Berlin TV Tower and Alexanderplatz Guide

The Fernsehturm was finished in 1969 as East Germany's showpiece, a 368 metre concrete shaft with a steel sphere at the top. It is still the tallest structure in Berlin and is visible from many parts of the city, which makes it a handy way to get your bearings. It is open to visitors, but ticketing and queuing arrangements change, so check the official site.

Booking and queues

This is the one sight in Berlin where we would book ahead. Queues at the base can be long, especially on clear days, and booking a time slot online usually saves most of the wait. A fast-track option exists, but compare it with the standard slot on the official page before you pay for it. Come on a clear day, because in cloud the view is mostly grey.

What you see at the top

The viewing platform and the revolving restaurant above it give a full circle around the city. Look for the green mass of Tiergarten to the west, the Cathedral dome and Museum Island close by, and the long straight line of Karl-Marx-Allee to the east. Berliners joke about the cross that appears in the sphere when sunlight hits it, a feature the East German authorities did not plan.

Alexanderplatz

The square below was rebuilt in the 1960s as a socialist-modernist showpiece, then altered again after reunification. Two things deserve a look: the World Clock, a popular meeting spot, and the Fountain of Friendship between Peoples. The area is mainly a transport hub and shopping district, and we would not linger. The Marienkirche, one of the oldest churches in the city, stands in the shadow of the tower, and the Nikolaiviertel, the reconstructed medieval quarter, is a short walk south.

Pair it with

The tower sits within a few minutes' walk of Berlin Cathedral and the DDR Museum, and a walk through Hackescher Markt takes you to the courtyards of Mitte. If you are short of time, skip the observation deck and use the Cathedral dome instead, which takes less effort and gives you the tower itself in the view.