What is Berlin like at Christmas? The city glows with thousands of fairy lights, smells of cinnamon and mulled wine, and rings with the sounds of trams and footsteps. Here, the holiday is not just seen but felt at every intersection. One capital city is not enough – take a Christmas tour of Germany: head to Nuremberg for crafts and to Dresden for the legendary stollen.
Start the holiday at a café
How to celebrate Christmas and New Year if you have come to Berlin for this? Start the holiday at a café!
And also at bars and restaurants, where from 28 November they serve all kinds of gingerbread, fruit bread, pretzels, sausages, beer, and schnapps made according to traditional recipes. And this is just a warm-up before the festive feast!
» READ MORE – Traditional Christmas dishes from 10 European countries
Before the holidays in Berlin, it’s best to take care of accommodation in advance – the city is never quiet in December. Hotels near the center fill up quickly: everyone wants to wake up where the smell of mulled wine and cinnamon is already in the air.
Choose a hotel in BerlinTake a walk around the city with our audio guide
Not everyone wants to work during the holidays – unless they are night guards! But in any case, it’s good to know how to keep yourself busy. Take a walk through the festive streets – Berlin is especially beautiful in December when you wander among its lights and shop windows with our audio guide playing in your headphones. It leads you through the liveliest streets of the city, helps you notice details that are easy to miss, and turns your walk into an introduction to winter in Berlin.
While you’re walking, you can change the format and see the city from a different angle!
During the day, you can choose a Christmas walk along the Spree – a warm boat tour that passes Berlin Cathedral, the Reichstag, and Museum Island. It’s cosy inside, with the windows slowly passing by :)
Boat ticketThe illuminated city floats by, and even the most familiar buildings look new – like the backdrop to a winter fairy tale.
In the evening, it’s worth switching to wheels – for a two-hour bus tour.
Bus tourThe route takes you through the most festive streets – from Kurfürstendamm to Unter den Linden, through the Brandenburg Gate and Charlottenburg Palace. The guide tells stories, the city shines with thousands of lights, and in your hands, you hold a mug of hot mulled wine included in the ticket price.
Try to count the Christmas markets
It’s like counting the stars in the sky. Fairs in Germany are either stationary or mobile. The former have been in the same places for centuries, operating throughout Advent, and many continue to trade until New Year’s Eve. There are about 100 such trading venues in the city! Mobile fairs – caravans of charming stalls and stands – appear in the evenings, most often on weekends.
The main Christmas market in Berlin is WeihnachtsZauber am Gendarmenmarkt.
It is the most elegant venue in the city: white tents, craft stalls, a stage with musicians, and the smell of roasted almonds in the air. Here, the holiday looks like a Christmas card painted with living lights.
At Christmas, Berlin bursts with markets like hot stollen! Only the very best are marked on the map.
What else to do in festive Berlin
What to do in Berlin when you feel like you’ve already been to all the markets? Though it’s almost impossible to visit them all!
- Every December, a giant Christmas tree appears at the Brandenburg Gate – a real star of Berlin. Its installation is watched like a premiere, and when thousands of lights come on, the whole city seems to freeze for a moment and start believing in miracles again
- Going to a light show is a great idea for a winter evening in Berlin. Projections are turned on at Berlin Cathedral and the TV Tower, transforming the facades into moving pictures. Color, music, and light fill the air, and even those who came just to watch remain standing, unable to look away – as if the city has temporarily become a giant kaleidoscope
- A walk through the Botanischer Garten in winter is a genre of its own. From November to January, the botanical garden hosts Christmas Garden Berlin, where the alleys are transformed into a sparkling route a couple of kilometers long. Hundreds of installations, twinkling tunnels, and music create a film-like atmosphere — slightly mysterious and slightly magical
- The Philharmonie is the heart of Christmas classics. Bach and Mozart are played here, choirs perform oratorios, and the hall glows with gold and candlelight. Everything is strict, solemn, and cosy in a German way: the audience comes in their best suits to listen to the holiday as it was imagined a hundred years ago
- Berlin is a city with the character of a metropolis – there is room for both classics and energy. Concert venues are filled not only with lovers of Bach but also with young people seeking spectacular shows. Music can be heard everywhere, from chamber halls to club stages, turning the city into a single rhythm of celebration
- Stars in Concert – Christmas Special at the Theater am Estrel does this in style: a live orchestra, costumes, the voices of stars, and that light irony for which Berlin is loved. Two hours of lights, glitter, and music, after which the party continues long into the night
- Nightlife is part of Berlin’s DNA. The city doesn’t just offer bars and clubs – it lives and breathes them. Tresor, Matrix, and dozens of other venues are open until dawn: dancing, lights, DJs from all over the world. In Berlin, no one wonders where to go in the evening – the city itself pulls you into the rhythm, lights, and motion
- The Ferris wheel at the Red Town Hall is one of the most festive places in winter Berlin. It only appears in December, when the city is already lit up with lights, and lifts passengers right above the Christmas market. From above, you can see the ice rink, the tower, the cathedral, and hundreds of garlands
It’s not the TV Tower, but it’s also a perfect way to see how Berlin celebrates Christmas on a grand scale.
- After all the dancing and concerts, it’s time to remember that your suitcase isn’t full yet. You’ve rested your body and soul – now it’s time to get moving! Let Berlin leave you not only with memories but also with tangible evidence: souvenirs, the smell of coffee in a package, and a key ring with the Brandenburg Gate
Party at the Brandenburg Gate
Speaking of the Brandenburg Gate, New Year’s Eve here is so exciting that it’s hard to just stand by and watch.
The square turns into a real carnival: light shows, live concerts, food trucks, and a giant screen counting down the last seconds. People sing, hug each other, throw streamers, and at midnight the sky lights up with fireworks that make the shop windows rattle. The city explodes with music and laughter, turning into a huge open-air party.
No one sits at tables here – they dance, greet strangers, and welcome the New Year in a way that only Berlin knows how – loudly, brightly, and all together.
Berlin knows how to throw a party that you never want to leave. But December doesn’t end there – Christmas sounds different across Europe. Want to prolong the atmosphere? Take a look at our articles – everyone has their own recipe for winter wonder.
» READ MORE – 10 ways to celebrate Christmas in Strasbourg
Ahmed Aldaie / Unsplash
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