Berlin for a weekend trip... what would you advise, re things to do and places to go?

Question

Berlin for a weekend trip... what would you advise, re things to do and places to go?

Answer 1

Other answeres will list the bars and clubs (you can get these anywhere) for you so here's some other suggestions. If you're only having a weekend it's easy to just see the big things and miss the interesting things. If you go in December you'll have a dozen Christmas Markets to choose from too.

Prices are about 1/3 less than UK levels.

DO:-

The first thing that you Must do is to buy a Berlin Welcomecard as soon as you arrive. It's basically a travelcard which allows travel on all U-Bahn, S-Bahn, RE (the red double deck trains), Busses and Trams.

These also come with a book of vouchers offering big discounts on shops, restaurants, theatres, services, museums etc. Use them, that way you'll also have a sort of built in tour guide.

Look at the BVG website (link below) for more information. You can get one from any station or a small booth at Tegel Airport.

The BVG web site also provides pdf versions of the S & U bahn maps. I really recommend that you print one and use it.

Also I recommend that you make good use of Google Maps (from the google seach engine) to find out where things are before you go. It's much clearer than the ones in travel guide books and also gives you "context".

They have a new Haupbahnhof (main railway station) which is very nice but in a bit of desert. It's surrounded by government buildings. Visit it and go "OOH AHH!". They'll like that.

I suggest that you set the Zoo as your "centre of operations". Here is the main bus station and it's also a good S&U Bahn hub. It's in easy walking of some of the tourist spots.

As a "first pass" Take the bus route 100 from the Zoo to the end of its run (about 45 minutes). It passes the Tiergarten, Bellevue, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and other famous sites.This is as good as one of the expensive tour busses but you can use your Welcome card ticket!

VISIT:-

You should see in a weekend the Fernsehturm (tv tower, 10 euro to go up),

Reichstag (free but may be 1 hour queue),

Brandnburg Gate (near Reichstag, look for the WW2 damage),

The Kaiser Willhelm Memorial Church. That's the big broken one near the Zoo. It has a very interesting exhibition inside.

The Europa Centre shopping precinct. Don't eat or drink there (it's a rip-off) but do try and see how the water clock works.

Persimon Museum (on the Museum Island),

Queen Nefertiti's bust (in the Egyptian museum. It's a truly stunning model, read up about it before you go to appreciate it better),

The Brachiosauraus in the Natural History Museum, largest skeleton in captivity. (U-Bahn Zinnowitzer Strasse then walk down InvalidenStr, or it's 10 mins walk from Friederich Strasse S-Bhf). I have a friend who's one of the managers there and I promissed to send him some customers.

Bags of pubs and bars, I won't bother to list them. Others will do that for you. Note that many them are associated with Berlin micro-breweries. Drink the "home made" Berliner  beer instead of the "international" stuff (you know the brands!).

There is a good micro brewery in a pub called the Georgbrau adjacent to the Nickolai Quarter. Well worth a visit.

The Nickolai itself is close to Mark-Engles Platz. Here you'll find a big statue of the men themselves. (Yes, you're in the old East Berlin now).

In the middle of the road that skirts the Brandenberg Gate you'll see a line of red bricks (careful!). This marks the line of the Berlin Maur (the Wall). Follow it down to the Potsdammer Platz. You won't be sorry (unless you get run over).

In the old East Berlin look at the little men on the pelican crossings. They're different from the usual Euro standard - rather a nice touch. (see if you spot the difference).

Visit the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park. ( Free, has an S-Bhf). This is a truly impressive monument to the Soviet Union (as it's meant to be, I suppose). Look it up on satellite view from Google Maps.

Recommended eating places (there are loads but these are a couple of my favourates:

    Deponie 3 (see link). This restaurant is in a railway arch about 5 mins from Freiderichstrasse SBhf. It's excellent. Great atmosphere, fabulous food and drink and you don't get ripped-off. English (not American!) is spoken.

    Thai Inside (see link). Don't let the web page put you off. They have menues in Thai, German and English. It's in a bland side street but the food is fantastic (don't just eat green chicken curry).

HOTELS

There are hundreds which will suit all pockets. My personal favourite is the Hotel Tiergarten (see link). It's near the U7 Turmstrasse station. Two stops from the Zoo (or 20 mins walk through the park if it's not raining). Very easy access to most places of interest.

DO NOT:-

a)   Cross a road against a red man. If you do then a policeman will materialise from nowhere and give you a good  wigging.

b)   Travel without a valid ticket. The inspectors are always disguised as tramps or piles of dicarded clothes so you can't see them until they demand your fahrsheine.

c)    Feed the beggars. There are not many in Berlin but the city doesn't want them to breed.

CAREFUL:

Credit cards are commonly accepted but don't let the cashier take it out of your sight.

Smaller pubs and cafes may only take cash.

Cashpoints are all over the place so getting money is easy. Don't carry huge ammounts unless you have to, then you won't suffer from pick-pockets in crowded places.

Do not go to eastern suburbs after dark unless you have a local friend.

Beware of touts outside sleazy places near Orangeburger strasse area. (like London, just take care).

In case of car or bicycle v pedestrian accident the pedestrian is always wrong.

Enjoy it. I;ve been going for long weekends since the Wall came down. Great place. Don't try and do it all at once.

I see that the "phantom thumbs downer" has been hitting everyone. He/she is only after points so don't let that put you off.

Answer 2

When will people stop to recommend the pub crawls? I am from Berlin and that is one of the most annoying things in town lately. Pub owners all over the town are so scared of those drunken tourists that trash the furniture and molest their guests.

I always recommend to check the ExBerliner. It's an English Berlin mag. And they have got a great website with thousands of things to do and don't...

http://www.exberliner.net/cityguide/

Answer 3

Take the hopp on/off bus tour, this way you can do sightseeing AND shopping and check out quarters of the city where to go at night.

But sure - TV-tower, KaDeWe, at least one museum are things to do.

Answer 4

Start your weekend with a walking tour, for example:

http://www.insiderberlintours.com/inside...

Go to insider, not to the "free" tour, because it is lame!

In the afternoon, go shopping (remember: no shopping on Sunday) or sit in a cafe and watch people, e.g. in Prenzlauer Berg (Kollwitzplatz) or in Mitte near Hackescher Markt. If you're not much of a shopping person but would like to do something "useful" and not just sit - go to a museum, there are dozens of them in Berlin. Most famousely are the:

* Pergamon (archeology)

* The Jewish Musuem (Jewish history)

* Gemaelde Gaelrie (old pics)

* Hamburger Bahnhof

In the evening, take a pub crawl, e.g.

http://www.insiderberlintours.com/inside...

On Sunday morning, after waking up with a hangover in a foreign bed (depending how wild your pub crawl was), go to see the flea market near Tiergarten station, or go to the Berlin Zoo if you like zoos; or go to another museum; so much to do!

Answer 5

When going for a night out....avoid the tourist places and go with the locals....

Answer 6

Good grief woman.

Pull yourself together.

Haven't you realised?

The place is crawling with Germans!

Answer 7

The best day out for adults and children is the zoo,a good day out for very little money and don't forget to visit Knut the polar bear whose mummy disowned him.

Answer 8

Hey,

I am from germany=) You must see:

-make a "Spree-Rundfahrt" (travel over teh sea "spree")

-KaDeWe (kaufhaus des westens)

-Fernsehturm

-Kuh'damm

usw...Have fun in germany!!!^^

greenday

Answer 9

I've been to Berlin on two separate summer trips and I dated a Berliner girl for 6 years, so here's my recommendations:

1st - The Judisches Museum is pretty amazing and disturbing at times. They really did a good job with that museum and it is most definitely worth seeing.

2nd - The Checkpoint Charlie museum is probably the best in town, near the remains of the Berlin Wall. They have tons of artifacts that the DDR confiscated from people who were trying to cross the wall - hand bikes, improvised trampolines and it is really amazing to see the lengths that people would go to to escape the DDR.

3rd - the Teufelsburg, in West Berlin, is a huge hill that was created by the Allies after WWII to bury all the rubble. Hiking up the hill, you can see huge chunks of metal and debris coming out of the ground every now and then - which is kind of shocking, but definitely makes an impact - and when you get to the top of the hill, there is a huge panoramic view of the entire town. It's a nice hike, a nice view, and some history intertwined into the mix.

4th - The Zoo, near Zoologischer Garten (obviously) is pretty nice too. My girlfriend, who was born and raised in Berlin, was skeptical of making a trip there, but it was definitely worth it - the best zoo I've ever been to.

5th - Get some Doner Kebap!! It's Turkish food that they have everywhere and it is sooooooo good. MMmmmm Doner....

Answer 10

I would advice going to Cologne or Hamburg instead. ;)

Berlin offers too much to give such broad advice. If you could specify the area you´re staying and what you are interested in, that would be helpful. Are you into music, museums, art, sports... etc.?

Answer 11

Hire a bike and go around all the roads to see all you want, they have cycle paths that even have own traffic lights and you get priority over other traffic. You can hire them cheaply near zoo, not far from railway station

Answer 12

Man, this does not give you much time....try:

1. Fernsehenturm

2. Reichstag

3. Potsdammer Platz IMAX ride

4. River cruise

5. KaDeWe

I don't know--- you could spend months there are never run out of cool things to do...