I am going to Berlin for a holiday?

Show all answers

The Tank

A week in Berlin must not be wasted completely in the bars, you can do that anywhere. There are some good ones though. If you intend to go to the Kit Kat Club remember your "leathers".

The first thing that you must do on arrival is to buy an All Zones "BVG Berlin Welcome Card". This is available from the airport or from any station. It's a Travelcard that allows travel on all the RE, S, U, trains, trams and busses in the city. It also comes with a book of discount vouchers for attractions, museums, restaurants, massage, etc. Excellent value. See the website link below. Please take advantage of the vouchers. If you simply work your way through the book then you will be well occupied for your stay.

Use the Zoo station as your "centre of operations" because it has the best S & U Bahn links and the main bus station is also there.

Things to see and do in the city:
The tv tower "Fernsehturm" - Alexanderpaltz. It has a revolving restaurant on top by the viewing gallery, good for photography if it's a fine day but I wouldn't eat there.

The Natural History Museum - Invalidenstrasse (U-bahn line U6, Zinnowitzertarasse). The best brachiosaurus in captivity and a generally great display. (I have a friend who is one of the managers there so I have to plug this one).

Friedrichpalast review theatre (Fiedrichstrasse, walk about 300 m north from the station). Takes you back to Marlene Deitrich days if you're lucky with the performance the day you go.

Treptower Park for the Soviet War Memorial. You really will not have seen anything quite like this. "Impressive" doesn't do it justice. It's amazing, and free. (Treptower Park - almost any S-Bahn line from Friedrichstrasse).

Charlottenburg Palace and grounds. This fantastic place is where the Hohenzollerens lived and Queen Charlotte refused to sleep in her bed after Napoleon left Berlin because he had been sleeping in it during the occupation. (Most S-Bahn lines west from the Zoo station.

Have a relaxing hour in the Liquidom. This is a salt water pool where you just lie back in gentle artifical waves and listen to underwater music. You can also have a massage . (S1 and S25 - Anhalter Bahnhof).

Walk down Friedrichstrasse from the Friedrichstrasse S-Bhof to Checkpoint Charlie. It's about 1.5km but when you get there you will probably see the only American toruists in Berlin. That road also has the most amazing shops. There is a rather good car showroom that sells all VWs, including Rolls Royces, cheaper than in the UK.

For eating there are loads of places.
One of the better Thai restaurants is the MaoThai in Meier-Otto-StraÃŸe 1. (U9 - Spichernstasse). This place is owned by Herr Norbert Frankenstein and it doesn't serve noodles. Unusual but classy.

From Friedrichstrasse station you should walk along the Georgenstrasse which is the road that passes alongside the railway viaduct to the Deponie 3 restaurant. It's in a railway arch (there are others but keep going). This is one of the best eating places in the city centre. Despite the odd behaviour of their web page, they have an English language menu. Food, ambiance, price and service is superb.

Don't bother with places that claim to sell fish and chips. The Berliner version of fish & chips seems to have been devised by someone who's read about about it but never seen it. Also, although Berlin is well provided with Imbiss (snack bars) I have never had a good "curry worst".

The local beers are very good so you don't need to buy the "international" brands of lagers. Berlin is loaded with micro breweries. One of the most famous is the Georgbrou in the Nikkolaiviertel. (it's the re-created old town centre, near the Berliner Dom and the Museum Island). While you are there enjoying lunch an their home brew you could pop round the corner to the all year round Christmas Shop.

Step aside from Friedrichstrasse into the squares on the East side. (Franzosische Str U-Bhf is the nearest station, it has an entrance in Friedrichstrasse). Be impressed. If you have time then pop into Fasbinder & Koch chocolate shop.

A short walk from the Zoo is the Keiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It's the ruin with the broken tower. There is a great exhibition inside showing the city before, during and after the war. It's free and well worth a half hour.

Keep walking and you'll see the "Europa Center". This is an enclosed shopping centre with a Water Clock. If you can work out exactly how it works then well done. I can't.

If the weather is good then take the RE (double decker) or S-5 from the Zoo to the Grunewald. It's a huge lake that formed the seaside for Berliners during their walled period. If you like you can join the Berliners for some skinny dipping.

On the same line from the Zoo is the suburban town of Potsdam. This place is an odd mixture of the nearly mediaeval and modern and has a slightly "snooty" atmosphere. A few hours wondering around, or riding trams, shows why the locals are pleased with it.

From the Zoo take the bus 100 to Alexanderplatz. This bus route takes you through much of the touristy parts such as the Tiergarten, Bellvue, Unter den Linden etc. All for 'free' on your Welcome Card so you save a lot money compared with the tourist busses.

The new Hauptbahnhof, the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Holocaust Memorial are all on a nice 30 min walk from the Hauptbahnhof to Potsdammer Platz.
Visit the dome of the Reichstag but allow at least 2 hours including queueing.
Potsdammer Platz is an amazing place. Each tower block is deliberately different from its neigbours so that visitors can find at least one that they like. Lots of ways to spend an hour or two (and some euros) there. Inside the Sony Centre is an atrium with a pond, bags of bijou places to snack and drink - mix with the beautiful young things and generally "chill".

There is just too much to tell. As I said, work your way through the Welcome Card book and you will have much of what you want to do in two days already described.

Use your Welcome Card ticket and take a ride around the Berliner Ring S-Bahn. You can pick this up easily because most U-Bahn lines intersect it at some point. Just ride around (unlike the Circle Line it's all overground and most is on embankment). You get to see parts of the city outside of the tourist areas. The line passes parts where remnants of the Communist East still linger so you get a flavour of what it was like. Contrast this with what you see as the train takes you though the affluent parts of the West. Journey takes about 90 minutes and remember- you can get off or on anywhere you like. Try and identify the stations where the train had to end its journey in the days when the Wall was up.

If you want to visit their biggest shop then go to KaDeVe. It's the Berlin equivalent of Harrods. (U2- Wittenburgplatz, or 10 mins walk from the Zoo or Ku'Damm). In this shop the top floor has to be visited, especially if you like chocolate. Make sure that you get one of their cotton (baumwolle) carrier bags.

For the industrially inclined then the Technology Museum is really good (follow the dtmb link below). It includes a railway museum in the old engine shed that was part of the bombed Anhalter Hauptbahnhof. In this museum you can see multi-million mark notes from the pre-war era. Until the 30th June there is a special offer where they give you a free Natural History Museum ticket when you buy a Tech Museum ticket. That's a superb offer because the Natural History Museum is superb and worth a visit even of you don't think that it woulb be "your thing".

While you are in museum mood then spend an hour or two in the Egyptian Museum. Bus 100 to the Lustgarten. In here you will find the world famous bust of Queen Nefertitti. If she was even half as stunning in life as this portrait then she would have had half the Egyptian population drooling....

If you have time then visit the suburban towns of Spandau or Potsdam. These are a short RE ride from the Zoo.

For eating there are loads of places.

Unless you already have a hotel booked then I recommend that you try the Tiergarten Hotel (Alt Moabit, U9 "Turmstrasse"). This hotel has a buffet breakfast to die for and is 5 minutes from Bellvue S-Bhf (trains to Zoo, Freidrichstrasse, HBHf etc), 3 mins from Turmstrasse SBhf, 20 mins walk through Tiergarten to the Zoo, 1 min from the river etc. Very conveninent location without being in the noisy centre. If they're full then try the Park Consul hotel, which is very close. It's a bit more expensive but very good.

I'm running out of available characters. There's just too much to tell. You have a week so make the most of it. Take your swimming stuff. Have a massage or two. Spend an hour in the flotation tank in Gendarmenmarkt. Hire a bike and ride around. Jog in the Tiergarten. Get outside the city and see the WW2 stuff that still remains in the district (the Communists didn't bulldoze as much as the Westerners did).

Remember that although Berlin is now a very cosomopolitan city, the further into East Berlin you go then the more you'll see of what it was like under the DDR. Also, it was completely surrounded by the DDR so relics of tat still linger in the countryside. There is even a DDR museum in the city down by the river near the Lustgarten.

Some people may find this a bit "un poilitcally correct" but it's been my experience that the locals (ordinary folk), especially the older ones, like the English more than they do Americans. If they discover that an "American" is really a Canadian then they become more friendly too. Can't think why.

Take a camera, a good map and an open mind.
Enjoy yourself.

john alasdair

Start with a walking tour that would show you the most important sites, e.g.:

http://www.insiderberlintours.com/insidertour.php/cat/13/title/Famous_Insider_Walk

Then, after you'll know which parts interest you more, and you will hear from the guide about museums, etc., go to these places. You can also try:
Berlin Must-see sites
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&safe=active&client=pub-2977208566521185&channel=2025151480&cof=FORID%3A1%3BGL%3A1%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.gablinger.com%2Ftop.jpg%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A217%3BLBGC%3ACCE5F9%3BBGC%3A%2399ccff%3BT%3A%23336699%3BLC%3A%23440066%3BVLC%3A%23d03500%3BGALT%3A%239A2C06%3BGFNT%3A%23223472%3BGIMP%3A%23223472%3BDIV%3A%2333FFFF%3B&domains=www.gablinger.com&sig=3K9kZkxvZOuM4S6Q&flav=0000&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&q=berlin+must-see+sites&btnG=Search&sitesearch=

Berlin Museums
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&safe=active&client=pub-2977208566521185&channel=2025151480&cof=FORID%3A1%3BGL%3A1%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.gablinger.com%2Ftop.jpg%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A217%3BLBGC%3ACCE5F9%3BBGC%3A%2399ccff%3BT%3A%23336699%3BLC%3A%23440066%3BVLC%3A%23d03500%3BGALT%3A%239A2C06%3BGFNT%3A%23223472%3BGIMP%3A%23223472%3BDIV%3A%2333FFFF%3B&domains=www.gablinger.com&sig=3K9kZkxvZOuM4S6Q&flav=0000&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&q=berlin+museums&btnG=Search&sitesearch=

Berlin in a week
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&safe=active&client=pub-2977208566521185&channel=2025151480&cof=FORID%3A1%3BGL%3A1%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.gablinger.com%2Ftop.jpg%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A217%3BLBGC%3ACCE5F9%3BBGC%3A%2399ccff%3BT%3A%23336699%3BLC%3A%23440066%3BVLC%3A%23d03500%3BGALT%3A%239A2C06%3BGFNT%3A%23223472%3BGIMP%3A%23223472%3BDIV%3A%2333FFFF%3B&domains=www.gablinger.com&sig=3K9kZkxvZOuM4S6Q&flav=0000&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&q=berlin+in+a+week&btnG=Search&sitesearch=

Orla C

DK Eyewitness Guide for Berlin, dear. And as the city has changed a lot recently, better to splash out and get the latest edition.

frackledJJ

when you get there, buy a "day-ticket" or a weekly ticket for the public transport system, and than take a tour on the 100 or the 200 bus. Those are public busses, but since their tour goes along the most interesting sights in the city, they have come to be a nice budget way for tourists to get to the sights on a kind of "hop on - hop off" non-guided tour, and the line had been equipped with double-decker buses.
They will take you along to the Berliner Dom, Museumsinsel, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden, Brandenburger Tor, Reichstag, FriedenssÃ¤ule.....
You can use the day ticket for any public transport (U-Bahn, Bus, S-Bahn, StraÃŸen-Bahn), and it will only cost 6,10â‚¬.
It will give you a nice overview.
Have fun!

nontarzaniccaulkhead

Get a guide book (perhaps from your local Library) and decide for yourself.
My taste is unlikely to be the same as yours.

pussmog35

why not contact the Berlin Tourist Board

LoveStefanie

here have a lot of hotel online booking in Berlin

http://www.hotelscombined.com/Country/Germany.htm?a_aid=36e3bea0

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: