spach123

I am headed to the UK in June/July with my boyfriend for my second time and his first.
We are so far stuck in the UK for about 9 days (of a three week trip) and I was wondering if anyone had ideas as to whether London or Berlin are a better option?

We have 5 days spare, originally planned to spend the whole 5 in London but now thinking 3 in Berlin, 2 in London. I have never been to Berlin and only spent a couple days in London with my family last time we were there.

We are both 20, pretty keen on nightlife and I am very interested in shopping, history and that sort of thing. Having the mix we do we are looking for interesting things to do in London and or Berlin that are slightly off the beaten track but still show him the best of London.

So the question is - stay in London and soak it all in or split the time and get some time in Berlin?

spach123

Sorry, new to this. Thanks anyone for their help!

Rachel

jent103

Wow - wish I were "stuck in the UK" for nine days!

I LOVE London so I could easily spend five days there, and it definitely has everything you list. I think this is a personal decision, though, and I haven't been to Berlin so can't directly compare the two.

Cowboy1968

If money is an issue, I'd say it's easier to spend a night out at the clubs & bars in Berlin than in London with little money in your pockets. Accomodation is also cheaper, i.e. you get more value for (less) money.
But with only 5 days, I don't know if 2 nights in London and 3 in Berlin or vice versa would do either city justice.
Since you will already be in the UK, it would probably be best to stay the 5 nights in London and get a bigger picture of that diverse city than just a ride on the HOHO bus to the Tower and Big Ben.

jent103

I'm sure Cowboy is right about accommodations and nightlife in Berlin, but don't forget to account for the cost of <i>getting</i> to Berlin if you'll already be in London. Even budget airlines cost something (especially if you're not a light packer). Just a thought.

You might also check out Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum for more thoughts on nightlife in either city - the demographic here tends to be older than the two of you and, if by "nightlife" you mean clubs, may not be much help. (History and shopping, though, we've got you covered.)

rogerdodger

I don't understand. You said you will be "stuck" in the UK. Why go if you feel this way? You should do what you want, so perhaps you might consider another time and place.

spach123

Thanks for your advice guys - i am effectively stuck because we are going to a couple concerts in Liverpool and Milton Keynes at the end of those 5 days that we have to get back for and accomodation wise we could only do 2 nights in each place. And i having already been over to europe am wanting to go somewhere i have never been before. We are headed to Northern Ireland for 4 days after this and I just feel we wont have had a sample of Europe. But its looking like I need to abandon one of the destiantions to do either justice.

Iowa_Redhead

<<<But its looking like I need to abandon one of the destiantions to do either justice.>>>

Yep.

I loved London, but each person has their favorites. There's a lot to do in London, and plenty of day trips if you would prefer to get out of the city a bit.

NinaSearching

London is expensive and Berlin has great nightlife, but as Jent mentioned, there is the issue of actually getting to Berlin.

Besides, I personally believe London shopping beats Berlin's hands-down.

On another thread I posted some ideas, all pretty inexpensive, of things to do in London if you're not keen on overly touristy things:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-6990109

Dukey1

Don't get put off by the "getting to Berlin" part. There are budget flights you can take (for example on Easyjet) and I recently booked a one-way flight from Heathrow to berlin on British and the price was comparable to Easyjet's