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Ninety seconds on Reichstag Building
Yes. Admission to the dome and the roof terrace of the Reichstag building is free. A visit does need prior registration with the German Bundestag, which issues a booking confirmation for a set time.
Yes. The Bundestag requires prior registration for every visit to the dome and roof terrace, and registration by telephone is not possible. Entry is at the time on the booking confirmation, with slots every quarter of an hour.
Sometimes. The service centre on Platz der Republik, in front of the building, takes walk-in requests: if places are still free, the centre books a slot at least two hours ahead. As of November 2026 it opens on weekdays from 8.00 to 18.00 in winter and to 20.00 from April to October, and at weekends from 10.00 to 18.00.
A valid official photo ID, a passport or an identity card, for every visitor aged 16 or over. Visitors aged 14 or 15 should also bring an identification document. It is checked at registration and again at the visitors' entrance.
Last admission to the dome is at 21.45, as of November 2026, and the booking confirmation names the exact entry time. On 31 December the last admission is earlier, at 14.30.
On 24 December, yes: the dome and roof terrace are closed all day. On 31 December they close from 16.00 only, so a visit earlier that day is still possible.
The U5 stops at U Bundestag, between S+U Hauptbahnhof and S+U Brandenburger Tor on the line. Bus 100, which runs between Zoologischer Garten and Alexanderplatz, also stops at Reichstag/Bundestag.
Climbing the ramp inside the glass dome over Germany's parliament, you pass a column of mirrors that lights the debating chamber below, with the city laid out around you.
At the centre of the dome hangs a funnel lined with 360 mirrors. It bends daylight down into the plenary chamber underneath, and draws warm air up and out through a vent at the top.
Two spiral ramps wind round the inside of the glass shell. Walking them, you go round the funnel at close range, with the roof terrace and the streets below on the other side of the glass.
The stone walls date from the 1890s; the glass dome on top is Norman Foster's. In the summer of 1995 the artist Christo wrapped the whole Reichstag in fabric for two weeks, and five million visitors came to see it.
On bundestag.de, register in advance, with a list naming every member of your group. The Bundestag replies with a booking confirmation for a set entry time.
At that time, go to the visitors' entrance below and to the right of the West Portal. Bags, coats and other items go through an X-ray, and you walk through a metal detector.
Two lifts then take you up to the roof terrace, where the audio guide is handed out. Walk up the ramp with it, then walk back down. Once you are on the roof, stay as long as you like.
Travellers report that summer evening slots go first, so book a summer visit well ahead. If the sunset slot has gone, take one an hour later, when the city lights are on.
Wear a jacket for a winter evening slot, because the roof terrace is cold.
Brandenburg Gate is a few minutes' walk south.
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