The cosmopolitan city of Berlin is a great place to spend Christmas. Wrap up warm and set out in the snow to explore this fantastic city with its mix of ancient and modern history. Call in at the Christmas markets in Potsdamer platz, see the beautiful Sony Centre lit up in blue lights. Try an alternative Christmas dinner – the Berlin classic currywurst (a curried sausage) and a beer then join a million people for the famous New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg gate complete with a fairground, live music and the midnight fireworks - Fröhliche Weihnachten!

www.visitberlin.de
Google map: bit.ly/v1R3C6

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

What a place to watch a game of football! It was a dull game but the venue was stunning. We sat right at the back – the back row of the stand opposite the Ostkurve which is akin to the Kop.
You can get a reduction on tickets with a Berlin Welcome card so the price of tickets is very reasonable.
If you can’t see a game, visit the stadium. Incredible.

www.olympiastadion-berlin.de/en.html
Olympischer Platz 3, 14053 Berlin, Germany
Google map: bit.ly/qWvFpp

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A former remand prison dedicated to showing the brutality and secrecy of the DDR. The deprivation and inhumane conditions echo those shown in the film "The Lives of Others". However, the testimonies of former inmates make this living history. We loved the fact that the tour was lead by a guide (we went on Wednesday afternoon when the tour was in English) and not a sterile audio handset tour. The site is terrifying and I was glad of the direction of the guide who was also able to go off script.
A highly recommended visit - very unusual and scary!

en.stiftung-hsh.de/index.php
Genslerstraße 66, D-13055 Berlin
+49 (0)30 98 60 82 30
Google map: bit.ly/nZVY3C

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Waldbühne is an open air concert venue in Berlin holding 23000 people. It is a natural amphitheatre and great for summer outdoor concerts. I went to my first concert there on the 26th of June 1986 aged 11, to see Queen on their magic tour. Looking back now it was a great privilege to see Queen with Freddie Mercury, for my first concert. I do remember that the security is very tight when it comes to taking bottles into the venue, so don't waste your money trying to take booze in with you. I lived two minutes walk from the venue at the time, however it is easily accessible by public transport, even if you are staying in the centre of Berlin. I have been to many concerts in venues and nothing comes close to a balmy summer evening watching a band at the Waldbühne. I would recommend planning a visit to Berlin around a band you like.

Waldbühne, Am Glockenturm, 14053 Berlin
+49 30 74 73 75 00
Google map: bit.ly/jtb7t6

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Germany’s capital Berlin is, for me, one of the best cities on the continent. Berlin is exciting and packed full of history; the best way that I’ve found of getting the most of it is the walking tour and pub crawl run by the New Berlin Guide. The tour starts mid morning and lasts for four hours, it covers a comprehensive range of Berlin's history not just the recent world wars - although this naturally dose get a big share of the time. The tour is done almost chronologically and starts by discussing the Prussian empire and the founding of Germany, after passing through the Brandenburg gate it discusses the beginnings of the European unrest that led to World War Two at the base of the Reichstag, it moves through several key sites and finishes on museum island to discuss the falling of the wall and the origin of the term “Big Lebowski”. At the end of the tour the friendly and knowledgeable guide will inform you of the pub crawl taking place that evening and, should you want to indulge in the debauchery, they will give you a stamp which will entitle you to a reduction (the walking tour is free but the pub crawl does charge a nominal fee). The pub crawl manages to avoid a lot of the shortcomings I’ve found on other such ventures: you aren’t herded around, the organisers don’t feel it necessary to shout every instruction and you don’t have to wear a “look I’m a tourist” T-shirt (although the fact that you are a tourist is not, I shouldn’t imagine, difficult to notice). The “crawl” itself goes to very peculiar bars and doesn’t stick to the generic pubs and clubs that you’d expect. A highlight is the Beach bar – a load of shacks selling beer behind a squat house come art studio. At another bar we were told to show our stamps because they were Serbians on the door and “they don’t take any shit.” After this we jumped on a tram and headed out to a club where the night was finished and we were left to our own devices. Not for kids and not for grownups Berlin, and the New Berlin experience, is for inquisitive young people looking for a good time – I liked it so much I went back two years after my first visit to do it all again!

www.newberlintours.com/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Avoid the queues - and get treated like a diplomat all for the price of breakfast. Book online at the restaurant Dachgarten.
Go straight to the front of any queue to get into the Reichstag and tell them you have booked breakfast (or I guess dinner), get your name checked off the list by the guards (this is not something you can do on the spur of the moment and that makes the anticipation all the more exciting) and get escorted through security by your personal escort to the lift that carries you to the restaurant at the foot of the Richard Rogers glass dome. Terrific breakfast (and we are vegetarian) and then have the run of the dome and fabulous views over most of Berlin. Awesome. When we went about a month ago the Dome was closed in about three different languages unless like us you were eating in the restaurant!
If you are disappointed by this experience you have no soul!

Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin
+49(0)302262 99 0
www.feinkost-kaefer.de
Google map: bit.ly/dWMAyY

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Mother of all Airports, as Norman Foster once called it, visiting the now disused terminal (the third largest building in the world) is a little like walking around a classical Roman ruin.The sheer scale of the building is truly breathtaking, in particular the vast arrivals hall which was designed by Ernst Sagebiel. He worked in the same offices as Albert Speer, the architect who became very close to Hitler, of course, the brainchild of Germania. I think it is that worrying link with the past that makes walking through the site all the more interesting. I found myself questioning whether I was allowed to admire it or not. It is particularly eerie now it is empty but there are plenty of reminders of the airport's previous life as a major international terminal and the role it played in the 1948 Air Lift. The US used it a base during the Cold War, from 1945 and their old offices are left exactly as they were immediately after their departure in 1993. There is a also a German War bunker on the site, where the Luftwaffe kept a film archive of the air raids on Britain. What really intrigued me was the American basketball court which was built in an area the Germans had intended to use as a grand restaurant and dance hall. In the rooms visited on the tour, photography is permitted everywhere. The two hours spent with the guide were the most rewarding aspect of a recent trip to Berlin. The two hour tour, cost €8 per person (15-30 persons) and is bookable through Berliner Flughäfen. Brilliant.

www.berlin-airport.de/EN/ReisendeUndBesucher/ErlebnisFlughafen/Fuehrungen/THF/Kontakt.html

Berliner Flughäfen
Visitor services
Flughafen Schönefeld
12521 Berlin
+49 30 6091-1660 / 2250
Nearest U Bahn station; Platz der Luftbrücke

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

With the demise of Gainsbourg (it's been turned into a supermarket) there's only Zwiebelfisch and Diener flying the flag for old Berlin in this chic square between the K'Damm and Kantstrasse. Once a hotbed of revolutionary chatter, it's now a very laidback joint that seems totally at ease with itself. Papered in thousands of posters and old photos, it's got a chilled-out vibe thanks in no small measure to the genial owner, a veteran of West Berlin's pre-1989 counter culture. Zwiebelfisch, incidentally, is an old printing expression meaning a letter printed in the wrong font.

Savignyplatz 7, 10623 Berlin
+49(0)30 3127363
www.zwiebelfisch-berlin.de/
Google map: bit.ly/gMrPHM

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

It's a 1.3km length of the the Berlin Wall with amazing art work recently restored. Pollution and graffiti ruined the first lot so get to see it before this happens again. (I visited on 7th March 2011)

www.eastsidegallery.com/
Mühlenstraße 1, 10243 Berlin-Friedrichshain, Germany
Google map: bit.ly/htW6x6
+49(0)30 251 7159

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Bar/restaurant in heart of Kreuzberg since mid 19th century.
It became famous for its confectionery, so much so that cakes were sent to New York in the 1920s via the Hindenburg airship.
It is now a bar and restaurant with German/ international food.

kuchenkaiser.blogspot.com/
Oranienplatz 11 - 13, 10999 Berlin
+49 6140 2697
Nearest metro: Moritzplatz
Google map: bit.ly/950S7n

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Just a point to note. Irrespective of what the guide books imply there is nothing much to see in Spandau that warrants a trip out to that suburb.

Google map: bit.ly/cCGb3v
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandau

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This is a lakeside suburb in Eastern Berlin which still retains a village atmosphere. It's a great centre from which to explore the less familiar lakes and woods that were once the main recreational area for the 'capital of the DDR'. As in West Berlin, you can take boat trips, or walk up to the Muggelberg, the highest point in Greater Berlin. The town itself escaped much of the world war two bombing, and is full of restored 18th century houses and plenty of places to eat and drink. Schloss Kopenick, on its island, has also recently been restored properly, and now contains a Museum of Applied Art.

Kopenick S-bahn station is a short walk from the town centre, and is a 20-minute journey from central Berlin.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Berlin in a nutshell. Peculiar mix of people - 70 year-old ladies in old-fashioned evening dresses and gentlemen in suits, urban bummers in Hugo Boss as well as crazy hipsters are to be seen in this old ballroom (existed since 1913) in the centre of Berlin.

Situated in a scraped building surrounded by numerous art galleries, the place was visited by Tom Cruise during his search for old-fashioned shooting locations for the film 'Valkyrie'. Good food and delicious home-made cakes. Music changes depending on the day (cha cha, swing, waltz and tango). In the summer, the garden is an additional attraction.

If you walk down the Auguststr (Berlin Mitte), you'll spot an enchanting garden and the scraped building behind it.
Clärchens Ballhaus, Auguststraße 24, Berlin Mitte.
www.ballhaus.de/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Easily my favourite street in this, the most bohemian part of Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district.

Many interesting bookshops, clothes shops, cafes and bars to waste an afternoon or more exploring. The 19th century tenements, some lovingly restored, some retaining a scruffy charm, are a welcome break after the grey concrete that's more familiar in much of Berlin.

The Mauerpark at the end of the street, where the wall once ran, is the ideal photo op.

Take the U Bahn to Eberswalder Strasse, exit to left, cross Schonhauser Allee, make for Kastanienallee, then first street on right. Or tram 11 from Hackeschermarkt to Kastanienallee or Eberswalderstrasse.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Beautiful and eerie, this church is deeply scarred by war and hasn’t been reconstructed so as to serve as a reminder of the past. The added modern buildings are very impressive and bathed by an electric blue light inside. One of the best sights, and photo opportunities, in Berlin.

Near the Ku’damm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

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

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

In fact, why not rent a bike and take a day trip by bike to Potsdam. There are plenty of parks and lakes to criss-cross. Plus everybody cycles in good weather. However, you don't have to cycle all the way. Take the bike on the S7 Train, change at Wannsee and get the S1 to Potsdam (just cross, it's on the same platform).

Potsdam is a World Heritage site with beautifully restored period architecture. It lies just 15km (10 miles) south-west of Berlin, but it is almost like travelling to another Eastern Europe city altogether, on par with Prague or Budapest, just a tad smaller (this is no exaggeration). Potsdam has a picturesque old town with many (outdoor) cafés, and even has its own Brandenburg Gate.

It is also home of the Royal Gardens, and the popular Sans Souci Palace. There is proof of Russian culture to be found in Potsdam's "Alexandrowka" which has replicas of Russian village houses and a pretty Orthodox Church on the Hill, and Dutch period buildings fill the Dutch Quarter (Holländisches Viertel). The historic sections of the city provide the flair of a city steeped in European tradition.

www.potsdam.de/cms/ziel/26822/EN;
Bike rental information: www.berlinfo.com/Traveltime/WithinBerlin/by_bike/bike_rental/index.htm

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Wall still elicits fascination among visitors, and there are a handful of sites where it lives on. Some stretches have monument status, and the area around Bernauer Strasse, where the wall ran along one side of this street, has become well-known as a symbol of the Wall’s inhumanity. A stretch of it have been preserved here, and the nearby Documentation Centre helps shed some light on the Wall’s tragic history.

U-bahn U9 to Bernauer Strasse or S-bahn S1/S2 to Nordbahnof;
www.berliner-mauer-dokumentationszentrum.de;
www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

If you want an idea of what Berlin looked like before the war then head to Prenzlauer Berg, which is a sort of mirror image of Kreuzberg. Like its West Berlin counterpart, Prenzlauer Berg kept its traditional tenements and has a working class district tradition. The wall defined the western edge of ‘Prenzl’ Berg, which was also a centre of alternative culture during communism. Now the district has become increasingly trendy and is seen by some as the ‘New Kreuzberg’. It’s a favoured spot among West Berliners, given the new trendy bars and restaurants that are opening up, particularly around Sredzkistrasse/Husemanstrasse/Knaackstrasse. But despite this, Prenzlauer Berg keeps its distinctive character.

U-bahn line U2 to Senefelderplatz, Eberswalder Str or Schonhauser Allee. Trams also run to Prenzlauer Berg from Hackesche Markt

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

In a city which has mirrored the history of the 20th century very closely, the Reichstag is one of the most poignant symbols of the mix of politics, history and architecture in Berlin.

It was badly damaged in the war and the Berlin Wall ran along the back of it. The new cupola, designed by Norman Foster, offers fantastic views over the city, but get there early - there are always long queues.

Right in the centre, just north of the Brandenburg gate. Bus 100 (which is a good route for sightseeing) passes by it; the nearest S-bahn station is Unter den Linden

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends