Berlin Cathedral
A huge dome looming over the garden. Entry is paid, but the view from outside costs nothing.
CruiseTommy — CC BY-SA 3.0 · LarsMueller — CC0 · LarsMueller — CC0 · Anil Öztas — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Lustgarten is a square of grass in the middle of Berlin's Museum Island. Berlin Cathedral stands over it, the columned Altes Museum runs along one side, and the Humboldt Forum sits behind. The setting alone makes it one of the most photographed spots in the city. Its history has swung back and forth remarkably. It began as a vegetable garden in the sixteenth century, became a palace garden, then a Prussian king turned it into a parade ground and covered it with sand. It was replanted in the nineteenth century, and in the 1930s the Nazi regime paved it in stone and used it for mass rallies. After the war, under East Germany, it stayed a concrete parade square. In the 1990s it was grassed over again and became a garden once more. Today it is a quiet place to sit between museum visits. Free and always open, and people sit out on the grass in summer.
A huge dome looming over the garden. Entry is paid, but the view from outside costs nothing.
A long Greek-style colonnade from the early nineteenth century.
Open grass people actually sit on — rare in this busy part of Berlin.
Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin
Altes MuseumThe Altes Museum is the oldest on Museum Island, designed by Karl Friedrich Schi1 minute walk4.5
Berlin CathedralBerlin Cathedral is the largest church in the city, standing on Museum Island un1 minute walk4.5
Ethnological MuseumBerlin's Ethnological Museum holds one of the world's largest collections of non2 minutes walk4.1
DDR MuseumThe DDR Museum is a small museum on the riverbank opposite the cathedral, explai2 minutes walk4.2
German Historical MuseumThe German Historical Museum occupies the Zeughaus, the oldest building on Unter2 minutes walk4.5No. It is an attractive square in an excellent position, but its value is that it links the Museum Island collections and the Humboldt Forum. Use it as a rest between visits.
Berlin Cathedral, the Humboldt Forum and the Altes Museum, with the rest of Museum Island — including the Pergamon — just behind. All minutes apart on foot.