Germany 3 Day Itinerary

The Pergamon Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island, usually one of the first recommendations in any Germany guide, is currently closed and will not reopen until June 2027 at the earliest. The Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way of Babylon will not be on display again until the 2030s. This is a significant change to how people plan their Berlin Museum Island time, and most itineraries written before 2025 have not caught up with it yet.

With that correction established: three days across Berlin, Munich, and Cologne is the classic circuit, and it works because Germany’s rail network makes the connections fast enough to be practical.

Day 1: Berlin

Germany’s capital runs on its train and underground network. A day pass (Tagesticket) for Berlin’s AB zones covers the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, trams, and buses and costs around 9 euros. Most of what a first-time visitor wants to see sits within zones A and B.

Start at Brandenburg Gate, the one Berlin landmark that genuinely warrants a detour even if you have been to Berlin before. Walk east along Unter den Linden toward Bebelplatz and the memorial to the Nazi book burnings, then north across the River Spree to Museum Island.

The five museums on Museum Island share a day ticket at 24 euros. With Pergamon closed, the strongest current options are the Neues Museum (Egyptian collection including the Nefertiti bust, which is the finest portrait sculpture from the ancient world currently on public display anywhere) and the Alte Nationalgalerie (19th-century German and European painting, including Caspar David Friedrich’s landscapes, which are worth the visit on their own). The Bode Museum at the island’s northern tip houses medieval and Byzantine art and is consistently underrated relative to how good it actually is.

After the museum island, walk back west past the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) toward the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe on Cora-Berliner-Strasse. The field of concrete stelae is more unsettling at ground level than any photograph suggests. The underground information centre below is one of the more carefully curated Holocaust memorial exhibits in Europe.

Afternoon: Checkpoint Charlie, on Friedrichstrasse in the former American sector, has been heavily touristified but the Cold War history in this part of the city is genuinely worth the 20-minute walk south. The Topography of Terror exhibition on Niederkirchnerstrasse, in the remains of the SS and Gestapo headquarters building, is free and unsparing in its documentation of Nazi administrative machinery. Budget 90 minutes.

Evening: the Kreuzberg and Neukölln neighbourhoods east and south of Tempelhof are the working part of the city’s cultural life. Markthalle Neun on Eisenbahnstrasse (open Thursday evenings for Street Food Thursday) runs food stalls from local vendors. Drinks afterward at one of the bars on Weserstrasse in Neukölln, which have fewer tourists than the more-documented Kreuzberg scene.

Day 2: Munich (and Neuschwanstein Castle)

ICE trains between Berlin and Munich run about 4 hours and start from around 29 euros booked in advance (last-minute fares can exceed 100 euros). Take a 6am or 7am departure to make the most of the day.

Neuschwanstein Castle is 120 km southwest of Munich, near Fussen. A return journey from Munich Hauptbahnhof by train and bus takes about 2.5 hours each way. Tickets for the castle itself cost 23.50 euros for adults (including a 2.50 euro booking fee) and must be reserved in advance through the official website, which opens bookings one month ahead. The castle is invariably sold out in peak summer without a reservation. The 30-minute uphill walk from the ticket office to the entrance is unavoidable; a horse-drawn carriage runs the same route for a few euros.

Ludwig II commissioned Neuschwanstein in 1869 as a personal retreat and theatrical fantasy, drawing on Wagner’s opera sets and medieval German legends. It was never intended as a functional royal residence and was only 14 rooms complete when Ludwig died in 1886. The Disney Sleeping Beauty castle is modelled on it. Interior tours last about 35 minutes.

If Neuschwanstein feels logistically overloaded for a Munich day (understandable), skip it and spend the afternoon in Munich properly. Marienplatz is the city centre: the Neues Rathaus’s Glockenspiel chime at 11am draws crowds but is over in minutes. The adjacent Viktualienmarkt, a daily open-air food market, is a far better use of time: pretzels, Weisswurst, radishes, and Bavarian cheese stalls running Monday to Saturday. A glass of beer from the market’s own small Biergarten costs around 5 to 7 euros.

Hofbraühaus on Am Platzl is the famous tourist beer hall and delivers exactly what it promises: 1-litre steins, oompah bands, and tourists from every country on the planet. Go once for the experience and do not overthink it. A stein of Hofbrau Original costs around 12 to 13 euros. Augustiner-Keller on Arnulfstrasse is the alternative: a traditional Biergarten attached to the Augustiner brewery with 5,000 outdoor seats under chestnut trees and predominantly local clientele.

Day 3: Cologne

ICE train from Munich to Cologne takes about 4.5 to 5 hours. The early morning train gives you a full afternoon in Cologne before a return north or onward connection.

The Cologne Cathedral (Kolner Dom) is what you come here for first. Construction started in 1248 and took over 600 years to complete; it holds the Shrine of the Three Kings, the most significant medieval gold reliquary in northern Europe. Entry to the cathedral is free; climbing the south tower (533 steps to the top of one of Europe’s tallest church spires) costs around 6 euros and the views over the Rhine and the city are worth the climb on a clear day.

Cologne is the only city in the world permitted to brew Kolsch, the local light lager served in small 200ml glasses (Stange) that are automatically refilled by the Kobes (waiter) until you place your coaster on top of the glass to signal you are done. Paeffgen-Kolsch on Friesenstrasse is a small family-owned brewery that does not bottle its beer: it is only available on tap in this one brewpub. Bier-Esel on Buttermarkt is one of the oldest remaining traditional beer restaurants in the city. Early in Fridays am Dom, on the cathedral square, is the largest and most convenient if you want a table guaranteed with a view.

Traditional Cologne food runs to Himmel un Aed, literally “Heaven and Earth,” a combination of fried black pudding with apple sauce and mashed potato that sounds unlikely but works. Halver Hahn is a half rye bread roll with aged Gouda, served as a bar snack in most traditional Kolschbrauhauser. Try both at Bier-Esel.

The Old Town (Altstadt) around the Heumarkt and Alter Markt squares has bars and restaurants at every price point. The Schokoladenmuseum (Chocolate Museum) on the Rhine waterfront costs about 13.50 euros and is well-designed for families or anyone interested in the industrial history of chocolate production, with a three-metre chocolate fountain as its centrepiece.

Practical Notes

Germany is part of the Schengen area. Citizens of the EU and EEA enter freely; most other nationalities can stay up to 90 days without a visa, though ETIAS authorisation is now required for previously visa-exempt visitors from many non-EU countries. Check current requirements before booking.

German rail (Deutsche Bahn, DB) is efficient on intercity routes but has suffered reliability issues on regional and local services in recent years. Book ICE tickets online at bahn.de or via the DB Navigator app, where advance fares can be significantly lower than walk-up prices. The Deutschlandticket (49 euros per month in 2024, subject to annual review) covers unlimited regional and local transport across Germany and is worth calculating against your itinerary if you are travelling more broadly.

German restaurants add no automatic service charge; a tip of 10 percent is standard. Restaurants and shops are legally required to close on Sundays in most states; supermarkets and most non-food retail will be shut. Museum hours and closure days vary; check ahead, as Monday closures are common at major institutions.

A useful habit in German cities: the Saturday morning market. Berlin’s Mauerpark flea market, Munich’s Viktualienmarkt, and Cologne’s weekly markets all run best between 9am and noon before the afternoon crowds build. These are where the practical daily life of the city is most visible and most photographable.