It paints a striking picture in a city where muted shades of grey dominate the cityscape- a vibrant green dome crowning the baroque styled cathedral dating back to the 1400s.

The Berlin Cathedral, or the Berliner Dome, is the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church located on Spree Island in Berlin.  It began as a modest church but went through a transformation in the late 1800s when the then ruling family of Hohenzollern wanted to project a more grandiose image of themselves.

The cathedral’s complete makeover took a decade and its new look was unveiled in an inauguration ceremony in 1905. Sadly, the magnificent structure took major hits during World War 2, and was left in a state of disrepair until the GDR embarked on a restoration process in 1975. Rebuilding works took almost two decades, it was finally completed in 1993, four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Today, the striking structure is like a magnet, drawing people to it daily with its magnificent dome. Its strategic location in the historical city center filled with low-rise buildings makes the four-storey building easy to spot from various points.

Tip: You can get a sweeping view of the center of Berlin, with sights of Museum Island, the Reichstag, the synagogue and more if you take the stairs (270 steps!) to the top of the dome and stroll along the dome walkway.

You can explore the cathedral at your own pace, but do take note that any exploration is out of bounds if there’s a service ongoing.

Here are the timings of church services:

• Mon – Sat 12pm Midday Prayers
• Mon – Fri 6pm Evening Prayers
• Thu 6pm Evensong
• Sat 6pm Vespers
• Sun and Holy Days 10am Lord’s Supper (with English translation)

Also, do note that the church is also a popular venue for weddings. I visited on a day where a wedding service was held. I learnt from wedding guests that the happy couple booked the cathedral two years in advance because of its massive popularity! Despite not being able to enter, I still managed to admire its beautiful architecture. The cathedral’s intricate façade was enough to keep me occupied for over half an hour.

If you do manage to get in, check out the imperial staircase with colored marble decoration, the interior of the dome (at 70 meters high) with its gorgeous mosaic design and the museum that tells you everything about the history of the church.

Find out what other sights to see in Berlin.

That’s three days. If you have as this short a time as I did in a city rich with history and culture, you’d be insane not to plan in advance. Lucky for you, I’ve done the agonizing research on what to do and where to go in German’s second largest city. Here’re the top eight places to visit.

1. The Berlin Wall

No one should leave Berlin without making a pilgrimage to the Berlin Wall. It may be just a long stretch of brick wall, but its fall represented a milestone in modern history.  For those of us who live in peaceful times, the wall is a reminder that we should not take peace for granted.

There are three sections now left standing. One remains near the site of the Gestapo headquarters, halfway between Checkpoint Charlie and Portsdamer Platz; the second section was turned into a memorial in 1999, at Bernauer Straße; the third section, the East Side Gallery, runs along the Spree River. This stretch is also known as the international memorial for freedom and the one you should visit. 105 artists from around the world painted their thoughts of the wall on this stretch.

Tip: the East Side Gallery stretches over 1km, so to soak in all the artists’ works, it’s advisable to rent a bicycle and cycle alongside it.

2. Schloss Charlottenburg

There are a few opulent castles dotted around the city, but I picked this because of the vast garden in the heart of the castle grounds, perfect for an afternoon of lounging and a feast for your eyes. The castle is erected Rococo style, with one opulent room after another.

Admittedly, after the 4^th room, it all gets repetitive and you grow disdainful at the lavishness of the ornately designed ballrooms from floor to ceiling. The gardens are a highlight though. An ornamental garden, it’s an ideal spot to relax the afternoon away, and to rest your eyes after all that rich décor.

3. Holocaust Memorial

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe lies near the city center. Architect Peter Eisemann designed this memorial with over 2,500 geometrically arranged pillars. Nearby, at the sombre underground museum, there are detailed stories and images of life during the Nazi occupation arranged in different exhibits based on periods. Large empty spaces allow visitors to take their time with each section. To me, it was a gracious salute to the Jews who have perished.

4. Brandenburg Gate

Much like the Berlin Wall, no visit to Berlin is complete without a pit-stop at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s former city gate.  This landmark structure divide East and West Berlin during the Cold War. While it used to symbolise Europe’s tumultuous history, the fall of the wall saw this gate emerge as a landmark of the birth of a new Germany and a symbol of hope and unity.

5. Checkpoint Charlie

This is the renowned crossing point between Socialist controlled East Berlin and the allied controlled West Berlin during the Cold War.

Nicknamed by the Americans, Checkpoint Charlie was the symbol of the Cold War. With the dissolution of the Easten Bloc, the building at Checkpoint Charlie was kept intact as a reminder of that uncertain period. It was relocated to the Dahlem neighbourhood in Berlin, next to the Allied Museum.

6. The Reichstag

One of the more interesting buildings in Berlin, the Reichstag houses the German Parliament. The original building saw its fair share of disasters, first with a fire, followed by damages endured during World War II. It was rebuilt in the 90s and adorned with a modern glass dome, where visitors can enter to take a peek into parliamentary proceedings, but more excitingly- a stunning view of the Berlin skyline.

Tip: If you plan to visit, visit in the late afternoons or evenings, where the queue lines are shorter. You’ll be just in time to see golden specks falling over the city at dusk.

7. The Memorial Church of Berlin

It looks like a sad state from the outside but this Protestant Memorial Church of Berlin is one of the city’s most important landmarks. Heavily damaged by air raids during World War II, the structure was preserved as a war memorial. If you go up close, you can even spot bullet holes on the church’s façade.

Despite its mournful exterior, the church’s interiors are surprisingly untouched, with beautiful mosaic artwork filling the ceilings.

Adjacent to this memorial church and a stark contrast is a modern concrete church with blue stained glass windows.

8. The Potsdamer Platz

If you feel you need some modern architecture after all the historic sights, head to the Potsdamer Platz. Essentially a shopping center, it’s probably Berlin’s most contemporary structure, with movie theaters, restaurants and retail shops. One of the highlights is the dome of the Sony Center, lit with different colors at night. Do note that restaurants here are pricier though.

Did you know: I found an interesting fact while crossing roads- traffic lights between the East and the West feature different traffic light men (known as Ampelmännchen). The west features a generic human figure while the east has a male figure wearing a hat. And if you’re standing right at the junction of East meets West, you’ll be able to catch the two different men in action.

If you plan your routes well, it’s possible to visit all these places and more in just three days. Do you have any additions to this list of places to visit in Berlin? What do you think of the city?

The first thing that struck me about Berlin was how attractive the people were. I’m not sure if I was surprised by this because in my mind, I had painted Germans as a stoic, unappealing bunch. Instead, I find myself a tiny mousy Asian in the land of the gorgeous- the same place that Heidi Klum came from. I should have known better.

Friends urged me to go Munich instead; it’s light on mood with beautiful sights, a far cry from the muted German capital. But I really wanted to visit the Berlin Wall, to feel a fragment of the stone cold barrier that once divided a country into two contrasting sides.

It’s instantly clear where East Berlin ends and West Berlin begins. There’s a line on the ground between east and west where the Berlin Wall once stood. But even without it, you can still see an imaginary divider between the cheerier west and the gloomier east.

Greyish older buildings begging for repair are remnants and reflections of the Eastern bloc’s influence, while contemporary buildings with a more colorful palette soar in the West. Some locals I met lament on the city’s lack of funds to rebuild the east side, but I much rather it remain as it is. It adds character to the city.

Berliners are enterprising. My first encounter with the Berlin Wall was at a souvenir shop. Shops all over town hawk “authentic” pieces of the Berlin Wall encased in tiny glass bottles, urging tourists to bring home a piece of history. This one-time symbol of oppression is now a goldmine targeted at wide-eyed travellers. I’m not sure how many have fallen for this, but I did wonder how many of these fragments were real.

I find it amazing that Germans have found a way to preserve the past but take out its ugliness. A stretch of the Berlin Wall has been preserved and made into an outdoor art gallery. Over 100 artists creatively poured their feelings of this Wall of Shame in their own unique ways. By the time I finished with what is now called the East Side Gallery, I was filled with awe and frayed with emotions.

Over my three-day stay in Berlin, I was constantly surprised by the city’s contrasting sights. I could be walking past a skyscraper one moment, and stumbled upon remnants of socialist buildings the next. I had a tough time searching for the opulent summer palace of Frederick the Great, only to find it tucked within a quiet residential estate. Then of course, is the Brandenburg Gate, the stately former gates of the city, which lies just beyond two contemporary buildings.

Berlin’s city dwellers know how enjoy life. Cafes that line the sidewalk beside the river are filled with people enjoying ice-cold beer in the afternoons. There are even deck chairs facing the river, for a siesta if you have time. The expansive field in front of the Reichstag are strewn with pockets of people, some picnicking, some sunbathing and others, studying. At dusk, restaurants ring with laughter and chattering, and dinner can last deep into the night. Pubs pulsate with dance music and strobe lights. Drunken youths stumble home only at 2 or 3 am.

But as much as they live in the present, the Germans haven’t forgotten their past. A Holocaust memorial was erected near the city center, a tribute to the Jews who perished during the Nazi occupation. I wonder if its location is their way of saying “we’re not afraid to hide behind our past generation’s mistakes”.

A melting pot of culture, history and modernism, I find Berlin a fascinating city for history buffs. Have you been there before, where’s your favorite places to visit? Here’s where I think you should visit when you’re in Berlin.

Any visit to Berlin would not be completed without a pilgrimage to the Berlin Wall. For 29 years, this cold, hard meandering 155km-long barrier cuts East Germany completely from the West, breaking apart families and lives.

After Germany’s liberation in 1989, efforts have been made to preserve the wall, in memory of the lives lost along this “Wall of Shame”.

The East Side Gallery, a 1.3km stretch of the wall located near the centre of Berlin, at Mühlenstraß, now stands as an international memorial of freedom. With 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, the Gallery may possibly be the largest and longest open air gallery ever. Each of these artistic creations tells a story. Some play tribute to those who were lost in the tumultuous period, while some expressed the emotions felt when freedom was in sight.

The image above is a mark of respect to each of the freedom fighter lost each year the wall was up- a total of 136 lives. For where to visit when you’re in the city, don”t forget to check out my Top Seven Places to visit in Berlin.

Where: East Side Gallery, Mühlenstrasse, Berlin, Germany