Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburger Tor (Pariser Platz)

Berlin's front door, walled off for 28 years

Hours

Open-air, always accessible

Tickets

Free

Address

Pariser Platz, Mitte, where Unter den Linden ends and the Tiergarten begins

Twelve sandstone columns hold up the Quadriga, a chariot and four horses facing east. From 1961 to 1989 the Wall ran right in front of it, so nobody from either side could walk through. Now you just stroll in from Pariser Platz and out between the columns toward the Tiergarten. By day it's packed with tour groups and buskers; after dark the floodlights come on and the crowd thins out. The Reichstag and the Holocaust Memorial are both five minutes away on foot, so do all three together.