Berlin - Recommendations

SuperStarHoney

Thinking of going to Berlin for four days in December and I'm looking for some general advice. Is this a good time of the year to go there? Will there be Christmas markets?

Where is the best area to stay in for seeing the main sights? Any hotel recommendations? Budget will probably be around €600 for the four nights and we'd like a modern hotel maybe with a bit of luxury, budget permitting of course.

Also what are the must see sights?

tread_softly

we went to berlin for new years just gone.

it was a great time of year to go there, good atmosphere but very, very cold!!

we stayed in hotel abendstern in charlottenburg; it's a very basic hotel but the rooms are a decent size and clean too. only thing that sketched us out a bit was that it was on the same street as a casino, gun shop and lap dancing club but it was a safe area! :pac:

also, it's right beside the train station.

i'd recommend getting the ticket that covers you for both underground and train travel (can't remember the name of it) as both lines run very regularly but some places can only be reached by train or by underground so don't limit yourself to one or the other.
you can get the tickets to last you a few days and they're the best value.
also, you can get a train directly from schonefeld airport into the city centre and then transfer by underground to whatever station is nearest the hotel you choose.

charlottenburg is a good area to stay, but as long as you stay somewhere in close proximity to a station, you're good to go as the trains/underground brings you everywhere. Their travel system puts dublin to shame. actually, most foreign public transportation does that!

as for places to see, i'd recommend the brandenburg gate, the victory moument is just down from that too; i'd recommend climbing up that if you're not too afraid of heights!
get the metro to tiergarten and walk to the gate/tower as the walk takes your through a nice park.

go to alexanderplatz to see the fernsehturm which is the tv tower that revolves at the top. i'd go up that aswell, especially at night time as the view is amazing, but i'd skip going to the restaurant as the food isn't that great.

the olympic stadium is a bit of a journey on the U2 line but it's well worth it, especially if you're interested in WWII history; there's a bell there that was commissioned with the swastika soldered on it that has since been altered, as well as different statues used to display german physical prowess. and Jesse Owens name is on a plaque on the wall!

the zoo is also good fun for a visit.

the reichstag is impressive but we didn't go in as the line was so long o.0

checkpoint charlie is a must see, the museum is brilliant too, it showcases some of the attempts to get over the wall including replicas of cars with their boots altered to fit people. it takes a while to get through the museum tho, as there's a lot to read so it gets a bit tiring after a while.

it's worth it to go and see the bit of the wall that remains standing, even just for the artwork on it. the majority is just crap graffitti, but there are some excellent pieces on it too.

if you're looking for a christmas market, there is an excellent one in the city centre. if i remember correctly, it's at kurfurstendamm. it's made up of loads of wooden huts selling loads of different things from food to handmade candles, ornaments, clothes, everything!! there's an ice rink too. also, the kaiser wilhelm church is there too, this half ruined building that looks like a broken tooth!

as for shopping, friedrichstrasse is a good place to go.

berlin is a great city to go to, everything is within easy reach on the underground or train and the tickets for them are great value. you'll find your way round easy enough, i'd say get one of those Top 10 books or something too to pick out what you'd think you'd like to visit.

and don't forget to bring loads of warm clothes as it's freezing!

dr strangelove

The last time we went to Berlin we stayed in an apartment that was decorated to look like 70's East Berlin flat, it was really different, and cool. It's normally €120 a night, and you can sleep up to 6 people, IIRC. Right next to the Ostbahnhof, and there's a fleamarket next door on Sunday mornings.
More here

Activities i'd recommend:
Trabi Safari - Drive around Berlin in a plastic, 70's, piece of history - very good fun, and a bit of a challenge. More here
Berlin underworld - Explore second world war and cold war bunkers under Berlin, very cool and a bit scary. More here
Fernsehturn - Very nice views over Berlin - go for sunrise or sunset for amazing views.
Prater Bar - Big outside beer-garden with superb food and excellent atmosphere. Info.
And if you're feeling very adventurous, there's a Blind restaurant, where it's absolutely dark, so that you can experience eating without judging the food by what you see! Excellent food, and a very interesting experience: Nocti Vagus

SuperStarHoney

Thanks for the all the advice guys, you've given me loads of ideas.

dr strangelove wrote: »

Trabi Safari - Drive around Berlin in a plastic, 70's, piece of history - very good fun, and a bit of a challenge.

This sounds like something I did in Krakow and I was absolutely terrified, the brakes in the Trabant didn't seem to work at all and I was sure we were going to be killed.

Gazza22

My hotel recommendation would be the Adina Hotel. It's near checkpoint Charlie and Alexanderplaz.

The hotel is lovely, aparthotel style offering apartment type rooms. The apartments are hugh and the service in the hotel is excellent. Book through agents such as hotels.com/1800hotels for good rates inc breakfast. It's rated between #1 & #2 out of 625 hotels on Tripadvisor.

spurious

Fantastic Thai food. Mmmmm.
http://www.thai-inside.de/index_english.html

shamrock321

I managed to bag a great deal a few years back in the Park inn at Alexanderplatz, its very centered and in December there is a christmas maret right in the square out side. Hotels.com is great for cheap deals and try and get somewhere near the U or S bahn making it easy peasy to get around!

Slice

Isn't Berlin absolutely baltic that time of year? Like, impossibly cold...

SuperStarHoney

Slice wrote: »

Isn't Berlin absolutely baltic that time of year? Like, impossibly cold...

Been to Prague and Krakow at this time of year before, I'm assuming it would similiar???

tread_softly

as i mentioned in my post, yes, it will be bloody freezing!

novarock

I was there just before christmas last year. Fantastic time to go there. temperature is pretty low alright, but none of that really matters when you can go to one of the several christmas markets that are on and get a bratwurst and wash it down with a stemaing cup of potent mulled wine. Its certainly not too cold..

We stayed in the Hotel Berlin which was relatively central. Very cheap also for the standard. We're thinking of going back at the same time this year.

http://www.hotel-berlin.de/

4 nights in december with a "superior" room is 346 euro. A bargain. Great breakfast buffet too, and a good lobby bar.