Berlin hotels and things to do

Going to berlin later in year and am lookin for a decent hotel central to the city. Also if anyone has ideas on things to do and see i would appreciate that too...

Hi went there for a weekend in 2007.

We thought it was a great city, underrated and relaxed. We stayed in the Steigenberger Berlin which is a fairly modern large 4 star close to the city centre area of west Berlin. (Check www.tripadvisor.com for its reviews and photos.) Good food and pleasant place to stay.

Highlights were the Potsdamer Platz / Sony Centre area in the evening time, Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag, and for Shopping you have to visit the KaDeWe department store, especially the top floor gourmet food bar section !
Also, even if you're not into classical music, might be worth trying to catch the Berlin Philharmonic when your there, as they’re one of the top Orchestras in Europe.

Obviously, there's probably not as much to do and see as in say Rome or Paris, but then the hassle free, safe, relaxed atmosphere more than makes up for that, and the restaurants are good. Price wise it was a bit cheaper than home. We would definitely go back there again.

Enjoy your trip !

It's a wonderful city to visit. Take a walking tour with Original walking tours. A fantastic way to see the city & learn more of it's history. They have many choices to suit your interests ie. Nest of spies which brings you to the areas & tells you about the attempts to tunnel out of East Berlin, to the Stasi HQ etc.
If the weather is fine take a trip out to Potsdam. It's beautiful out there as well as historic...........you can see the bridge made famous for exchanging spies during the cold war.
Berlin is so full of history but is also very vibrant & bohemian.

If you only get to visit one museum make it the Pergamon. They have the gates of Babylon there as well as other wonderful antiquities.

I stayed in the Park Inn at Alexanderplatz which is right beside S Bahn & U Bahn as well as mailine to Flughafen ( airport ) Schonefeld.

Public transport is brilliant. Do a search on this site & you'll find lots of more info.

Enjoy you'll have a great time.

The Bundestag and the Brandenburg gate are right beside each other - you can get up to the glass dome for free but there's usually a half hour queue. The Holocaust memorial is also nearby. Berlin zoo is one of the biggest in the world and has lots of different species, if you're into that sort of thing. You could spend the day there and not see allof it. Restaurant in the zoo is not great though (canteen food), and while the zoo is fine, the area near the Zoo Station is a bit dodge.

thanks everyone for those few ideas and tips am really lookin forward to it now...