What to do in Berlin for 1.5 days?

Hades

Hades

Hades

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I'm in Berlin with work middle June. I may stay on for a couple of days on my own time. What would be the must-do activities apart from seeing Checkpoint Charlie?

Thanks.
 
Not been for a few years, but I did an 'infamous third reich tour' which was really interesting. Left from Zoo gardens IIRC and took a few hours. No idea if they are still running.
 
Get to Maximillian's Bar and try the Edelhell Pilsner. Beautiful stuff.

Mall of Berlin is OK if shopping is your thing. The entire top floor has dozens of different eateries.

Brandenburg Gate and The Reichstag Building are good for photo opportunities but won't take you long to do.

The U-bahn is ~€10/day unlimited travel.

Berlin is a very dirty city though.
 
If you have time and the weather is good take a stroll or a cycle in the Tiergarten; some cracking outdoor beer gardens there!
Something I assumed would be dead touristy (because I assumed it was a rip off of the Munich one) is the Hofbrauhaus - but actually it was really good.
The Gendarmenmarkt is a cracking bit of the city; a bit upmarket but a cracking square with a load of cafes, etc - the Augustiner bar is grreat for a nice Munich lager!
 
I was there last year Friday night to Sunday lunchtime. On Saturday morning, I did a cycle tour with this company. It's quicker than a walking tour and you see more, and you then have a good idea of how to spend the rest of the day / what you want to see in more detail. Highly recommended (and I'm not normally a tour guy, I like to find stuff for myself).

www.fattiretours.com

Explore Berlin | Bike Tours and Rentals | Fat Tire Tours

Explore Berlin by bike! Join us for a guided tour & learn about the city's rich history or explore on your own with a rental!
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The TV Tower at Alexanderplatz has an observation deck for views over the city. It also has a new restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Tim Raue opening on 3 June - that might make for a nice late evening activity.

To the south of Alexanderplatz, a wander around the streets adjacent to the Spree. There's the small Nikolaviertel (medieval old quarter), some impressive architecture with the Berlin Cathederal and Humboldt Palace, and a raft of museums on Museum Island (Museuminsel). From there, it's about a 20-minute walk (or U-Bahn, bus) to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag - you need to register in advance to visit the Reichstag dome (free).

I didn't particularly find Checkpoint Charlie interesting - it's difficult to feel the history in a street filled with McDonalds! But there are some other Nazi era-themed sites nearby too, including the Topography of Terror exhibition, that you could combine.

Kreuzberg is the student/bohemian/nightlife district. But others who have more knowledge can give recommendations.

Personally, I'd be tempted to hop on a train to Potsdam - about 25 mins away - and visit the plethora of Prussian palaces in Sansoucci Park.
 
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Hades said:
I'm in Berlin with work middle June. I may stay on for a couple of days on my own time. What would be the must-do activities apart from seeing Checkpoint Charlie?

Thanks.
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We've been four times in the last 18 months as Kyla's sister moved there. We're quite well versed in it now. You absolutely must go to the Holocaust Information Centre which is directly beneath the Holocaust Memorial. Look for a queue, people standing around, whatever. The entrance is quite well concealed, took us a few mins to find it. Definitely worth it. Checkpoint Charlie is also good, but do that as more of a "if you happen to be there" kinda thing. There's a museum right next to it which is quite interesting but has no AC so if it's a hot day, you will die to death of the heat. The other one I really appreciated was the Berlin Wall Memorial, which has a preserved length of the wall and trap area in the same state it was back then, and there's a little museum too. These are all free and absolutely worth the visit.

The Berlin Big Bus Tour is one of the few I've been on which was actually worth it, and it comes with a free river cruise ticket. The cruises are all the same, so don't think you're seeing more or better stuff with a more expensive one.

As for beer, it's Berlin, there's beer everywhere you look. Can't go wrong.
 
I did a bike tour in East Berlin and it was really good. They took us to lots of places that as tourists we would never have seen and they had lots of great info on what it was like behind the wall as the people who did the tour were the children/grandchildren of residents of East berlin so it was very interesting to hear their perspective and show us places we wouldn't have had a clue about and the significance of those places in terms of the history of Berlin during the cold war.
 
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