Hello! First time poster here.
I%26#39;m traveling to Berlin for the first time this Saturday.
I will be staying there for 4.5 days and I would like to get some input from everyone on key things that I should see.
1st day: Hang around Ku%26#39;Damm (Only have about 3/4 of a day since we are arriving at 9 am) and see Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
2nd day: around Unter Lin Binden and see the Cold War/WW II sites.
3rd day: for Pergamom Museum, Egyptian Museum, and hang around at Alexander Platz.
4th day: for schloss charlottenburg and visit Sony Center and hang around that area.
5th day: Post Damm?
My girlfriend and I like to leisurely travel and not jam pack everything into a short period of time so this was the itinerary I came up with.
Please give me some comments or suggestions on what key places I should definitely visit.
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As a regular visitor to Berlin, here are my thoughts about your itinerary.
Day 1. Kudamm, will not take no more than an of hours unless you like shopping where it will take longer. Kaiser Wilhelm church is impressive but won%26#39;t take long to look inside.
Day 2. Unter Den Linden, will take no more than 30-45 mins to walk from Brandenburg Gate to near Alexanderplatz. Checkpoint Charlie down Friederichstrasse is a major shopping street but the checkpoint as become a tacky tourist site.
Day 3.You will need a lot of time if you want to visit the museums. An interesting museum next to Museum Island is the DDR Museum (East Germany Museum) very interesting and hands on. Alexanderplatz as got the TV Tower which is worth visiting, the view from the top is great. Around Alexanderplatz is just shops and a transport interchange. Not the nicest part of the city.
Day 4. Visiting schloss charlottenburg and visiting the Sony Centre in Potsdamer Platz will not take a full day, only a few hours.
Day 5. Potsdam is a very nice, little city. Can be reached by S-Bahn. Worth visiting.
Other things I can suggest visiting is the Reichstag (Parliament Building), Victory Collum in Tiergarten, EastSide Gallery (Long stretch of the wall which is painted by artists, near Ostbahnhof). Spandau, west of Berlin has got an impressive Citadel and nice Old Town. German Technology museum is impressive but will need a few hours.
There is loads to do in Berlin, you could also do a walking or bus tour. I%26#39;ve been to Berlin 4 times in the last 2 years and I%26#39;ve always done something new each time I%26#39;ve visited the city and loads I haven%26#39;t one yet.
I would strongly suggest picking up a good guidebook before setting off! I hope this helps!
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On the first day, instead of wasting all that time on the Kudamm, go to Bahnhof Zoo and take the number 100 bus. It%26#39;s a tour of Berlin in a nutshell. Get off anywhere you fancy and then on again. Take it to Alexanderplatz and grab the S-Bahn back to Savigny Platz. Check out Bleibtreustr., Knesebeckstr., Grolmannstr. Mommsenstr., Schlüterstr. This used to be the stylish district of West Berlin and it still has a lot of flair, beautiful old Gründerzeit buildings, and lots of cafés and odd little shops.
Day 2: Continue your walk from Unter den Linden to Hackesche Markt, up Rosenthaler Strasse, Weinbergsweg, Kastanienallee into Prenzlauer Berg to Kollwitzplatz and Helmholtzplatz. This is Berlin%26#39;s equivalent to Greenwhich Village. Use Tram M1 or Tram 12 if you get tired of walking.
Day 4: You might need more time on this day for museums you never got to on Day 3. If you have time though, see Winterfeldplatz, Nollendorfplatz. This is where %26quot;Cabaret%26quot; took place, sort of. Anyway, it%26#39;s where Christopher Isherwood hung out when he lived here.
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Others have given you excellent advice. The only thing I will add is, you really only need to spend a couple hours at most on/around Ku-Damm, and in that couple hours I would include a visit to Ka-De-We (go to the food section, 6th floor) and over to Kaiser Wilhelm Church. Even approached as %26quot;leisurely travel,%26quot; you won%26#39;t need more than your morning. The Kathe Kollwitz museum is nearby if you like her evocative work.
By Cold War/WW2 sites, Berlin is full of them, so depends on what you have in mind. Might I suggest going on a walking tour that specializes in either Third Reich Berlin, or Cold War (or both.) This would be around 3-4 hours. There are also daily %26quot;general Berlin%26quot; walking tours. See this forum for recommended companies.
Potsdam is certainly worthwhile.
Plenty of museums and you could fill a couple days (or a couple weeks!) with them. Pick topics that interest you most.
Have you considered a visit to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp site?
There%26#39;s plenty of time available in your itinerary to do additional things.
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Correction: Kaethe Kollwitz; sorry Germans speakers.
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Thanks for the replies everyone!
I guess I over estimated the time we would spend just browsing the streets, cafes, and little shops.
Also I left out a lot of the details in my original post. Like many of you have mentioned I was planning to visit KaDeWe, Reichstag, and most of the key tourist sites.
I have been looking at tour guides for couple weeks trying to plan ahead, but one problem with just reading tour guides is that you just don%26#39;t know how much time visiting each place will take.
Some more questions:
1. What things do visit/do around the Kreuzberg and East of the Center?
2. Also do you guys recommend the Fat Tire bike tour?
3. Also is the Welcome Card worth the money or should we just get a day pass each day for the S/U Bahn and buses?
4. What are some things we can do that are more romantic? (ex: boat tour, boat rentals @ lakes, etc)
I know I%26#39;m asking a lot of questions, but I was put in charge of planning the Berlin trip and I don%26#39;t want to screw it up by making it a boring trip! :(
Thanks in advance!
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1. What things do visit/do around the Kreuzberg and East of the Center?
Eastside Gallery (Near Ostbahnhof), Don%26#39;t know Kreuzberg too well. Prenzlauer Berg north east of centre is relaxed and pleasant, plenty of nice cafes, bars.
2. Also do you guys recommend the Fat Tire bike tour?
Not done it but try putting that into search. I%26#39;ve seen Fat Tire advertised in different European cities so they must be reasonably good.
3. Also is the Welcome Card worth the money or should we just get a day pass each day for the S/U Bahn and buses?
I%26#39;ve never used one as I%26#39;m not much of a museum person, I%26#39;ve always enjoyed spending time outside.
At €6.10 for a day pass, I think you can get a 5 day pass which works out cheaper for each day. Ticket machines are available in English.
At €6.10 for a day pass, I think its great value as you WILL use public transport a lot as its excellent (Compared to London which is more expensive and rubbish).
4. What are some things we can do that are more romantic? (ex: boat tour, boat rentals @ lakes, etc)
I know you can do boat tours on the River Spree, they depart from near Museum Island. Walk through Tiergarten (Main park in centre) is nice.
My saying is that the best made plans are the ones you don%26#39;t make!
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Kreuzberg: There%26#39;s the German Technical Musuem (which as the name implies, is a museum cataloging the history of German technology); have not been there, but heard good things about it.
Welcome Card: If you%26#39;re interested in seeing a number of museums and so on, the Welcome Card would be worthwhile. I used one on my last trip, and even though I only went to several sites discounted in it, I got my money%26#39;s worth.
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dear senkah,
regarding the romantic getaways in berlin, i have heard that the %26quot;pfaueninsel%26quot; (peacock island) is extremely beatiful. only accessable with the ferry:
berlin.de/tourismus/…00115.html
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If the weather is nice, and you%26#39;d like to get out of the city centre and see lakes, palatial villas, sailboats and nature-protected islands, take the S-Bahn to Wannsee and then get onto one of the excursion boats. There are various routes which go through the chain of lakes comprising the Havel River between and around Berlin and Potsdam. You can choose one depending on the amount of time you have. Really worth some time, and about as romantic as it gets. They serve drinks and coffee and cake on board.
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