Berlin Travel Guide & Magical Germany visit
Berlin Travel Guide & Magical Berlin visit
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin dates to the 13th century. Reminders of the city's turbulent 20th-century history include its Holocaust memorial and the Berlin Wall's graffitied remains. Divided during the Cold War, its 18th-century Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of reunification. The city's also known for its art scene and modern landmarks like the gold-colored, swoop-roofed Berliner Philharmonie, built in 1963.
Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, internationalism and tolerance, lively nightlife, its many cafés, clubs, bars, street art, and numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Berlin's architecture is quite varied. Although badly damaged in the final years of World War II and broken apart during the Cold War, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, especially with the reunification push after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
It is now possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the city centre, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz, to the ultra modern glass and steel structures at Potsdamer Platz. Because of its tumultuous history. Berlin remains a city with many distinctive neighbourhoods. Brandenburger Tor is a symbol of division during the world war, which now shows German reunification. It was built after the Acropolis in Athens and was completed in 1799 as the royal city-gate.
The foundation of Berlin was very multicultural. The surrounding area was populated by Germanic Swabian and Burgundian tribes, as well as Slavic Wends in pre-Christian times, and the Wends have stuck around. Their modern descendants are the Sorbian Slavic-language minority who live in villages southeast of Berlin near the Spree River.
Since the late 17th century, when large numbers of French Huguenots fled religious persecution, Berlin has welcomed religious, economic and other asylum seekers. In 1701 Berlin became the capital of Prussia and in 1710 Berlin and surrounding former autonomous cities were merged to a bigger Berlin.
In 1871 Berlin became the capital of the new founded German Reich and a few years later, it became a city with more than one million inhabitants because of the immensely growing industry.
Shortly after the first World War, in 1920, the last of the annexations of surrounding cities of Berlin led to the foundation of the Berlin as we know it now. After the coming into power of the National Socialists ("Nazis"), Berlin became the capital of the so called Third Reich and the domicile and office of Hitler (although the triumph of Hitler and his henchmen started in the south of Germany).
WW II led to destruction of most of central Berlin, thus many of the buildings which we see nowadays are reconstructed or planned and built after the war, which led to a very fragmented cityscape in most parts of the inner town. Berlin was divided into four sectors (West Berlin into the French, American and British sector, East Berlin belonged to the USSR). In 1949 the German Democratic Republic ("East Germany") was founded with East Berlin as its capital. West Berlin remained occupied by the western Allies and kept a close relationship with West Germany (with Bonn as the capital) and was an exclave (political island) in East Germany. Because of the growing tensions between West Germany and the GDR, the GDR built a militarized and increasingly impassable border between the states, and then in 1961 surrounded West Berlin with a wall.
In late 1989 East German citizens began to peacefully demonstrate in increasing numbers; this led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1990 West Germany and East Germany were united. Berlin became once again the capital of Germany.
Districts of Berlin
Mitte (Mitte)
| The historical centre of Berlin, the nucleus of the former East Berlin, and the emerging city centre. Cafes, restaurants, museums, galleries and clubs are abundant throughout the district, along with many sites of historic interest. |
City West (Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, Schöneberg, Tiergarten, Moabit)
Ku'Damm (short for Kurfürstendamm) is, along with Tauentzienstraße, one of the main shopping streets in former West Berlin, especially for luxury goods. Many great restaurants and hotels are here and also on the side roads. The district also contains the Charlottenburg Palace, Kulturforum, Tiergarten and the Olympic Stadium. Schöneberg is generally a cozy area for ageing hippies, young families and LGBT people.
East Central (Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg)
Associated with the left wing youth culture, artists and Turkish immigrants, this district is somewhat noisier than most, packed with lots of cafes, bars, clubs and trendy shops, but also with some museums in Kreuzberg near the border to Mitte. These districts are undergoing gentrification as they are popular with students, artists and media professionals alike.
North (Spandau, Tegel, Reinickendorf, Pankow, Weißensee, Gesundbrunnen, Wedding)
Spandau and Reinickendorf are beautiful old towns which feel much more spacious than the inner city. Pankow was once synonymous with the East German government, and the villas the SED leaders inhabited still exist.
East (Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen, Marzahn, Hellersdorf)
The museum at the site of the 1945 surrender to the Soviet Army is of interest, as well as the former Stasi prison, an essential visit for anyone interested in East German history. Marzahn-Hellersdorf has a not entirely deserved reputation for being a vast collection of dull high-rise apartment blocks.
South (Steglitz, Zehlendorf, Tempelhof, Neukölln, Treptow, Köpenick)
South is a mixed bag of different boroughs. Zehlendorf is one of the greenest and wealthiest districts in Berlin, while Neukölln is one of the poorest of the city. Köpenick's swaths of forest around Berlin's largest lake, Müggelsee and the nice old town of Köpenick itself beg to be discovered on bikes and using the S-Bahn.
A lot to see in Berlin
Brandenburg Gate
Reichstag Building
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
East Side Gallery
Berlin Cathedral Church
Museum Island
Checkpoint Charlie
Alexanderplatz
Potsdamer Platz
Berliner Fernsehturm
Pergamonmuseum
Charlottenburg Palace
Berlin Wall Memorial
Sanssouci Palace
Spree
Gendarmenmarkt
Victory Column
Unter den Linden
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Zoo Berlin
Kurfürstendamm
Jewish Museum Berlin
DDR Museum
Neues Museum
Wall Museum - Checkpoint Charlie
Topography of Terror
Friedrichstraße
Mauerpark
Altes Museum
Kaufhaus des Westens
Bode Museum
Großer Tiergarten
Alte Nationalgalerie
AquaDom & SEA LIFE Berlin
German Historical Museum
Rotes Rathaus
Olympiastadion Berlin
Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum
Oberbaum Bridge
Bebelplatz
French Cathedral
Alexanderplatz
Bellevue Palace
German Museum of Technology
Hackesche Höfe
Nikolaikirche
Teufelsberg
Berliner Philharmonie
Soviet War Memorial Treptow
Hamburger Bahnhof
Berlin Food
A staple in Berlin is currywurst. It's a sliced bratwurst covered in ketchup and curry powder. You can find them all over Berlin by street vendors. It's a must try when in Berlin and for those who don't eat meat or prefer a less fatty meal it also comes in animal-free versions. Three renowned Currywurst stands are "Konnopke's Imbiss" below Eberswalder Strasse U-Bahn station on line 2, "Curry 36" opposite the Mehringdamm U-Bahn station in Kreuzberg (only two stops south of Checkpoint Charlie) and Yoyo Foodworld (close to U-Bahn station Frankfurter Tor, U5) where you can get a vegan Wurst. All of these offer far friendlier service than many of Berlin's more upmarket eateries.
Another famous thing to eat in Berlin is Döner. This is a flat bread, filled with Lamb or chicken meat or seitan, salad and vegetables, and you can get it at many turkish stands. The most famous vegan Döner is called Vöner and is served in the eatery carrying the same name close to S-Bahn station Ostkreuz. Other immigrated popular foods include the Falafel and Maqali (fried vegetables) sandwiches.
In September 2015 Berlin was named vegetarian capital of the world by the culinary magazine Saveur. Considering all the vegetarian options in regular restaurants and especially the amount of excusively vegetarian and even vegan restaurants and coffeeshops this title seems well-deserved and it reflects the recent vegan trend in all of Germany which does away with the cliché of the meat-heavy German cuisine.
Eating out in Berlin is incredibly inexpensive compared to any other Western European capital or other German cities. The city is multicultural and many cultures' cuisine is represented here somewhere, although it is often modified to suit German tastes.
Berlin Accommodation
After the end of the Cold War, Berlin witnessed a construction boom of hotels and offices. The boom led to a significant oversupply of hotels which resulted in comparatively cheap prices even in the 5 star category. (Off-season prices of €110 per night are seen). Especially for a short visit, it may be best to stay at a place in Berlin-Mitte (around Friedrichstraße example), as most of the main sights are located there. Due to its history most hotels in Berlin are still located in the City West (i.e. Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf), especially close to Zoo station.
Alexanderplatz and Anhalter Bahnhof have clusters of 2-3 star budget hotels (i.e. Ibis, Etap). You'll find currently only one hotel ('Meininger', a combined hotel-hostel) located directly at the new main train station, but some large ones are under construction there. The (oddly named) budget hotel chain 'Motel-One' operates various 2-star hotels in the city centre. There are also many 3-4 star 'NH Hotels' offering good value. All major hotel chains are present in Berlin. A good idea to check that the hotel is close to public transport (U-Bahn or S-Bahn) to avoid too long walks.
Cheapest are youth hostels (called Jugendherbergen, only for members) and hostels (similar to youth hostels, but for everyone, mostly backpackers stay here, usually in one to 32-bed rooms). You will also find bed and breakfast offers (often private) and boarding houses (Pension, more familiar and smaller than hotels). Be aware that the majority of private flats on platforms like AirBnB are offered illegaly in Berlin.
( Berlin - Germany ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Berlin . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Berlin - Germany
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