Any advice for Berlin, please!

[mustytrusty]

I am hoping to have a few days in Berlin - probably in September. Would appreciate any advice on the best areas to stay, and any advice on the best transport from airport to city centre.

Is Berlin walkable? Or will we need to use bus / train etc?

Is there any 'must-sees' or, equally, 'don't bother withs'

DS is coeliac and I'm not sure how easy that will be to navigate.

Any advice on Berlin from people who know the city would be really welcome!

We stayed in the Hackescher Markt area last year. It was nice and convenient for transport links.

If you do use public transport of any kind, you need to stamp the ticket on the platforms/ on the tram to validate it - they do have lots of inspectors and don't take "I'm a stupid tourist and didn't know" as an excuse! Wilde apartments near checkpoint Charlie are a good placen to stay. There are also old style photo booths all over the city that still give you 4 different images - that's a real berlin thing to do for us when we are there. It's a fabulous city, so much to do!

We went for 3 days in October last year. It was great! We used public transport a lot, it is a very big city, probably much larger than you imagine.

Do you have a hotel yet? If not I recommend Scandic Hotel Kurfurstendamm for the tremendous breakfasts but also it was central enough for our needs and some nice neighbourhood restaurants nearby.

I wouldn't go out of my way to see Checkpoint Charlie again, but I would recommend a river trip and highly recommend the DDR museum - documenting life in East Berlin before the fall of the wall.

If you haven’t seen it, do watch Deutschland 83 before you go. I loved it (as did my late teen boys). Some scenes were filmed in the Stasi museum. Also watch The lives of others.

Berlin is amazing. I don’t know it well, but first went aged 14 in the 80s. It’s incredible to see how things have changed.

If it appeals to your kids and you have time, they have an amazing Natural History Museum where you can pose beside a terrifying t.rex skull!

Our highlight was the Trabant Safari - you drive an original Trabant car round the city centre with a tour guide!

I'm so glad that I asked on here. So much useful information. Thanks everyone.

Another thing - many museums are closed on Mondays. A few are still open but some of them can get very busy as a result.

How old is DS? We had a great time at the museum of technology, and the Gardens of the World when DD was 9. I'm gluten intolerant, and managed to eat out OK, though I sometimes needed to be creative, and carried snacks with me.

The stadium is incredible- and I say that as someone who’s not interested in sport in the slightest. Well worth a visit (I’ve been 3 times!).

I’m in a minority, but thought the DDR museum was rubbish. There’s a tiny museum in Prenzlauerburg that was free and much more informative than the DDR one.

Prenzlauerburg Is my favourite place to stay, but for a first visit, I’d recommend Mitte.

We also really like the Movenpick next to Anhalter Bahnhof station.

I first went in 2000 when it was full of cranes and smelt like a sewer! It changed so much just between then and my last trip in 2007. I love it though and can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve been to Germany (my last visit was in 2011), but with two under 10s (and a third on the way) I have a feeling my next German trip is more likely to be to the Rhineland for castles and boat trips!

Stay in what was West Berlin. The infrastructure is much better there. Although there is lot of work going on in East Berlin, it is still quite run-down.

We have just got back from a fantastic trip to Berlin. We did go to the Wannsee House Museum by train from Friedrichstrasse station then a bus directly to the house.
The museum is very moving and is very helpful in attempting to understand what happened there.

Thank you to all of the people who offered advice. We booked ahead for the Reichstag dome (amazing!) and used the BVG app to buy train and bus tickets.

Really glad to hear you had a good trip. Thanks for reporting back!