Beautiful Day Trips from Berlin

Whether you live in Berlin and want to get on a weekend getaway or you are just visiting and want to see more of Germany, these nine trips are your answer! You can either do them as a long day trip or spend a night or two in each city.

Potsdam and castle Sanssouci

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 20 minutes

Just a short 20 minutes right from Berlin is the city of Potsdam. It is a place filled with history and is probably best known for its castle Sanssouci. The castle and its gardens became a UNESCO World Heritage Site after the reunification of Germany and it is truly a beautiful place to visit. But the city of Potsdam has other beautiful sites to visit you should check out while you are there.

Places to visit in Potsdam

1. Castle Sanssouci
2. Castle Cecilienhof
3. Dutch Quarter
4. Alexandrowka/Russian Quarter
5. St. Nicholas Church
6. Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam

Coffee fuel

PFAUENINSEL PARADIESISCHES EILAND

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 45 minutes

If you are looking for nature instead of a city trip, you should visit Pfaueninsel (eng.: peacock island). You will need 45 minutes by metro and bus from Berlin central station. Additionally, you will need to get a ferry ticket for 4€ which also serves as your entrance ticket to the island.

Coffee fuel

You can get your coffee fuel on the island at a café called “Kaffeegarten auf der Liegewiese” (eng.: coffee garden on the lawn) but we would rather recommend getting a coffee in Berlin before going to the island. A few minutes away from Berlin central station you can find Refinery High End Coffee which does a really good Flat White!

• Instagram

Leipzig

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 2h 40 minutes

Visiting Leipzig will be a long day trip since it is a 2h 40 minutes train ride away from Berlin. But the city offers many cool sides to visit and has a super rich cultural scene. For example, tucked away from the city centre you can find a old cotton mill (Spinnerei) filled with art galleries, exhibitions, and cafés. In the city centre, make sure to search for old town hall, the university of Leipzig and the federal administrative court (German: Bundesverwaltungsgericht) they are all located in impressive and interesting buildings.

Places to visit in Leipzig

1. Old town hall
2. Bundesverwaltungsgericht (eng. Federal Administrative Court)
3. University of Leipzig
4. St. Thomas Church
5. Spinnerei

Coffee fuel

Rostock

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 2h 40 minutes

Rostock really has a beautiful city centre. The streets are filled with cobblestones and many of the buildings are pretty old. Another amazing thing about Rostock is its picturesque university. It is the 3rd oldest university in Germany and really beautiful from both the outside and the inside.

Places to visit in Rostock

1. University of Rostock
2. Pink town hall
3. Market square
4. City wall
5. Kröpeliner Street
6. Take the metro to Warnemünde

Coffee fuel

Görlitz

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 2h 50 minutes

The absolute number one thing to do in Görlitz is to visit their beautiful old library (Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften). It is the stereotypical old wooden library that every student dreams studying in. Also, the rest of the city offers an amazing architecture. Since the city of Görlitz is located a few meters away from the German-Polish border, you can take a quick walk into another country and visit the Polish town of Zgorzelec.

Located in the centre of old town, Untermarkt is a beautiful place to visit surrounded by cafés and picturesque old houses. If you like the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel, it was filmed in Görlitz in a building called the Kaufhaus Görlitz – we are not sure about their opening hours though, so maybe this must be a spontaneous visit…

Places to visit in Görlitz

1. Library of Görlitz (Oberlausitzische Bibliothek der Wissenschaften)
2. Stroll through Untermarkt
3. Wonder around the streets of old town
4. Cross the bridge to Poland
5. Search for the beautiful exterior of the Silesian Museum
6. Town Hall

Coffee fuel

Dresden

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 3h

Dresden is often called the Florence of Germany and we can see why. The most iconic building in Dresden is the Frauenkirche (eng. Lady’s Church). The church was bombed during WWII and rebuild afterwards. You can even climb up the Dome and have a view of Dresden from above – it costs 10€ though and if you are travelling on a budget it is probably not worth the price. And don’t miss visiting the Dresdner Molkerei Gebrüder Pfund shop it is such a beautiful place!

Places to visit in Dresden

1. Frauenkirche
2. Dresdner Molkerei Gebrüder Pfund Shop
3. Walk along Elbe River
4. Stroll through oldtown
5. Zwinger Palace
6. Semperoper
7. Neustadt
8. Kunsthofpassage

Coffee fuel

Quedlinburg

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 3h 10 minutes

Quedlinburg might be the dream of an iconic German city. With its old half-timbered houses, the city is an UNESCO World Heritage Site (understandably). The old town is paved with cobblestones and over 2000 half-timbered houses from different centuries.

Places to visit in Quedlinburg

1. Market Square
2. City Hall
3. Quarter Münzenberg
4. Castle Quedlinburg

Coffee fuel

The specialty coffee situation in Quedlinburg is difficult but we found one café that might not make the best coffee but at least it looks cool!
Ruinenromantik Kornmarkt 3
Kornmarkt 3, 06484 Quedlinburg
Opening hours:
Everyday – 11am to 10pm

It might be a good idea to combine your visit to Wernigerode and Quedlinburg since the two towns are very close!

Wernigerode

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 3h 10 minutes

Like Quedlinburg, Wernigerode has picturesque old half-timbered houses and beautiful cobblestone streets. But it is also the starting point of the Harzer Schmalspurbahn, an old steam train that takes you through the German countryside. Especially if you decide to take the Brockenbahn, which takes you to Mount Brocken, it is an absolutely picturesque ride. It will cost you about 25€ and 50€, depending on which train you take.

It might be a good idea to combine your visit to Wernigerode and Quedlinburg since the two towns are very close!

Places to visit in Wernigerode

1. Castle Werningerode
2. Town hall
3. Harz Steam Train (Harzer Schmalspurbahn)

Coffee fuel

As in Quedlinburg, the specialty coffee situation in Wernigerode is not as rosy. There are many old, traditional German cafés but nothing we can really recommend.

Stralsund

🚂 Travel time from Berlin Central Station: 3h 15 minutes

Stralsund is also a beautiful picturesque German town. It has colourful old buildings and is located close to the water. Hence, you can enjoy your day by walking through town and exploring the beautiful streets and then go to the sea. If you decide to prolong your stay, you could make a trip to the island of Rügen!

Places to visit in Stralsund

1. Oldtown
2. Harbour
3. Wulflamhaus
4. Town Hall

Coffee fuel

---

Full list of amazing palce to visit on a day trip from Berlin:

1. Potsdam and Castle Sanssouci
2. Pfaueninsel
3. Leipzig
4. Rostock
5. Görlitz
6. Dresden
7. Quedlinburg
8. Wernigerode
9. Stralsund

---

Are there any places to visit on a day trip from Berlin that we have missed? Comment below if you know any!

---

Do you want to get daily travel updates? Follow us on Instagram:

Other amazing places to visit in Europe and the world: