eureka

Im Traveling by Rail from Copenhagen and have one day and night in Berlin on my way to Prague. Any suggestions of where to stay that is safe, and Fun?

CharlieB

With only 1 day, I would suggest the following: Train from Copenhagen to Zoo station. Find a hotel near station and K'damm. Stroll K'damm towar Tiergarten, then toward Reichstag and Brandenberg Gate. Then stroll along UdL toward Museum Island- visit Pergamon Museum. If time permits continue to Alexander Platz or return along UdL and a short detour to Gendamenmarkt - then back to your hotel. Of course all this depends on when you arrive and depart Berlin - given only 1 night you probably only have two half days.

TopMan

It is unfortunate that whenever anyone asks about hotels in Berlin, those who do respond go into this Fodorite-on-steroids hype about how you HAVE to stay "in Mitte" as if there is nothing anywhere else in Berlin or that it is hard to reach things. That said, I am glad that CharlieB recommended a hotel near the Zoo Station/K-dam area which I agree with totally. You can get to anywhere from there by either walking (depending on your propensity for walking) or on the U-Bahn/S-Bahn system.

I would suggest seeing, or at least walking by the Reichstag bldg, seeing the bombed out church near the Zoo station, and a walk in the area near the B-berg Gate. You actually might enjoy a visit to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum if you don;t want to do something like the Perg.

Shopping? By all means visit the KaDaWe department store near the zoo station/Wittenburg Platz U-Bahn..the food court on the 6th floor is legendary.

Enjoy your trip.

There is a wealth of things to see and do in Berlin and environs and hopefully you'll want to come back for more as many of us have.

111op

I stayed in the former West Berlin, off Ku'damm, but in retrospect, I think that Mitte would have been a better choice.

--Pariser Platz/Brandenburg Gate
--Reichstag Dome (lines in the evening may be shorter, or as has been adviced here, book for a meal at the restaurant (or is this a cafe))
--Pergamonmuseum

Consider taking a walking tour -- I used Berlin Walks, which was about four hours long.

You can see quite a lot that's of interest. I didn't have much more time than you did (I had 1.5 days and 2 nights), and I covered a fair amount of ground (the only thing that I wish I had seen but didn't have the time for was the Nefertifi bust).

yk

For a "safe & fun" area to stay, I would suggest Ku'damm area, or maybe near Potsdamer Platz?
Mitte would be more of an area for sightseeing, but may not be as "fun" at night.

One of the posters here, WillTravel, recently went to Berlin and took a 1-day walking tour with Terry Brewer's tours with a positive experience:
http://www.brewersberlin.com/

Here is the link to WillTravel's thread:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34516336

Spygirl

I would stay in Potsdamer Platz-it's right at the heart of the action! You've got the Sony Center, with the jumbotrons, the restaurants, you've got the Spielbank (Casino) across the street (do you like gambling? There are 2 levels to Berlin's Spielbank-the dressy upper level with the games and the lower non-dressy slot machine level. On a lark, I went downstairs, put in 2DM (this was in 2001-no Euros yet!) and got back 600DM! That one little slot paid for half of my weekend trip!

From there you can go to Gendarmen Markt-one of the most beautiful plazas in Berlin-go and look at the French and the German cathedrals at either end (built in the early 1700s and damaged during WWII but restored to their former glory) stroll the plaza-stop and have a drink or light meal on the plaza-and then go to Konzerthaus and hear the Berliner Radio Orchestra-really, there's just so much to do-you can't list it all-check out the Berlin tourist authority site (which address I don't have!)

111op

Somehow I got the impression that the "genuinely cool" areas are in the former East Berlin. I did investigate Penzlauer Berg (?) and also walked past the former Jewish area (I think that that was what that was, with an artists' squatter -- by Schonhauser Allee, or something) in the daytime. But somehow I think that I missed out on most of the action. In any case, the "Time Out" guides are usually good in terms of listing places where you can investigate for night life, etc.

I didn't really investigate the Potsdamer Platz area in the evening though.

nytraveler

IMHO the Pergamom museum is the one absolute must do in Berlin - for me, its' absolutely shattering.

Spygirl

The Pergamon is impressive, but I don't know as I'd want to do the museum thing in Berlin unless I had enough time to do it properly.

WillTravel

The Mitte area in East Berlin does contain the majority of the historical sites. Being able to walk to them is one major advantage of staying in Mitte. I can't say where the best nightlife is, but I heard Oranienburgerstrasse (also in Mitte) has a lot of interesting clubs and such.

And Terry Brewer's tours are about the best travel value I've had anywhere. But the one drawback is that one of his tours would take up most of your time in Berlin (when I took it, the tour lasted from 10 AM to 8 PM). However, you would definitely see more and learn more about Berlin than would be possible without his tour. I'd recommend being ready and willing to do lots and lots of walking and standing, get a good breakfast beforehand, and take sufficient water and snacks (although the tour does pause occasionally to allow for such matters).

I wouldn't dissuade you from taking the train, but it is also possible to take inexpensive EasyJet flights from Copenhagen to Berlin. I think the total time in transport would be a lot less than by train, because both the CPH and SXF airports are very convenient to the city centers.

Spygirl

WillT- the tour lasted from 10 to 8?? Are you serious? How did you last that long-I take it there were stops for food and drink?

WillTravel

Yes, I'm quite serious about the time length. Terry Brewer is extremely knowledgeable and has a lot to say. Also, the tours tend to attract a lot of young people who have lots of energy. We did have stops for food, drinks, and the toilet, but I'd still advise having food and drinks along with you. I was really tired at the end of it, but given that Terry in his 60s and a retired Australian couple were both going strong, not to mention the 20-year-olds, how could I give up? Actually this experience has increased my resolution to improve my fitness level so that I can be similarly fit in 25 or 30 years.

Spygirl

I can't imagine going that long-I could barely last 2 hours on a walking tour, let alone 8! You must have gleaned an impressive amount of information about Berlin, if you were able to retain it!

KarenE

Absolutely stay in Mitte. A reasonably priced and VERY nice hotel is the Madison Potsdamer Platz. Have fun!