Berlin - recommendations for hotels and must sees

[Notsoskinnyminny]

I've booked a surprise trip for DHs birthday but haven't got a clue which area to stay in or what do although he's into WW2 aircraft so we'll have to visit a military museum and I've just discovered the shops are closed on Sundays so less time to get my shopping fix so

where would you stay? (don't want to pay more than £150/night)

What have we got to see and what can we miss?

Best shops/what to buy

where to eat (will try most things)

TIA

Tempelhof really interesting. And I loved the Olympic stadium.

Oh and to eat -

Hackerthals is good hearty German food - it's quite a casual neighbourhood restaurant and has some tables out the front.

Le Saint Amour in Neukolln is great (French) food

Yarok for casual and cheap Syrian food - lovely!

Oh and go for a beer at Prater beer garden!

If you go to Prater, the wonderful Wohnzimmer is just around the corner.

We are going to stay at Hampton by Hilton in Alexanderplatz.Hopefully it will be nice :)

Have you thought about an apartment, check out Schoenhouse Studios?

We stayed in the Hotel Circus which had a rooftop bar which was great for a drink in the evenings and surrounded by plenty of restaurants and bars. DH is also into WW2 and insisted on a Flak Tower Tour which was surprisingly more interesting than I expected. My vote was the Pergamon Museum which was fantastic and our joint choice was the Hamburger Bahnhof Art Museum which has some cool Andy Warhol pop art as well as a large collection of conceptual art pieces.

I'd recommend the Hotel Zoe which is a stone's thrown from the Hackescher Markt railway station and tram stops. It's a very easy walk to the tower and Alexanderplatz in one direction and Museum Island the other. The trams/trains take you anywhere you want very easily. There's also underground stations (Museum Island and Alexanderplatz). We stayed there last year and found it ideal location, lovely modern hotel, and brilliant breakfasts.

Out top tip for sight seeing is the Fat Bikes bike tours which start at the tower and take you through the centre (checkpoint charlie, berlin wall, watchtowers, etc, through to the park for lunch and then back via Brandenburgh gate and museum island. We did it on our first day and it really helped us navigate the city and decide where we wanted to go for proper visits. All on the flat and mostly on footpaths, so easy and safe.

Does anyone know how hot it is there in August?

I went last August, and I think it was mid to high 20s most days - quite warm and sunny but fine for walking around all day

We stayed at the i31 in Mitte, it was lovely.

We've been in August several times, and it's been shorts weather.

We are going In August for a week at my 15 year olds request - will def buy the bus pass and the museum pass 😀

Alexanderplatz is a good area to stay in, near the TV tower and nice square.

We were there this February and it was freezing (minus 10) we weren't really prepared for that so bring plenty of warm clothes. Although I don't think it's normally that cold as it was when the uk had the bad snow.

We found the open top bus (although it had a roof on it in Feb ) helped get our bearings. I also liked the east side outdoor gallery (painted on the wall)

The No 100 bus will take you all the way from Alexanderplatz, past Brandenburg Gate and through the Tiergarten to the zoo on your normal travel ticket. It does get busy, but it's a great way to get your bearings.

Bert - we went in Feb a few years ago amd the high was -7. Berlin is a long way east!

I usually stop at the Holiday inn express.
Good value, comfortable rooms, nice breakfast and a decent bar for a nightcap and near the underground.
Shopping around BikiniHaus Is good.

If you do go to the Lake you can use your transport pass on the ferries as it's classed s city transport.
Mauerpark is great on Sundays. Half the area is a flea market with street food and the other is live music with different artists through out the day.

Try and go to the Monsterkabinett at Rosenthauler. It's about €8 and the show lasts about half an hour but totally bonkers!

Don't bother with Currywurst! It is shit. It's a hot dog type sausage doused in tomato sauce with a load of curry powder on the top.Berliners seem to love it!!

We were there this February and it was freezing (minus 10) we weren't really prepared for that so bring plenty of warm clothes. Although I don't think it's normally that cold as it was when the uk had the bad snow
I was also there in February and again in March and the weather was very similar to the uk,i.e. Rubbish! However there was some bright sunny days.
I was there in September and Early October and it was bright and warm.
You never can tell what's going to happen just plan nearer the time.

Must admit I liked Mauerpark a lot better on a day that wasn't Sunday.

I love the live music Remus
I started 'following' some bands after seeing them play there.

:)

We did see some great dancers there on a Sunday, but I couldn't cope with all the people, and the market itself didn't impress me!

Bikini Berlin - go to the top and you can watch the monkeys in the zoo, from the rooftop, either in the bar or just outside it.

The public transport ferry is on Wannsee. Definitely worth a trip - the exhibition at the House of the Wannsee Conference is very sobering.

Thank you everyone, I'm making notes and planning an itinerary. I was expecting it to be cold but will pack extra thermals just in case.

Still not sorted a hotel as lots of the ones you've recommended are coming up as unavailable but I'm hoping they've just not released the rooms yet.

We're going with the DC for October halfterm, so watching this thread keenly!

I lived there for four years and I can tell you it will be freezing in February. Much colder than anything I'd experienced in the UK. Great city though - just dress accordingly.

An advantage of going in winter is that there will be far fewer tourists. We went to the zoo in December, for example, and it was really quiet. It's also the best zoo I've ever been to.

And the cold weather means you've got a good excuse for lots of hot chocolate, flammkuchen and cake to keep you warm!