What's on in Berlin, Germany through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas markets and Silvester, Christmas holidays in Germany

• Closure

  Pergamonmuseum closed

  1 Jan – 31 Dec

  The building shut completely in October 2023 for structural work and the Pergamon Altar wing is not due back until 2027, the rest later still. The other four Museum Island houses are open as normal. Source ↗

Still on: Christmas markets and Silvester (23 Nov – 1 Jan)

Busy — Berlinale, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Berlinale

  12–22 FebFilm festivalCrowdedBook early

  Ten days in February, and the one big festival whose audience is genuinely the public: half the seats go on open sale and Berliners queue for them at Potsdamer Platz in the cold. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Easter holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — May Day in Kreuzberg, Easter holidays in Germany

• Hazard

  Birch pollen season

  1 Apr – 20 May · usually

  Berlin's street trees are heavy on birch and the count spikes for about six weeks in spring, yellow film on the parked cars and all. Antihistamines are over the counter at any Apotheke. Source ↗

• Holiday

  May Day in Kreuzberg

  30 Apr – 1 MayNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  Walpurgis night runs into a public holiday of street parties and demonstrations around Oranienstrasse and Görlitzer Park. Mostly a block party; the evening occasionally is not, and the U-Bahn stations close. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — May Day in Kreuzberg, Karneval der Kulturen

• Festival

  Karneval der Kulturen

  22–25 MayCarnivalCrowded

  Four days over the Whitsun weekend with the parade on the Sunday. In 2026 it moves from Kreuzberg to Friedrichshain, and whichever district has it loses its streets for the day. Source ↗

• Opening

  Lake and Freibad season

  15 May – 31 Aug · usuallySummer season opens

  The outdoor pools open around the middle of May and the city moves outdoors with them. Wannsee, Muggelsee and Plotzensee are reachable on a day ticket and are how Berliners actually spend a hot week. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Birch pollen season (1 Apr – 20 May (usually)), May Day in Kreuzberg (30 Apr – 1 May)

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Fete de la Musique

  21 JunMajor festival

  Free stages on street corners, in courtyards and on balconies right across the city on 21 June, the longest evening of the year. By agreement everything stops at ten. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Karneval der Kulturen (22–25 May), Lake and Freibad season (15 May – 31 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Christopher Street Day, Summer holidays in Germany

• Festival

  Christopher Street Day

  15 Jul – 2 Aug · usuallyPrideCrowded

  Berlin's Pride parade takes a long route through the west of the city on a Saturday in late July and finishes at the Siegessaule. Smaller marches fill the weeks either side of it. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Lake and Freibad season (15 May – 31 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Christopher Street Day, Long Night of the Museums

• Festival

  Long Night of the Museums

  20–31 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  One ticket, about eighty museums open until two in the morning, and shuttle buses between them. The big houses queue; the small ones are the reason to go. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Lake and Freibad season (15 May – 31 Aug (usually)), Christopher Street Day (15 Jul – 2 Aug (usually))

Busy — Berlin Marathon, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Berlin Marathon

  27 SepMajor festivalClosuresCrowdedBook early

  The flattest of the big city courses, which is why the world record keeps being set on it. The centre closes to traffic all Sunday morning and the hotel stock goes months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Autumn holidays in Germany, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Festival of Lights

  3–15 Oct · usuallyMajor festival

  Ten evenings in early October with projections on the Brandenburg Gate, the cathedral and the television tower. It is walked as a route rather than watched from one spot. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Berlin Marathon (27 Sep)

Busy — Christmas markets and Silvester, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Christmas markets and Silvester

  23 Nov – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Around eighty markets open in the last week of November, from the ticketed one on Gendarmenmarkt to second-hand stalls in the back yards. Most shut on 24 December and the crowd moves to the Brandenburg Gate for New Year. Source ↗

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Christmas markets and Silvester, Christmas holidays in Germany

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Pergamonmuseum closed (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Christmas markets and Silvester (23 Nov – 1 Jan)