The rebirth of the historic Potsdamer Platz was Europe's biggest building project of the 1990s, a showcase of urban renewal masterminded by such top international architects as Renzo Piano and Helmut Jahn. An entire city quarter sprouted on terrain once bifurcated by the Berlin Wall and today houses offices, theatres and cinemas, hotels, apartments and museums. Highlights include the glass-tented Sony Center and the Panoramapunkt observation deck.
©nito/Shutterstock
Potsdamer Platz
Top choice in Berlin
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.2 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 …
1.17 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…
1.21 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…
0.38 MILES
This compelling exhibit tells stories of terror and persecution in Nazi Germany.
16.31 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…
16.01 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 Berlin attractions
0.02 MILES
Tourist like to pose in front of these graffiti-festooned segments of the Berlin Wall set up along its original course outside the Potsdamer Platz train…
0.04 MILES
Europe’s fastest lift, Panoramapunkt yo-yos up and down the red-brick postmodern Kollhoff Tower in 20 seconds. From the bilevel viewing platform at a…
0.04 MILES
Berlin's own version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame features 101 (and counting) brass stars embedded in a red-asphalt 'carpet' along Potsdamer Strasse. They…
4. Daimler Contemporary Berlin
0.06 MILES
Escape the city bustle at this quiet, loft-style gallery where the Daimler corporation shares selections from its considerable collection of international…
0.06 MILES
This rare eyewitness to the pre-WWII Potsdamer Platz was designed in 1912 as a wine restaurant. It was one of the first steel-frame buildings in town. The…
0.11 MILES
If you only know Salvador Dalí as the painter of melting watches, burning giraffes and other surrealist imagery, this private collection will likely open…
7. Museum für Film und Fernsehen
0.11 MILES
Germany's film history gets the star treatment at this engaging museum. Explore galleries dedicated to pioneers like Fritz Lang, ground-breaking movies…
0.12 MILES
Designed by Helmut Jahn, the visually dramatic Sony Center is fronted by a 26-floor, glass-and-steel tower and integrates rare relics from the prewar era…