax museum, the world’s biggest pop stars, Hollywood legends, sports heroes and…
8. Mauer Mahnmal im Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus
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This memorial installation by artist Ben Wagin runs along the original course of the Berlin Wall and consists of original segments, each painted with a…