A guide by Citybreaker
Local to Wittenbergplatz and, as the name suggests, a great place to eat from breakfast to dinner and later.
Vibrant decor in red and sort of mod with a bit of retro. Appetising and interesting meals served by very accommodating staff.
Motz Str 28,10777 Berlin
Tel 030 23635702
www.more-berlin.de
Informative and entertaining walking tour of Third Reich spots of interest; kept us captivated for three and a half hours in cold and rain!
Start at Brandenberg Gate at 1 pm or pick up from Zoolischer Garten (12.30). €10 no need to book. Tues/Fri/Sat/Sun.
One of many well-priced tours including Red Berlin tour and to Sachsenhausen Concentration camp.
Overview tour is free. Information books in Starbucks.
Sandemans New Berlin
www.newberlintours.com
030 25293460
A compact but very illuminating visit to what life was like in communist era Germany. Reveals many artifacts of the era in the form of mock-ups of an apartment, a Trabant car etc, some of which you can handle. English and German commentary on the displays.
Great Winter diversion but light content, near cafes / aquarium near Alexanderplatz, open late to 8pm (10pm Sat).
By the river side at Spreepromenade
an der Liebknechtbrücke
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1
10178 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30/847 123 73-1
This beautiful baroque palace, recently restored, on its own garden island in the Spree, is far less visited than others in the city. It houses a new museum and a great cafe.
Get there by tram from Köpenick S-Bahn (line 3) or take a boat from Treptower Park (1 hour);
www.koepenick.net/
Located on the eastern edge of the city, this is the old Stasi prison used to incarcerate political opponents of the regime. Guided tours of the complex by former inmates (in German only) reveal the GDR in all its chilling brutality and secrecy.
It as a former concentration camp that has been converted into a museum. The graphic detail provided of what happened is very honest and helps crystallise the suffering that many of the prisoners went through. The radio commentary is easy to use and gives the right amount of info to get a sense of what went on.
It is located just outside Berlin in Oranienburg
A sumptuous palace, more fit for a fairytale queen than the wife of Friedrich I. Replete with intricately networked galleries and stairwells, and a majestic cupola. Head west on the U Bahn and get schlosst in the imperial splendour of its labyrinthine interior. The lavish ballrooms and bedchambers serve as a seamless conduit to the late 1700s when Freddy built this Beckhamesque summer-home for his bride Sophie-Charlotte.
The highlight is the west wing; packed to its gilded ceilings with generous rococo detail that would have Mr. Llewellyn Bowen prostrating himself on the parquet floors in awe of the designer’s decadent lack of restraint. The audio guide is a must and its sophistication is in keeping with the rest of the grandeur.
There’s a stunning backdrop to boot; marbled lawns and immaculate hedgerows, good enough to eat. These evocative gardens, delectably manicured in French Baroque, are wistfully nostalgic. More magical Prussian history than you can shake a pretzel at.
Charlottenburg, Altes Schloss
Spandauer Damm 20-24
14059 Berlin
Tel.: 32 091-440
www.spsg.de
[Line U2, Sophie-Charlotte-Platz]
A suburb of old West Berlin which still feels like a medieval village a million miles away from Berlin. Full of 12 and 13th century timber-framed houses straight from a children's story. Off the tourist trail but it's worth seeing for an idea of how Berlin was before the wall was erected.
U-bahn line 7 will take you into heart of Spandau.
Germany’s parliament building, topped by Sir Norman Foster’s fabulous glass dome, offers a panoramic view across the whole of Berlin for free. My kids love running up and down it. If you go with young children, you can jump the one-hour queues and use the disabled entrance.
Platz der Republik 1; nearest S-Bahn: Unter den Linden; www.reichstag.de
The budget airlines (Ryanair, Easyjet) use Schönefeld airport, in the south-east. Take the S-Bahn into the centre of town, or the Airport Express from the same station. It’s cheap, fast, and - since this is Germany - punctual. Don’t take a taxi from Schönefeld airport to the city centre: it’s a long way.
Some airlines (like Air Berlin) arrive at Tegel airport. From here take the X9 bus to Zoologischer Garten.
Fantastic pasta bar near Potsdamer Platz. You pick any pasta and any sauce and then wait at the counter while the chef cooks it for you. They use fresh pasta so you only have to wait a few minutes. They have pots of fresh herbs at the tables that you can help yourself to. When you go in you are given a card, which you hand over to the chef who swipes it for you, then if you want to order drinks or desserts hand the card to the counter staff. When you leave, give the card in at the till and then you pay. This is the best pasta I've ever eaten and prices are really reasonable, from about 5 euros. I particularly recommend the rustica ravioli and pasta with lemon and mint. It's so good I went twice!
Potsdamer Platz 5, nearest U/S bahn Potsdamer Platz (walk up towards the Jewish memorial)
The Opernpalais cafe at Unter den Linden offers an experience unequalled anywhere that I know of. The opulent surroundings are only upstaged by the wonderful choice of delicious cakes. You can imagine being here in a long past era, whiling away your leisure hours with good conversation, kaffee und kuchen. Not to be missed.
Opernpalais, Unter den Linden 5, 10117 Berlin. Tel. 030 2026 83
