I lived in a university guest house behind the scenes in the gardens a while back and spent hours each day wandering around. The most fascinating walk takes you through the northern hemisphere temperate zones, starting with swamp cypress from the south-eastern US through Japan and China and onwards, ending with a typical German beech wood near the northern exit.

www.bgbm.org/
Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 6-8, 14195 Berlin
+49 (0)30 838-50100
Google map: bit.ly/fXsNhJ

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This is the place when you're looking for free events like parties and museums in Berlin. Perfect for low-budget travellers. These are the events locals go to. Even real Berliners don't know everything you can get in Berlin for free. Most of the content is german, but can be translated at the bottom of the page.

berlin.admission-free.org

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Off-the-beaten-track but central (in Prenzlauer Berg)
little cute family-friendly cafe serving cornish pasties, PG tips tea, great ice cream and soups. With English-speaking owner.

zionskirchstr.75
senefelder platz U-Bahn
030 44038577
www.cafe-am-teutoburger-platz.com

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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

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Modern, clean and friendly hotel - especially for families. Rooms around £60 per night accommodating a family of up to four. The hotel is approximately 200 metres from a surviving piece of the Berlin Wall. It’s in a central location about 5-10 minutes walk from Potsdamer Platz.

Anhalter Strasse, Anhalter Bahnhof S-Bahn; www.suitehotel.com

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The Egyptian Museum, just across the road from Schloß Charlottenburg, has a superb collection of artefacts, but is worth visiting for one reason alone – as the home of the famous bust of Nefertiti. And nobody objects if you take your own photos of it either!

Schloßstraße 70, Charlottenburg, 14059 (3209 1261). U2 Sophie-Charlotte-Platz/U7 Richard-Wagner-Platz.

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Prater Garten is a biergarten at Kastanienalle Prenzlauer Berg, the best bier, the best ambient for families and groups. It has great food and location, you must go.

www.pratergarten.de at prenzlauerBerg Berlin in the middle of the funky suburb of Berlin (east)

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I recommend exploring east Berlin. Take the U-bahn to Schönhauser Allee U-bahn station, or better, Eberswalderstrasse, one stop earlier. There’s a fast food stall under the station where you can get an excellent currywurst with chips. From there you can walk to Kollwitzplatz, a small square commemorating the artist Käthe Kollwitz. She was known for glowering portraits drawn with charcoal. Until a decade ago it suited this north-eastern part of the city, but the neighbourhood now is cheerful and gentrified. The buildings in the streets around Kollwitz Strasse have had their bulletholes filled in and been painted bright colours, and there are lots of excellent cafes, restaurants and bars. There’s even a weekend farmers’ market.

Eberswalder Strasse, U2

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Trabi Safari is a 90-minute guided tour around Berlin in one of the iconic former DDR cars. The highlight of this tour is that you are the driver. A great and fun way for you and three friends to see the city and engage with a piece of Berlin history.

www.trabi-safari.de

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Fantastic tower in old East Berlin. Take the lift to the top and sit in the revolving restaurant to see the city. Go early to avoid queues.

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This is a lovely lake, ideal for swimming in the summer and ice-skating, walking or tobogganing in the winter.

Go to S-Bahn Schlachtensee.

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This is Berlin's one and only hostelboat, which means you can actually stay overnight on a boat on the River Spree for reasonable and have superb views over the river. I recommend it because it is something different, but apart from this, it's a very cosy place with very helpful people. Rooms are nice and have all attached bath. It is next to what's left of the wall and in general a cool place.

You can get off one of the main station, which is Ostbahnhof and walk along the wall, which enables you to admire the numerous murals, or you can get off the tube stations Warschauerstrasse or Schlesische Strasse, which are a bit closer;
www.eastern-comfort.com

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Ice cream cafe and art gallery. Marvellous organic ice cream from Devon. Run by lovely ex-pat Galina and Kirstin. Easy, friendly ambience in centre of Bohemian East Berlin. Art works change every month. Great to sit and chill out. B&B possible too, with English-speaking flat owner.

Zionskirchstrasse 75, Berlin 10119; Nearest metro: Senefelderplatz; Tel: (004930) 44038577
www.cafe-am-teutoburger-platz.com

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A fascinating look into Berlin's tumultuous recent history and its glorious past. The tour takes in all the major landmarks, but what makes it extra special are the superb guides - they are knowledgeable, approachable, friendly and full of interesting anecdotes. They take you off the beaten track, revealing much of what made Berlin such a vast metropolis. You visit hitler's bunker, the largest remaining stretch of the Wall that still stands, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate and the dizzying TV tower. You will never learn so much in 5 hours as you will by taking one of these tours. They are good value, perfectly paced and laden with enough facts to make up for the times you fell asleep during history lessons at school.

Their leaflets are dotted around all Hotel & Hostel lobbies in the City Centre. Just turn up at the meeting point at the correct time, pay around 10 euros and off you go.

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My favourite Berlin beach, Havelchaussee is a small strip of sand overlooking the River Havel, in the heart of the Grunewald. There’s no car park, so you have to get there by 218 bus or bike. My kids like making dens in the willow trees. Most people keep their clothes on here, but don’t be surprised if some people take all of theirs off: that’s normal in Berlin.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havelchaussee;
www.suedwestweb-berlin.de/struktur/v0158/s0158.html

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Boats, ships, planes and trains, and even the odd rocket. The museum has a great separate kids' section, Spectrum. My son Ruskin is especially fond of the room on the top floor where you can whisper into a giant ear trumpet, and be heard 50 metres away.

Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Trebbiner Strasse 9; Admission: €4.50, kids €2.50; Closed on Monday;
www.dtmb.de/

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This is my favourite Prenzlauer Berg Café. Sunny, green, ideal for people-watching, and child-friendly, and they sell great homemade Cornish pasties, Italian ice cream, homemade cakes, brownies etc. Plus, the English-speaking owners have a small B&B attached that is central, charming and cheap.

Cafe am Teutoburger Platz (Kunst+Eis), Zionskirchstr.75, Prenzlauer Berg;
tel: 030 44038577 or 0173 610 2523;
U-Bahn: Senefelder Platz, or turn left off Kastanienallee

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A crazy park for children aged six and above. Using recycled materials, children build huts, tree houses and other structures. With a forge on site to make the metalwork neccessary and a kitchen which child regulars help run, the park is a home from home for many local kids. Very friendly and if your child is a fan of building things, then this is a chance to do the real thing!

www.kolle37.de, on Kollwitzstrasse near Kollwitzplatz in Prenzlauer Berg

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Park. Sprawling green space - very kid friendly. Several play areas, one that defies belief (in the centre) based on '101 Arabian Nights'. Open-air cinema, jogging paradise, enclosed 'dogs-only' field, petting zoo, mini golf...it goes on and on. Even the drug dealers are polite. Easily combined with your visit to the Vatican's embassy at Sudstern.

South/Central berlin in Kreuzberg. U-Bahn: Sudstern or Hermann Platz

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Gi-normous, fenced in park with plenty of room to roam, masses of stuff for kids and adults to do (wee train trips, water areas, lakes, all sorts of animals (free on the range), open air music and theatre) and masses of space to do nothing in, if that's what takes your fancy. Beautifully maintained and not at all corporate feeling. Couple of euros to get in. Bargain.

Neukoln, in the south east of the city. It's big, so no 'one' place to get in. Get a map!

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