As it does every year, May treats us to several public holidays that turn the weekend into a mini-break. Following May Day, it is now Ascension Day’s turn, heralding the start of leisure activities for many as early as Thursday. By Friday at the latest, however, the weekend programme really gets underway for everyone, brightening up your spring with open-air and indoor theatre, experimental soundscapes, church music and many other highlights.
Tip 1: Experience ten outstanding productions at the Theatertreffen
For over sixty years, the Theatertreffen jury has been reviewing around 700 productions annually, facing the challenging task each time of selecting the ten most remarkable productions from among them. This time, numerous new interpretations have made it into the selection, bringing well-known stories into the present day with a dramatic twist.
This weekend, the programme features Serotonin at the Hans Otto Theater, Three Times Left is Right at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, and Der Hauptmann von Köpenick at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. And this year’s supporting programme also has something new to offer: Mehr Drama! presents new voices in theatre and invites you to discussions centred on the twin themes of drama and discourse.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various times
Where: Various theatres in Berlin and Potsdam
Tip 2: Immerse yourself in a 30-hour soundscape with The Infinite Now
If you fall asleep at this event, you’re doing exactly what the concept intends: at The Infinite Now, dozing off, waking up and dreaming are all part of the sound experience. This experience is open to you for 30 hours over the weekend in the industrial halls of Kraftwerk Berlin. The collaboration between Unsound and Berlin Atonal is less a traditional music festival and more of an audio-psychological experiment.
Over twenty international artists will come together to create a continuous soundscape that begins early on Saturday evening and doesn’t end until late on Sunday night.
When: From Saturday at 7 pm until late on Sunday night
Where: Kraftwerk Berlin, Köpenicker Straße 70, Mitte
Tip 3: Explore the architecture of memory at Between the Lines
When New York architect Daniel Libeskind was awarded the contract for the extension to the Jewish Museum in the summer of 1989, his vision was clear: the building should not only serve as an exhibition space, but its design should also bring German-Jewish history to life. Through oppressive concrete shafts, sloping walls, the three axes of Jewish history in the basement and the Holocaust Tower, visitors experience first-hand the centuries-long history of threat and persecution.
Now, with ‘Between the Lines’, the Jewish Museum is staging an exhibition whose venue is also its subject. In Libeskind’s extension, numerous drawings and models document how his work continues to shape the culture of remembrance to this day.
When: Friday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm
Where: Jewish Museum Berlin, Lindenstraße 9–14, Kreuzberg
Tip 4: Come aboard and experience Berlin from the water
This boat trip is arguably the most comprehensive of Berlin’s sightseeing tours on the water: along the 23-kilometre route, you’ll see both historic and modern landmarks, distinctive residential areas and urban green spaces. And even true Berliners born and bred can learn a thing or two here.
For example, Berlin has more bridges than Venice – although the tour doesn’t take you past all 960 of them, 64 are certainly included. As well as the bridges, the 3-hour-and-15-minute cruise also takes in the Government District, Museum Island, Berlin Cathedral and the East Side Gallery. Sightseeing, relaxation and an urban experience all in one.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10.30 am or 2.15 pm
Where: Jannowitzbrücke pier, Rolandufer 4, Mitte, or Hafen Treptow pier, Puschkinallee 15, Treptow
Tickets for the bridge tour through Berlin
Tip 5: Listen to the Sunday concert in the Hall of Mirrors
Clärchens Ballhaus on Auguststraße is a true Berlin institution. The dance hall was founded in September 1913 and has since survived war, destruction, the GDR and reunification. Cultural events are still held regularly in the listed Hall of Mirrors at this historic venue.
This includes this weekend’s Sunday concert in the Hall of Mirrors: Gabriel Schwabe, one of the most distinguished cellists of his generation, and pianist Yehuda Inbar will present a programme ranging from Schumann to Janáček, Wagner and Grieg. You can look forward to top-class classical music – followed by an early summer nightcap in the venue’s own beer garden.
When: Sunday at 5 pm
Where: Clärchens Ballhaus, Auguststr. 24, Mitte
Sunday concert in the Hall of Mirrors
Tip 6: Grab a bite at Bites & Bikes Street food on two wheels
The Jules B-Part in the Park am Gleisdreieck becomes a meeting place for street food and cycling enthusiasts at the weekend, as Bites & Bikes combines the best of both worlds. On the edge of one of the city’s most popular green spaces, 15 international food stalls serve up their specialities – straight from cargo bikes. But it’s not just the culinary offerings that take centre stage.
The organisers are aiming for more: sustainability, mobility and community in urban spaces, brought to life through innovative cycling technology. Feast your way halfway around the world and discover, through workshops, art installations and other activities, just how green the city of the future could be.
When: Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 10pm
Where: Jules B-Part, Luckenwalder Str. 6b, Kreuzberg
Tip 7: Marvel at our thirst for knowledge on International Museum Day
Alongside walking upright, a fondness for tools and language, collecting is also a distinctive feature of our species: we humans gather, organise, sort and evaluate our past in order to learn from it for the future. Museums were created to bring all this together under one roof – the oldest known one dates back to 530 BC in what is now Iraq.
To celebrate this thirst for knowledge , International Museum Day is held worldwide . In Berlin too, you are invited to explore the social role of museums on this occasion. This year’s theme, ‘Museums uniting a divided world’, celebrates museums as bridge-builders. Look forward to special events, extended opening hours, exciting guided tours and much more.
When: Sunday at various opening times
Where: Various museums across Berlin
Tip 8: Enjoy your morning coffee with Tim Raue at 207 metres
The TV Tower offers not only an exciting lift ride, during which visitors are whisked up to a height of 200 metres in 40 seconds, but also a very special brunch venue. From 9 am , breakfast is served up here in the Sphere Restaurant .
On the menu is the Sphere Breakfast, a vegan option and a panorama that is second to none. From up here, even Berlin Cathedral looks tiny. The revolving restaurant serves home-cured salmon, berry smoothies and chickpea cream – and if you book early, you’ll get one of the coveted window seats to boot.
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Several slots between 9 am and 10.30 am
Where: TV Tower, Panoramastraße 1A, Mitte
Breakfast at the Sphere Restaurant
Tip 9: Visit ‘Gebaute Gemeinschaft’ at the James Simon Gallery
Since February, the James Simon Gallery has been hosting a special exhibition that takes a deep dive into the past. Using 12,000-year-old artworks and images from the Turkish province of Şanlıurfa, ‘Built Community’ explores how people lived together during one of the most decisive turning points in human history: the transition from a hunter-gatherer culture to a settled way of life.
The monumental sites of Göbeklitepe and Taş Tepeler tell the story of this new chapter in human history and continue to impress archaeologists to this day.
When: Friday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm
Where: James-Simon-Galerie, Bodestraße 1–3, Mitte
Tickets for ‘Built Community’ at the James-Simon-Galerie
Tip 10: Welcome the open-air season at Luftschloss Tempelhof
With the first warm days of the year, life returns to Tempelhofer Feld . Alongside the opening of Berlin’s outdoor swimming pools, the Luftschloss also kicks off its new season. The wooden open-air theatre is back with a varied programme: educational children’s theatre, live stand-up comedy, concerts by the Children’s Philharmonic Orchestra and a Sixties dance party ensure plenty of variety right from the first few days of the season. Whatever takes your fancy – you’re sure to find the perfect spring programme here.
When: At various times
Where: Luftschloss Tempelhofer Feld, south-west entrance on Tempelhofer Damm, Tempelhof
Tip 11: Start the weekend with contemplative St Nicholas music
Even though the working week has been a little shorter due to Ascension Day, a peaceful end to the week won’t go amiss. St Nicholas’ Church offers the perfect setting for this. At 5 pm on Friday, ‘St Nicholas’ Music’ features organ music spanning several centuries, filling the historic space with tranquil sounds.
Take a seat on the wooden pews, sit back and leave the hustle and bustle of everyday life behind you for a moment. The half-hour concert creates a special atmosphere bridging the past and the present, and thanks to its regular schedule, it has the potential to become a regular weekend ritual.
When: Friday at 5 pm
Where: Nikolaikirche Museum, Nikolaikirchplatz 5, Mitte
Here you’ll find even more great tips for events in Berlin – whatever the weather.
