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TRAVEL2BERLIN
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Discover Berlin Through Our Eyes – Real Tips from Real Travellers
Why Berlin? We've been asked that question countless times.
We’re Helle and Mads – a couple who can’t seem to stay away from Berlin. Whether it's a full holiday or just a long weekend, the city always draws us back. Over the years, we've shared our stories and travel tips with friends and family so often that we decided to put it all together here.
Travel2Berlin is not a typical "top 10 things to do" site.
It’s a personal, experience-based guide to Berlin – packed with local recommendations, hidden gems, and offbeat ideas that go beyond the tourist guidebooks.
If you're planning a trip to Berlin — or just love the city like we do — we hope our stories will inspire you.
🧭 Start exploring the blog, and don’t forget to share your favorite Berlin tips with us!
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January in Berlin: How to Eat Incredibly Well When You're Completely Broke
Your bank account is in ruins. Christmas did that. But here's the thing about Berlin – this city has never cared about money. It cares about knowing where to go. We've been eating our way through Berlin's cheapest and best spots for years, and the surprising truth is this: the places where you'll have your most memorable meals aren't the ones with English menus and card machines. They're the ones where €10 feels like a fortune. This isn't another list of "top 10 budget spots.
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
4 days ago4 min read
Berlin in February: Why Winter Vacation in the German Capital Is Worth the Cold
Most travel guides will tell you February is Berlin's off-season. Grey skies, temperatures hovering around freezing, and empty beer gardens. What they won't tell you is that February is when Berlin becomes genuinely interesting again. The tourists have gone home. The city turns inward. And two of Europe's most significant cultural events transform the capital into a meeting point for film lovers, digital artists, and anyone who believes culture thrives in the cold. If you're
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
6 days ago6 min read
Discovering Berlin's Hidden Food Gems: Eat Like a King for Under €10
January hits different. The Christmas lights come down, and the credit card statement arrives. Suddenly, that spontaneous weekend trip to Berlin feels financially irresponsible. But fear not! After countless hours diving into Berlin's food scene, I've uncovered an incredible underground of budget-friendly spots. Here, €10 doesn't mean sad sandwiches. It means genuinely excellent food. And no, I'm not going to tell you to eat another döner. (Though Berlin does those brilliantl
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Jan 55 min read
Berlin in January 2026: The Month That Breaks the Winter Myth
There's a stubborn narrative about January in Berlin: grey skies, empty streets, a city hibernating until spring. Locals hunker down. Tourists stay away. Nothing happens. Except that's never been entirely true—and in January 2026, it's demonstrably false. This particular January packs more milestone events into 31 days than most cities see in a year. The first-ever regular season NBA game in Germany. The centennial anniversary of Europe's most important agricultural fair. A c
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Jan 57 min read
Berlin's Abandoned Places: What's Left, What's Changed, and What You Can Actually Visit in 2025-2026
Berlin's reputation as Europe's capital of urban decay and abandoned spaces has drawn curious visitors for decades. Old Cold War listening stations, Nazi-era ruins, forgotten amusement parks—the promise of these forgotten places pulls photographers, history enthusiasts, and anyone who believes that decay reveals truths polished surfaces never could. But here's what most travel guides won't tell you: Berlin's abandonment is disappearing. The city that once seemed frozen in a s
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Jan 46 min read
Berlin's Most Famous Urban Legends: When History Creates Its Own Ghost Stories
When a city experiences what Berlin experienced in the 20th century—division, dictatorship, war, occupation—reality itself becomes so extreme that the line between fact and folklore blurs. Berlin's urban legends aren't campfire tales invented for entertainment. They're psychological artifacts, ways the city has processed trauma too strange to fully comprehend. This matters because understanding Berlin's legends means understanding why they exist at all. The Ghost Stations Tha
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 27, 20257 min read
Berlin Between Christmas and New Year's: What to Expect in the Zwischen den Jahren
The Christmas markets have gone quiet. The frantic shopping is over. And yet, the year isn't quite finished. Germans have a name for this peculiar stretch of days: zwischen den Jahren – literally, "between the years." It's not a holiday. It's not quite normal life either. It's a liminal week when Berlin slows down, shops open and close at odd hours, and the city takes on a quality you won't find at any other time. For travelers arriving in Berlin between December 25th and 31
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 25, 20256 min read
A Christmas Greeting from Travel2Berlin
Dear readers, As the Christmas lights twinkle along Unter den Linden and the last Glühwein stands pack up for the season, we wanted to take a quiet moment to say thank you. Thank you for exploring Berlin with us this year. For reading our guides, trusting our recommendations, and sharing your own discoveries along the way. Whether you wandered through Kreuzberg's street art, found that perfect Currywurst spot, or simply dreamed of your next Berlin adventure from wherever you
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 24, 20251 min read
The Alternative Berlin New Year's Eve: A Guide for Those Who Want Something Different
Berlin's New Year's Eve is famous for chaos – but what if that's exactly what you don't want? Not everyone comes to Berlin to dodge bottle rockets at midnight. Every December, travel guides promise the "wildest night in Europe" – streets exploding with amateur fireworks, techno clubs running 80-hour marathons, a million people pressed against each other at the Brandenburg Gate. And for many visitors, that sounds like a nightmare. Maybe you're travelling with a partner and wan
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 23, 20257 min read
Dark Matter Berlin: Where Light Becomes Art in an Old Factory Hall
There's a reason Dark Matter keeps appearing on your TikTok feed. In the pitch-black rooms of a converted factory in Lichtenberg, something genuinely extraordinary is happening: light, sound, and space colliding in ways that make you forget you're standing in an industrial building on the outskirts of Berlin. We've been tracking this place since it opened in 2021, and the way it's captured Berlin's imagination says something about the city itself. This isn't a museum. It's no
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 22, 20256 min read
Can You Actually Smoke Weed in Berlin Now? The Real Rules for Tourists (2025)
Germany legalized cannabis. Everyone heard about it. Almost nobody understands what it actually means if you're visiting Berlin. We've spent the last year watching international friends arrive in Berlin with the same excited question: "So I can just buy weed legally here now, right? Like Amsterdam?" And then we have to break the news. Germany's cannabis law — affectionately nicknamed "Bubatz Legal" (Bubatz being German slang for a joint) — isn't what most tourists expect. It'
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 21, 20257 min read
Berlin Dupes: Skip These 3 Tourist Traps and Do This Instead in 2025
You know the feeling. You've been scrolling through TikTok, and suddenly everyone's showing off their "dupes" – those cheaper, sometimes-better alternatives to expensive designer stuff. Well, we're bringing that energy to Berlin. Because honestly? Some of the city's most hyped experiences aren't worth your time, your money, or your sanity. We've dug deep into what locals actually do, talked to people who've learned the hard way, and found the experiences that deliver what the
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 18, 20256 min read
Is Teufelsberg Worth the Trip in 2025? A Complete Guide to Berlin's Abandoned Spy Station
There's a moment—about 20 minutes into the uphill walk through the Grunewald forest—when you start questioning your life choices. Your legs are burning, the path keeps climbing, and you're wondering if some Cold War ruins are really worth this effort. Then you crest the hill, and suddenly you're standing in front of five massive radar domes, slowly decaying against the Berlin sky. The sound of wind through broken windows. Graffiti that stretches floor to ceiling, wall to wall
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 15, 20257 min read
Complete Guide to Berlin's Best Murals and Graffiti (2025)
There's a moment we keep coming back to when we think about Berlin's street art scene. Standing in front of Victor Ash's towering Astronaut mural in Kreuzberg at sunset, watching a couple taking selfies, a local walking his dog without even glancing up, and a tour group listening intently to their guide's explanation of Cold War symbolism. Three completely different Berlin experiences happening simultaneously in front of one wall. That's when it clicked for us: Berlin isn't j
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 14, 20258 min read
Haus Schwarzenberg: Berlin's Last Rebellious Courtyard (And Our Favorite Bar)
The first time we stumbled into Haus Schwarzenberg, we almost missed it entirely. We were walking down Rosenthaler Straße, distracted by the polished facades of the Hackesche Höfe, when we noticed a narrow entrance with crumbling brown walls covered in decades of graffiti. No fancy sign. No Instagram-ready welcome. Just a doorway that whispered: if you want the real Berlin, come inside . We've been coming back ever since. While tourists pack into the neighboring Hackesche Höf
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 10, 20257 min read
Hackescher Markt: Where Berlin's History Meets Its Restless Present
Opening Art Nouveau facade of Hackesche Höfe first courtyard with colorful glazed tiles designed by August Endell in 1906 There's a moment when you emerge from the S-Bahn station at Hackescher Markt that feels almost cinematic. The elegant arches of the 1882 railway viaduct frame a square that somehow contains multitudes: tourists snapping photos of Art Nouveau facades, Berliners grabbing coffee before work, street performers setting up for the evening crowd, and—just a few m
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 8, 20258 min read
Berlin Still Has a Pulse: Where to Find the Creative, Weird, and Authentic (Even Now) - Part 2
So we told you the hard story in Part 1—how Berlin's tourism boom transformed neighborhoods, priced out locals, and commercialized authenticity. Now comes the question everyone asks: if all that's changed, why should I even bother visiting? Here's the honest answer: because Berlin still has edges. They're harder to find than they were in 2015, and you have to know where to look. But if you venture past the obvious tourist routes, you'll discover that the creative chaos, the r
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 6, 20256 min read
Christmas Shopping as Experience: Full Days in Berlin's Best Neighborhoods
Shopping is just what you do between the real moments—the coffee that tastes exactly right, the unexpected gallery that changes your perspective, the moment you realize you're actually inside Berlin rather than watching it happen. Here are four full days designed around Christmas shopping, but really about experiencing how the city actually lives while you're hunting for gifts. Day 1: Kreuzberg's Bergmannstraße – From Flea Markets to Underground Art The Idea: Kreuzberg isn't
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 5, 20258 min read
The Tourism Boom That Changed Berlin: A Decade of Growth, Crisis, and Questions
Picture Berlin in 2015. The city feels alive but raw—neighborhoods are still claiming their identities, streets smell like authentic chaos rather than sanitized tourism. Around 12.7 million visitors came that year. It seemed like a lot. But something was about to shift dramatically, and by 2019, Berlin would welcome nearly 14 million visitors annually. Today, we're asking ourselves a harder question: was that growth good for Berlin, or did it just make the city busier while p
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 4, 20256 min read
Christmas Shopping in Berlin: Beyond the Markets and malls
There's something about German Christmas markets that feels both comforting and a little melancholy—the wooden stalls dusted with fake snow, the smell of mulled wine mingling with wood smoke, the soft glow of fairy lights catching the grey December sky. But if you've come to Berlin specifically to find gifts, you'll quickly discover that the real treasure isn't in the mass-produced wooden ornaments and identical gift sets filling every market stall. It's in the neighborhoods
Mads Weisbjerg Rasmussen
Dec 3, 20257 min read
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