22ANDUK

I'm going to Berlin tomorrow for an extended weekend, can anyone recommend any decent bars/clubs/tourist attractions from their experience?

Britannist

In answer to your question 22&UK:

You should visit Alexanderplatz - centre of the old ‘East’ Berlin and the real ‘heart’ of Greater Berlin

You should visit the world famous Berlin zoo to see the pandas.

You should walk down the elegant Kufurstendam, – the centre of the old Free (i.e. ‘West’) Berlin and one of Germany’s most impressive avenues (it includes the church with the damaged spire– hit by an RAF bomb in WW2. A new and highly impresssive (Protestant) church stands next to it)

You should visit Potsdam (strongly recommended for the historical and visual aspect) – Berlin’s equivalent to Windsor (just south-west of Berlin where Frederick the Great is buried and where Winston Churchill signed the famous post-war treaty). Potsdam can easily be reached from Berlin by rail so even those on short trips to Berlin can fit in a quick afternoon visit to the town.

You should visit the Reichstag (German national parliament) and, of course, the Brandenburg Gate on the old ‘East’/’West’ border (and you should walk down Unter Den Linden in what was ‘East’ Berlin afterwards).

You should also visit the Checkpoint Charlie museum which was set up after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 - when the world famous crossing point between ‘East’ and ‘West’ Berlin became defunct (in October 1990).

The following links may be useful (I'm not responsible for the content in any of them, of course):

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http://www.berlin-tourist-information.de/

Highlights of Berlin:

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http://www.germany-tourism.co.uk/EGB...oehepunkte.htm

Berlin nightlife:

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http://www.timeout.com/travel/berlin/nightlife.html

Berlin nightlife:

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http://www.hostelbookers.com/info/gu..._nightlife.htm

Berlin nightlife:

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http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.c...pe/Berlin.html

Useful information on Berlin:

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http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places...tips/nightlife

Brief guide to Berlin:

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http://www.jet2.com/destinations/berlin.aspx

Potsdam:

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http://www.potsdam-tourism.com/

How to get to Potsdam and what to see:

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http://www.potsdam.de/cms/ziel/26878/EN/

blank_frackis

I went to Berlin for a few days in 2005, I can't really remember the names of any pubs/clubs but you really can't go wrong in Berlin for nightlife. As for tourist attractions Potsdam was my favourite of the places I visited, the Checkpoint Charlie museum is interesting enough but it's fairly small and was absolutely full of tourists when I went (though that won't be a problem if you're going in February I don't imagine). I didn't make it to the zoo or inside the Reichstag, but the Bauhaus-Archiv is really interesting if you like architecture/design and just taking a walk around Potsdamer Platz up to the Reichstag you'll see the Brandenburg Gate/Holocaust monument and various other sites - the area behind the Brandenburg Gate was a bit of a building site when I went but hopefully it's ok now.

Britannist

Glad you like Potsdam. 8)

As I'm sure you know, during the division of Germany, Potsdam came under 'East Germany' although it was right next to 'West' Berlin. In fact only the Berlin Wall separated Potsdam from the south-western part of 'West' Berlin. To get to Potsdam from 'West' Berlin one had to go through 'East Berlin' and right round 'West' Berlin (which was, of course, surrounded by a wall). It was not possible to travel directly from 'West' Berlin to Potsdam - even if one lived in 'West' Berlin right up against the Berlin Wall with Potsdam - twenty or thirty feet away on the other side of the wall.

eublues

If you have a spare day the Sachsenhausen concentration camp about 15 miles out is chilling. Continued to be used after the war by the Russians.

UKIP MAN

22ANDUK

Hi guys.

Thank you for the information.

We did indeed visit Alexander Platz and went up the TV Tower, really impressive seeing the entire city at night! Also visited Checkpoint Charlie (and museum) as well as the Brandenburg Gate and went to the Reichstag dome too. Saw the remnants of the Berlin Wall (bought a bit too - such a tourist! :roll too. The nightlife was fantastic and full of bars, taverns and clubs too, hardly any 'chain' brands like over here and felt a lot safer at night too - no trouble afterwards either! Berlin seemed so empty though, 7 times as big as Paris yet only a population of around 4 million. The German people are friendly and decent too, and it was great to be in the city when there were hardly any other British around.

Once again, thank you for your replies.