The Musikfest is about to begin: the Berliner Philharmoniker open their new season with a concert, while Atonal 25 brings cutting-edge experimental sound art to the city’s stages. Beyond these captivating worlds of sound, you can also look forward to a wealth of inspiring events — from art and museums to film culture.
Tip 1: Spend a long August night in the city's museums
On the last weekend in August, more than 75 Berlin cultural institutions will be bidding farewell to summer at the Long Night of Museums - and in the name of love. This year's edition is entitled A Long Night about Love and invites you to explore the highest of all feelings in numerous exhibitions and in all its facets.
Included are the exhibition For the Love of Photography at the Museum of Photography with works by Rico Puhlmann, a puppet theatre performance of Shakespeare's love sonnets at the Puppet Theatre Museum and the most beautiful love stories of the royal family at Charlottenburg Palace. You can experience exciting guided tours, performances and much more in the participating museums until 2am. Four shuttle bus lines will help you with your museum hopping.
Tip: You can hear more exciting tips about the Long Night of Museums and love in Berlin in our podcast Berlin Unboxed.
When: Saturday from 6 pm to 2 am (children's programme from 4 pm to 10 pm)
Where: Various venues throughout Berlin
Tip 2: Come to the opening concert of the Berlin Music Festival
Musikfest Berlin invites you to its festive opening concert in the Philharmonie on Saturday evening. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra will kick things off under the direction of Klaus Mäkelä and bring you a very special piece of music with Rendering by Luciano Berio: the Italian composer, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year, completed the fragmentary 10th Symphony by Franz Schubert in Rendering. This unique combination of romanticism and modernism is complemented by Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. Grab a ticket quickly, because experience has shown that this evening is a crowd-puller!
When: Saturday at 7 pm
Where: Great Hall of the Philharmonie Berlin, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, Tiergarten
Tip 3: Travel to the Berlin of the Weimar Republic at the UFA Film Nights
The UFA Film Nights on Museum Island are an annual highlight of Berlin's cinema landscape and combine timeless film art with live music in the open air. This weekend's programme includes three outstanding silent films from the Weimar Republic era: Varieté (1925) with Emil Jannings, Der Rosenkavalier (1925) with the film music composed by Richard Strauss and, on Friday evening, a digitally restored version of Der Sträfling aus Stambul.
The Metropolis Orchestra Berlin, the UFA Syncopators Küspert & Kollegen and the multiple Grammy-nominated instrumentalist and composer PC Nackt will once again provide the musical accompaniment this year. Look forward to a cinematic journey back in time to the Golden Twenties!
When: Friday at 9 pm
Where: Museum Island Berlin, Bodestraße, Mitte
Tip 4: Last chance - Marvel at Yoko Ono's life's work at the Gropius Bau
After more than 90 years of life, the artist Yoko Ono can look back on over seven decades of artistic creation - and thus on a list of works that includes more than 200 pieces. In honour of this monumental life's work, the exhibition MUSIC OF THE MIND was created in collaboration with the Tate Modern and the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. You can visit it for the last time this weekend at the Gropius Bau .
The interdisciplinary approach of Ono's work, which does not stop at any art form, takes centre stage in a particularly impressive way: From sculptures, installations and scores to film excerpts and musical pieces, you can experience Yoko Ono's entire spectrum here.
When: Friday from 12 to 7 pm, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm
Where: Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, Kreuzberg
Tip 5: Experience experimental (sound) art at the Berlin Atonal 25
Immersive documentary film screenings, art at the interface of painting, performance, sculpture and collage as well as interdisciplinary music: Berlin Atonal 25 brings all this and more to the stages of the Kraftwerk, Tresor and Ohm over five festival days . The versatility of the art is also reflected spatially by the performance venues, such as the speculative spatial model Third Surface. With an ensemble of small tables, Berlin nightclubs from the Weimar era are imitated and turned into the backdrop for contemporary performances.
As one of the world's most important platforms for non-commercial art and music, Atonal will once again help to expand your creative horizons with a unique programme this weekend!
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6pm
Where: Various venues throughout Berlin
Tip 6: Learn all about Anne at the Anne Frank Centre
The Anne Frank Centre at Hackescher Markt is a donor-funded partner of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. It is fully committed to keeping the memory of Anne Frank alive. The permanent exhibition All about Anne makes an important contribution to this. During your visit, you can read extracts from her diaries, learn information and anecdotes about her short life and reflect on the significance of such personal testimonies today in the historical context of the Holocaust.
Haus Schwarzenbergitself, which is home to the Anne Frank Centre, also tells a moving story: During the Second World War, it was home to Otto Weidt's workshop for the blind, which saved Jewish people from deportation.
When: Friday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Anne Frank Centre, Rosenthaler Straße 39, Mitte
Tip 7: Join the train of love
Alongside the Love Parade and the Carnival of Cultures, the Zug der Liebe is one of the biggest parades in the city. It also sees itself as both a music event and a political demonstration. This year, it celebrates its tenth anniversary and is dedicated to the urgent challenges of our time: scarce living space, climate protection, the transport revolution and the death of clubs. Because only a policy characterised by love and empathy can preserve the quality of life and cultural heritage in a city like Berlin.
As every year , the parade starts at Mauerpark and makes its way through the city to Oranienstraße with its many floats and dance-loving demonstrators. Join in or join the afterparty at Ritter Butzke from 10 pm!
When: Saturday from 1pm
Where: Start in Mauerpark, Prenzlauer Berg
Tip 8: Listen to the season opening of the Berliner Philharmoniker
After a two-month summer break, the Berliner Philharmoniker finally return to their home at the Kulturforum on Friday evening for the season opening. The musicians will take this opportunity to prove that violins, trumpets and cellos have not just spent the summer in their suitcases: The top orchestra has been practising and presents the results to you under the direction of chief conductor Kirill Garrijewitsch Petrenko.
The programme includes works by three of the great masters of music history. Schumann's Manfred Overture, Zimmermann's Concerto for Oboe and Brahms' First Symphony will be performed. Get dressed up, pre-order champagne and snacks for the interval and look forward to a concert experience straight out of a classical music picture book!
When: Friday at 7 pm
Where: Great Hall of the Philharmonie Berlin, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, Tiergarten
Tip 9: Slither into the European Skimboarding Cup on Uber Platz
A water sports spectacle on Uber Platz? A brief explanation may be needed to understand what this is supposed to look like. Because although skimboarding requires both water and a surfboard, this popular water sport is completely independent of waves and wind. Skimboarders only need a flat surface and a thin film of water to start sliding. Skimboarding can best be described as a mixture of surfing and skating - except that instead of rolling, you glide on water instead of tarmac.
You can find out exactly how this works and what role the effects of aquaplaning play at the European Skimboarding Cup 2025 this weekend, whether as a spectator or on the board. Participation in the competition is open to anyone who dares to skimboard!
When: Saturday from 12 noon
Where: Uber Platz, Friedrichshain
European Skimboarding Cup 2025
Tip 10: In love, engaged, married in Wedding and forever?
This year's Long Night of Museums is not just dedicated to love. The artist duo PLASTIQUE FANTASTIQUE has also dedicated itself to the topic. The idea of uniting love and Berlin in an art installation (forever?) ultimately led to the Berlin Wedding (and Divorce) project.
The art installation consists of an inflatable sound sculpture DOUBLE HEART, in which two people literally face each other in two heart chambers, as well as a monumental gold ring that surrounds the façade of the former BVV hall. And this work of art is not just for looking at. You fall in love, are married in a rush and end up being separated from the love you have just found at the divorce dance. A romantic experience full of dreams, tears and dance music!
When: Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm
Where: Rathausvorplatz Wedding, Müllerstraße 147, Wedding
Tip 11: Explore the hidden places of Tempelhof Airport
Tempelhof Airport is well known to Berliners - after all, it is clearly adjacent to Tempelhofer Feld, Berlin's most popular recreational area. But there are secrets hidden in and especially under its halls. Did you know about the extensive system of cellars and tunnels beneath its buildings? Have you ever heard of the film bunker that burnt out at the end of the war? If you want to find out more about the underground of the old airport, the guided tour of the Hidden Places at Tempelhof Airport is just the thing for you. For two hours, you will gain exciting insights into the history of the airport during the National Socialist era, its use by the Air Force from 1945 and the secret service activities during the Cold War.
When: Friday at 11am, Saturday and Sunday at 11am and 11.30am
Where: Tempelhof Airport Visitor Centre Check-In, Platz der Luftbrücke 5, C2, Tempelhof
Here you can find even more great tips for activities & things to do in Berlin - whatever the weather.
