What are things to see/do in Berlin, Germany?

Things to see and do in Berlin, Germany?

• Answer:

  Depends how long you're staying for and when you go. Whatever the date/time of your visit you should get a Berlin Welcome Card. This is a travelcard which is valid on all trams, busses, U and S Bahn, and RE trains. It also gives you worthwhile discounts on many attractions (see the BVG link below). Buy it from the small BVG desks at the airports. I've also included a link to the S + U Bahn map. It's available as a pdf file. You should print it and take it with you. If it's only a couple of days then you'll have wasted your visit if you just go clubbing. With respect to the Berlin bars and clubs, there are loads of similar types in most other capitals. Visit one or two, e.g. the KitKat Klub but for at least one evening you should go to the caberet at Freidrichstadtpalast. The Museum Island (Museuminsel) contains the famous Pergamon Muesum, with its impressive Pergamon Altar; and the Egyptian Museum, with its beautiful bust of Nefertitti. You can get there by bus to "Lustgarten". If you're still in museum mood then visit the Natural History Museum (U-Bahn to Zinnowitzerstrasse). Here you'll see the largest and best Brachiosaurus skeleton in captivity. (It's a big bugger, really!) The television tower (Fernsehturm) costs less than 20Euro to go up and gives stunning views of the city, don't go if it's hazy though. If you go in December you can visit any of dozens of Christmas Markets. The best ( in my opinion) are at Spandau and Keiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. There used to be a huge one at Alexanderplatz but that's been broken up and dispersed. If you graze the steak and worst stalls at the Christmas Markets then you probably will find all your food needs well satisfied. Postdammer Platz used to be the "Leicester Square" of Berlin before WW2. It then spent 50 years as a derelict bombsite. Now it's a stunning town business centre. The shopping, bars, restaurants cinemas etc. have made it a must-see for all visitors. Allow lots of time to look around, especially if you go in December. Note that the tall buildings in Potsdammer Platz are all different designs on purpose. This was because the planners knew that any "theme" would upset someone, so they decided to have at least one building that would appeal to most visitor's tastes. (I like the red brick one). Near the Potsdammer Platz is the Berlin Philharmonie. The home of the world famous Berlin Philhrmonic Orchestra, and several others too. You're also a short walk from the Tiergarten, the Holocaust Memorial (an odd collection of black slabs) and the Brandenburg Gate. Look carefully in the middle of the road that loops around the West face of the gate and you'll see a line of bricks marking the line of the Berliner Maur (the Wall). Don't get run over! Keep walking north a few hundred metres and you're at the Reichstag. It's free to visit the dome but security is tight and the queue may be over an hour, depending on time of day. Well worth it on a cloudless night though - especially if you have your lover with you (very romantic). Take a boat trip. They can do 30 minute ones if you think an hour is too long. Go to the river at the Lustgarten for main pick-ups. There are plenty of Thai and Italian restaurants in Berlin, mostly quite good. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to get a good curry in Berlin. If you have ever lived in West London then you'll know what a good curry should taste like. Most pubs will serve authentic German food and many of them have their own local micro-brewery. So you don't need to drink the "international" lagers. Don't waste you time and money buying MacD or BK or KFC. You can get that muck anywhere. There are not many of these places around anyway because very few Berliners use them. If you feel up to it then go to the top floor of the KaDeWe department store (see link). It's a paradise for foodies. If you have time and it's not raining then you should spend an hour at the Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park. It's a huge site and incredibly impressive, even "moving". This park has it's own S-Bahn station. The Zoo station should be your Centre of Operations for travel because it's the main city bus station and has excellent S & U bahn, and RE connections. When you look at the maps you'll see what I mean. Bus route 100 from the Zoo will take you past many of the tourist sites and you can use your travelcard so you don't have to pay for a specialist tour bus. The ride to the end of the line takes about 50 minutes and is well worth it. Take a city guide leaflet with you. When you're in the East have a look at the little men on the Pelican Crossings. They're different from the usual "euro-standard" little men. The Berliners are quite attached to them. No need to carry large ammounts of cash around if you're worried about being mugged. There are loads of cashpoints in the central areas and most places take credit cards. Sorry if this seems like a long travelogue but I'm a Berlin enthusiast. There's loads more but you'll probably fall asleep before finishing reading it. I've been every year for the last 13 years and think it's a great place.