Can anyone advise me what to see, where to eat, where to go etc in Berlin, Germany?

Question

Hello to you all,
From the 27th of December until the 2nd of January i will be with my girl in the beautiful city of Berlin. This is our first time in Germany and of course Berlin and I could use a little help in where to go, what things to see, what events must not miss, what and where to eat and where to go for a night drink or beer, almost everything! :-D I've already booked a hotel in the Zoo area. I speak a little German so language will not be a problem ( I hope). Please be as detailed as you can. Thank you all in advance!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

There really are some unpleasant thumbs-downers in the German section. Ignore them. All except the "McDonald's" answer are good.

The Zoo is a good place for a Centre of Operations because that is where the bus station is and many S and U Bahn lines converge there.

Take the bus 100 to the end of the line for a tour of the main tourist features. It passes most of them so you can see what you'll be going back to.

When you arrive buy a Berlin Welcome Card. This is a city rail/bus/tram/UBhan/Sbahn travel-card. It's excellent value even with the bad exchange rate we have at the moment. You get with it a booklet of discount vouchers for museums, theatres, restaurants, clubs, gyms and many other attractions. If you work your way through this then you will have a potted sightseeing tour - and save more than the ticket purchase price.
Look at
www.bvg.de
for details.

Berlin will be very cold when you're there so take warm outdoor clothing and non-slip warm shoes will be a good idea too.

There are too many bars and clubs to list here. You can find most of them in books like the Lonely Planet Guide or the AA Guide (buy from WH Smith newsagent). If you feel a bit kinky you could try the Kit Kat Club. This is a dress-fetish place. There is a dress code for admission - the weirder the better.

Places to visit:
The Natural History Museum (UBahn line U6 Zinnowitzerstrasse then 200m metres down Invalidenstrasse). This has a great interactive Earth exhibit and also some of the largest dinosaur skeletons in captivity - including the mighty Brachiosaurus of Jurassic Park fame.

The Egyptian Museum ( Bus 100 or 200 - Lustgarten). This houses the famous bust of Pharaoh Nefertiti. Absolutely stunning!

Trip up the Fernsehturm (Tv Tower - Alexanderplatz). This has a revolving restaurant on top with stunning views out over the city.

The river passes near to the Friedrichstrasse station. Leave the station and cross the river (heading north). As soon as you have crossed the river turn left into Schiffbauerdamm. About 100 metres is the Van Diyk bar. This is a cosy little place that often has an intimate pianist.

To eat I heartily recommend the restaurant "Deponie 3". This is in Georgenstraße 5, which is about 5 minutes walk from Friedrichstrasse station. You can't miss it. Just walk along the road that runs alongside the railway viaduct. There are several restaurants in the railway arches but Deponie is the best. Your girlfriend will like it so much that you will definitely be ok that night!

www.deponie3.de

If you like Thai food then try Mau Thai. It's run by a bloke called Norbert Frankenstein. (Meierottostrasse - U9 Spichernstrasse).

Source(s):

Me. It's a great city. Enjoy.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks

Answer 2

Hi.

Well I hope you enjoy Berlin, I'm sure you will as it is a really nice city. It's also really cheap compared to London for example. There's a lot to do in Berlin (can't list everything). Obvious places to visit would be the "Fernsehturm" (great views), the "Berliner Mauer" (the wall), the "Reichstag/Bundestag" (the glass dome is nice) etc. etc. but why don't you check out the "Time Out Berlin" website for some ideas (there's lots of detailed information there on bars and restaurants, entertainment and museums, shops and sights)?!?

Here's the link:

http://www.timeout.com/berlin/

Answer 3

Have a look at EXBERLINER magazine:
http://www.exberliner.com/

Ignore the trolls in this section - first answer was fine.

Source(s):

Berliner im Herz!

Answer 4

Eat at Mac donalds I guess you will not be able afording something else due to the lw value of the $

Answer 5

I'm so jealous--I'd love to see Berlin at that time of year. I just went there this summer with some real live Germans, so hopefully my suggestions will be fresh. Let me whip out my diary from Berlin.

Day 1: Knut at the zoo. He acts like a celebrity. Walked up the Siegesaeule in Tiergarten. It's a tower with a gold angel on top. There's some hilarious graffiti on the way up the spiral staircase, and from the top you can see the Brandenburg Gate. What's cool about the tower--and loads of other buildings in Berlin--is that you can see where chunks of it were shot off during World War II. Then we walked through the Tiergarten--lots of naked men tanning, but that shouldn't be an issue in December--and arrived at the Brandenburg Gate. There's usually lots of fun things to do by the gate, not mention the American Embassy. After that we went to German parliament, the Reichstag. You can get in for free, you just go up to the top which is a glass dome. You can learn a lot about Berlin for free, and the views are great too.

Oh, by the way, we rented bikes. That's a great way to get around the city quickly.

Day 2: The Berlin Cathedral. It's Protestant, but it's beautifully ornate inside. You can go up to the top of that too. Really close by is the DDR (or GDR) museum. It's an inexpensive, fun, and interesting look into what life was like in East Berlin. Then we took our bikes to what's left of the wall. You shouldn't miss that. After that we went to Checkpoint Charlie. Actors dress up there and you can get a fake passport page with all of the real stamps used between the different sectors. We ate at Vapiano that night. It's a German chain Italian restaurant that's hip, affordable, and amazing. It's a good experience I'd recommend to anyone.
You'll also want to check out Kurfurstendamstr. if your girlfriend likes shopping. It's pretty amazing.

Day 3: took train 15 minutes to Potsdam and rented bikes. It's SO WORTH IT! Potsdam has all of the palaces you could possibly want. It's also home to Cecilienhof which is where Churchill, Stalin, and Truman met to divide Berlin into fours. That night back in Berlin, we went up the TV tower. Honestly, that can be skipped. It's not that great. at all. It is however the tallest building in the EU, so that might be intriguing.

The rest of the time we just sat at cafes.
Sorry this was so long, but it really has anything you could possibly want to do in Berlin. I don't drink though, so you'll have to ask someone else about bier.

Have fun, if you're in Berlin you'll have a great time no matter what!