BERLIN TOP SIGHTS • LOCAL LIFE • MADE EASY Andrea Schulte-Peevers -quickstart-title-pg-pk-bln3.indd 1 27/01/2012 11:41:52 AM In This Book 18 Neighbourhoods 19 16 Need to Know 17 11 11 11 Prenzlauer Berg11 Scheunenviertel & (p110) Before You Go Arriving in Berlin Getting Around 1111 Berlin 1111 Around (p72) This charismatic Need to Arrival options in Berlin are changing in Berlin has an extensive and fairly reliable 1111 The maze-like historic neighbourhood entices Your Daily Budget 1111 2012 with the opening of Berlin Brandenburg public transport system consisting of the 1111 Jewish Quarter is with fun shopping, 1111111 1111 Neighbourhoods Prenzlauer Berg Museum Island & Know Budget less than €50 Airport (near the current Schönefeld airport) U-Bahn (underground/subway), S-Bahn 1111 fashionista central and gorgeous townhouses, 1111 1111 QuickStart cosy cafes and a 1111111Alexanderplatz1111 in June and the subsequent closure of Tegel (light rail), buses and trams. One ticket is X Dorm beds €10–20 Reichstag & also teems with hip bars 1111 1111 fabulous flea market. 1111111(p40) 1111 and the old Schönefeld airports. If arriving good for all forms of transport. For trip Unter den Linden and restaurants. For more information, see Survival X Self-catering or fast food by train, Hauptbahnhof is the central station. planning, see www.bvg.de. 1111Gawk at a pirate's1111 (p22) 1Top Sights 111 Guide (p 173 ). chest of treasure from Berlin's historic hub # Museum Island Midrange €50–150 From Berlin-Tegel Airport U-Bahn Gedenkstätte Berliner EGedenkstätte ancient civilisations A delivers great views, Currency X Double room €80–120 The most efficient way to travel around Mauer Berliner Mauer guarded by the soaring Destination Best Transport iconic landmarks and TV Tower on socialist- Euro (€) X Two-course dinner with wine €30 Berlin is by U-Bahn, which runs from 4am Alexanderplatz TXL express bus the city's most beautiful until about 12.30am and throughout the styled Alexanderplatz. X Club cover charge €10–15 boulevard. Language Kurfürstendamm X9 express bus or night on Friday, Saturday and public holidays 1Top Sights 1Top Sights German (English widely spoken) Top end more than €150 bus 109 (all lines except the U4 and U55). Pergamonmuseum Schloss Reichstag & Kreuzberg – X9/109 to Ernst- Charlottenburg X 4-star hotel double room €150–200 11 Visas S-Bahn Government Quarter Neues Museum Kottbusser Tor Reuter-Platz, then U8 E# Reichstag & 11 Not required for citizens of the EU, the X Michelin-star dinner with wine €200 S-Bahn trains make fewer stops than Brandenburg Gate & Government E# Pergamonmuseum 11 Brandenburg Gate TXL express bus QuarterE# E# Neues 11 USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand X Orchestra seats at the opera €120 U-Bahns and are therefore handy for longer Pariser Platz 111 Museum Guide (among others) for tourist stays of up to distances, but they don’t run as frequently. Brandenburg Gate E# Holocaust Memorial three months. Operating hours are the same. A From Berlin-Schönefeld Airport & Pariser Platz E# Holocaust Useful Websites Money Destination Best Transport J Bus Memorial Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com/ Alexanderplatz Airport-Express train E# ATMs widespread. Cash is king in Berlin; Buses are slower but offer good views. GemäldegalerieE# credit cards are not widely used. berlin) Destination information, hotel (RB14 or RE7) Most run frequently between 4.30am and Potsdamer bookings, traveller forum and more. Kurfürstendamm Airport-Express train 12.30am. From Sunday to Thursday, night Platz E# Mobile Phones Visit Berlin (www.visitberlin.de) Official (RB14 or RE7) buses running every 30 minutes take over Jüdisches East Side Mobile phones operate on GSM900/1800. tourist authority info. in intervening hours. MetroBuses (M1, M19) E# Museum Gallery Kreuzberg – Airport-Express If your home country uses a diՖ erent operate 24/7. Museumsportal (www.museumsportal Kottbusser Tor to Alexanderplatz, standard, you’ll need a multiband GSM -berlin.de) Gateway to the city’s museums. then U8 phone. Local SIM cards can be used in U Tram European and Australian phones. Resident Advisor (www.residentadvisor.net) Brandenburg Gate Airport-Express to Trams only operate in the eastern districts. Your keys to under- Guide to parties and clubbing. Alexanderplatz, then Trams designated M1, M2, etc run 24/7. Time bus TXL or 100 Central European Time (GMT/UTC plus one H Bicycle Potsdamer Platz hour). Advance Planning Great for exploring neighbourhoods, cycling To Schloss & (p54) 111 A From Berlin Brandenburg Park Sanssouci (20km) 11111 Friedrichshain Two to three months Book tickets for Airport (from June 2012) is hugely popular in Berlin, which has over ‚ This brand-new quarter, 111 (p100) Plugs & Adaptors 150km of dedicated bike paths. Bikes may on ground once the Berliner Philharmonie, the Staatsoper, Airport-Express trains (RB14, RE7 and RE9) Kurfürstendamm This student-flavoured Two-pin plugs running at 230V Ac, 50 Hz. be taken into designated carriages of the bisected by the Berlin Sammlung Boros and top-flight events. are expected to depart for central Berlin (p122) district is tailor-made Transformers needed for 110V appliances. U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Rental stations are Worth a Trip Wall, is now a showcase Kreuzberg (p86) Up to one month Make online reservations from the airport’s own station every 15 Nirvana for shopaholics, Gritty but cool, for soaking up Berlin's plentiful. 1Top Sights Potsdamerof fabulous contempo- Platz Kreuzberg minutes. For the latest information, check Friedrichshainlaid-back vibe and Tipping for the Reichstag Dome, the Neues Museum this grand boulevard rary architecture. Kreuzberg is a joy to and the Pergamonmuseum. www.berlin-airport.de. Jüdisches Museum spillsr urstendamm into idyllic side explore on foot, with a great for nightlife Servers 10%, bartenders 5%, taxi drivers 10%, K Taxi 1Top Sights Schloss Charlottenburg streets teeming with vibrant restaurant scene explorations. standing the city – porters €1 to €2 per bag. Up to one week Reserve a table at trendy Taxis are fairly inexpensive and come in L From Hauptbahnhof Potsdamer Platz and Berlin's most 1Top Sights and Michelin-starred restaurants, espe- handy at night when public transport is less Schloss & Park quaint shops, bustling Berlin’s central train station is served by happening nightlife. cially for Friday and Saturday nights. frequent. Heavy traffic makes cabs less Sanssouci cafes and restaurants. Gemäldegalerie East Side Gallery buses and U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains. efficient in the daytime. we help you decide what to do and how Need to Know Neighbourhoods to do it Tips for a What’s where smooth trip 24 Reichstag & Unter den Linden Reichstag & Government Quarter 25 70 Worth a Trip An An Afternoon Afternoon in inthe the Bergmannkiez Bergmannkiez 71 y Top Tips 1 Marheineke Markthalle by the Western Allies, while the plinth bears the names of the 79 people who Don’t Miss f Compulsory reserva- Thanks to a substantial renovation, Top Sights Local Life the historic Marheineke Market Hall died in this colossal eՖ ort. Reichstag Building tions for visiting the Reichstag dome must (www.meine-markthalle.de; Marheinekeplatz; Reichstag & Government Quarter The four corner towers and mighty facade with An Afternoon in the Bergmannkiez Viktoriapark be made online at www h8am-8pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat) has 5 the bronze dedication ‘Dem Deutschen Volke’ (To traded its grungy 19th-century charm Take a break in this rambling park The nexus of German political power snuggles o Map p 30 , C2 .bundestag.de. Early the German People; added in 1916) are the only for bright and modern digs. Its draped over the 66m-high Kreuzberg neatly into the Spreebogen, a horseshoe-shaped booking advised. www.bundestag.de original sections of the 1894 Reichstag. Lord aisles now brim with vendors plying hill, home to a vineyard, a waterfall bend in the Spree River. The historic anchor of Norman Foster, the architectural mastermind of f Free multilingual and a pompous memorial commemo- Getting There everything from organic sausages to the federal government quarter is the glass- Platz der Republik 1 the building’s post-reuniÀ cation makeover, audio guides are avail- One of Berlin’s most charismatic neighbourhoods, rating Napoleon’s 1815 defeat. In sum- Explore the Bergmannkiez in gentrified western Kreuzberg handmade cheeses, artisanal honey domed Reichstag that once rubbed against the able on the roof terrace. preserved only the historical shell while adding The Bergmannkiez is and other delicious bounty. mer, laid-back locals arrive to chill, western side of the Berlin Wall. It now forms part admission free is named for its main shopping strip, the Berg- the sparkling glass dome, Berlin’s newest symbol. in the western part of tan or enjoy beers at Golgatha (www of the Band des Bundes (Ribbon of Federal Build- f Check the website for mannstrasse, which is chock-a-block with people- h8am-midnight, last information on guided Kreuzberg. watching cafes and quirky shops. Nearby, the 2 Neubau .golgatha-berlin.de, in German; Dudenstrasse ings), a series of glass-and-concrete buildings Reichstag Dome lift 11pm tours and attending a decommissioned Tempelhof airport saw its finest For a delicious sit-down meal, make a 48-64; hfrom 10am Apr-Sep), the park’s that symbolically link the former East and West Whoever said the best things in life are free U-Bahn To start the plenary session or a hour during the 1948 Berlin Blockade. Above it all beeline for Neubau (www.neubau-restau classic beer garden. Berlin across the Spree. North of the river looms U-Bahn Bundestag, itinerary, get oՖ at might have been thinking of the lift ride up to lecture on the workings Brandenburger Tor; Gneisenaustrasse ‘soars’ the Kreuzberg hill, Berlin’s highest natural rant.de; Bergmannstrasse 5; 2-course lunch the solar-panelled Hauptbahnhof (central train the rooftop of the Reichstag.