With photography, street food and a shower of blossoms, Berlin is showing off its springtime charm this weekend. New exhibitions invite you to explore, a culinary festival brings Sicilian flavours to the city, and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the Gardens of the World. Add to that jazz, ballet and creative markets – look forward to a weekend blending culture and spring.
Tip 1: Check out two new exhibitions at the Museum of Photography
Following an exciting refurbishment, the Museum of Photography is now reopening its doors. Since 2004, the museum has been home to the Helmut Newton Foundation, whose outstanding permanent and temporary exhibitions attract visitors from all over the world to Charlottenburg. The museum is now celebrating its reopening with two new exhibitions: see the new, expanded permanent exhibition ‘Intermezzo. Revisiting Helmut Newton’ and the temporary exhibition ‘Neue Frau, Neues Sehen’, a long-overdue tribute to the artists of the Bauhaus.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 7pm
Where: Museum of Photography, Jebensstraße 2, Charlottenburg
Tip 2: Visit the Sicilian Street Food Festival
The Festsaal Kreuzberg is completely transformed at the weekend: over 20 stalls are piled high with cannoli, granita, pizza and pasta, bringing Sicilian flavours to Berlin. For a small entrance fee, the Sicilian Street Food Festival treats you to everything Italy’s largest island has to offer. Enjoy the spring sunshine with a glass of fine wine, sway to live Sicilian music and let culinary experts introduce you to the secrets of Sicilian cuisine. You can look forward to masterclasses on pistachios, granita, cannoli and more, an entertainment programme for little sweet-toothed ones, and fascinating insights into Sicilian culture.
When: Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 10 pm
Where: Festsaal Kreuzberg Berlin, Am Flutgraben 2, Treptow
Tip 3: Listen to the Lawrence Clark Band at the Zig Zag Jazz Club
The cosy interior of the Zig Zag Jazz Club alone is worth a visit. But that is by no means all this musical institution has to offer. Comfortable sofas, 1980s-style mosaic tiles and thick carpets form the backdrop to a stage dedicated to virtuosity and musical excellence. The programme ranges from experimental newcomer acts to absolute jazz legends. On Sunday evening, a concert awaits you that clearly belongs to the latter category: the Lawrence Clark Band, led by its namesake Clark – a former member of the Rashied Ali Quintet – combines numerous musical influences into a successful reinterpretation of classic New York jazz.
When: Sunday, doors open from 7.30 pm, concert starts at 8.30 pm
Where: Zig Zag Jazz Club, Hauptstraße 89, Friedenau
Tip 4: Experience Torsten Fischer’s *Herr Teufel Faust*
In the scholar Heinrich Faust , Goethe created not only the protagonist of what is arguably the greatest tragedy in German literature, but also the archetype of an insatiable thirst for knowledge. The present is not enough for Faust – he wants to look into the future and comprehend the world in its entirety. With its thematic richness, the play offers almost inexhaustible material for new interpretations. Torsten Fischer has now staged one such interpretation for the Renaissance Theater Berlin. HERR TEUFEL FAUST breathes new life into the work and transports it to a present in which humanity has attained a power of influence that Goethe’s tragic hero could only dream of. In the Anthropocene, humankind becomes the decisive factor in the planet’s development – for better or for worse.
When: Friday and Saturday at 7.30 pm, Sunday at 6 pm
Where: Renaissance Theatre Berlin, Knesebeckstraße 100, Charlottenburg
Tip 5: Enjoy spring in the Gardens of the World
In the Gardens of the World, plants from all over the globe compete to bloom in eleven themed gardens, water gardens and nine garden cabinets. The cable car, Renaissance garden, mazes and playgrounds are worth a visit at any time of year – but right now, the extensive park offers a breathtaking natural spectacle: nowhere else in Berlin can you admire as many cherry blossoms as here. Let a tour guide lead you through the pink and white splendour of the blossoms for an hour and a half, and plan your visit sooner rather than later: the peak of the sakura blossom season is mid-April and lasts for a maximum of two weeks.
When: daily from 9 am to 8 pm, Sakura guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 12.30 pm
Where: Gardens of the World, Blumberger Damm 44, Marzahn
Tip 6: Marvel at the Harlem Globetrotters’ comedy show
The Harlem Globetrotters have been around since 1926. When the basketball team was founded in Chicago back then , it consisted largely of African-American players – at a time when Black people were not yet allowed in the US professional leagues. To hold their own in a sporting landscape marked by racism, the technically excellent team also faced their opponents with humour. The blend of virtuoso ball-handling and clowning became their trademark and made the Harlem Globetrotters the world’s most famous basketball show team. On Saturday evening, you can experience this unique comedy-sport spectacle live at the Max-Schmeling-Halle.
When: Saturday at 7 pm
Where: Max-Schmeling-Halle, Am Falkplatz 1, Prenzlauer Berg
Tip 7: Have a browse at the craft market at Hubertusbad
People haven’t been swimming at the Hubertusbad in Lichtenberg for a long time now. However, as this historic public swimming pool from the early 20th century is simply too beautiful to be left empty, it is regularly used as a venue for creative events – including this Saturday. For the creative market at Hubertusbad, tables by Berlin-based artists line up in the impressive swimming hall, showcasing arts and crafts, design, fashion and many other special treasures. Street food and cool drinks provide refreshments, whilst DJ music provides the perfect soundtrack for your stroll.
When: Saturday from 11am to 5pm
Where: Hubertusbad, Hubertusstraße 47–49, Lichtenberg
Tip 8: Experience the award-winning ballet *Nureyev* at the Deutsche Oper
He died in 1993 at the age of just 54. And yet Rudolf Nureyev went down in history as one of the most significant dancers of the 20th century. This status is not solely due to Nureyev’s revolutionary dance style: as a gay man in conservative Russia, Nureyev also set new political standards for the art of ballet. Although he remains a controversial figure in Russia to this day due to his defection to the West, choreographer Yuri Possokhov and director Kirill Serebrennikov decided to dedicate a ballet to this exceptional artist. The Staatsballett Berlin is now staging Nureyev for the first time outside Russia – where the production was banned from the repertoire three years ago following the tightening of LGBTQ+ laws.
When: Friday at 7.30 pm and Sunday at 4 pm
Where: Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bismarckstraße 35, Charlottenburg
Tip 9: Visit Peter Hujar / Liz Deschenes: Persistence of Vision
Spring also brings a new exhibition to the Gropius Bau: “Peter Hujar / Liz Deschenes: Persistence of Vision” brings the works of the two artists into a visual dialogue. Peter Hujar captured the New York scene between the Stonewall protests and the AIDS crisis in hauntingly poetic black-and-white photographs, which are now regarded as significant historical documents. Liz Deschenes, on the other hand, works in contemporary New York and explores the material and chemical foundations of photography in her work – entirely without traditional visual motifs. At the Gropius Bau this weekend, you can experience the works in direct juxtaposition and discover their essential commonalities.
When: Friday from 12 noon to 7 pm, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm
Where: Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, Kreuzberg
Tip 10: Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site Museum Island
This year, Museum Island is celebrating its 200th anniversary. So it’s high time to get to know this special cultural complex on the River Spree a little better. One option is the UNESCO World Heritage guided tour. On the tour, you’ll gain insights into the architecture, history and cultural treasures of the participating museums. If you’d like to discover even more after the two-hour tour , you can use the included day ticket to explore the bust of Nefertiti in the Neues Museum, Monet’s paintings in the Alte Nationalgalerie, or the foundations of a medieval Latin school at PETRI Berlin.
When: Saturday at 11 am
Where: Meeting point: James Simon Gallery, Entrance Level 1, Bodestraße, Mitte
Tip 11: Make yourselves comfortable in the living room whilst doing some handicrafts
Since October last year, the exhibition programme ‘Beziehungsweise Familie’ at the Humboldt Forum has been exploring the question of how and where families live together. The living room already provides an initial answer to the ‘where’: across cultures, people sit, talk, play, relax – and weave. In the Humboldt Forum’s living room, the focus is on textile work, which in many cultures is closely linked to family cohesion. Collective wall collages as well as weaving and knitting workshops introduce you to the matriarchal traditions of Colombia’s Wayuu community through textile art and storytelling.
When: Friday to Sunday from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm
Where: Humboldt Forum, Schloßplatz, Mitte
Here you will find even more great tips for events in Berlin – whatever the weather.
