Berlin, Germany: City Guide

Most scheduled flights use the small, compact and convenient Tegel airport, just 8km (5 miles) from Mitte (the centre of Berlin) A short taxi ride costing less than Euro 20 or an inexpensive bus ride (Euro 2.10) to Zoologischer Garten (Zoo station or Bahnhof Zoo).

There is also Schonefeld Airport, the former East Berlin Airport, 18km (11 miles) from the centre of Berlin often used by British budget airlines.

British Airways flys from London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5 to Tegel, Berlin, taking less than 2 hours.

The main railway station is Berlin Hauptbahnhof and there is a network of local trains: the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, buses and trams.

Taxis are the easiest way to get around, but can be expensive.

Boat trips and tourist buses are also available in the centre of Berlin.

Driving in Berlin should be easy compared to many European cities, although parking could be a problem.

Mitte is the most central district of Berlin (meaning middle) The roads Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse run east-west and north-south through Mitte. Linden is a grand avenue ending at Alexanderplatz (centre of old East Berlin)

A good hotel in Mitte: The Westin Grand, Berlin, Friedrichstrasse 158-164, Berlin 10117 Germany

Phone: (49)(30) 20270 Fax: (49)(30) 20273362

The Westin Grand Hotel is indeed a grand hotel with foyer open right up to an ornate ceiling on the 7th floor. Reasonable sized bright rooms with fairly poor air conditioning. Nicely decorated if a little sombre in some areas. Just Euro 130 per night for a double make it rather less expensive than a similar hotel in Paris, Rome or London, although breakfast is not included in the price and at Euro 29 each it is probably worth venturing out to a good cafe. The buffet breakfast was a slightly superior version of the usual posh hotel fayre, although I'd still rather have a proper breakfast cooked for me, rather than have to fight the hungry bleary-eyed hoards. Eggs cooked to order.

The hotel Westin Grand, also has a good outdoor bar with a small section of the Berlin Wall on display and a more subdued foyer bar with Grand Piano. They serve a pleasant Dunkel Weissenbier my favourite German tipple (cloudy brown wheet beer although prone to inducing borborygmi)

Please See Other European Hotel Recommendations

There are many good places to eat in Berlin, but here is a small selection:

Restaurant: Aigner Gendarmenmarkt, Franz%u02C6sische Strasse 25, near hotel in Mitte. Very good germanic food. Sat outside. Euro 73 for 2 courses each and 0.5l table wine.

Lutter and Wegner Laggner, a pleasant restaurant with a good wine selection on Charlottenstrasse: hearty german soups and meaty main courses in a restaurant with ambiance: wine bottles floor to ceiling. The service was far too quick though, for such filling food.

The hotel Westin Grand has a good outdoor bar with a small section of the Berlin Wall on display and a more subdued foyer bar with Grand Piano.

There are many "Einstein Cafes" in Mitte which are generally good, but can be crowded. Similar in concept to Starbucks.

Lunch at Gendarmerie, corner of Behrenstrasse and Charlottenstrasse. Good Modern European food. Outside seating is available.

The Reunification of Berlin Tour:

Checkpoint Charlie (Kochstrasse & Friedrichstrasse) the famous border crossing for non-Germans is in Mitte and easily walkable from most central parts of Berlin. US Army control hut is a fake for the benefit of tourists, but good info about the Berlin Wall is displayed along the road.

Walk along the path of the Berlin Wall marked with a double row of cobbles and at Niederkirchnerstrasse a 200 metre section of the wall, almost intact and protected by wire fence. Last remaining watch tower at Erna-Berger-Strasse.

Finish the walk at Denkmal fur die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to Murdered Jews of Europe) the Brandenburger Tor the Tiergarten and the Reichstag.

Art Galleries and Museums in Berlin

Many of the main galleries and museums are in or near the central Mitte region of Berlin

Nationalgallerie (The Old National Gallery) which has Germany's largest collection of 19th century art including German artists: Adolph Menzel, Caspar David Friedrich, Max Liebermann and Carl Spitzweg and some early impressionist art

Deutsches Historiches Museum (The Museum of German History) which covers German History from Germanic tribes around 1000 years BC to modern times, including good coverage of the world wars and Berlin's involvementin them.

Other Galleries, Museums and Attractions in Berlin:

Altes Museum: Art Gallery, formerly the Royal Museum

Berliner Dom: The Berlin Cathedral built in Italian Renaissance style

Denkmal fur die ermortdeten Juden Europas: the Murdered Jew of Europe

Pergamonmuseum: Berlin's Archaeoligcal museum.

Other regions in Berlin

Prezlauer Berg, Tiergarten, Charlottenburg, Schoneberg, Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain

January:

Tanztage - a 2-week dance event

International Grune Woche - 10 day German food and drink festival

UltraSchall - 10 day music festival

Bread & butter - 3 day fashion event

Lange Nacht der Museen - 200 museums stay open late

February:

Transmediale - digital art and culture

Berlin International Film Festival