8 Unique Things To Do in Berlin

I recently spent 5 days in Berlin and wanted to share some of the best hidden gems in the city! The city is super edgy and cool and definitely has no shortage of unique things to do. Hopefully you will add some of these to your trip in addition to the must sees. I received a Berlin Welcome Card for familiarization purposes so I will add a note if any of these activities will receive additional discounts with a Berlin Card.

1) Drinking in Public

This may seem like a weird thing to start off with, but I love being able have a beer and stroll in public! Canada is so strict that we can't even buy alcohol from grocery stores! So the fact that I can get a beer for 1 euro at a convenience shop and then walk around to check out the famous landmarks was one of the highlights of the city!

2) Street Food Thursdays in Markthalle Neun

A really fun activity that happens every Thursday is a food market at Markthalle Neun. If you are a foodie, you will love this place! I only saw two traditional German food stands, but there are about 40-50 food vendors featuring food from around the world! All the prices are quite fair as well, approximately 6-8 Euro will get you a dinner! There's no entry fee so you can spend your money on the food and drinks!

Address: Eisenbahnstraße 42-43

Closest U-Bahn station: Görlitzer

Closest S-Bahn station: Warschauer Straße 

It is also nearby the East Side Gallery so it's a great combo to do together! We just walked along the wall on the outside, but there is also a museum if you have further interest. The Berlin Card gives you a 25% discount off the 12.50 Euro admission.

3) Grocery Shopping at ReWe

It's hard to stay healthy while traveling, so I have a habit of finding local grocery shops to buy cut fruits and easy to eat veggies. Since restaurants in Europe all cost money to have water, I feel like I'm permanently thirsty. So I also go to grocery stores to stock up on water as it's usually only 1/5 of the price of in restaurants.

I also love looking at what types of unique liquor they have. I tried out a German liquor called Kleiner Feighling and it's now my new favorite! It's a fig flavored liquor and it has the cutest packaging!

4) Drink with a View at Strandbar

I feel like it's starting to be a theme that all these tend to involve drinking. I wanted to check out this spot as it was right across from the Bode Museum. It's a really neat spot as the river and the museum is in front of you. The beers were around 3 euro which is average for Berlin. You can find this bar by walking across the bridge at the tip of Museum Island. The actual bar looks a bit like a shack, and then you can take your drink and sit anywhere you'd like.

If you come here at night, I believe there's dancing lessons as well! We saw the dance floor during the day but it was much quieter.

Address: Monbijoustraße 3b

Closest U-Bahn Station: Friedrichstraße

Closest S-Bahn Station: Oranienburger or Hackescher Markt

5) Bare it All at Liquidrom

Berlin is all about being yourself and there's no shortage of unique things to do. Liquidrom first caught my eye as I thought it was similar to a float room but techno music will be playing! But after more research it seems like it's a more of a Sauna but each hour, there's a different theme such as fruit infusion and salt peeling.

However, to use the saunas, you have to be naked! It's also a co-ed sauna which adds to the interest. I didn't end up going but my friend did and really enjoyed the various treatments. 2 hours to the sauna & bath is 19.50 Euro while a day pass is 29.50 Euros. There's also a discount available with the Berlin Card! If you are brave and looking for a unique adventure, this should be at the top of your list!

Address:Möckernstraße 10
Closest U-Bahn Station: Möckernbrücke

Closest S-Bahn Station: Anhalter

6) Test Your Agility at the Deutsches Spionagemuseum

We felt a bit bad that we didn't visit any of the 200+ museums in Berlin, so we decided to walk into the Spy Museum which is right near Potsdamer Platz. The highlight of the museum is this laser room where you try to make it across without touching any of the lasers. The picture below is the easy level which I never even made it through! There's also medium and hard.

The rest of the museum showcases spy weapons and you can learn about how spies operated during the various wars Germany was a part of. There was a good explanation on the ENIGMA machine too. Normal admission is 12 Euros and the Berlin Card will give you a 25% discount!

Address: Leipziger Platz 9

Closest S+U Bahn: Potsdamer Platz

7) Rest at Berlin Cathedral

The Berlin Cathedral is my favorite building in Berlin. The blue domes can be seen across the city and you can really feel its importance. In front of the cathedral is a large grassy area. It's a wonderful spot to stop for a quick snack or just to lie down for a rest. The location is perfect too as it's on Museum Island so if you are tired from walking around, this is a beautiful spot to sit down and soak up some sun!

8) Take a walking tour

I've started to really enjoy taking walking tours in each new city I go to. I find the tours usually give just the right amount of historic information to allow you to appreciate the sites more. It also helps to orient and point out places of interest to visit later on in the trip! We went with the Famous Insider Walk by Insider Tours. It is normally 14 Euros but only 10 Euros with the Berlin Card.

Our guide was very informative and had some pretty clever jokes up his sleeve as well. There were approximately 30 people in our group but we had no issues with hearing what he had to say.

Which of these ideas would you most like to do on your next trip to Berlin? Let me know if you have a similar traveling style or if I just sound like an alcoholic ;)

My Berlin Welcome Card was kindly provided by Visit Berlin but all other expenditures are my own.