Where to stay
Hotel Hansablick
Posted by mollymalone
Stylish but moderately priced hotel situated in quiet location near the western fringe of the Tiergarten. For €110 (£89) per night we had a huge and very comfortable double room with a view of the River Spree. Breakfast (included in price) is superb. The staff are friendly and helpful and there is someone on duty 24 hours a day. The hotel is small enough to feel personal, and full of interesting modern works of art by various local artists. Three minutes' walk from S-bahn; 10 minutes from Zoo Station.
· Hotel Hansablick, Flotowstrasse 6, 10555 Berlin-Tiergarten . +49 (0)30-390 48 00, hansablick.de . Doubles from €75.
Ostel Hostel - The DDR Hostel
Posted by rtg1
This DDR-styled hostel is fantastic - it's kitsch, basic accommodation. It's affordable on a budget, clean, has friendly English-speaking staff and it doesn't feel like a hostel at all. Double and single rooms come with private bathroom with shower or there's the "Stasi" apartment for up to five sharing. It's on the fringes of the Friedrichshain. Ostbahnhof Station is across the road. If you have a taste for currywurst at 3am, there's a take-away across the road.
· Ostel – GDR the Hostel, Wriezener Karree 5, 10243 Berlin. +49 (0)30 25768660, ostel.eu. Doubles with private bathroom from €61.
Holiday flats Berlin
Posted by roboo
Great apartments - all of them in Wilheminian-style houses. The flats are in the heart of the city and you feel like a real Berliner when staying in them. Really cheap and comfortable, these apartments are a must if you are visiting Berlin. Also very easy to book and very friendly to deal with.
Hotel Pension Sarotti-Höfe
Posted by mseymour
So good I'm almost loath to share this with the rest of the world. Great accommodation in Kreuzberg in an old chocolate factory. Rooms are reasonable, the suite is mind-blowing and they give you a 10% discount if you pay cash.
· Mehringdamm 57, 10961 Berlin, hotel-sarottihoefe.de, nearest U-Bahn is Mehringdamm. Doubles from €85
Die Fabrik Hostel Berlin
Posted by chimpanzeemeunkey
Die Fabrik Hostel, it is right in the heart of the Kreuzberg district (and, to be honest, where real Berliner life continues away from the hellish maw of global tourism!) Those looking for a hotel-style accommodation with hostel prices, this is the one. Been going there since 1998 and it's part of why Berlin is so special to me. Has nice big rooms and cosy art deco style. So good, even real Germans stay there. There's also a very nice cafe adjoining it.
· At Schlesische Strasse 18, Kreuzberg. Nearest U-Bahn Schlesiche Tor. diefabrik.com. Doubles from €26.
What to do
Alternative Berlin tour
Posted by BlueT
Outstanding tour taking you to places you would never find yourself. Loads of street art, scorching graffiti. Abandoned places, funky shops, markets, hidden neighbourhoods and cultural icons. These are the places locals go to. You'll hardly see a tourist all day. They offer a brilliant night tours as well: bars/clubs/secret spots. These guys know their stuff.
· Begins at Alexanderplatz TV tower, alternativeberlin.com
Tacheles - an artists' urban collective
Posted by radhika
It's a great example of an urban artists' collective, situated in an old crumbling department store from the turn of the century in the middle of the Mitte district. It houses many artists' galleries and workspaces where the public are free to wander and these are often turned into venues for impromptu parties. There is a great outside space dotted with sculptures and beer served from an old VW van in the back, and there's a cafe inside serving food from breakfast to supper and coffees and hot chocolates and also a venue for live music. A wonderful space just to hang out.
· arthouse tacheles, Oranienburger Strasse 54, 10117 Berlin, tacheles.de
Oderberger Strasse, Prenzlauer Berg
Posted by matts25
Easily my favourite street in this, the most bohemian part of Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district. Many interesting bookshops, clothes shops, cafes and bars to waste an afternoon or more exploring. The 19th-century tenements, some lovingly restored, some retaining a scruffy charm, are a welcome break after the grey concrete that's more familiar in much of Berlin. The Mauerpark at the end of the street, where the wall once ran, is the ideal photo op.
· Take the U Bahn to Eberswalder Strasse, exit to left, cross Schonhauser Allee, make for Kastanienallee, then first street on right. Or tram 11 from Hackeschermarkt to Kastanienallee or Eberswalderstrasse.
Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtnis-Kirche in Berlin
Posted by Sandracirera
Beautiful and eerie, this church is deeply scarred by war and hasn't been reconstructed so as to serve as a reminder of the past. The added modern buildings are very impressive and bathed by an electric blue light inside. One of the best sights, and photo opportunities, in Berlin.
· Near the Ku'damm
Where to eat
Falafel
Posted by SusiiQ
Germany isn't that great for vegetarians, but for a delicious, cheap and filling meal, falafel is a must! On nearly every corner of Berlin is a doner stall or shop and they all sell falafel in a big chunk of FladenBrot (Flat bread which really is wonderful) heaps of salad and sauce. One of my favourite places to get falafel is a doner place under the arches on Friedrichstrsse by Friedrichstasse Ubahn, also in the supermarket on Hackeshehof and, of course in Kreuzberg [with its large Turkish population] are some great places too!
12 Apostel Restaurant
Posted by physicsfreak
The 12 Apostel is housed under the arches of the S-bahn railway in the heart of the Mitte part of (what used to be East) Berlin. Every last square centimetre of the walls and ceiling is covered in sumptuous murals, and every so often the whole place shakes as a train passes overhead. Irresistable reminder of Liza Minnelli screaming at Michael York in Cabaret. Often crowded, unsurprisingly, as the food (pizzas) is terrific too.
· Georgenstrasse 2, S-bahn Bögen 177-180, Berlin 10117, +49 (0)30 2010222, 12-apostel.de. Nearest U- and S-bahn stop: Friedrichstrasse.
Cafe Einstein
Posted by JessicaAldred
Atmospheric cafe/restaurant inside an old villa. Walk through the dark wood and red leather interior to the pretty garden courtyard at the back. Serves great coffee and apple strudel.
· Kurfurstenstrasse 58
Brunch in Berlin
Posted by RoisinC
No self-respecting Berliner goes for long without indulging in one of Berlin's famous weekend brunches. To be found in cafes all over the city on weekends, a buffet brunch usually costs between €6 and €9 and you can stay for hours, fill up on anything from olives to curry, relax, chat and leave feeling truly nourished. Perhaps the quintessential Berlin culinary and social experience.
Where to drink
Clärchens Ballhaus
Posted by emi05
Berlin in a nutshell. Peculiar mix of people - 70 year-old ladies in old-fashioned evening dresses and gentlemen in suits, urban bummers in Hugo Boss as well as crazy hipsters are to be seen in this old ballroom (existed since 1913) in the centre of Berlin. Situated in a scraped building surrounded by numerous art galleries, the place was visited by Tom Cruise during his search for old-fashioned shooting locations for the film Valkyrie. Good food and delicious home-made cakes. Music changes depending on the day (cha cha, swing, waltz and tango). In the summer, the garden is an additional attraction.
· Clärchens Ballhaus, Auguststraße 24, Berlin Mitte. ballhaus.de
The Exchange Bar, Berlin Marriott Hotel
Posted by JulesBerlin
Brilliant cocktails and live jazz radio. Berlin is the only European city with its own 24-hour FM jazz station. JazzRadio 101.9 broadcasts live every evening from 6pm to midnight from its studio in the Hotel Bar, where you can see (and hear) the show go out live, presented by the station's cool young DJs.
· Inge-Beisheim-Platz 1, S-Bahn Potsdamer Platz
Club der Visionaere
Posted by trufflemunter
Hidden away in Berlin's laid-back East Side, this back-of-a-boatshed haunt for recovering weekenders and general misfits exemplifies the best of Berlin's DIY bar culture. Comfily lo-fi, still manages a natural tree-covered canopy, a covered cinema, consistently brilliant music, and plenty of canalside seats (even if that means sitting in a boat). Staff are friendly and sound without being too-cool-for-school, and atmosphere will accommodate everyone happily, whatever your pleasure. Only in Berlin...
· Am Flutgraben 1, D - 12435 Berlin. +49 (0)30 69518942, clubdervisionaererecords.com
Klo Bar
Posted by hammers
The most bizarre drinking experience ever. Red wine in blood transfusion packs, electric shocks from tables, rotating bar stools, a tarantula in a glass case, a flasher at the entrance... and not too expensive either! Has to be seen to be believed.
· Leibnitzstrasse 57 (50 metres from Ku'damm); U-Bahn: Adenauerplatz (U7). +49 (0)30 32701466, www.klo.de
