The Pergamon Museum, the Old Museum, the National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the New Museum are all part of a UNESCO world heritage site. They are a cultural legacy of the 19th century – a rational age when the middle classes acquired a thirst for knowledge. The museums on Museum Island in the river Spree house unparalleled collections of archaeological artefacts and art treasures.

The complex forming the summer residence of Frederick II of Prussia comprises 500 hectares of parkland and 150 buildings. Collectively, as the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin, they have been designated a UNESCO world heritage site. Glienicke Palace and Peacock Island are part of Berlin.

Prince Carl of Prussia (1801 to 1883) returned from his first visit to Italy in 1823 full of enthusiasm and from then on he dreamed of a classical-style Italianate summer residence. In 1824, he purchased the Glienicke estate which had been laid out in the English style by the landscape architect Peter Josef Lenné. Friedrich Schinkel remodelled its palace in the first half of the 19th century to realise the prince's dream.

Pfaueninsel, or Peacock Island, can only be reached by ferry. In the heart of the forest and surrounded by the river Havel, the island has about 400 picturesque ancient oak trees. Descriptions of South Sea island paradises inspired King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia to buy the island in 1793. Peacocks have lived on the island since the 18th century, hence the name, and there are still a large number of them today.