It may not be Berlin’s most enchanting public space, but Alexanderplatz can lay claim to being one of its most famous, thanks in part to Alfred Döblin’s 1929 modernist novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. The heady 1920s are long gone, and today’s “Alex” is an entirely different entity. Largely the product of 1960s GDR urban planning, the square today is tinged with tall and bleak prefabricated architecture (much of it landmarked) and studded with communist throwbacks like the World Clock, the soaring TV tower, and the Fountain of Friendship Between Peoples. It’s also still a bustling transportation hub, with the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and trams passing through constantly, and a good place to start a walking tour of Mitte and the Nikolaiviertel, the city’s reconstructed medieval heart.
St Marienkirche, Alexanderplatz, Berlin, Germany.
Peter Erik Forsberg / agefotostock
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An afternoon in Alexanderplatz
The TV Tower (Fernsehturm) dominates the Berlin skyline, visible from nearly anywhere in the city. This imposing spire marks the center of Alexanderplatz, a lively public square in Berlin’s central Mitte district. Surrounded by shopping malls, shops, restaurants, beer halls, historic buildings, transport lines, and often public performers, Alexanderplatz is a hub of energy and excitement -- a great place to spend an afternoon. Shop at chic boutique shops and designer stores, sip coffee at a café, or grab some curry wurst (a popular Berlin snack) and a cold beer and sit side-by-side with Berlin locals at the central beer garden while watching the flurry of people passing by. For dinner, you can whiz up to the top of TV Tower and enjoy an elegant meal at the revolving restaurant, offering sweeping views of the entire city.
Fernsehturm Berliner
TV Tower in Berlin DE, all lit up!
View from above
Alexanderplatz is a fantastic location to stay, especially if it’s your first time to the city. Right across from the Fernseherturm, it’s pretty difficult to get lost. Apartments to rent for the weekend or longer in the area as well as the convenience of grocery stores make it a reasonable place to stay for budget travelers.
Berlin Wall, Alexanderplatz, city, historical, modern
This city brings all traveling desires to one place; history, restaurants a plenty, art museums on Spree River, memorials, The Sony Center, the reunification of East and West Berlin, The Topography of Terror: The Historic Site, Check Point Charlie and the famous Alexanderplatz TV tower
