Tours in Berlin?
 

Will be visiting Berlin some time in August.

Any suggested activities/ tours for a first-timer?

What sort of tour? What are your interests?

There are several available on the likes of Expedia that cover a number of areas of interest.

The Visit Berlin website is a good source of info on things to do etc

https://www.visitberlin.de/en

All the museums of the Museum Insel if that’s your kind of thing.

It’s a bit cheesy, perhaps, but I actually like to do the hop on, hop off bus on my first day in a major new city, especially if I am tired from traveling for 10+ hrs. Just to get a feeling for the place. I did that years ago in Berlin.

Thanks guys!

The hop-on, hop-off bus is a great idea.

Last time I went to a new city, I took City Unscripted. I was looking at the prices for Berlin and it is astronomical for the private guided tour compared to other EU cities!!!

My favorite Berlin things:

1) I took a tour of the Reichstag. I had to apply and submit some information to the German government site, but I had a fun tour. Unfortunately, the actual assembly was closed to visitors that day, but I was able to tour the rooftop and go up the glass dome. Great views of the Brandenburg Gate and surrounding areas. It was definitely a unique tour given its history.

2) I was fascinated with the Russian war memorial at Treptower Park. It is a solemn place but with fantastic Soviet architecture and murals. The Russian memorial near the Brandenburg Gate is also interesting, but access might be limited due to anti-Russian protests in Berlin.

3) The official Berlin Wall Memorial Park was worth the visit. There were good exhibits and I found it very interesting. It is up by Bernauer Strasse near Mauer Park.

4) Obviously check out the Brandenburg Gate, Memorial to the Murdered Jews, and the area around the Reichstag. A lot of history there.

5) I love the area near the Zoo, especially Kurfürstendam and the remains of the Kaiser Willhem Church. The Ku'dam area and Savigny Platz are my favorite area to stay in.

6) Museum Island has a lot of museums (obviously) and the Berlin Cathedral.

7) I took a half day visit to Potsdam. There is a neat palace there. Sansoucci.

8) I am trying to visit every Olympic Stadium in the world and the Stadium in Berlin is a neat visit. Access inside was limited the day I was there, but I loved walking around and viewing the architecture. (There is a really interesting small Allied Museum just east of the stadium near the U Bahn station that was just packed with items from the Allied occupation of West Berlin and the Berlin Airlift).

It is so easy to get around Berlin using transit. I download an app on my phone and I buy a multiday pass and just roam around neighborhoods when I visit. The transit system is excellent and really easy to use.

I am spending a week there next month and really looking forward to returning to Berlin. Enjoy!

As an av geek, I enjoyed walking on the former runways of Tempelhof Airport. Not sure what it looks like now, but about ten years ago it was basically a big open field where they were setting up for some festival or concert as I walked around and took pics.


I found the DDR museum interesting - to learn about the history and daily life of the people in East Germany.

https://ddr-museum.de

Tempelhof airport is a nice thing to see. when the weather is nice, people just hang out there, bike, run, just lay in the sun.
I also did a Segway tour once, which was fun if you don't want to walk :)

It is still freely accessible.

hikouki

I do know a private tour guide here in Berlin - he's been at this for 12 years..
And he has offered his email (by private message only, of course!) but there are a couple of questions.
How many people?

He can do historical, street art, general Berlin highlights, etc. Any idea what would interest you most?

Let me know if you want his email. :)

Thanks for the very detailed response!

I had been debating on whether to stay 3 days/ 2 nights (giving me only one full day) or 4d/3n. If I were to do the shorter stay, I was thinking of splitting the time between Berlin and Cologne. But I think I will do the longer stay just in Berlin. Moving from one city to the next will take up too much time! I am already visiting London and Madrid on this trip as well.

Any suggestions for restaurants? This is my first time there, so I would prefer to experience both "street food" (curry wurst), and perhaps fine dining (if such exists in Berlin/ Germany. LOL

Last time I visited Germany (Munich/ Frankfurt), was way back in 2005 on a one month exchange program.

What a coincidence you brought up the topic of aviation!

I'm a die cast model collector (1/500 planes)! I'm making this trip not so much to visit Europe, but because I wanna fly the 744 in the nose section!!!

Nostalgic!

Yes, I would be very much interested!!! Thank you!

It does. 1 Michelin 3 star, 5 two star, 15 one star. I liked Skykitchen which comes with a nice view over Berlin.
I think it's the right decision to only do Berlin, 3 days are not very much.

Agreed. I just spent four nights in Berlin last month, and it felt too short (even though it wasn’t my first visit, but the first in about ten years).

I am not a fine dining guy, so I usually grab a doner kabob or just sit at one of the outdoor plaza restaurants, or some fast casual in a train station.

I usually set aside 5-6 days for Berlin each visit. I rarely run out of things to do. Cologne also deserves 3-4 days as it is also a wonderful city to visit.

Next month, I will visit Dusseldorf for the first time for 2 days and then Berlin for 5 days (as well as 5 days in Stockholm and 3 in Helsinki).

Remember, you can always come back (it will be my 4th visit to Berlin).

Berlin itself could easily fill the whole 4 days imo and I am from Cologne and try to lure everyone here. Cologne and the surrounding areas (Bonn, Rhein river, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, ...) may be worth another visit.
But if you consider going for Cologne as well: The train from Berlin to Cologne will take about 4 hours, if you take the fast "Sprinter ICE" which goes nonstop from Berlin-Spandau to Cologne.
For any more information about Cologne (we have a total of 17 Michelin starred restaurants - two 2 stars and fifteen 1 star - any much more to offer), feel free to post your questions.

My current favourites in Berlin are:
- Prism in Charlottenburg (1 star, levantine cuisine, one of our best dining experiences in the last 3-4 years, especially the service!) - https://www.prismberlin.de/english
- Dae Mon (had but lost 1 star, creative Korean cuisine, the favourite restaurant of my cousin´s Korean wife) - https://dae-mon.com/de/
- Dumpler Knödel Kitchen (traditional Czech, Italian and German dumplings) - DUMPLER: Knödel Imbiss Berlin Kreuzberg
- Maison Umamni (Izakaya with a nice twist and kind of creative menu) - https://umami-restaurants.de/
- Bandol sur mer (1 star, creative modern with a focus on vegetables) - https://www.bandolsurmer.de/en

To the list of things to see in Berlin, I would like to add the Zitadelle Spandau (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandau_Citadel) which is a nice place to visit and explore.

Is it easy/ cheap to use Uber/ Lyft in Berlin?

I last visited Germany in 2007. Was an exchange student in Munich so explored that area. Was able to visit FRA earlier. First time in Berlin!

Well, this visit is dedicated to flying the 747-400. Flying on the 747-8 and the A380 are both on my bucket list, so definitely will be back in Germany!

Thanks, will check those out!