On the second weekend in January, everyday life has returned to Berlin. Restaurants are open, people are meeting up again in bars and pubs, and cultural institutions are also picking up speed with the new year. Don Carlo is causing a stir at the Deutsche Oper, the Tanztage dance festival is bringing dynamic choreography to the whole city and Thomas Ostermeier's Hamlet is turning Shakespeare into a real Berlin experience.
Tip 1: Get the year off to a lively start at Tanztage Berlin
At this year's Tanztage, organisers, artists and audiences have two reasons to celebrate: the new year and the festival's 30th anniversary. Until 24 January, Tanztage Berlin 2026 will be presenting ten works in its permanent home, the Sophiensælen, as well as at many other locations throughout the city.
The programme includes seven premieres as well as workshops and discussion formats that give you a glimpse behind the scenes of independent artistic work. The focus of this edition is on the body, work, exhaustion and cohesion. The Tanztage invite you to pause, look and be moved in the truest sense of the word.
When: Various event times
Where: Various venues throughout Berlin
Tip 2: Take a last look at da Vinci's Last Supper
This weekend is your last chance to experience Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper as an immersive work of art in the Parochialkirche. Since November and only until Sunday, the world-famous painting can be seen here as an immersive 360° experience. State-of-the-art projections, impressive soundscapes and interactive rooms allow you to immerse yourself in the painting, its figures and the mind of the painter. The centrepiece is a large original reprint of the painting, complemented by multimedia presentations, creative hands-on stations and activities for children.
When: Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm, Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Parochialkirche, Klosterstraße 67, Mitte
Tip 3: Stroll through the Berlin Christmas Garden
This weekend you have one last opportunity to experience the magic of Christmas in Berlin - at least until it starts all over again at the end of the year. The Christmas Garden in the Botanical Garden in the south of the city is open until Sunday. You can expect a 1.5 kilometre Christmas trail, mulled wine and roasted almonds amidst the magic of impressive light installations.
Nestled in the diverse natural surroundings of the Botanical Garden, Christmas artworks glitter and sparkle: the rainbow room, the gingerbread man and the dance of the stars are just some of the stops on this special journey.
When: Friday and Saturday from 4.20 pm to 10 pm, Sunday from 4.20 pm to 12 am
Where: Botanical Garden Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 6-8, Dahlem
Tip 4: Experience jazz at STOP OVER 4
To kick off the new year, the Konzerthaus Berlin will become a laboratory for jazz and improvisation. The STOP OVER 4 - Perspectives series invites you to three curated concert evenings at the weekend. With Ingrid Laubrock, Julia Hülsmann and Christian Lillinger, influential voices from the scene will take over the artistic direction and open up personal approaches to contemporary jazz.
each evening you can expect a discussion with the artists before a unique world of sound unfolds between experimentation, genre boundaries and free improvisation. Look forward to insights into current trends and the vision of the future centre under construction for jazz in Berlin.
When: Friday and Saturday at 18:15
Where: Konzerthaus Berlin, Am Gendarmenmarkt 2, Mitte
Tip 5: Take ageing lightly
Why do we actually age - and who decided that? In Endlich wieder jung!, Fil tackles this question and turns his thoughts into an evening at the Mehringhof Theatre that is as quirky as it is clever. The Berlin-born cabaret artist, musician and illustrator thinks out loud about wrinkles, self-deception and social impositions - in trenchant monologues and with a surprising amount of music. Between grand piano, guitar and notebook, the result is a mixture of cabaret and concert evening. No anti-ageing recipe awaits you here, but musical entertainment for all those who face ageing with humour!
When: Friday and Saturday at 8 pm
Where: Mehringhof Theatre, Gneisenaustraße 2A, Kreuzberg
Tip 6: Listen to the noise of life
Grimme Award winner Jörg Hartmann is one of the most recognisable faces on German television - not least because of his role as the Tatort detective. With Der Lärm des Lebens (The Noise of Life) he now brings a very personal story to the stage of the Schlosspark Theatre. The actor talks about his parents and grandparents, about growing up in Herdecke on the edge of the Ruhr region and the defining moments of a life.
Tragic experiences - such as the story of his deaf grandparents under National Socialism - are juxtaposed with warm humour and bizarre anecdotes. You can expect a special evening about origins and memory, which has a symbolic character beyond Hartmann's personal history.
When: Saturday at 4 pm
Where: Schlosspark Theatre, Schloßstraße 48A, Steglitz
Tip 7: See Hamlet at the Schaubühne theatre
With his production of Hamlet , director Thomas Ostermeier tells Shakespeare's drama as an unsparing study of power, mistrust and identity - and is celebrating successes all over the world. At the centre is Lars Eidinger as Hamlet, who continues to lose his footing between madness and despair. With just six actors taking on all the roles in the play, the production condenses the action into an intense chamber play. Reality and deception are constantly shaken - and turn Hamlet into a timelessly topical reflection on political and personal responsibility.
When: Saturday and Sunday at 19:30
Where: Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Kurfürstendamm 153, Wilmersdorf
Tip 8: Experience Eva Ollikainen and Anna Vinnitskaya
Two influential voices on the international classical music scene come together at the Philharmonie Berlin this weekend. Eva Ollikainen from Finland will conduct the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in this special guest event. Together with the Russian pianist Anna Vinnitskaya , Rachmaninov's First Piano Concerto in F sharp minor and Bruckner's Second Symphony will be brought to life. Within the classical music scene, this combination is considered a clash of musical giants that you better not miss.
When: Sunday at 8pm
Where: Philharmonie Berlin, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, Tiergarten
Tip 9: Experience Don Carlo at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Giuseppe Verdi described Don Carlo as one of his most complicated works. Over the years, almost seven versions of the opera were created. Even before the premiere in 1867, Verdi had to make last-minute changes as the five-hour opera was simply too long for some visitors. You won't have to wait quite that long to see Don Carlo at the Deutsche Oper. Marco Arturo Marelli's production tells Schiller's dark political drama about the intrigues at the Spanish royal court in three hours and with impressive tonal power. The musical directors are Juraj Valčuha and Friedrich Praetorius.
When: Sunday at 6 pm
Where: Deutsche Oper, Bismarckstraße 35, Charlottenburg
Don Carlo
Tip 10: Start the Veganuary consciously
January in Berlin is all about healthy eating. Under the motto Veganuary, the first month of the year invites you to rethink your eating habits and consumption and to familiarise yourself with the city's extensive vegan offerings. The density of vegan restaurants in Berlin is unrivalled: Vietnamese delicacies at Ban Ban Kitchen, plant-based cheese at Frischhain or numerous vegan bakeries throughout the city. And for those of you starting out in vegan life, REWE - voll pflanzlich on Warschauer Straße is the perfect place to shop.
When: The whole of January
Where: Various locations throughout Berlin
Tip 11: Experience surrealism
In addition to the permanent exhibition Surreal Worlds, the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection has another highlight to offer with the special exhibition STRANGE! Instead of the beginnings of the movement in the 1920s, surrealist works from the years 1950-1990 from the collections of the Nationalgalerie await you here.
The Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection brings together over 250 works by great artists under one roof. Among them are Max Ernst, Hans Bellmer, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí and André Masson. After your excursion into the world of surrealism, you can reflect on your impressions in the museum's own Café Kunstpause.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm
Where: Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection, Schloßstraße 70, Charlottenburg
