Berlin does not have the reputation of being an expensive city. Nevertheless there are some things you can do for free or for just a small amount of money while you visit this city - and they are pretty enjoyable. Here are some that I noticed since I moved here, this list might get longer as times goes on.
Museumnights on thursdays:
The museums belonging to the “Staatliche Museen zu Berlin” - members are for instance the Alte Nationalgalerie or the Kulturforum - offer free entrance in the last 4 hours of their opening times.
Many of these museums are even open until 10 pm on thursdays.
Skate nights:
Taking part in the weekly skating nights is for free. They usually happen from may until august on every sunday if the weather allows it. They offer a chance to skate around without any traffic on the main streets of Berlin.
Watching Hackescher Markt:
Take a seat in one of the comfortable chairs at the 2nd level of Starbucks , Rosenthaler Straße. Admittingly this isn’t for free but for maybe a piece of cake or a cup of coffee you can enjoy your view of the surrounding buildings, the street cars passing by and all the bustling going on at one of the busiest plazas of downtown Berlin.
Getting an overview:
If you wanna have a look at Berlin from above, you don’t need to go up the big tv tower - which does cost money - you just go to the german parliament building, move up the elevator and enjoy the view of Berlin from the roof.
Parisian atmosphere:
Between Alte Nationalgalerie and Berliner Dom there is sometimes an accordion player playing on the Friedrich bridge. The whole atmosphere with the river flowing, the buildings and the music might let you get the idea you are at the Seine in Paris. And if you give the street musician some money he probably even wants to play some more.
Animals in Berlin:
You might not have the time or money left for going to the zoos of Berlin. That does not exclude you from watching at least some birds. There is basically two interesting places to do that: The courtyard of the Neues Kranzler Eck, a big office and shop building near the Kurfüstendamm is home to two big aviaries with many different birds residing in them. And at the Alte Potsdamer Straße you can watch many crows in the old trees there.
Tags: Berlin, for_free, Hackescher_Markt, museums, Neues_Kranzler_Eck, overview, Reichstag, skate_night, Starbucks, tourismus
In addition, the Staatliche Museums are also open for free on the first Sunday of every month; The Guggenheim and the DHM are open for free on Mondays (when many other museums have their day off).