Berlin TV Tower Tickets: Which One Is Right for You?

Our TV Tower Ticket Recommendation: Fast View Ticket

If you’re short on time, here’s our top ticket pick for the TV Tower right up front!

We recommend the fastest and easiest way to reach the observation deck: the Fast View Ticket.

With this ticket, you skip the line at the bottom — which can be seriously long on busy days. When you book, you choose a time slot for your visit.

Once you’re up top, you can soak in the 360-degree view from the observation deck. You’ll also find Bar 203 up there, where you can round off your visit with a drink.

You get a maximum of 45 minutes up top before heading back down in the elevator. Honestly, that’s more than enough time.

The Fast View Ticket costs €28.50.

Get the Fast View Ticket and skip the line

Berlin TV Tower Prices and Tickets: An Overview

Here’s a look at all ticket options and prices for the Berlin TV Tower:

All Ticket Options for the Berlin TV Tower in Detail

Here’s a closer look at each ticket option for the Berlin Television Tower.

On-Site Ticket at the Box Office

On-site, you can only buy a basic ticket for the observation deck — visiting the restaurant requires an advance reservation.

You can purchase tickets either at the ticket counter or at a self-service machine.

But since the TV Tower is Berlin’s most-visited attraction, on-site tickets always come with wait times. That applies to the line at the counter or machine, and also to the wait after you’ve bought your ticket.

You’ll be given a specific time when you purchase — that’s when you’re allowed to go up. So there can easily be several hours between buying your ticket and actually riding the elevator up.

That means your whole schedule gets pretty restricted. Especially if you only have a weekend in Berlin and time is tight, you should definitely book in advance.

On-site tickets start at €25.50 for adults; children up to 14 years old pay from €15.50. Entry is free for children under 4.

All in all, the on-site ticket only makes sense if you have plenty of time and just want to visit the observation deck.

Fast View Ticket

With the Fast View Ticket, you get access to the observation deck. You pick your preferred time slot when booking and skip the line at the ticket counter entirely.

After booking online, your ticket arrives by email with a QR code — just show it on your phone (or printed out) at the tower entrance.

You go straight past the ticket counter queue to the stairs leading to the security check. There may be a brief wait here, but it moves quickly.

After the security check, scan your ticket at the turnstile and you’re on your way to the elevators.

With the Fast View Ticket, you get a maximum of 45 minutes on the observation deck. In our experience, that’s plenty of time to take in the view at a relaxed pace.

Bar 203 is up there too, where you can grab drinks and snacks. The one downside: this ticket doesn’t include access to the restaurant on the floor above.

The Fast View Ticket costs €28.50. You can book up to four weeks in advance.

Get the Fast View Ticket with no waiting in line for the observation deck

Fast View Ticket incl. Table Reservation

This ticket gets you a window seat at the Sphere revolving restaurant. It’s especially worth it if you’re planning to eat there anyway — window seats are hugely popular, and the chances of scoring one on the day without a reservation are pretty much zero.

The menu isn’t huge, but everything is genuinely good. You’ll find meat and fish dishes as well as vegetarian options. Prices are a step up from a regular restaurant: a main course without drinks runs between €16 and €33.

You get a maximum of 1.5 hours in the restaurant — more than enough for a starter, main, and dessert.

This ticket starts at €28.50.

Important: The price covers only the admission and table reservation — you pay for your food separately on-site.

Get the Fast View Ticket incl. Table Reservation

Combo Ticket Observation Deck & VR Experience

The combo ticket bundles the Fast View Ticket for the observation deck with a virtual reality experience.

At the base of the tower in the entrance area, you put on a VR headset and take a 15-minute virtual journey through the history of Berlin.

The combo ticket starts at €37.

Get the Combo Ticket Observation Deck & VR Experience

Dining at the Berlin TV Tower Restaurant

Want to combine the most stunning panorama over Berlin with dinner? A visit to the Sphere revolving restaurant is a seriously great idea. Take the elevator to the observation deck, then head straight to the stairs for one floor up to the restaurant.

You must reserve in advance — here are your options:

1. Restaurant Ticket Including Breakfast

This ticket includes tower admission, a table reservation at the revolving restaurant, and breakfast.

You can choose between the Tower Breakfast and a Vegan Breakfast — both are fantastic, you really won’t be missing a thing. You’re also guaranteed a window seat, so you enjoy your breakfast with the best view in Berlin. Note that coffee and tea are charged separately.

The ticket is valid for 1.5 hours. You don’t even need to leave your seat for the full 360-degree view — the restaurant rotates once on its own axis every half hour, giving you a complete panorama of Berlin right from the table.

The restaurant ticket including breakfast costs from €40 per person.

Get the Restaurant Ticket incl. Breakfast

2. Restaurant Ticket Including a Drink

With this ticket, you get a seat at the Sphere Bar plus a drink of your choice.

It’s a great pick if you’d love to experience the restaurant but aren’t up for a full dinner.

This ticket starts at €34 per person and is valid for 1.5 hours.

Get the Restaurant Ticket incl. a Drink
3. Restaurant Ticket Including a 4-Course Menu

If you really want to treat yourself, book a 4-course dinner at the Sphere revolving restaurant.

You’re guaranteed a window seat and start with a welcome glass of sparkling wine. Water, a hot drink, and two glasses of wine are included in the price.

The 4-course menu starts at €171 per person.

Get the Restaurant Ticket incl. 4-Course Menu

Important Notes and General Info for Your Visit to the Berlin TV Tower

Now you know which ticket is right for the Berlin TV Tower. To make sure your visit goes smoothly, here are a few practical tips and things to know before you go.

Important Information for Your Visit to the TV Tower

1. Wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments — anyone who cannot walk without assistance — are unfortunately not permitted to go up the tower for safety reasons and due to limited accessibility.

2. Strollers, animals, tripods, food, drinks, travel bags, and suitcases are also not allowed up for safety reasons.

3. There is a free coat check on the ground floor — super handy in winter, since you can leave your heavy jacket down below. Large backpacks, suitcases, and bags aren’t accepted there, though. You’ll find lockers at the train station next door if you need them.

4. Make sure to arrive at the entrance at the time you booked. There’s a grace period of up to ten minutes, after which your ticket is no longer valid.

5. When leaving the tower, you’ll need to scan your ticket again at the turnstile on the ground floor. Keep your ticket safe throughout your visit!

General Info About the Berlin TV Tower

• The Berlin TV Tower stands over 368 meters tall — that includes the full structure right up to the tip of the antenna.
• The visitor observation deck sits at a height of 203 meters.
• From up here, you get a 360-degree view over all of Berlin and Brandenburg. On clear days, you can see up to 70 kilometers in the distance.
• Inside the tower’s sphere, there are two areas open to visitors: the observation deck with Bar 203 and, one floor above, the Sphere revolving restaurant.
• There are three additional floors, but these are accessible only to technical staff — they house the broadcast equipment for TV and radio and the meteorological weather station.
• Two elevators travel up to the observation deck.
• To reach the restaurant, you take a staircase from the observation deck.
• The elevator ride itself is quite an experience: it travels 6 meters per second and reaches the top in under 40 seconds.
• The elevator ceiling has a window, so on the way up you can look straight into the illuminated shaft above you.

How Do I Get to the TV Tower?

Even though you can see the TV Tower from almost anywhere in Berlin, the entrance is not particularly well signposted — the plaza around the tower is quite large and easy to get disoriented in.

A useful landmark is the BackWerk bakery on Gontardstraße. Once you’re standing in front of it, you can already see the tower entrance — you’re just a few steps away.

Getting There by Regional Train, S-Bahn, or U-Bahn

The TV Tower is right next to Alexanderplatz. By public transit, just get off at Alexanderplatz S-Bahn or U-Bahn station.

The S-Bahn station sits directly beneath the tower, and the exit toward the TV Tower is signposted on the platform. The Brandenburg regional trains RE1, RE2, RE7, and RB14 also stop here.

From the U-Bahn station under Alexanderplatz, it’s a few minutes’ walk to the tower.

Booked a hop-on/hop-off bus in Berlin? It stops at Alexanderplatz too.

Getting There by Car

There are several parking garages near the TV Tower. You can use the garage at the Park Inn hotel right at Alexanderplatz, or the garage at the Rathauspassagen on Grunerstraße.

Both are only a few minutes’ walk from the tower.

That said, we’d strongly recommend leaving the car behind and taking public transit. Traffic around Alexanderplatz is heavy at all hours and really just adds unnecessary stress.

22 Facts About the Berlin TV Tower

Here are some fascinating facts about the Berlin TV Tower. After reading these, you’ll be perfectly prepared for your visit!

1. The tower’s sphere sways by a maximum of 15 cm at restaurant level. You won’t feel a thing, though.

2. Construction began in 1965 and was completed four days before the 20th anniversary of the founding of the GDR in 1969.

3. In addition to the elevators, there’s a staircase with 986 steps — but it’s only for evacuation purposes and not open to the public.

4. The TV Tower is the tallest building in Germany and the fourth-tallest TV tower in Europe. No wonder you can spot it from virtually every corner of the city. In our Berlin insider tips, we share some of the best spots for the most stunning photos of the tower.

5. At sunset, the sun reflects off the surface of the sphere and forms a cross of light. During the GDR era, this was frowned upon given the state’s atheist ideology — but the Pope in Rome described it as a “sign of God.”

6. The TV Tower was the GDR’s flagship construction project. It was never meant to surpass the Moscow TV Tower, which was at the time the tallest freestanding structure in the world.

7. The tower draws over one million visitors a year, making it one of the most popular attractions in Germany.

8. In addition to the two visitor elevators, there’s a third one accessible only to technical staff.

9. The tower also serves as Berlin’s safest lightning rod.

10. The restaurant’s main kitchen is on the ground floor. Food is transported up by a service elevator.

11. The speed at which the restaurant rotates can be adjusted.

12. The tower is protected by special snow-catching grilles that prevent ice from falling from the top.

13. The area around the TV Tower has the highest density of radio signals in Germany.

14. The tower has been a listed landmark since 1979.

15. Originally, the tower was supposed to be built in the Müggelberge hills south of Berlin. During construction, it became clear the tower would interfere with operations at Schönefeld Airport — so work was halted and restarted in the city center. The building stub in the Müggelberge now serves Deutsche Telekom as a microwave relay node.

16. Forty-two years after opening, in 2011, the then-mayor of Berlin welcomed the 50-millionth visitor.

17. The tower’s opening in 1969 also marked the launch of broadcasts for the GDR’s second state television channel.

18. Since 1986, a pair of peregrine falcons has used the tower at 185 meters above the ground as a hunting perch. From here, the falcons dive at passing birds — which are especially easy to spot at night thanks to the tower’s illumination.

19. To mark the tower’s 25th anniversary, Austrian Rupert Hirner jumped from a height of 260 meters with a bungee cord, setting a world record.

20. It’s often said that Berliners call the tower “Telespargel” (TV asparagus). That’s complete nonsense. Nobody actually calls the TV Tower Telespargel.

21. Inside the tower’s sphere, only the visitor floors have windows.

22. In 1990, after reunification, there was a serious discussion about demolishing the tower because it was seen as a symbol of the GDR’s totalitarian regime. Fortunately, the federal government decided to preserve it.