Nina, can you tell us what to see and where to eat and shop and party in Berlin?

I have lived in Berlin since November 2012 and many of my friends and friends of friends write to ask me what to see and do when they visit this amazing city.

I have compiled a document of places I have been and like and places I have not been to but that my friends love. So, I would say that this list should give you a good idea of approved places to eat, drink, party, shop, go sightseeing etc.

I hope you can use it and feel free to drop me a line if you have an amazing place I should add to my list (and feel free to add a picture too).

List will be made a bit nicer soon, but better to put it up asap to help you all then wait until I have time to make it look good ;) 

Enjoy wonderful Berlin <3

TO DO IN WONDERFUL BERLIN

Prices according to Berlin Standard

High – high class and stylish and more expensive

Medium – Normal restaurants with fair prices

Low – cheap n cheerful

Clubs / restaurants / Bars

Cookies Cream – Bar, Vegetarian Restaurant – high (Mitte) I was not there but looks fab!

http://www.cookiescream.com/

Bar1000 – Bar, Restaurant, Club – High (mitte)

This is a cool place to go for cocktails. I love it. Hidden under a bridge and you have to ring a bell on a black door to get in. I heard the Russian Mafia used to hang out here before it was turned into this cool bar a few yrs ago ;)

http://www.tausendberlin.com/

Weinerei – Bar, Café, Weinbar – low (Mitte)

My café where I drink my morning latte (best in town) for €1,5 and they sell homemade delicious cakes for €2 and Croissants €1. 2 Daily sounds for €3 and every evening at 20.00 they have “open wine bar” where you pay entry of €2,5 and get a glass. YOu can drink as much wine as you want and there is a simple buffet. At the end you pay what you feel it was worth! ;) http://weinerei.com/forum/

Mein Haus am See – open 24 hours and in the evenings good bar with good music. Very popular place – bit trashy – Berlin style ;)

Brunnenstrasse in Mitte

Fleischerei – GREAT Restaurant – medieum (PrenzlauerBerg - now I write PB)

Popular place so order a table – one of my fave places.

http://www.fleischerei-berlin.com/

LuckyLeek – Vegan Restaurant – High (PB)

So delicious Vegan food!

http://www.lucky-leek.de/

Kauf Dich Glücklich and Glücklich am Park– café – low/medium (Mitte)

Best waffelplace in town and very popular on the weekends. One is in Oderbergerstrasse and other Kastanien Alle by the Weinbergspark.

In Weinbergspark there is a super cool parkbar in the corner – right by the playground. So nice there on a sunny day. Not the café in the middle of the park – this is overpriced and I would not go there.

Glorywhole – café – medium (mitte)

Oderbergerstrasse in mitte

Der Hahn ist Tot – restaurant – medium (mitte)

Not tried food but many friends recommend this place. Order table here cause very popular.

http://www.der-hahn-ist-tot.de/en/index.html

Deck5 – Rooftop bar, café, club – medium (Prenzlauerberg / PB)

On the top of the shoppingcenter on Schönheuser Alle. Very nice views and sand on the floors and big budda statue etc.

Monsiou Vuong – super Asian place – my favorite! – low/medium (Mitte)

http://www.monsieurvuong.de/

Transit – great asian but a little noisy in evening !! – low /medium (Mitte)

Rosenthaler Strasse in Mitte

Le petit Fleurie – nice French Café with delicious cakes. Most cafés on Weinbergsweg are good!

Yumcha Heroes - Dumpling place on Weinbergsweg by Rosenthaler Plats – sooo good. Order table cause popular!

http://www.yumchaheroes.de/

Many nice cafés, Tapas bars and restaurants and Galaries on Linienstrasse and Augustenstrasse! Love this area in Mitte.

Café Schwartzen Pumpe – Mitte

Good Brunch buffet €5 on Sundays and you can sit outside. But coffee is not so good here.

http://www.schwarzepumpe-berlin.de/

Honigmond Hotel Mitte – GREAT brunch!!!

Famous for their outstanding weekend brunch buffet – defo worth a visit and costs €10 I think! Reserve a table!

http://www.yelp.de/biz/neumond-kaffeehaus-und-restaurant-berlin

Zeit für Brot – Alte Schönheuser Strasse

GREAT homemade cakes and famous for their cinnamon rolls – yum yum! Bit pricey for Berlin but oh so nice!

Views over Berlin

Panorama Punkt Potsdamer Plats. Great café and amazing view and no line up like in Fehrnsehenturm ;) I think it costs €6 to get up there (in Panorama bar) but defo worth it.

http://www.panoramapunkt.de/de/panoramacafe.html

Fehrnsehenturm ! Best views but go early cause sooo many people there. Costs €13.

Sights n Parks n Museums

Galaries

There are many in Linienstrasse (Mitte), Augustenstrasse (Mitte) and Flamingostase (Charlottenburg)

Martin Grospius Bau  by Potsdamer plats normally has good exhibitions

                                                                  Fleemarkets!

MauerPark in Mitte – GREAT Flohmarkt every Sunday 10-19

This is a MUST and it is full of great food and musicians so go hungry and have lots of cash with your cause good market!

Arkonaplatz Flohmarkt in Mitte every Sunday 9-16

Cosy and I live here on this square ;)

                                                                  Walking tours:

Tours in the underground bunkers by Humboltpark

See a HUGE bunker from ww2 where you get a tour of this 6 storage high thing. I did not go yet but really want to.

http://berliner-unterwelten.de/

Humboltpark

Has a nice viewpoint where you look over all of Berin – I think this is the highest point in Berlin and free to walk up there ;) Love this place.

Other nice parks : Tiergarten and Volkspark Friedrichshein.

Old Tempelhof Airport

Used for concerts and events but you can get a tour of the huge building and see the Americans old Gym and quarters from when they were in charge of the “luftbrüke” in the early 60s.

Berlin wall by Brunnenstrasse or East Side Gallery (take train to Jannowichbrücke and walk 10 min along Holzmarktstrasse

Old DDR Museum

The old HQ of the Russian Stasi. Everything is kept as it was back when they left it. Very interesting.

Abandoned Irakian Embassy in Pankow

http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2010/06/party-at-saddams-house-abandoned-iraqi.html

There are many Free walkingtours in Berlin :

http://free-berlin-tours.com/

Swimming in the lakes:

Wansee (get off at Nikolasea) – went here a lot in the summer. Costs €4 or €5 to get in but it is worth it.

Freibad Plotzensea where you can swim in the lake and rent boats.

In the summer there is a great open air Kino where a ticket costs €7

Shopping

Mitte

2^nd-hand Designer Chairs / Furniture / Mitte

Chairs (designerfurniture – all secondhand and top quality). The shop in Berlin with most Eames chairs. The cross where Fehrberlinerstrasse and Veteranenstrasse meet.

Kastanien Allé and Oderbergerstrasse  are great streets for shopping in small shops and for trying great cafés too.

If you wanna check out a mainstream shoppingcenter with different shops there is the one at Schönheuser Alle St. But I think Alexa by Alexander Plats is nicer and has greater variety.. also closer to Galeria Kaufhof with more shops.

Rosenthaler strasse – great shops / cafés and it goes to Hackescher Höfe.

Hackesher Markt on Rosenthaler Strasse is so nice and cosy.

Brünnenstrasse has nice shops and tons of cafés too at the part

Kreutzberg:

Trashy and full of character. The “arty / creative” hood in Berlin.

Oranienburgerstrasse, Wranglerstrasse and this area is cool. Full of querky shops, café´s and bars. A good place to go for a drink and cheap food and lots of 2^nd hand shops.

Charlottenburg

Kurfurstendam is the main “mainstream” shopping street in Berlin. Here you find:

Gedächniskirche which is a famous church bombed in WW2.

KaDeWe: Very popular upmarket / highend Shoppingmall. Famous and has delicious food and great views on top of building.

To and from Airport:

Schönefelt – central Berlin

Airport Xpress Train (25min to Alexander Platz) – Zone ABC (3,10€)

Normal Train (40min) same price

Tegel -> central Berlin

Bus TXL (30min) – ticket is Zone AB so 2,60€