New year, new luck, new resolutions and above all: new weekend tips. As you slowly but surely arrive in Year 2025 and recover from the extensive festivities of the past few weeks, things are already getting back to normal in Berlin. If you want to start the new year on a contemplative note, you're in good hands at all kinds of concerts and cabaret events - everyone else can look forward to Germany's most popular wrestling evening at Festsaal Kreuzberg...
Tip 1: Look at Berlin from a perspective worthy of the new year
Berlin is a special sight from every perspective - but the view of the city from above is particularly impressive. And where better to do that than from the tallest building in Germany? Because this record is still held by the Berlin TV tower with its 368 metres. The lift takes you in just 40 seconds to the viewing platform, from where you can enjoy a 360° panoramic view of the city. And the visual highlights continue on the ground floor: put on your VR glasses at Berlin's Odyssey and travel through either 900 years of city history or the history of the creation of the Berlin landmark.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 11 pm
Where: Berlin TV Tower, Panoramastraße 1A, Mitte
Tip 2: Move your New Year's walk to the Museum for Natural History
The year is still young, but the bones in the Museum for Natural History are infinitely old: the T-Rex Tristan Otto is now 66 million years old and is probably the only one in Berlin from the Upper Cretaceous period. In addition to the dinosaur skeletons, the impressive museum building from the early 20th century houses over 30 million large and small treasures as well as an exciting permanent exhibition on migratory birds. And with the time slot ticket, you don't even have to queue at the ticket office - the ideal place for a New Year's walk that will amaze the whole family!
When: Friday from 9.30am to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm
Where: Museum für Naturkunde, Invalidenstraße 43, Mitte
Tip 3: Take a humorous look back at 2024
A lot has happened in the world again in 2024. So it's worth taking a look back at the highlights of world events in the new year - and preferably with a good dose of humour. Fortunately, the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm in the Ernst-Reuter-Saal is now an expert in such things and will present us with its cabaret review of the year on the first weekend in January. Look forward to stories, songs and parodies by and with Berlin greats such as Bov Bjerg, Horst Evers and even Angela Merkel, who will read from her memoirs for you.
When: Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 3:30pm and 7:30pm and Sunday at 3:30pm
Where: Komödie am Kurfürstendamm in the Ernst-Reuter-Saal, Eichborndamm 213, Reinickendorf
Tip 4: Listen to classic film music with the Babelsberg Film Orchestra
Music and film have gone hand in hand since the moving image was still in its infancy. And since the early days of sound film, there has been a permanent fixture: the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. The orchestra, rich in tradition, was founded in 1918 as the UFA Symphony Orchestra and has borne its current name since 1993. This weekend at the Philharmonie Berlin, you can experience the power of film music and the sound of the orchestra for yourself. The Godfather, Harry Potter and James Bond are just some of the milestones in film (music) history that await you here!
When: Sunday at 8pm
Where: Philharmonie Berlin, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, Tiergarten
Tip 5: Start the year with the brilliant sounds of Orff and Beethoven
O Fortuna! - The goddess of fortune will fill the Konzerthaus Berlin this weekend when the Czech Symphony Orchestra and the Coro di Praga sing Carl Orff's impressive Carmina Burana. The composer himself described his masterpiece as the beginning of his musical oeuvre, as if the radiance of this opus had swallowed up all previous works. And this categorisation makes sense once you are exposed to the artistic vocal power that the choral pieces bring to the stage. To offer a second prime example of rousing works of the century, Beethoven's 9th Symphony will be performed afterwards. A New Year's concert as it should be!
When: Friday at 8 pm and Saturday at 3 pm
Where: Konzerthaus Berlin, Am Gendarmenmarkt 2, Mitte
Tip 6: Get soft and cosy at the Wool Festival
It's bitterly cold outside and it's going to stay that way for a while: So where better for freezing Berliners on the first weekend in January than at the fluffy and warm Wool Festival? The softest fabrics, the most colourful yarns and the most exciting handicraft tricks are gathered here in one place. Exhibitors sell unique handmade items, give workshops and inspire with new project ideas. And the crowds are bigger than expected: In our fast-paced world, more and more people are rediscovering the relaxing power of knitting. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next person to be spotted with knitting needles and yarn on the Berlin underground
When: Saturday and Sunday
Where: Tegeler Seeterrassen, Wilkestraße 1, Reinickendorf
Tip 7: Start the new year playfully with the little ones
Under the motto Simply Play - Winter Edition, the FEZ Wuhlheide is once again hosting a wintery fun play event for the whole family this weekend. Young guests between the ages of 2 and 12 can romp around at many stations and let off steam in the reading corner, on the Lego wall, between the mirror constructions or in the light cave. For the ultimate winter feeling, there will be stick bread outside at the open campfire afterwards - a refreshment that is certainly necessary after so much fun!
When: Saturday and Sunday, time slots at 11 am and 3 pm
Where: Freizeit- und Erholungszentrum Wuhlheide (FEZ), Straße zum FEZ 2, Köpenick
Tip 8: Travel with the Ostkreuz photographers to Berlin in the 90s
As part of the current exhibition Träum Weiter - Berlin, die 90er at C/O Berlin, you can embark on a very special journey through time through the city on Sunday. The tour In the Former Border Strip: Continuity and Change from Bernauer Strasse to Potsdamer Platz is based on the photographs of the Ostkreuz photographers, who captured Berlin's transformation after the fall of the Wall with their cameras. Tour guides will take you past historical sites that are still standing today, but are barely recognisable compared to the photographs.
When: Sunday at 12 noon
Where: Starting point S-Nordbahnhof, Gartenstr. / corner of Bernauer Str., Mitte
Tip 9: Laugh with and about Old White Men
The heyday of the old white men seems to be slowly but surely coming to an end (at least in Berlin)... The places where they can still pursue their favourite hobbies undisturbed are becoming increasingly rare - because in most places, what they stand for is simply no longer wanted. All the more important that they at least still have something to laugh about at the Wühlmäusen. Sebastian Schnoy & guests dedicate their own show to them, where they can feel right at home and share jokes from the past. Anyone who shares at least one of the basic values of this dying species can take part: "Get off my property", "mind your own business" or "these trousers are still good".
When: Sunday at 8pm
Where: Die Wühlmäuse, Pommernallee 2-4, Westend
Tip 10: Check out the anniversary exhibition at the Kommunale Galerie
The Kommunale Galerie Berlin was founded in 1974 on Hohenzollerndamm and quickly developed into an important venue for the Berlin art scene in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. To mark its 50th anniversary, the Kommunale Galerie is showing three anniversary exhibitions until 12 January that aptly reflect the artistic profile of this special place: Mahlzeit Feldforschung am Fehrbelliner Platz, POLYPHONIE - Kunst in West-Berlin / 70s and Zeitgeist. The ideal opportunity to start the year 2025 with artistic foresight!
When: Friday from 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm
Where: Kommunale Galerie Berlin, Hohenzollerndamm 176, Wilmersdorf
Tip 11: Solid exchange of blows in the Festsaal Kreuzberg
Screams, flying chairs, muscle packs and an exuberant atmosphere? This explosive mix awaits you on Sunday when the athletes of the German Wrestling Federation take over the Festsaal Kreuzberg for another evening. The contemplative Christmas period is behind us and this top-class sporting event is the perfect opportunity to get a good dose of energy for the grey January. With entertaining moderation, hilarious storylines and acrobatic feats, the atmosphere is guaranteed to get the party started!
When: Sunday from 17:30
Where: Festsaal Kreuzberg, Am Flutgraben 2, Kreuzberg
