Berlin never runs out of things to do: as of July 2026 the Berlin ArtWalk database tracks 350+ live events — concerts, open-airs, club nights and guided tours — alongside 215+ galleries and museums with current exhibitions and 450+ street artworks. This guide sorts the essentials: what's on right now, the summer's big exhibitions, the free stuff, and the classics.
What's on in Berlin right now
Berlin's event calendar is famously scattered across dozens of sites. The What's On feed in Berlin ArtWalk pulls concerts, festivals, club nights, openings and guided tours into one daily-updated list — from a €20 alternative street-art tour rated 4.6/5 to free open-air concerts. Filter by today, tomorrow or the weekend and build your evening around what's near you.
The big exhibitions of summer 2026
Three shows dominate the season. The Neue Nationalgalerie hosts Brancusi with more than 150 works, including his re-created Paris studio (until 9 August 2026). Museum Island — celebrating its 200th anniversary this year — shows 'Cassirer and the Breakthrough of Impressionism', around 100 major works by Monet, Degas and Cézanne (until 27 September). And Gropius Bau presents Marina Abramović's 'Balkan Erotic Epic' (until 23 August).
Mark 29 August in your calendar: the Long Night of Museums opens more than 70 museums from 6 pm to 2 am on a single ticket — the best-value culture night of the year.
Free things to do in Berlin
- Walk the East Side Gallery: 1.3 km of the painted Berlin Wall, open around the clock, always free.
- Watch artists paint the legal wall at Mauerpark on a Sunday — flea market and open-air karaoke included.
- Visit Urban Nation on Bülowstraße, Berlin's street-art museum — admission is free (closed Mondays).
- Walk a self-made street-art route through Kreuzberg — our urban art guide lists the landmark murals with addresses.
- Cycle or picnic on the runways of Tempelhofer Feld, the former inner-city airport.
First time in Berlin? The classics
Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate and the TV Tower anchor any first visit; the Reichstag dome is free but needs advance booking. For the city's history in the open air, pair the East Side Gallery with the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße — and let the street art fill the gaps in between.
Late-summer 2026 calendar highlights
- Klassik Open Air at Britzer Garten — 22 August, with closing fireworks.
- Pop-Kultur Festival at the Kulturbrauerei — 24–29 August: concerts, talks and readings.
- Long Night of Museums — 29 August, 70+ museums until 2 am.
- Berlin Art Week — September, when the gallery city goes into overdrive.
Plan it all in one app
Berlin ArtWalk started as a street-art map and grew into a city companion: the daily events feed, 215+ galleries and museums with current exhibitions, 450+ artworks, AI walking tours with distance and time — plus the unglamorous essentials, public toilets and water fountains, on the same map. Free on iOS and Android.
Let the Berlin ArtWalk app inspire you
Where do you find Berlin's most beautiful murals? What stories hide behind them — and which artists painted them? The free Berlin ArtWalk app has the answers: 450+ mapped works with photos and background, AI walking tours with route, distance and time, plus the city's galleries, exhibitions and events. Download it free for iPhone and Android.
There's a lot to discover. Berlin ArtWalk.