Berlin Travel Guide

The guide does not cover everything on offer but I hope it helps.

Visit Berlin

Berlin is the capital of Germany with a population of 3.5 million people. Saying that the area of the city is almost 9 times that of Paris, so dont expect to see it all in a few days.

Traveling to Berlin

The 2 main airports are Schoenefeld in the south of the city and Tegel in the north. Getting to the city is easy enough with the S9 train going from Schoenefeld right into the city at the cost of €2.80. From Tegel take the X9, X109 or X128 buses which bring you to the U-Bahn rail line and you can go from there.

The transport in Berlin is run by BVG. Here is the link to the BVG website in English: http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/Bvg/Start

Your best options are either the Berlin Welcome Card, which can give you unlimited travel for up to 5 days for only €34.50, or get a day card for €6.10. This allows unlimited travel for the day and makes things very easy.
These are better value if you are staying for a few days and can give you discounts into some attractions.

The transport system is split into Zones A,B and C. Apart from travel to the airports you will be in the A and B zones only.

Some useful expressions/phrases

A beer please – Ein Bier bitte
Another beer please – Noch ein Bier bitte
Where is… – Wo ist….?
I am looking for…. – Ich suche….
How much? – Wie viel?
1- Eins, 2- Zwei, 3- Drei, 4- Vier, 5- Funf, 6- Sechs
Right – Rechts, Left – Links, Straight on – Gerade aus
I come from… – Ich komme aus…
Excuse me – Entschuldigung
I am sorry – Es tut mir leid
I dont speak German – Ich spreche nicht Deutsch
Ich hätte gern… – I’d like… (if you’re ordering anything, anwhere basically)
Ich möchte bezahlen – I’d like to pay
Stimmt so – Keep the change (tipping is something you should do )
Das war’s? – Is that everything? (Not such a useful thing to learn yourself, but you’ll hear it a lot in bars/restaurants/shops when you’ve ordered and it can throw you if you’re

The City

Berlin is a very large city, but is split up into several districts. The main districts are Mitte, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Schoeneberg and Charlottenberg.

The main tourist area is Mitte, the closest thing Berlin has to a centre. There is plenty of things to see here and plenty of good bars. Due to the great transport system it is very easy to get from here around the city.

Kreuzberg has a reputation as the more grungy part of Berlin. Some of the best bars in the city are here and prices can be really cheap too.

Friedrichshain is in the east of the city and some of the buildings have a real communist look about them. Prices are quite cheap here but it is becoming quite popular so they are rising. It is the same in the Prenzlauerberg district to the north of Friedrichshain.

Schoeneberg and Charlottenberg are the two main districts in the west of the city. Prices can be noticeably higher here than the other areas.

Berlin Accommodation

The last few years has seen a number of hip,high quality hostels open in Berlin. These hostels offer 24 bar, free internet access and clean, well maintained rooms. They can work out a lot cheaper than a hotel of similar quality and are great places to meet people of all ages from around the world.

Here are a few that I know are really good:

Heart of Gold Hostel, Mitte: http://www.heartofgold-hostel.de/?=

Singer 109, Alexanderplatz: http://www.singer109.com/
Circus Hostel, Mitte: http://www.circus-berlin.de/

Transit Hotel, Kreuzberg: http://www.hoteltransit.de/

Excelsior Hotel, Charlottenberg: http://www.leonardo-hotels.com/Berlin_Excelsior_Hotel

There is also plenty of Hotels on offer in the city, with many situated off the Kudamm street.

A friend of mine rents private apartment when he goes over. Good value and clean/ practical

http://www.freiraum-berlin.com/english/guesthouse.htm

I stayed here last week, clean, simple but cosy and close to plenty of things.

http://www.imavillage.com/Site/IMA_Loft_Apartments.html

What to see and do in Berlin

Berlin has a huge amount of history and was the centre of world affairs for many years as the place where capitalist west met the communist east.

I would strongly advise taking a guided walking tour of the city, as theses are great ways of finding out a bit more about the place. There are several companies offering these tours and info can be found in all the hotels/ hostels.

http://www.insidertour.com/

http://www.newberlintours.com/nbt/

http://www.trabi-safari.de/e78/e92/index_eng.html

http://alternativeberlin.com/berlin-alternative-pubcrawl

Mitte

In this district you can find The Reichstag, the TV tower, the Brandenberg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial among other sites. You will also find the Potsdamer Platz shopping area whihc is only 5 minutes walk form the Brandenberg Gate.

The Reichstag is the main government building and is free to enter. However it can take a good hour or two to queue for. It is well worth it though. The best way to get there is to walk down Unter Den Linden to the Brandenberg Gate.

You will find the Russian War Memorial and the Victory Column in the Tiergarten park beside the Reichstag.

The TV Tower at Alexanderplatz costs about €9 to get in to but on a clear day it offers the best views of the city (40 miles all around at best). Try the food in the revolving restaurant at the top too.

 

Kreuzberg

The area south of Mitte. Home to the Jewish museum at Hallesches Tor, Victoria Park with it’s fantastic views of the city and the now obsolete Tempelhof airport where the Berlin airlift took place.

Home of the Carnival of Culture every May too with thousand coming onto the streets for a big party of music and drinking.

Charlottenberg

Home of the bombed out Gedaechtniskirche and several shopping areas. More expensive than the eastern areas but plenty of decent bars and shops for the missus.

The huge Zoo is here too. You can easily spend 6 hours walking around here as it has the largest amount of species of any zoo in the world.

If you are prepared to travel about 30 minutes south west by S-Bahn, you will reach the town of Potsdam. Huge gardens which house palaces and the like from way back when. Best to go in summer

Eating and Drinking, Berlin Restaurants

It is so cheap to eat out in Berlin. From the €2 kebabs to a decent meal in a good restaurant, they have it all.

Dotted all over the city are the Imbiss takeaway stands. Go for either a doner or a schawarma. Cheap as chips and good quality, they are a great way to keep the energy levels up for your walking tours.

Dont forget the famous Currywurst. There are places everwhere and a 24 hour place on Mehringdamm in Kreuzberg if you have the urge late at night. Get U6 or U7 to get there.

You shouldnt pay more than €5-8 for a main course here. Starters are well cheap too. Some recommendations:

Lone Star mexican restaurant, Bergmannstrasse, Kreuzberg. Half price between 4-7 and a good feed too.

Angus, Kreuzbergstrase, Kreuzberg. Very, very cheap! Serves anything and everything and aint half bad.

Amrit, Oranienburgerstrasse, Mitte. Good asian food at low prices. Try the Chicken Marchi, spicy as hell.

Austria, Marheineke Platz, Kreuzberg. Has a reputation as the best German food in Berlin. A little bit more expensive and you might need a reservation but well worth it.

Loads more decent places all over. No matter what your tastes you will find good, cheap food everywhere.

If you are looking to watch a Prem game check out the Blarney pub near the Bergmannstrasse in Kreuzberg. Show most games, is cheap and all friendly staff and locals!

Berlin Nightlife
Best city in the world, bar none, for nightlife. Berlin’s bars dont really have any closing times and some places stay open all weekend. Famous for it’s techno clubs too.

For weekly guides on what is going on pick up either Zitty or Tip magazines. They have listings for everything from the cinema to clubs to exhibitions.

Some of the better streets for bars:

Simon Dach Strasse, Friedrichshain. Big concentration of bars and cafes here in a small area. Check out Astro bar, Paul’s Metal Eck or Cassopiea. Wide range of music and cheap beers. What more do you want?

Oranienstrasse, Kreuzberg. Some cool punk bars here and lots of cheap places to eat. Check out Trinkteufel for €2 beers and it opens from Friday until Monday. Luzia is also worth checking out, a real laidback place.

Oranienburgerstrasse, Mitte. Home to Zapata, a 4 floor bar/ club with loads of mad stuff going on (Films, gigs, art,etc. There are a few bars on the street too and some ladies of the night for those who are that way inclined
Check out Silberfisch for late night/ early morning boozing.

Torstrasse, Mitte. North of Oranienburgerstrasse. Home to some new, up and coming bars. Check out Kaffeeburger or the CCCP bar. Different music styles every night of the week.

Clubbing in Berlin

Berghain, Panorama Bar, Ostbahnhof, Friedrichshain. Huge club in an old factory. All sorts of techno, dubstep and house nights. Can be tough to get into and queues of upto 2 hours are not unheard of. Well worth it though, but be careful of straying into the darkened rooms downstairs Open Friday and Saturday nights.

Weekend Club, ALexanderplatz, Mitte. Situated on the 13th florr, this place serves up a good helping of techno in chic surroundings.

Matrix, Warschauerstrasse U-bahn station. Sitting under the arches of this U-bahn station, Matrix club plays everything from indie to Rnb and everything in between. Popular with the pub crawls it is a good place to meet some native Berliners aswell as some tourists.

Bang Bang Club, Hackescher Markt, Mitte. Do brit pop and indie nights. http://www.bangbang-club.de/