6 day trips from Berlin

As you might imagine, Berlin is the largest city in Germany and one of the most incredible European capitals! Visiting Berlin means diving into world history, and to enhance this experience, you can take a few day trips to explore nearby cities. That’s why today’s post is a list of 6 day trips from Berlin!

Before anything else, you need to determine how many days to spend enjoying the city and how many days you’ll have for day trips from Berlin. If it’s your first time in Germany, my advice is to set aside 3 to 4 days for the capital and another 2 days for excursions outside the city. However, the number of days depends a lot on your traveler profile since Berlin has many interesting attractions to entertain visitors.

Day trips from Berlin

As I always mention in my posts about day trips, for the experience to be worthwhile, travel time shouldn’t be too long, you need enough time to enjoy the city you’re visiting. My advice is to choose destinations no more than 2 hours and 30 minutes away from your base city (in this case, Berlin).

Another important tip: consider the size of the city you plan to visit. If it’s a large city, it may be better to stay overnight rather than just a day trip.

Now, let’s check out the best day trips from Berlin!

Potsdam

This is undoubtedly the most famous and easiest day trip. The city is known for having the best hot dogs in the country, as well as beautiful gardens and palaces, such as the Sanssouci Palace.

Distance from Berlin: The city is very close to the capital, only 35 km away. You can get to Potsdam by train or car, and the journey takes around 40 minutes.

What to do: The city doesn’t have a huge number of attractions, but the most must-visit place is Sanssouci Palace, built in the Rococo style and often compared to Versailles Palace in France. Also, don’t miss Cecilienhof Palace.

Leipzig

This city is located in eastern Germany and is known for its university and for being the final resting place of composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Distance from Berlin: 190 km. You can travel by car or train, but, as with all day trips in this post, the train is the fastest option (around 90 minutes), while a car journey takes around 2 hours and 15 minutes.

What to do: There aren’t many attractions, but if you have extra days and have already done the other day trips from Berlin mentioned here, Leipzig can be a pleasant surprise. Tip: Avoid going if the weather is rainy.

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

This is the closest concentration camp to the capital. While it’s not as large or as striking as Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, the visit is intense. You’ll be able to imagine the daily lives of the Jewish prisoners held there and explore some of the cells and barracks.

Distance from Berlin: 35 km, easily accessible by public transport in around 45 minutes.

What to do: Walk through the concentration camp and learn more about this dark period in human history. Entry is free, but the audio guide costs €3 (I highly recommend getting it to better understand the site’s history).

Dresden

Like Leipzig, Dresden is also located in eastern Germany. The city stands out for its stunning Baroque-style buildings.

Distance from Berlin: 195 km. You can travel by train, car, or bus, but the fastest option is the train (less than 2 hours), followed by car (about 2 hours and 15 minutes) and bus (almost 3 hours).

What to do: Visit the Dresden Castle, which houses multiple museums (Münzkabinett, Grünes Gewölbe), and explore Theaterplatz, one of the city’s most important squares.

Hanover

Hanover is relatively small, especially compared to Berlin and Munich, making it perfect for a day trip!

Distance from Berlin: 288 km. A day trip is only worth it by train, as it’s significantly faster than driving. By car, the trip takes 3 to 3.5 hours, while by train, it’s about 1 hour and 50 minutes.

What to do: Most attractions are in the Old Town. Don’t miss Marktkirche (a Gothic-style church), Altes Rathaus (the old town hall), and Krammerstrasse (a charming little street).

Hamburg

To finish the list of day trips from Berlin, we have Hamburg.

Distance from Berlin: Like Hanover, visiting Hamburg on a day trip only makes sense if you go by train. By car, the trip takes nearly 4 hours, while by train, it’s only 1 hour and 50 minutes. The distance between Hamburg and Berlin is 290 km.

What to do: Visit Hamburger Hafen (the city’s port), Övelgönne (a small fishing village), and walk through the Old Elbe Tunnel.

The destinations above are just a few suggestions for day trips from Berlin. If you have more time, you can explore other German cities. In that case, my recommendation would be to choose another base city, such as Munich, for traveling in southern Germany.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, and I’ll reply as soon as possible!

See you in the next post!