Which area of Berlin would you recommend?

[VagueButlmportant]

Just booked flights for me and DD (15) for between Christmas and New Year.

We're really excited about getting away. DD has just started German GCSE but has never been.

We plan to do the Christmas markets (a bit late but apparently they are still on then) Would like to see the Brandenburg Gate and see a bit of history, and do a bit of exploring.

I don't know the city at all. There are plenty of AirBnB options available.

Any ideas for safe, central places to stay? And any suggestions for things to do?

We stayed at Ritz Carlton in Potsdamer Platz - highly recommend.

Berlin felt very safe - I'd recommend getting a lonely planet guide and doing a couple of the walks - great way to see the city. Also Typographie of Terror - very sobering but a must see IMO.

Book tickets for Reichstag dome now - gets booked up and we couldn't get tickets!

Stay in Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain or Kreuzberg. Best funkiest areas in my op.

Great advice about the Reichstag thanks. I've just requested a booking now. It looks great.

I'll check those areas out. Thanks.

We stayed in Mitte at the Hilton paid for with yes I vouchers! It was fab, 2 mins from Checkpoint Charlie!

Tesco vouchers even!

Can recommend the Novotel near Tiergarten. It was right next to an S Bahn Station so we got a day ticket & went everywhere from there.

If we went to berlin again we would stay in friedrichshain - we stayed there once before (in the a and o hostel), the next time we went we stayed by günzelstrasse ubahn. It was not the same. Friedrichshain was much better.

You do know it will be really, really cold in december, don't you?

It will be cold in December but not nearly as cold as Jan- March but expect it to be around 5 degrees colder than the uk I think.

I also like to recommend checkpoint Charlie - I think there is the DDR museum close by, it's all about stuff from the old east Germany.

Near the Brandenburg Tor there is also the Jewish memorial which is interesting to wander around

I also like KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens- shopping centre of the West) which is a huge department store wth a very massive sausage selection

Good luck to you daughter and learning German (it's great, once you learn the rules just stick to them; it isn't like English with more exceptions than things that actually agree with a rule )

I'm also looking for where to stay in Berlin. Hoping to go for a few days with my mum in November. I've found a few nice looking hotels, but whenever I try to check the surrounding area on street view, I run out of luck 'cos it's not been updated since 2008/2009. So, many of the hotels are just a hole in the ground!

Quite a lot of the areas look to be quite sparsely inhabited and full of dual carriageway, and don't look too friendly. Is that just Berlin's style 'cos it's so big?

I don't mind travelling around during the day to get to the various sights, but would like somewhere with a decent choice of places to eat/drink in the evening, close to the hotel so that once we're back for the day we don't have to venture too far.

Any ideas?

I've stayed in Mitte a few times and loved it. I love Berlin. Safe, easy to get around, tons to do. I loved it in winter - biting, crisp clear sky cold so layer up and get comfy, warm walking boots. We stayed at Linnen Hotel, the apartments, perfect! You'll have a wonderful time - hot sausages and gluhwein on every block!

I'm going to Berlin in December too! Does anyone have any recommendations of any cheap places to stay or Air BnBs they'd recommend?

Another vote for Mitte!

Been twice and stayed in/around Friedrichshain both times. Next time we go, I think I'd prefer to stay in Mitte.

Definitely book to go up the Reichstag dome, if it's open at that time of year.
The Jewish Museum is excellent too, as is the Wall Memorial.

I'm very jealous. It's my favourite city (so fa, anyway!).

I have stayed in Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte, liked both, marginally prefer PB. Love Berlin but trying Copenhagen this half term hope I am not disappointed!

We stayed here before - v reasonably priced and in a good location, near Checkpoint Charlie. We've also stayed here.

The trains are brilliant, so it doesn't really matter where you stay.

We stayed in a fantastic airbnb apartment in Marienstrasse, less than 10 mins walk from the Brandenburg gate and Reichstag, and 2 minutes from Friedrichstrasse station with its S and U-bahn links, and same from Friedrichstrasse itself and its shops. Plenty of restaurants within a minute or two too. We went in December and it snowed, which made the Christmas markets all the more magical - I recommend the one at Schloss Charlottenberg, and also the Schloss itself. Otherwise I echo the endorsements for the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie - full of remarkable stories and memorabilia of people who escaped to West Berlin - and the KaDeWe. The food hall is gobsmacking, and the huge buffet restaurant on the top floor is great.
We had such a good time we went back to the same apartment last year in summer this time to see the city without snow.

Just had a quick check and the apartment is no longer listed, but I do recommend Mitte anyway - safe and central.