4 Days in Berlin?

Question

Need some good, trendy tips for eating, drinking, shopping & sightseeing in Berlin. We already have a place to stay. Best shopping districts? Cabarets? Shows? Thanks.

Yes, I am fluent in German.

Answer 1

Hi. Our Avatars look nearly identical. Maybe we are related. Hee hee. I will answer this with a lot of info in case we are related.

I lived in Berlin for about six years.

--eating--
http://www.cnn.com/FOOD/restaurants/weissmann/world/berlin.html
Budget travellers are well catered for by hundreds of Imbiss fast food restaurants - once the realm of the greasy sausage - but now brimming with Asian and Middle Eastern delights for just a handful of Euro. A Berlin speciality is Turkish Doner Kebab (try Bally on Tempelhofer Damm). Berlin's fast food flagship is undoubtedly the Currywurst, a sausage sprinkled with curry powder and then smothered with ketchup, served on a paper dish and eaten with a plastic fork at an Imbiss stall. Try---
Krasselt
Steglitzer Damm 22 - they use their own patented sauce, simply the best you can get! Unfortunately this place is off the beaten track and not exactly in sightseeing heaven - but still!

Beckers Fritten
Old van on Oranienburger Str. in Mitte, more famous for their French fries, try the one with Aioli sauce!

Curry 36
On Mehringdamm, Kreuzberg, mind the junkies and winos tottering by. Very efficient place with zillions of taxi drivers stopping by, always a good sign.

Curry 195
Kurfuerstendamm 195, this is the one with fotos of politicians and other celebrities on display. Also famous for skewers. Famous for the unfriendly staff but put the plates back to their place and all is well.

Other famous food-Boulette, a cross between a hamburger and meatball, Matjes ( pickled herring) and Eisbein, a huge, fatty leg of pork.


--drinking--
Hackescher Markt/Hackesche Höfe (Oranienburger Straße / Rosenthaler Straße Mitte Berlin, 10178--Nearest Train: Hackescher Markt: S3, S5, S7, S9, S75) is one of the most famous areas with bars. Be sure not to miss it. Each bar is left to decide when to call last orders. Some choose to call it a night at 2am, others when the last guest leaves and still others stay open until dawn.

Lore.Berlin
Neue Schönhauser Straße 20
Berlin, 10178
Phone: [phone]
Neighborhood: Mitte
Hours: 7p-3a Sun-Thu
Train: Weinmeisterstraße: U8
Booking is advisable.
Climbing down the broad staircase into the former coal cellar, visitors will pass a couple of old carts once used to transport coal. The bar stretches far into the long, dark tunnel, lit only by the gleaming shelves full of bottles and glasses. The barmen prepare cocktails while well-dressed night-owls crouch over the counter and silently sip their drinks. Small niches just big enough to hold a table for two are set into the brick wall. The chill-out room at the end contains more niches and seating. Drinks cost from EUR5 for cocktails and EUR2 for beer and non-alcoholic drinks.

Pfefferberg
Schönhauser Allee 176
Berlin, 10119
Phone: [phone]
Neighborhood: Prenzlauer Berg
Hours: vary with night
Train: Senefelder Platz: U2
This venue is typical of the Prenzlauer Berg district—a relic of the good old Berlin times but nowadays threatened by decay. You will find a whole mixture of gigs, dance, theatre, performances, cabaret and variety, readings and dance-parties here in the former "Pfeffer" ( pepper ) brewery building. Pfefferberg offers music from all spheres but it's only in its cellar Subground that you can hear Techno. Here there is a huge space in which to dance and much less room in which to sit down! There is a beer garden outside, which is lovely in the summertime.

Pinguin Club
Wartburgstraße 54
Berlin, 10823
Phone: [phone]
Neighborhood: Schöneberg
Hours: 9p-4a daily
Train: Eisenacher Straße: U7
This American rock'n'roll-style bar gained a cult following in the eighties, including a host of well-known faces from film and music. Although all the 'cool' bars moved to East Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Pinguin stayed true to its roots in Schöneberg. And while it may have passed the zenith of its popularity, it still attracts the same weird and wonderful crowd with its unique decor, huge drinks list, good music and intimate atmosphere.

Silberstein
Oranienburger Straße 27
Berlin, 10117
Phone: [phone]
Neighborhood: Mitte
Hours: Midday-4a daily
Train: Oranienburger Straße: S1, S2, S25
Once a place for insiders, Silberstein now seems to have given in to commercial demands. It is cool to serve sushi, and Silberstein does just that. The interior has the same industrial-look as ever, furnished with chairs and tables made of scrap metal. The greatest changes have been made in the courtyard: once run-down and strangely romantic, it has now been renovated and turned into an arts centre. Silberstein has become fashionable, clean and devastatingly normal. Although in Berlin, normal is not necessarily normal. Food costs EUR4-12.50; Beer EUR2; Wine EUR3-4.50; Cocktails: EUR4.50-6.


--shopping--
There are tons of places to shop. The Ku'Damm area is nice to see but the prices are really high. I would say my favorites are-
Kaufhof am Alexanderplatz
East Berlin's best-known department store
Alexanderplatz 9 Mitte
Berlin, 10178
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Neighborhood: Mitte
Hours: 9a-8p Mon-Fri; 9a-4p
Train: Alexanderplatz: U2, U5, U8; S3, S5, S6, S7, S9, S75
Kaufhof on Alexanderplatz is one of East Berlin's oldest and best-known department stores. Spread over five floors, the store has an enormous selection of goods similar to those in KaDeWe in West Berlin. Kaufhof's prices are generally more reasonable than its western rival.

Kaufhaus des Westens ( KaDeWe )
Tauentzienstraße 21
Berlin, 10789
Neighborhood: Schöneberg
Hours: M-F 10a-8p; Sa 9:30a
Train: Wittenbergplatz: U1, U2, U15; 343, M19, M29, M46
KaDeWe is a shopping temple for both locals and tourists from all over the world. The food hall on the top floor is legendary and is worth a visit in itself. KaDeWe offers an incredible variety of items, but the prices are fairly hefty.

I would say the best shopping could be-
Trödel- und Kunstmarkt Straße des 17. Juni
Straße des 17. Juni / Salzufer Charlottenburg
Berlin, 10623
Neighborhood: Charlottenburg
Hours: 11a-5p Sat & Sun
Train: Tiergarten: S3, S5, S7, S9, S75
Berlin's oldest flea market has become increasingly popular over the years, and prices have risen accordingly. However, if you are any good at haggling, you may be able to find a nice memento to take home with you at a halfway decent price. Most vendors are professional collectors and many stalls offer genuine antiques and real rarities. The range of goods on offer includes pretty much everything under the sun - with books, records, clothes, crockery, furniture, toys, East German nostalgia and Berlin memorabilia. The market stretches from Ernst-Reuter-Platz to Tiergarten S-Bahn station.

The booksellers outside Humboldt University, Berlin's premier academic institution, can be fun.

Türkenmarkt
Maybachufer 12047
Heaps of fruit and vegetables, mountains of bread loaves, buckets spilling over with olives, great selections of feta spreads and cheeses - Berlin's Türkenmarkt is as good as anything you'll find this side of Istanbul. Quality is high and prices are low. Head west along the canal for a picnic in the park at the Urbanhafen.
Hours: Tue & Fri 12:00pm-6:30pm


--sightseeing--
Be sure to have the destination and hotel business card handy before you go sightseeing and such. A good amount of the taxi drivers are Turkish and have small troubles with German. They occasional stop and ask other Turks for help if they can not locate the destination.

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche
Tiergarten
Reichstag
Unter den Linden
Alexanderplatz
Pergamonmuseum
Deutsches Historisches Museum
dome of the Reichstag (to avoid long lines, arrive at 8 AM)
Potsdamer Platz
Ebertstraße
Brandenburger Tor
the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Gemäldegalerie
Neue Nationalgalerie
Topographie des Terrors
The Berlin Wall-East Side Gallery
Mauermusuem Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
Schloss Charlottenburg
Adenauerplatz
Kurfürstendamm
Bleibtreustrasse/Savignyplatz area
Chämeleon Varieté or Bar Jeder Vernunft.
Kreuzberg/Martin-Gropius-Bau
Jüdisches Museum
Berliner Fernsehturm
Potsdam
Filmpark Babelsberg
Schloss Sanssouci
cruising the Spree River and its canals

Be sure to check your tour book for-
Pariser Platz
Hotel Adlon
Komische Oper
Friedrichstraße
Galeries Lafayette
Friedrichstadtpassagen
Gendarmenmarkt
Deutscher Dom
Französischer Dom
Konzerthaus
Berliner Zoo & Aquarium
Deutsches Technikmuseum
Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen

--Cabarets--
Bar Jeder Vernunft
Cabaret, Wilmersdorf
The intimate Bar Jeder Vernunft is housed within a glamorous tent and features solo entertainers and recently, the musical Cabaret.
http://www.bar-jeder-vernunft.de/public/index/
Address: Schaperstr. 24, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone]

Friedrichstadtpalast
Cabaret, Mitte
Europe's largest variety show takes place at the Friedrichstadtpalast, a glossy showcase for revues, famous for its leggy female dancers. Most of the guests seem to arrive via bus tours and package hotel deals.
http://www.friedrichstadtpalast.de/start/d/001.asp
Address: Friedrichstr. 107, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone]

Tipi das Zelt
Cabaret, Tiergarten
Tipi das Zelt is a tent venue between the Kanzleramt (Chancellor's Office) and Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Artists featured are well suited for an international audience and you can opt to dine here before the show. Even the back row seats are good.
http://www.tipi-das-zelt.de/
Address: Grosse Querallee, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone]

Wintergarten Varieté
Cabaret, Tiergarten
The Wintergarten Varieté pays romantic homage to the old days of Berlin's original variety theater in the 1920s.
http://www.wintergarten-variete.de/
Address: Potsdamer Str. 96, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone]


--Shows--
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Dance, Opera, Charlottenburg
Of the 17 composers represented in the repertoire of Deutsche Oper Berlin, Verdi is the most presented.
Address: Bismarckstr. 35, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone]
http://www.deutscheoperberlin.de/

Deutsches Theater
Theater, Mitte
The theater most renowned for both its modern and classical productions is the It has an excellent studio theater next door, the Kammerspiele, which has evolved as a thrilling playground for the country's most promising young directors, writers, and actors.
Address: Schumannstr. 13a, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone] or 030/2844-1225
http://www.deutsches-theater.berlin.net/

Internationale Filmfestspiele
Film, Berlin
In February, theaters around Berlin host the Internationale Filmfestspiele, or Berlinale, a 10-day international festival at which the Golden Bear award is bestowed on the best films, directors, and actors. Individual tickets are first sold three days prior to a film's screening. Film buffs should purchase the season pass or accept shut-outs and third-choice films after hour-long waits at ticket outlets.
http://www.berlinale.de/

Komische Oper
Dance, Opera, Mitte
Most of the operas are sung in German at the On the day of the performance, discount tickets are sold at the box office on Unter den Linden 41.
Address: Behrenstr. 55-57, Berlin, Germany
Phone: [phone] or 01805/304-168
http://www.komische-oper-berlin.de/

Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Dance, Opera, Mitte
Though renovated twice after bombings, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden dates to 1743, when Frederick the Great oversaw productions. Maestro Daniel Barenboim oversees a diverse repertoire. Tickets can be as inexpensive as EUR7.
http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/start/index.php

Be aware that prostitution is legal (Mitte has a lot) so it better to keep small children inside after dark.

maps/transportation
http://www.stadtplan.net/index.asp?direct=brd/berlin/berlin
http://www.bvg.de/
http://www.bahn.de/-S:PtVOZ9:emwO0NNNrGoH7dNNNONM/p/view/index.shtml

tourism
http://www.btm.de/index.html.de
http://wikitravel.org/en/Berlin

Answer 2

All the usual things...but...the Egyptian Museum is closed and the collection has been moved to the Old Museum. The Bode Museum has now after many years re-opened. The collection specialises in early European art, so much of it is religious. The galleries of the German History Museum in the Zeughaus are now open with some very interesting exhibits from WWII and then later the communist GDR. You can visit the STASI Museum. The Pergamon cannot be missed. Naturally you will wish to visit Sanssouci at Potsdam. A one way two hour ticket for bus/Sbahn/Ubahn in zones A and B currently costs 2.10€. An all day ticket for the same zones costs 5.80€ Checkout http://www.berlin-explored.com I'm not sure about the availability of the book though. It does answer all your questions.

Answer 3

Went to Berlin this September on a whim. Don't pay any attention to the first post, I knew two words in German and I got along just fine with a travel dictionary. The Germans were amazingly nice and helpful.

My suggestions: The Jewish Museum and the Jewish Memorial. I'm not big into World War II history or anything, but these were two big highlights of my trip and the architecture at these attractions were amazing. We took the Metro (S-Bahn and U-Bahn) the entire time, and, except with a few initial confusions, used it with ease. I'd go back in a heartbeat, but I'd bring better walking shoes.

Unfortunately, I was only there for 3 days, so I didn't find much good shopping, except for a few outrageously expensive stores along Friedrichstrauss and Unter de Linden.

Answer 4

The " Ku Damm " is the main street. Check out the remants of the Berlin Wall, the new museum that is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. If you're into Egytology, go to the Agytisches Museum. Viel Spass ! Have fun !

Answer 5

First I would recomend to visit the official web site of Berlin:

www.berlin.de

This site is also available in English. There you can find infos about Hotels, where to eat, where to go etc.

Transport:
_________

In four days you can not see all, but surely you can visit many places. Berlin by bus or by surface rail ( S-Bahn) Subway ( U-Bahn ) is really confortable. You can buy a day-pass (Tageskarte) in any S-Bahn, U-Bahn Station or BVG - sell or service point, you can use this pass a day long and use whatever you want: bus, S-Bahn or U-bahn. I would recommend to stay in any hotel near to the Zoologischer Garten Bhf Surface and Subway also known as Bahnhof Zoo due to following reasons:

1. You are practically at the famous commercial street Kurfürstendamm, locally known as Ku'damm, which can be consider as Berlin's 5th Avenue. you will find there a lot of Restaurants, Stores, Department stores etc. . You also can visit the "Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church" (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm - Gedächtniskirche) a WWII Memorial.

2. The public transport possibilities are just wonderful. In front of the station you will find a service point of the BVG and buy your ticket. There you can also take the bus number 100, which runs from Zoo station (Bahnhof-Zoo) and takes you to the most important places to visit in Berlin inner city as for example:

Bellevue Palace ( residence of the President)

The Reichstag building (a beautiful building where the parlament meets, and from which you can get a wonderful sight of Berlin if you go up to the top of the cupola) From the Reichtstag building you can continue by bus, but I would recomend to walk, because you are pretty near to Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate), I would say two minutes away by walking ;O)

If you go through the gate and just walk straight ahead you will discover many interesting places such as:

Adlon Hotel

Alexander Humboldt University

Museum Insel and many other museums and memorials

The "Palast der Republik" ( Goverment Headquarter during the DDR)

The Berlin Cathedral

and it goes along til the famous television tower in Alexander Platz, where you can also visit the World Clock" . It is al pretty long distance (if you walk without visiting the museums it may take around three hours from Brandenbur gate til Alexander Platz, but it is worth to do it. you can also take the bus again anytime ;O) . In Alexander Platz you can also take the S-Bahn, any S-Banh going to Hauptbahnhof takes you to Zoo Bahnhof too.

Near to Humboldt University (arund 5 minutes away by walking) you will find Gendarmenmarkt, dort you can visit the German and the French cathedrals ( Deutscher Dom und Französischer Dom) and the Concert Hall (in German: Konzerthaus).

I would recommend to take max. two days for this tour, I mean, you will not see all, but the most important places. You can save time if you decide which museums are interesting for you, you will find more infos about the museums in the site above.

From Bahnhof-zoo you can also take the bus number 109 or the bus number M45 to visit the palace Charlottenburg ( you may take the bus and ride til bus-stop "Luisenplatz/Schloß Charlottenburg".

I will recomend you save a day to visit Potsdam a place located around 33 minutes away from Berlin. You can take at the Bahnhof Zoo the S-Bahn (surface rail) number S7 going to the Station "Potsdam Hauptbahnhof" or "S Potsdam Hbf". There you can visit the palace "Sanssouci" a Rococo Palace. In Potsdam you can also visit other places. A day-pass for the public transport in Postdam is recomendable.

In the following site you will find all about Potsdam. The site is also in English available:

http://www.potsdam.de/

I hope this will help you. I apologise if my english is not so good, I'm just practicing to lern more ;O)

Answer 6

dont know bout any of that but be sure to learn some of the language before u go!!