Originally Posted by Fanjet

Most of the better Christmas markets will be in Mitte (eastern half). Moreover, the two largest shopping malls, The Mall of Berlin and Alexa, are also in Mitte. Many of the stores along the Ku'damm can also be found in those locations as well. In addition to along Friedrichstraße and around Alexanderplatz.

Originally Posted by Alex71

I wouldn't neccesarily say the best, but there are definitely lots to choose from, also many that cater to the locals. Last time we were in Berlin, we stayed near the Brandenburger Tor and in the immediate area mainly saw overpriced tourist traps in terms of restaurants.

We ate at some very good and reasonably priced places in areas such as Kreuzberg that are a little bit off the beaten tracks.

Using public transport gives a feeling of being more connected to the city. Some of the S- and U-Bahn lines run on elevated tracks over ground interesting views.

S- and U-Bahn trains run till about 1 or 1:30 am on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends. There's also a system of night buses that cover the remaining time.