The Real Berlin Review - Must sees and top tips

Tair and his mom Alla

Last week I wrote a post about the research I did for my husband's trip to Berlin. Now he's back with all the deets on what he enjoyed most about his trip!

Must Sees in Berlin

1. Mitte Neighborhood

Tair and Alla stayed in the Aparthotel Residenz am Deutschen Theater and loved it. There was an extensive breakfast selection and the room was clean and modern. They booked  a suite so that they could each have some privacy but if you don't need to be separated from your traveling companion there are a ton of great hotel options in the area. I usually do most of my searching on Booking.com, the site is super easy to use and their customer service is great. If you're new to Booking, you can get $15 off your first booking using this link.

Tair said the Mitte Neighborhood itself is full of hip bars and restaurants and is the center of most of the tourist attractions. They were able to walk to everywhere they wanted to visit including the Brandenburg Gate, Budenstag, Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Memorial and Museum Island. There is also a ton of cool graffiti so it's a great area just to walk around and absorb your surroundings and take pictures.

 

2. Berlin cathedral

Climbing to the top of the Berlin Cathedral was one of the highlights of Tair's trip. They walked around inside and saw the graves of the Prussian King and Queen before heading up to the dome. The walk to the top was steep and a bit long so if you're not able to climb a lot of stairs it may not be for you. Tair said they stopped once on the way up for a breather but it wasn't terrible and the view was worth it; even better than the Bundestag.

3. Neues museum 

Tair told me that this museum was great to visit. He also liked the Natural History Museum but said that this was more interesting. If you're going then you should definitely be sure to check out their extensive Egyptian collection, including the prized bust of Nefertiti, along with countless other relics. If you want to add the Museum Island museums to your trip he recommends doing them in the beginning of your stay because by the end your legs are too tired to properly visit a museum and you spend most of the time just wanting to sit down.

Tips for Visiting

1. Visiting the Bundestag 

Definitely buy your tickets in advance. Check out my previous post for detailed instructions on how to get tickets ahead of time. To buy onsite you'll have to go across the street and wait in an extremely long line to purchase them.

When you go don't forget a photo ID for every adult in your party; neither Tair or his mom brought IDs with them and they had to go back to the hotel twice to get the IDs for both of them.

2. On public transportation

If you buy tickets in the machine for the bus you'll need to stamp it once you get on so don't forget. If you buy tickets on the bus then you don't need to stamp them. In general Tair said the buses were mostly on time. One was late and packed with too many people for them to get on but he said another came a few minutes later and was mostly empty so you can pad your schedule a little but you don't need to worry too much about waiting around for a bus.

3. Take in the sites

There is a ton to do and a lot of great museums so it's easy to forget to enjoy the city itself.  Tair tole me that Berlin has lots to see on the streets, so take your time walking around; sit in a cafe and people watch, and just generally be outside as much as you can.

4. Visiting the Brandenburg Gate

 

Don't allocate too much time to visiting the Brandenburg Gate, it's pretty but just a gate and is maybe even a bit overrated. It takes less than five minutes to stop and take a photo and not much else to see. So definitely swing by but don't make it a major stop on your itinerary.


Also: Tair told me that all of the doors in Berlin are very heavy; hotel, shops, grocery store, you need to hands to open all of the doors 🙃