Help with organising a trip to Berlin please?

[Gizzardthing]

Have any of you travelled to Berlin and if so could you give me some help in organising it please?
DH would like to see iron maiden, they are playing there at waldbuhne on 30th July next year.

I have NO idea of the best area to stay, what is public transport like for getting to the event? Where should we stay as well be staying for 4 nights and will want to be able to visit pubs and restaurants and have places to go during the days.

If anyone can suggest the best place / area to stay I’d be so grateful thanks

My favourite areas to stay are Alexanderplatz and the area around the Zoological Gardens. Motel One are a German chain of hotels and have several hotels all over Berlin including both areas I have mentioned.

I did exactly this in June! We went to see a live band at the Zittadelle Spandau and I booked a few days each side. Hadn't flown in over 6 years and was taking a young adult DC who I had concerns about their independence. Despite the weather we had a brilliant time. I'm so old the last time I went to Berlin there were multiple airports - there aren't anymore. That made life so easy. I bought at the airport the Berlin Card (without Museums) - basically free public transport plus a few extra bits. I booked a hotel near the HauptBahnhof (Main train station). We took the train from the airport to the HBHof and walked 10 mins. V central. The chain is the Adina chain and they offer Aparthotels. I wanted a mini kitchenette but they have everything - hob, microwave, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, cooking utensils etc & a washing machine. Lovely staff & room so clean. We were near a LIDL and a posh food shop. So food and cooking very easy.

Dead easy to get around the city then using trams, buses and trains. And we walked a lot!

I read and printed off lots of articles from Telegraph Travel on bars, restaurants, activities etc. They had a whole section on Berlin. We didnt do any of those. But they looked great from the articles!!

What do you want to see? What are your interests? Mine were cultural - saw a tiny bit (Charlottenburg Palace). We were slightly inconvenienced by football structures (fans all fine!). DC's were Cars and other (David Hasselhof Museum anybody??). I forgot to book the Parliament building Reichstag (been before but wanted to go again and to go to the new-ish restaurant); we went up the AlexanderplatzTur - child felt ill (it was VERY humid) so they went back down - I mooched around - they have a bar. Great G&T's. Great views and interest, if not cloudy. I recommend Potsdam if you have time. I didn't get there this time but want to go again - WWII but also SansSoucci. There are some very moving Jewish museums and memorials - we didnt go this time. I don't think my DC would have managed.

Cars stuff: Classic Remise Berlin was amazingly interesting. Car restorations and displays of cars. There is a cafe but it is very close to what seems to be the Turkish quarter. My DC managed on their own to walk to the VW museum. They enjoyed that. We mooched around the posh GendarmenMarkt area but the French posh shop (Gallerie Lafayette) seriously looked liked it was having a closing down sale. Sorry I have rambled. Went 20 years ago - want to go again!

Berlin is ridiculously simple and easy to get around, so provided you're not stuck out in Marzahn for some reason, it really shouldn't matter. Find the places you'd like to visit/frequent and book something nearby.

Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Neukolln are where a lot of the more alt stuff is, punk etc, Mitte, Prenzlauer-Berg, Pankow, Schoneberg more hip, touristy, and where most of the trendy places are, Charlottenburg out to Spandau is more upmarket and more like Western Europe.

Generally speaking, there is still a hangover from old East/West, with areas in the East and South of the city being more deprived, but IMO also more interesting and more chilled, with the centre and West being more "big city" and touristy.

Thank you so much! I’ve found a hotel on Potsdamer Platz which seems to fit the bill. How best to get out from the airport? Are taxis readily available or are trams / trains easy?

The Hilton in Alexanderplatz has pretty good reviews. There is also a decent holiday inn on the KuDam. Trains and buses in Berlin are really good and easy.

Have you booked the hotel yet? I'm asking because the area around Potsdamer Platz is a bit boring... I would also recommend booking somewhere close to the S-Bahn lines S3 or S9 if you want to be able to get to Waldbühne easily. S9 will also get you to and from the BER airport. Check the S-Bahn route map (https://sbahn.berlin/liniennetz) and start looking at hotels near the stops that would suit you.

Everything else depends on what you would like to do during the remaining days... Berlin is very much fragmented into different "Kiezs" (parts of the city), each one has it's own culture and flair. So it's hard to recommend you something without knowing anything about you (other than that, apparently, you are unable to use Google).

You can visit the Bundestag and get a free tour including the dome, but have to apply online in advance to do so. It’s a good few hours, really interesting and amazing views!

We did very similar last year - 4 nights there to see Rammstein at the Olympic stadium (which is very near the Waldbuhne from what I can see). We stayed at the Premier Inn at Alexanderplatz which worked really well as we could get a direct train there from the airport and it was really easy to get to the stadium too. It was also a great location for sightseeing from as it has so many public transport options as well as being within easy walking distance of some key sights. It was a fabulous trip - made extra special by there being so many Rammstein fans around all over the city. Your DH may find the same with Maiden fans!