Berlin - what to do, where to stay?

[twotimestrouble]

Hi. I'm off to Berlin in Sept. Just joining DH at the end of his business trip and will only have a weekend really. Can anyone tell me what we really should do? Have been trying to work out where in the city we should stay (to get the best out of the two days). Want to stay somewhere 4/5 star - has anyone been somewhere they'd recommend? PS we may have one of our LOs in two (aged 17 months) if he won't stay at nannas!

It's a great city. I went 2 years before the wall came down and then went back 2 years ago.
I couldn't believe the difference in what was East Berlin. There are cranes and roadworks everywhere but it adds to the atmosphere. They think it will take 15 years to finish!!
Go to the Brandenburg gate, the Fernsehturm tv tower for amazing views, Checkpoint Charlie musuem for touristy but fascinating history of the wall. The queues were huge for the Reichstag so we didn't go but it's close to the Brandenburg gate and Pariser Platz so just wander around that area - loads to see.
Stay somewhere close to the Pariser Platz - there are a couple of expensive looking hotels, I think the Adlon is the famous one. There's another one further down near the Gendarmenmarkt that we had a beer at but can't remember the name but the beer was good and service nice!! Looked nice inside - wood panelling, chandeliers etc.

Go to the KaDeWe department store in the centre of old West Berlin - the food hall at the top is amazing, loads of places to eat.
Have a good time!

I would recommend one of the walking tours of the city so that you see the interesting sights that you might otherwise miss - in particular the site of Hitler's Bunker. I'm sure you could do these tours with a child in a buggy. KaDeWe food hall is a definite must.

Thanks so much ladies. Will definitiely do a walking tour. Great list as well Ali. Will also look up Adlon.

we went in Feb and stayed at the Hilton in the Gendarmenmarkt which was fantastc - weused our Tesco vouchers so it was free!!! The hotel was great and there were families ther so if your LO goes with you there is a pool; etc there. Hve fun - fab city!!! Wish we;d done walking tour as couldn't find Hitler's bunker. Found hotel staff weren't very keen on telling us about ww2 sites so had to find them ourselves. Keen to tell you about the wall but not their historical dark hour. Agree with others about places to go.

We stayed at the Intercontinental with DS when he was 3.5. Excellent hotel, amazing breakfast and it's right next to the Zoo (also good).
Top tip for the Reichstag is that if you have a buggy (& child!) you can skip the queue completely and go through a seperate disabled entrance plus own lift right to the top.

Thanks. Leslaki, I was wondering about the Hilton - I hadn't thought of Tesco vouchers! Did you find rooms big? Lapse, how far is the zoo area from Reichstag etc?

We were there 2 years ago. It is a great city. The bus tours are good too, most of them do a hop on hop off tour.

If you go without DC, then go in the evening to the Reichstag, queues much shorter then. It is open till midnight, last entrance at 10pm so you can even go out for a meal first. It is well worth visiting, you get a beautiful view of the city and the glass dome is stunning. When we went the sun was just setting and it was fabulous.

Don't miss the Sony Centre at Potsdamer Platz. And the area where all the embassies are is nice to wander around.

The Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) was very interesting. The Holocaust Mahnmal was not open when I was there but is said to be thought provoking.

know it is not German but seriously yummy. Just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie.

Viel Spass! (Have fun!)

the rooms werebig enough, not huge huge as in American size but a big comfotable room. You can pay more and stay on the posh floor!

I live in Berlin.

No time now but will come back later with some tips.

Oh, OK, dh is dealing with ds

Right. If money is no object the Adlon or Interconti are fab. There are also lots of very good quality smaller hotels if you'd rather have a more 'personal' atmosphere - google Hotel Honigmond. Don't go to the Park Inn - you have amazing views but the rooms are soulless.

Don't pay out for a bus tour - take the 100 or 200 'normal' bus instead - they do the whole tourist route. Another brilliant thing to do is one of the boat trips (1 hour or longer).

A fab and not-too-far walk is: start at Alexanderplatz, past the Marienkirche and TV tower, down Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate/Reichstag and then into the Tiergarten (big and very pleasant park).

If you are there at the weekend it is worth going to Prenzlauer Berg (Kollwitzplatz) on the Saturday morning - a lovely area with a very pleasant children's playground, eco/organic market on Saturdays, lots of fab cafes and places to eat.

Thanks all. Have booked Adlon as Hilton wasn't going to work out. Wll try to cram in as many of these suggestions as possible!