Planning a Trip to Berlin

There is a vast amount of things to see and do in Berlin and the surrounding area. The best tip I can give to anyone planning on heading to the capital of the unified Germany is to take one of the cities walking tours such as Berlin Walks . You'll want to make sure you've got time and a comfortable pair of shoes though: It's not a small city.

East Berlin and nightlife is a sweet combination for someone looking for inexpensive beer and chilling. For the rock/metal people East Berlin feels like home.
Lots of nice, somewhat modest -both in size and decoration wise- metal/rock bars in the East Berlin area can be found. I.e. Punk/hc metal based Amnesie ( www. amnesie -online.de) with occational live shows, Halford club apparently for more traditional heavy metal and Paules Metal Eck (http://www.paules-metal-eck.de/), which was by far the cosiest metal bar I myself visited during my stay at the Friedrichshain area.

Prices are very decent, pints are full and the local bartenders friendly yet not that keen to discuss with the tourists. Athmosphere is introverted, but at least you get to relax and observe rather than getting into too much interaction with the native drunken metalheads - who are, as far as I know - very serious about their musical orientations, especially the old school people.

If you succeed in getting to talk to the locals they most likely turn out to be very nice and polite under their grumpy, shy masks, but it seems to me they would rather consentrate on staying in their own small group of friends, leaving out occational and more likely accidential glimpses at the weird outsiders intruding their home bar, still remaining polite and friendly if interaction should happen.

As for women, in metal/rock bars there is hardly any trouble with harrassing men as there are none (see description above, lol). Streets are mostly safe, and by night populated with mostly foreign and local students only interested in drinking and partying. If not making any trouble, there is only a very slim chance of getting into one. Some descreteness, especially in areas known to be populated by neonazis, is encouraged, though.

Best thing especially for the Norther Europeans with their excessive drinking habits, is that when ever you swich bars you can purchase a beer, a liquor or wine bottle of your preference from any corner store on the way all night through. Bars close their doors when costumers finally leave or pass out, but as there is access to alcohol any time, the party is never over.

Gotta love you, East Berlin, gotta love you.

Best place for contempory art at the moment (and probably for a long time)... Very clean and efficient. Bio-stores everywhere!!! One of the coolest cities in Europe

the best time to go is all year round because there is always something to do in berlin! lots of things to see and do-brandenburg gate, reichstag, the wall, checkpoint charlie, tv tower, museum island nad much more...definitely visit kreuzberg neighborhood-cute caffes, lots of ethnic restaurants, the streets are always buzing with people and there is always something happening. in kreuzberg is a cute little hostel called baxpax which is right across from u-bahn so you in town center in matter of minutes (and everywhere else). my favourite place to go out is knaack-great club with great music, cheap drinks and friendly local people.

Si vas a Berlin hospedate en Generator (buscalo en internet) es un lugar barato y centrico, alli te informaran de todo lo que puedes hacer y tienen una hora feliz en la que te puedes poner tibio a rusos blancos. El unico problema es que de vez en cuando se llena de ninatos de viaje de estudios y es un poco molesto. Se pueden alquilar bicicletas en el hostal y es una de las mejores maneras de ver Berlin, viva Espana!

Use the Public Transport as much as possible. You can go where ever you want. There is free internet on most of the stops.

Make sure you always have some cash on you if you dont have a credit card. There is hardly anywhere in Berlin Visa Electron would be accepted.

an eisai openmind taksidepse sto verolino...tha deis ta panta!

The Berlin Love Parade: around 20 july Food: not that good. Nice things to visit and to do some shopping

Great City! There are historical monuments and museums around every corner, especially in the part that used to be East Berlin. Amazing U-Bahn (subway) connections can get you anywhere in the city for €2.10 (or €6.10 for a full day pass) and there are amazing tip-based tours that show you where a lot of the museums are, without actually going in, so you can pick what you want to back and see. Wonderful night-life with lots of pub crawls with great deals for foreigners (if you're into drinking) and a few amazing hostels. I stayed at the JetPak City hostel and loved it. There's a subway stop 100m away and the hosts are extremely helpful with everything, and they speak English, German, Italian, maybe more. I've been told that there are over 150 hostels and hotels in the city, so there should always be a room somewhere, but book early! Pickpockets are around, I've been told, but keep stuff close and they shouldn't be a problem, especially if you're in a group. There are a lot of panhandlers, but not as many as I was warned about. Getting money isn't too difficult, as long as you have a Visa or Mastercard, but can get somewhat expensive if you have to do it often. Great cheap food from all over the world all over the city (can get by on well under €8 per meal, a little more if you drink beer).

Gay guys take note: Berlin is the Manhattan or San Francisco of Germany (but you already KNEW that, didn't you?. What you might not know is that during the summer some of the sexiest boys in Berlin (mostly students, mostly straight-identified) run pedalcarts between the leading tourist attractions. The best place to find them lined up is at the Brandenburg Gate or at the Bundestag. These boys know their Berlin and they will pedal you to places that might not have been on your itinerary (I know what you are thinking: DON'T go there!). They don't come cheap...nothing of quality does. For your money you get knowledge, a boy in short shorts showing off his great legs and sturdily muscled butt (all that pedalling WORKS). If you are in luck, he might even be gay. But, if not, they ALL know all about the gay scene in Berlin, so ask. Obviously, a LOT of their customers are gay. They know the restaurants, the bars, the saunas and all the secret (non) gay things one needs to explore in Berlin. The subway is superb, but for getting around above ground, these boys are the bomb. Walking around Berlin can be quite exhausting. Some of the modern streets and squares look like they were drawn and built by urban planners who are clones of Albert Speer: they are huge to the point of depersonalizing the humans who seem like ants crawling on the back of an elephant. One of the shopping plazas (I forget which) has huge television screens that reminded me of that classic Apple computer commercial where a woman comes in and hurls a sledge hammer into it. Much of Berlin will make you feel as if you are in the 22nd century. The rebuilt older parts of Berlin are far more charming and intimate and people (rather than technology) friendly.

I love shopping in Berlin. Great quality clothing.

I loved this city. Easy to travel for biginner backpacker. Artistic, historical but also modern. Transport is easy, punctual and clean but expensive. Nice people. Breakfast in St. christpher's Inns was pretty good.

Berlin is an amazing place full of wonders and hidden beauty. You'll need more than a weekend to fully explore the place, but it'll be worth it. Don't forget to get a kebab, the best kebabs in Europe are to be found in Berlin.

Too many things to say bout it so i'll briefly tell u 2 clubs i've been: PANORAMA BAR amazing, ex soviet electric power plant near Ostbanhof; strangest place where u can dance, go only f u dont like rules. WATERGATE lovely in front of the river and Kreuzberg bridge, floor visual on 2 floor simply unique. Useless to say top dj's play there and prices are fair.

Go on one of the free walking tours in Berlin - they meet in Pariser Platz every day.