When is the best time to go to Berlin? Shopping before Christmas or a trip to Berlin in winter. Beach season in Berlin

By plane. Air travel is the fastest and cheapest way, apart from marginal travel by bus. Tickets at special prices can be found at German discount airlines Germanwings and airberlin. If you carefully follow the information about special fares and plan your trip in advance, a round-trip ticket for one person can cost 100-140 euros. Lovers of chic can use Lufthansa, and conservatives and patriots can use Aeroflot. In spring and summer, round-trip tickets from both companies cost from 250-300 euros. Among the German sites for searching tickets for these and other airlines, I can recommend www.geruxx.de and www.ebookers.de.

By train. Several trains depart from the Belorussky railway station in Moscow and from Vitebsky in St. Petersburg to Berlin, but this is not a pleasure for everyone: you will have to spend more than a day on the way, and you will pay at least 200 euros.

By bus. The cheapest, but also the most marginal way to get to Berlin is to buy a bus ticket from one of several companies providing transportation between Moscow and Berlin. The cost of a round trip trip will be about 160 euros, but if you value at least some comfort, it is better to refuse this student shuttle option.

When to go

Since Berlin is a rather gloomy city, it is advisable for travelers prone to autumn-winter spleen to come there in spring, summer or early autumn. Winter is the best time for budget trips to Germany, since the main tourist season here begins in the spring, when it gets warmer and significantly brighter.

Minuses winter travel- this means cloudy weather and short daylight hours, in addition, all palace museums at this time of year are open an hour less than usual.

Pros: Christmas markets, an abundance of cultural events, discounts on autumn and winter collections in clothing and shoe stores, fewer tourists and, accordingly, lower prices in hotels and restaurants. But if the sun and warmth are more important to you, then you can also find holiday markets on Easter, and there are sales here all year round for a variety of occasions, especially at the end of fashion seasons.

Visa

To apply for a visa, you need to schedule an interview at the consular section of the German Embassy. Before Christmas and New Year, the number of people wishing to visit Germany, and therefore the queue for an interview, increases, but already in January the flow of tourists decreases noticeably. The next influx occurs during the summer holiday season.

The required documents to obtain a visa are two completed forms in German or English, three current photographs of the required size, a certificate from the bank or from work about income, proof of payment for the hotel, insurance, tickets, and a passport. The cost of a tourist visa is 35 euros. Website of the German Embassy in the Russian Federation - http://moskau.diplo.de/.

Language

If you speak English, you will survive in Berlin. You will always find someone speaking English at major train stations, in crowded tourist areas and, of course, in museums, theaters and concert halls. However, you need to be prepared for the fact that not everyone speaks English everywhere. At a small train station or in an ordinary supermarket around the corner, your “Do you speak English?” will not understand, but a common language can always be found: some still remember the school Russian language course, some simply understand sign language very well. In general, Germans are very good-natured towards foreigners. If you stand at any intersection with a map in your hands and stand for more than 30 seconds looking at it, some elderly lady will probably come up to you and offer to help you find your way.

Food and expenses

Restaurant bills won't give you the headaches they do neighboring countries(let's not point fingers). Here everything is somewhat more modest. You can have a snack in an establishment for 6-10 euros, but for a substantial lunch they will ask for no more than 20-30 euros. Beer costs 2.50-3.5 euros for a half-liter glass, a cup of soup will cost 2.5-3.5 euros, meat dishes 9-16 euros. Food in tents and eateries on the street will cost 2-5 euros. Of course, those who want to feel the atmosphere of Berlin are better off not going to noisy places on the tourist trails, but finding a small restaurant or beer garden not far from the hotel in some cozy alley.

In winter, many establishments serve mulled wine, which comes in handy given the unfriendly weather.

As a rule, the largest influx of visitors to establishments occurs on Friday and Saturday evenings. On weekdays after 22.00-23.00 it is difficult to get something like a hearty dinner, since the kitchen is already closed.

Of the Berlin specialties, the most famous is perhaps fried sausages with curry sauce (Currywurst), which, according to the natives, appeared here only in 1949. Also well known are bulettes (Bouletten) - minced meat cutlets. Both can be found not only in establishments, but also in street eateries. They say that before the spread of Currywurst, potato pancakes were also widely sold on the streets. Now, however, if desired, they can be found on restaurant menus. Among the “restaurant” meat dishes in Berlin, you can try the very famous Eisbein (baked pork knuckle), which is served here with a side dish of peas and sauerkraut. As a dessert, real Berliner Pfankuchen or simply Berliner are suitable for coffee - this name hides donuts with filling, but not holey ones, like ours or donuts, but whole ones, with a bun.

Maybe you will be lucky and have time to try the legendary Teltov turnip.

It is grown only in the Teltow region, which used to be a town neighboring Berlin. The French and Flemings fled there at one time, and they brought with them their varieties of turnips. These varieties were crossed with local ones and the same Telt turnip was obtained. The main season for its consumption is in autumn, but in December you can still find it on the plates of Berliners.

Italian cuisine is very popular in Germany, so you can find many pasta and pizza restaurants.

Also, in areas populated by emigrants of various stripes, you can try all sorts of exotic dishes. The Turkish diaspora, perhaps the largest in Germany, also introduced many nuances into the local cuisine of Berlin, without which it is now simply impossible to imagine the city. To eat in a Turkish restaurant, go to Kreuzberg, a traditionally Turkish area of ​​Berlin. Here you will find the famous Doner, vegetable soups, salads, dolma, delicious tea in glass glasses, baklava and much more.

Beverages. A specifically Berlin drink is Berliner Weisse, a white wheat beer with the addition of raspberry syrup or Waldmeister herbal liqueur. But you don’t have to drink only it: in the pubs, which are called Kneipe in local dialect, there is always a decent selection of beer to suit every taste. You can order a glass of beer from one of the Berlin breweries. The most famous of these is perhaps Berliner Kindl, which produces light (Pils), weak beer and both Berliner Weisse. Bockbier, a strong beer that, like other varieties, can be light or dark, is also considered traditional in Berlin. For example, it is produced by Berliner Burgerbrau, Berliner Kindl, Berlin Schultheiss.

The shops. Prefer to cook yourself? Then go to one of the supermarkets. You'll spend the least amount of money at Aldi or Lidl, but the selection is limited, to say the least. If you are a gourmet, then Edeka, Rewe and Real are for you. In some places there are even quite funny “Russian” shelves where, as a rule, you can buy buckwheat, Riga sprats, mayonnaise and sunflower seeds. The best stores are specialized ones: meat, fish and cheese shops provide the freshest (but not the cheapest!) products by weight.

The main thing to remember is that the opening hours of stores here are significantly different from what Russians are used to.

Shops are open the longest on weekdays, they always have shorter days on Saturday, and on Sunday most of them are simply closed. In extreme cases, you will be saved by the eateries and shops of emigrants, for whom the German tradition of going to church on Sundays and relaxing is not so close as to give up profits. Shops at gas stations and large train stations, which can also be open on Sundays, also prove to be life-saving.

Methods of transportation

Urban transport. Transport in Berlin is represented by the underground (U-Bahn), city trains (S-Bahn), trams (Strassenbahn) and buses (Bus).

Berlin is divided into several transport zones. Most of the objects of interest to tourists are located in zones A and B.

Any tickets you buy in the city are valid for all types of transport. The most common city ticket for two zones costs 2.10 euros and is valid for 120 minutes from the moment of composting. A day ticket costs €6.10 and is valid on the day of purchase plus 3 hours the next day. A ticket for 4 trips will cost 8 euros. There are also various types of tourist tickets, valid for 48 hours, 72 hours or 5 days. They provide the opportunity to get a discount at museums and other popular attractions in the city. In addition, there are weekly tickets and tickets for single trips around the city in small groups of up to 5 people inclusive, which significantly reduce transport costs.

You must punch purchased tickets once at the beginning of the trip on the platforms in special boxes, which are usually located at the beginning of the platform or in front of the escalator leading to the platform. On buses and trams, the boxes hang right in the cabin. The fine for violating the ticket regime is 40 euros, but I note that the inspectors are very friendly and lenient towards, by definition, stupid tourists.

You most likely won't be fined the first time, but you shouldn't test your patience.

Cards. Free maps of Berlin and transport maps can usually be obtained at any travel information point (primarily at airports and train stations), as well as at any tourist office. The website of the Berlin Transport Association www.bvg.de will be very useful if you want to see how to get from point A to point B in the shortest way, and also contains a lot of background information regarding all city transport and tickets.

Across Germany by train and plane. If you get tired of sitting in Berlin, you will need tickets for travel within Brandenburg (Landesticket) and weekend tickets (Wochenendeticket), which allow you to travel throughout Germany. Each of them is intended for a group of up to 5 people, but you can only travel on regional trains (RW, RE). IN high speed trains, which are called Intercity or Intercity Express (IC, ICE), unfortunately, will not be allowed in with such a ticket. Detailed information for travel within Germany can be found on the German Railways website www.db.de.

By the way, in winter you can find wonderful discounts on domestic flights within Germany, which will be much cheaper than train tickets.

Mitfahren. A very common service among Germans is Mitfahren, that is, “throwing” fellow travelers from point A to point B for the cost of gasoline. As a rule, we are talking about intercity trips within Germany, but you can also find people traveling to other countries. Don't be confused by this type of travel - it is a very developed habit of thrifty Germans. If someone is traveling far alone in a five-seater car, then why not save on gas and give four of them a lift? Website for finding travel companions - www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de

Car rent. The price of renting a car for a week starts from 190 euros and depends on the class of the car, its insurance and payment method. You can compare prices from different rental companies at www.expedia.de or www.billiger-mietwagen.de. The latter is very convenient for comparing the benefits of insurance offered by different companies. Rental companies in Germany are the same as everywhere else: Avis (www.avis.de), Alamo (www.alamo.de), Budget (www.budget.de), Eurocar (www.europcar.de), Hertz (www .hertz.de), National (www.nationalcar.de), Sixt (www.sixt.de), CarDelMar (www.cardelmar.de).

To enjoy traveling by car on your own, you need to acquire at least a notarized translation of your Russian license, or better yet, an international driver’s license. Just in case, it is better to bring both documents at once to Europe - both Russian and international rights.

Accommodation

In Berlin you can find everything your heart desires: luxury hotels, inns, hostels, apartments for short stays, boarding houses, villas and apartments. A room with breakfast in a small 2-3-star hotel within transport zone B will cost you about 50-80 euros for two persons. But if you are lucky enough to catch a special offer, you can find a room much cheaper. To search for hotels, you can use the well-known website www.booking.com or the official website of Berlin www.berlin.de/tourismus.

For those who want to save money, there are a lot of hostels in Berlin, where you can rent a bed in a large room with a bunch of neighbors and a shared kitchen, or a small private room with its own shower (it will cost a little less than in a hotel).

In Berlin, a very common service is “holiday apartments” (Ferienwohnungen). You will be provided with all the comforts of your own home, but it will cost less than a hotel. The attractiveness of such apartments is also in comfort: you get a kitchen furnished with everything you need, and thus the opportunity to save on going to restaurants and not depend on anyone in choosing food. When looking for an apartment, it is not at all necessary to choose the very center: areas close to the ring railway are also suitable, and the price will be lower. Even in the city center (Berlin Mitte) you can find such a “vacation” apartment, starting from 15-30 euros per night. The earlier you book your accommodation, the longer the rental period you choose, the cheaper the apartment can cost.

The sites http://www.zimmervermittlung24.com/ and http://www.berlin.de/tourismus/unterkunft/ferienwohnungen/ will help you find short-term apartments.

What to watch

Alexanderplatz This famous shopping area was once named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I. Berliners lovingly call it “Alex” and make dates at the “world clock” Uranius, which can be used to determine the time in different parts of the globe. In December there is a huge Christmas market here. There are more than fifteen of them in the city, each district has its own, including one Hanukkah one in the Jewish Museum, but Alexanderplatz has one of the largest. There are also a huge number of shoe and clothing stores located here.

Potzdamer Platz. The modern heart of Berlin, which was a wasteland for a long time after the war. During the war, this part of the city was heavily damaged, then became a neutral zone between the Allied sectors, so this is where memorial pieces of the Berlin Wall can be found. After the reunification of the two Germanys, skyscrapers grew here. In winter, one of the city's 10 skating rinks operates here. A list of other skating rinks can be found here - http://www.berlin.de/orte/eisbahnen/.

Not far from Potzdamer Platz there is the so-called Kulturforum, which includes one of the buildings of the State Library, the New National Gallery (located on Potsdamer Strasse), the Berlin Philharmonic (on Kemperplatz), the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Art Library and the Berlin Art Gallery. Kulturforum website - http://www.kulturforum-berlin.com. On the road from Potsdamer Platz to the Kulturforum on Potsdamer Strasse there is the Film Museum. There are interesting retrospective shows here almost every day. Now there is an exhibition “In the Jungle”, which is intended for children and will last until January 30, 2011 (for more details, see here http://www.filmmuseum-berlin.de/).

The Berlin Zoo is also nearby, and the Brandenburg Gate, through which the famous Unter den Linden boulevard passes, is also nearby. If you walk along the boulevard to the east, you will reach an island on the Spree River, where museums and main cathedral Berlin, which will be discussed below.

Berlin Zoo is the oldest and one of the largest zoos in Germany, it is located in the Tiergarten district and was founded in the mid-19th century by the Berlin zoologist Martin Lichtenstein. The area in which the zoo is located is called “zoo” (Tiergarten), named after the huge park located here, which was once a hunting ground. Berliners compare this park with Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York; in terms of size, it occupies an intermediate position between them. Inside the park there is the Big Star Square, and on it there is a triumphal column with the goddess Victoria, which you can even climb. But this is not the most interesting thing: the squirrels living in the park are much more interesting. Zoo website - http://www.zoo-berlin.de/.

Reichstag and its dome. A successful, world-famous architect, Norman Foster, worked here in his time, restoring the fallen dome of the Reichstag. Now this is one of the best observation platforms cities. The long queue to the roof should not scare you: it goes quite quickly, even the most intimidating one will pass in 20 minutes. To stay warm, you should buy takeaway coffee from one of the nearby cafes. Reichstag website - http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kupp.html.

Museum Island, Museuminsel. On the islet of Spreeinsel, located on the Spree River, there is one of the largest museum complexes in the world, included by UNESCO in 1999 as a World Heritage Site. The first public museum was built here in the 1830s, since then their number has increased markedly: the Old Museum, the New Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the Old National Gallery and the Bode Museum, which are part of an association called the State Museums of Berlin, are located here. The famous Pergamon Altar, the Babylonian Ishtar Gate, the head of Nefertiti, the landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, coins, Byzantine art and the art of medieval Germany are just some of the keywords that describe the countless treasures of the Berlin museums. Detailed information on the Internet about Museum Island can be found here - http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=3313&n=1.

Museum of the GDR. If you feel nostalgic for the “GDR” things in Soviet life or just want to compare how it was with them and with us (or rather, to what extent it was better for them than for us), then this is the place for you. This is a museum of socialist life. Here are collected all (or almost all) little things in which the average resident of the German Democratic Republic lived. Visitors can sit behind the wheel of a Trabant (the Germans lovingly call it Trabi), listen to the news of that time, read newspapers, watch a football match between the teams of the GDR and the FRG, go into the GDR kitchen or bedroom. Museum website - http://www.ddr-museum.de/.

Opposite the museum on the island of Spreeinsel is the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom), the largest cathedral in Berlin and at the same time the main evangelical church in all of Germany.

The cathedral acquired its modern appearance in the 19th century. Its architect, Julius Rashdoff, was highly inspired by the High Renaissance and Italian Baroque. And the organ for the cathedral was made by the famous Wilhelm Sauer, whose works can be found even in Russia. By the way, the cathedral hosts not only services, but also concerts. For example, on January 9 they will perform “Christmas Oratorio” by I.S. Bach. The cathedral website is http://www.berlinerdom.de/.

Kurfurstendamm, abbreviated Ku-damm. This was once the route along which the princes (hence the word Elector in the name) traveled from the City Palace (Stadtschloss) to the Grunewald Forest to hunt. Bismarck converted it into a boulevard after the Franco-Prussian War, after which a huge number of apartment buildings were built here in a variety of architectural styles, from various delights of historicism to modernism. In the 1920s, it gained fame as “the largest cafe in Europe,” as the American writer Thomas Wolfe called it. Now it is a long boulevard beloved by visitors and Berliners, on which hundreds of clothing stores are located: the world's most famous brands. There are quite a lot of hotels, some expensive and some not so expensive, located on the boulevard and in the side streets nearby. Shopping lovers can settle right here! Kudamm website - http://www.kurfuerstendamm.de/.

Gedachtniskirche. The Church of Remembrance, destroyed during the war, doubled the memories of Berliners. It was originally built in memory of Kaiser Wilhelm I by Wilhelm II (hence the name “Church of Remembrance”), and is now also a war monument. The church tower was left in ruins for the edification of posterity. In December, one of the city's Christmas markets is located under the church. Church website - http://www.gedaechtniskirche-berlin.de.

Gropiusstadt. This island of seemingly ordinary residential high-rises in the Neukoln area will be of particular interest to lovers of architectural history, as well as fans of the Bauhaus and the famous architect Walter Gropius. Here it becomes especially clear to what extent the ideas of the Bauhaus have become embedded in the flesh of modern urban life and how much we have become accustomed to them, without noticing it.

Charlottenburg Castle (Schloss Charlottenburg). This baroque castle, named after its owner Sophia-Charlotte of Hanover, wife of the Prussian king Frederick William I, has existed since the early 18th century and gave its name to one of the most beautiful areas of Berlin. In the 19th century, it served as the seat of the Hohenzollern dynasty, to which German emperors belonged from 1871 until 1918.

The castle and its gardens have a three-hundred-year history and are worthy of comparison with Versailles.

There are two galleries here, one of which contains paintings from the Rococo era, the other contains paintings from the Romantic era from the collection of the National Gallery of Berlin. There is also a luxurious collection of Chinese porcelain, very fashionable in Europe during the Rococo era. Charlottenburg website - http://www.spsg.de/.

Charlottenburg area. This was once a fashionable area of ​​country villas. Later, in the 20s of the last century, a huge Russian diaspora lived here. It entered the borders of Berlin just in 1920, when the Germans, following the emigrants, nicknamed the area Charlottengrad. At one time, Leonid Pasternak, Vladimir Nabokov, Marina Tsvetaeva, Ilya Erenburg, Maxim Gorky, Vladislav Khodasevich lived here. Nabokov described contemporary Berlin and Charlottenburg with surgical precision in his novel “The Gift,” so Nabokov lovers will certainly take the book with them, and for those who haven’t read it yet, a trip here is the time to start reading.

According to Berliners, the famous sausage with curry sauce (Currywurst), business card local street eateries, was born in Charlottenburg. The famous Kurfürstendamm is also located here. And on Hohenzollerndamm there is the Orthodox Holy Resurrection Cathedral, built in the 30s of the last century to replace the old church on the same street that was taken away and rebuilt as a hotel. You can read more about Charlottenburg here - http://www.charlottenburg.de/.

Not far from the fork of the three main streets of Charlottenburg - Kantstrasse, Kurfürstendamm and Hohenzollerndam, the famous department store KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) is located.

This is something like Eliseevsky in Moscow, but not only a grocery store. Once the largest shopping house in Europe, built in the 1900s, it still captures the imagination of shopping lovers. Details on the website http://www.kadewe.de/.

Charlottenburg is not the only castle in Berlin; there are at least four of them.

The oldest castle is a hunting castle Grunewald (Jagdschloss Grunewald), existing since the 16th century. It is also open to the public, also in winter, and houses a wonderful collection of paintings.

Lock Schloss Schonhausen located in the area
Pankow north of central Berlin. It opened after the restoration of the previous
in winter. The main hall of Schönhausen is a fine example of German Rococo.

And in Glienicke Castle (Schloss Glienicke), an example of late classicism, chamber classical music concerts are held every weekend, regardless of the season.

By the way, if you get to Glienicke, which is located in the southwest of Berlin, then from there it is a stone's throw to Potsdam: take the train (S or RE) from Wannsee station and in 10 minutes you are already in Potsdam. Potsdam can also be reached from Berlin Main Station (Hbf Berlin) directly by regional train (RE) in 26 minutes.

Potsdam is worth a trip if only because it is the former residence of the Prussian electors, the favorite brainchild of Frederick William I, the residence of his son Frederick II the Great (both Prussian kings are buried here), the first city connected to Berlin by the first Prussian railway, the site of the Potsdam Conference 1945, UNESCO World Heritage Site, University Center and more.

And finally, I offer you a list of Berlin events this and next year so that you can combine business with pleasure.

Concerts: Gorillas, Deep Purple, Joe Cocker, Chris de Burgh, Til Bronner, Kylie Minogue, Roxette. Details - http://www.berlin.de/tickets/rock-pop-jazz/.

Exhibition at the Historical Museum “Hitler and the Germans: Nation and Crime”. Details - http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/hitler-und-die-deutschen/.

Christmas markets in Berlin. Details - http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-deutschland.de/berlin.html.

New Year (Sylvester) at the Brandenburg Gate. Details - http://www.silvester-berlin.de/.

Annual fashion show Bread & Butter at Tempelhof Airport. Details --http://www.breadandbutter.com/.

Annual dance festival. Details - http://www.tanztage.de/.

Britspotting British and Irish Film Festival. Details - http://www.britspotting.de/.

Long Night of Museums. Details - http://www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de/.

World Numismatic Fair. Details - http://www.worldmoneyfair.ch/wmf/index.html.

Festival of electronic and experimental music and visual arts DISK Club Transmediale(takes place in the most fashionable clubs in Berlin). Details --http://www.transmediale.de.

Silent film festival Going Underground (14 90-second films are shown, the screening takes place in the Berlin subway, the best films are chosen by passengers). Details - http://www.goingunderground.de/.

Berlin Film Festival. Details - http://www.berlinale.de.

International dance festival Tanyolymp for young dancers. Details - http://www.tanzolymp.com/.

Spring Carnival in Berlin. Details - http://www.karnevals-zug-berlin.de.

International Design Festival. Details - http://dmy-berlin.com/.

Carnival of Cultures. Details - http://www.karneval-berlin.de.

Open air classical music festival. Details - http://www.classicopenair.de/.

Festival of all nations. Details - http://www.allnationsfestival.de.

Vintage car rally Hamburg-Berlin. Details - http://www.hamburg-berlin-klassik.de.

Sand sculpture festival. Details - http://www.sandsation.de/.

International Beer Festival. Details - http://www.bierfestival-berlin.de.

Night of Museums in Berlin. Details - http://www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de.

Summer festival "Music on the Water". Details - http://www.hkw.de/en/programm/2011.

Pironale, festival of pyrotechnic art. Details - http://www.pyronale.biz.

Berlin Marathon. Details - http://www.scc-events.com/events/berlin_marathon/2011/.

Festival of Lights. Details - http://www.festival-of-lights.de.

Well, if this doesn’t seem enough to you, then here is the official portal of Berlin - http://www.berlin.de, and here it is in Russian - http://www.berlin-russia.net. Have a nice trip.

The next paragraph is for those who are NOT met at the airport.

We will assume that you have housing (in Berlin or in its close or distant surroundings), otherwise how did you end up in Germany in the first place? Most likely, you will need to use the railway - a bus will take you to the nearest such station for FREE - it is 300-400 meters from the airport. At the station you need to buy a ticket at the AUTOMATIC ticket sales office. Tickets are sold (for travel within Berlin) not to a specific station, but within zones A, B, C. I will not dwell on this, I will only note that on the “remote” of the ticket office you will find descriptions of different types of tickets (in German and English languages) and by pressing the desired button you will see the price on the board. You can pay with both coins and banknotes. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that by purchasing a ticket you DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to travel. The ticket must be validated in RED machines, usually located at the entrance to the station or near the ticket machines. The ticket is valid for ALL TYPES OF TRANSPORT (but within 2 hours if you bought a ticket for a single trip (EINZIELKARTE)). I note that in the metro you will also not see turnstiles and the procedure for purchasing tickets there is exactly the same (and the automatic ticket offices themselves are the same). On city trains and the metro, tickets are rarely checked. But I don’t recommend traveling without a ticket - the fine is 60 marks, and you can (although not necessarily) run into bigger troubles - they will be blacklisted by Schengen countries.

So, you have safely arrived at the stop you need in the center of Berlin (this is most likely one of the Alexanderplatz, Friedrichstrasse or Zoo stations). If you don’t have time for excursions on this day, but need to go further, take a look first at the website img.bahn.de - the official website of the German railways - there you will find when and how much you can get from Berlin (and from any other place ) to the point you need in Germany. The cost of train travel in Germany is a separate matter and perhaps I will return to it later. If you are free of luggage, or it is very small and you have time for excursions, I advise you to go straight to the ZOOLOGISHE GARDEN (zoo) station or, as it is sometimes called, simply to ZOO. In this case, buy immediately at the TAGESKARTE airport (it will cost 8 marks 70 pfenigs). With this ticket you can travel all day long on all types of transport (however, I indicated the price only for trips within zones A and B, but this is enough to see the main attractions of Berlin; a trip to Potsdam will require a slightly higher cost).

When you get to the station square in ZOOLOGISHE GARDEN, look for bus N100. Feel free to enter it (you have a ticket, and if the time is no later than 20.00), then you don’t need to show it!), but only from the FRONT AREA, where the driver sits, and go up to the second floor - the path is relatively long, but Everything will be visible from above. This route was opened on November 26, 1990 in order to introduce the residents of West and East Berlin (nightmare word) to the city in which they now live together, and passes through all the main attractions of Berlin (excluding Charlottenburg). You will pass by a church with a destroyed dome, Europa-imgnter, a statue of the German victory over the French in 1881, the Presidential Palace, the Reichstag and through the Brandenburg Gate you will enter the main street of the former East Berlin - Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees"). On the right you will see the building of the Russian Embassy (just in case), on the left - a monument to Frederick the Great, then the opera building and, in the depths on the left - the Island of Museums (Museum Insel), as well as the DOM - a huge cathedral. Further on the right is the town hall (red building) and the TV tower. Here I recommend getting out (THROUGH THE BACK DOOR) and looking around (by the way, you could get off at any other stop, and then continue the route - you paid for everything).

Now you need to decide what to do next. If time is short, go to the other side and take the N200 bus. Of course, you can take the N100 again, but the N200 will return you to ZOO in almost the same way, except that you will pass through the new center of Berlin - Potsdamerplatz - it is worth seeing at least from afar (by the way, at one of the bus stops in the Potsdamerplatz area You can use INTERNET(!) services).

If you have time, visit Berlin TV tower(especially since we are unlikely to be able to climb Ostankinskaya now). This pleasure costs 10 marks, open from 10.00 to 24.00. View of Berlin from the tower, especially in good weather, simply wonderful. Then we quickly walk past the town hall (a large red building near the tower) to the Nikolai-firtel district - beautiful area with ancient buildings. Then we go to the DOM Cathedral (it’s not worth entering, there’s nothing particularly interesting inside) and again thoughts - on the right - Museum Island - you need to set aside a special day to visit it (and if you happen to be in Berlin on the FIRST SUNDAY of the month, then this is exactly what you need to do on this day, since on the FIRST SUNDAY of the month a visit to any of the Berlin museums is FREE), and to the left and slightly ahead in the depths above the buildings you will see a gilded sculpture on the dome of the French House - this is a building on the Gendarmenmarkt - the most beautiful square in Berlin. I advise you to definitely visit this square - there is a conservatory building with a monument to Schiller in front of it, as well as, in addition to the French House (erected in connection with the arrival of the French in Berlin, who fled from the massacre of St. Matthew's Night in Paris), and the building of the German House with a small museum of German stories in it.

It seems to me that by this moment you should be tired and hungry. If you have enough money, any restaurant is at your service - there is plenty of it in the Gendarmenmarkt area. But if you are on a budget, I recommend going to a modest cafe, which is located at the intersection of Charlotten strasse and Taubenstrasse. You can find it as follows. Behind the conservatory building (at the intersection of these streets) you will see a green inscription Lutter&Wegner. Walk past this restaurant about 10 meters along Taubenstrasse and under the arch you will see the sign Cafeteria. Feel free to go up to 2 or 3 floors (the ones at the top are a little more expensive). Here you can eat for 4-5 marks (meaning the second course). By the way, here you can use the toilet for free (at Unter den Linden there are paid booths and I’ve even seen people go there
in pairs, but we won’t do that). There is also a free toilet on the Reichstag dome, where (of course, to the Reichstag) we will go now by returning to Unter den Linden and walking along it to the Brandenburg Gate, and then to the right. You can climb the dome from 8.00 to 22.00 (with the exception of extraordinary events such as NATO council meetings), admission is FREE, and look at the surrounding area from above. In addition, through the system of windows from the dome you can see how meetings take place inside the Reichstag.

Having descended from the Reichstag, let's approach the monument to Soviet soldiers who died during the capture of Berlin. If you have flowers, put them down - unfortunately I don't see them here very often. If not, let's just stand and remember them - they stopped Nazism. Unfortunately, I sometimes see its sprouts again in Germany (and not only in Germany). But that's another conversation...

The day has passed. Now you can take the N100 bus or walk to Potsdamerplatz (a 10-minute walk), wander around this new area and return to ZOO using the N200 bus. There is a Europa-imgnter with a water clock and a system of various restaurants and shops (which, after the construction of Okhotny Ryad in Moscow, look rather provincial) - and Kurfürstendamm Street (or Kudamm for short) is a former showcase of the Western world with a KDW store and a number of other expensive and cheap shops in its surroundings. But now you know everything yourself, and you don’t need me anymore.

Berlin is a city that invites tourists to immerse themselves in an atmosphere of fun, lightness, and intricacy. There is everything that might interest you - serious operas and comic performances, national cuisine and dishes of the world, historical museums and entertainment venues. Germany is the capital of fashion, art, design, music. Berlin was the site of the beginning of the revolution, fell into ruins after the Second World War and rose from the ashes.

Berlin Drama Theater (Photo © Joan / www.flickr.com / License CC BY-NC 2.0)

When to go?

Every traveler is concerned with the question, when is the best time to go to Berlin? In spring or autumn, the weather is stable, and the city itself hosts a wide variety of events, activities, and festivals. Summer is the time of “migration”, when the local population goes on vacation in search of warmth, and Europeans come in search of cool weather. At this time, a huge number of beer festivals, beach discos, and concerts are held.

Top 5: how to feel like a Berliner?

1. Rent a bike and go on a journey through the excellent asphalt streets of Berlin.
2. Take a walk in the afternoon in the Bergmannkiez quarter and stop by a cafe you like.
3. Go to the Panorama Bar or Berghain club, and for this you will have to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning.
4. Visit the museums of Museum Island on Tuesday, when establishments are open until 22:00.
5. Have lunch or a beer in a café on the banks of the Landwehr canal, for example Defne or Café Jacques.

Top 10: the most interesting things to do in Berlin

Top 15: what is worth seeing in Berlin?

If you are in Berlin for the first time, do not forget to take a memorable photo with the Brandeburg Gate in the background, otherwise it will be difficult to prove to your friends that you were in Berlin.

If you have very little time and want to run around Museum Island, go explore the Pergamon Museum, which is a real treasure for lovers of antiquity.

You can’t be in Berlin without trying the legendary currywurst, which characterizes the city’s culinary preferences.

Remember that tickets to the Philharmonic or Opera should be booked two months in advance, a visit to the Neues Museum, the Pergamon Museum or the Reichstag Dome will need to be planned a month in advance, and a table at a fancy restaurant should be reserved a week in advance.

Watch a video about what to do in Berlin

How do we save up to 25% on hotels?

Everything is very simple - we use a special search engine RoomGuru for 70 hotel and apartment booking services with the best price.

Bonus for renting apartments 2100 rubles

Instead of hotels, you can book an apartment (on average 1.5-2 times cheaper) on AirBnB.com, a very convenient worldwide and well-known apartment rental service with a bonus of 2100 rubles upon registration

Many who live in Berlin will say that Berlin may be the capital, but it is not. And I would add – this is the history of Germany.

First of all, when you get to this city, you see the “border”. Just 27 years ago it was divided into West Berlin (Germany) and East Berlin (GDR). But for me, the symbol of the city here is not the Wall that was located between them, but those walls, buildings in which the undisguised spirit of the events experienced is still felt...

Freedom-loving and uncouth, protesting and truthful West Berlin can be found in strange, seemingly half-abandoned courtyards. And the east - with its architectural rigor, Soviet functionality, monumentality.

Berlin, where fateful decisions were made every hour. Berlin, which is dotted with monuments and memorials to the victims and heroes of the great tragedy.

This concentration and tension results in a large number of modern movements - in art, politics and social life.

But besides this, German classics always remain alive here, collected within the walls of Berlin galleries, heard in the Philharmonic, opera and theaters - in the works of the greatest German masters.

For all this, you definitely need to go and discover “your” Berlin.

How to get there

By plane

If Berlin is your first or only destination, book your plane ticket with confidence. This is one of the most affordable destinations in Europe. Every day there are five flights from Sheremetyevo, two from Domodedovo. One from Pulkovo ().

Most often I have to fly with Aeroflot, since this is probably the best price/comfort/connection option for residents from the regions.

A standard direct flight to Berlin (round trip) will cost 180-200 euros.

But if you are faced with the task of saving money, try:

• subscribe to the Aeroflot, German Wings, S7 newsletters and follow their promotions;
• combine “the cheapest flight to the nearest European city at the moment” with a local low-cost airline or bus.

For example, my last flight Pobeda + Ryanair cost 40 euros one way.

Experienced travelers monitor promotions and special offers for air travel on various search engine sites, for example.

There are two operating airports in Berlin: Schönefeld and Tegel. You can easily get from them to any point in the city by public transport. Since there are many options, it is better to check the address in advance and choose the most convenient route.

From Schönefeld:

Following the signs, exit the airport building in the direction of bus stops or city trains. Such overground train lines in Berlin will be designated S (S-bahn), while the subway will be designated U (U-bahn).

• S-bahn S9 and S45 depart every 10 minutes. A good option if the line that suits you passes through the large railway junctions Ostkreuz (S9) or Südkreuz (S45), which they cross.
• Regional lines (Airport Express) RE 7/RB 14. Run twice an hour and the journey to the main station is only 30 minutes. The route also passes through important points of the city, and, most likely, this option will be the most optimal.
• BusSeveral buses connect the airport with the surrounding area. Buses with the X prefix will be fast, and N will be night buses.

Schönefeld is located in transport zone C, so you will need a ticket valid for zone ABC or BC to travel.

From Tegel:

Tegel is not that far away and is primarily served by a bus system. Finding a stop based on the signs and signs when exiting the terminal is not difficult.

• The TXL express bus runs on the route Tegel – S Beusselstraße – S+U Hauptbahnhof – S+U Brandenburger Tor – S+U Alexanderplatz.
• X9 – goes to S+U Zoologischer Garten with one stop: S+U Jungfernheide.
• 128 and 109 – along routes.

By train

The train is a comfortable transport. For a standard adult ticket Moscow-Berlin you will have to pay 150 euros. On your birthday, but +/- 7 days you can get a 35% discount!

From Moscow the journey will take 24 hours. There is no way to get to Berlin from St. Petersburg without a transfer. As an option, Russian Railways offers to get to Prague in 36 hours and the same 150 euros.

Berlin's main station (Hauptbahnhof) is a huge transport hub and is located almost in the city center.

Both long-distance trains and city transport (including buses) leave from its platforms every minute in any direction.

By bus

If for some reason you want to spend more than 35 hours on the road with free coffee and access to an outlet, you can use the services. Such a pleasure from Moscow will cost 70-80 euros, with two transfers in Latvia and Lithuania. The advantage is that you can carry three pieces of luggage up to 30 kg with a size limit of 20*55*60 cm.

For me, sitting for a day and a half is still a very extreme activity. Therefore, I would choose the bus only as an addition.

Starting by bus from St. Petersburg is Luxexpress, which will take you to nearby Tallinn, Riga or Vilnius with all amenities for 15, 30 or 50 euros, respectively.

The most popular carrier in Europe is Flixbus or EuroLines. FlixBus is convenient because in almost every city you can choose either the central bus station or the airport as your departure/arrival point.

In Berlin, the main bus station is considered the main one; from it you can get to your desired location by U2 (Kaiserdamm station), S41/42/46 (S Messe Nord/ICC) or by bus on routes M49, 139, 218.

By car

The road will be approximately 1,818 km. The optimal route is through Belarus and Poland. You can build a route in advance in applications that will lay it without a network, for example, Navitel or Maps.mi.

By ferry

The ferry is a very Scandinavian transport in my opinion. Is it advisable for them to get to Berlin? Maybe. If you are already traveling by car and intend to continue your trip around Germany.

What are the options here? Let's take two adults and a car as an example.

1. Gedser – Rostock – ideal connection between Denmark and Germany, 2 hours and 41 euros for two with a car. From Rostock to Berlin – 233 km
2. Trelleborg – Rostock is 6 hours between Sweden and Germany at an average price of 60 euros.
3. Oslo – Kiel – 20 hour ferry journey. The minimum cost is 300 euros, which includes two berths in the cabin and a ticket for your car. And then 355 km along the highway to Berlin.
4. Helsinki – Travemunde – 29 hours and 240 euros per seat place, a ticket to a cabin will cost approximately 490 euros. Plus 316 km to Berlin.

Clue:

Berlin - the time is now

Hour difference:

Moscow 1

Kazan 1

Samara 2

Ekaterinburg 3

Novosibirsk 5

Vladivostok 8

When is the season? When is the best time to go

Definitely: summer. It may still be early autumn.

At all other times of the year, there is a feeling that you are constantly freezing. Here, for example, is spring. Everything just tells you that she has come: flowers have bloomed, trees with huge green crowns, the sun is bright. But outside, let’s say it’s +7. And at night 0. And a chilly wind. In winter, wet snow, hail, and a gloomy mood are added to this. Although, you can also find its charm in this.

In the summer, everything is transformed: from courtyards, roofs and to beaches - filled with locals and tourists, happy and loud, smiling companies. It’s as if the city itself is becoming welcoming.

Berlin - weather by month

Clue:

Berlin - weather by month

Districts. Where is the best place to live?

The districts here have a taste and color!

You need to settle in the place where you want to spend most of your time, and especially walk.

• Neukölln(Neukölln). This is the concentration of everything that happens in the world: modern, organic, craft and authentic. It is now home to numerous galleries, bars, clubs and local designer shops. Plus, being a little further south of the center, it offers more than affordable housing prices. But despite the fact that cultural life The area is developing rapidly; in general terms, it cannot be called prosperous. And multiculturalism here goes strongly towards the Turkish side.

• Kreuzberg (Kreuzberg). Having become the center of alternative movements and squatting in the 1970s and 1980s, it is still rightfully considered a center of protest sentiments and socio-cultural entertainment. Here you can endlessly walk around the neighborhood, looking into the courtyards and alleys with a break for Vietnamese food or Turkish street food, lie down on the shore, in the park or on the first lawn that comes along. Here are also the bridge-visited piece of the Wall and the must-visit clubs of Berlin.

• Mitte(Mitte). Here are such iconic points of Berlin as the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and Checkpoint Charlie, Alexanderplatz, as well as the museum island, Berlin Cathedral and many many others. In this area there is a large number of hotels, and therefore tourists. But finding a pleasant place to stay here really won’t be difficult, especially if your budget allows. I would still recommend choosing a hotel a little further away, closer to Rosenthaler Platz.

• Prenzlauer Beerg (Prenzlauer Berg). Located east of Mitte and north of Kreuzberg. In my opinion, the most pleasant central corner of Berlin. This area was virtually undamaged during the war and retained the uniform appearance of the old city buildings. It is moving into the category of more prestigious ones, although not without the same informal establishments, second-hand stores, showrooms and design studios.

• Marzahn(Marzahn). It’s probably a bit difficult to wander here by chance. This is a residential area with panel buildings that will seem very familiar to you. However, the residents of Berlin themselves would call it a place with a very dubious reputation. Perhaps because before the war a Nazi concentration camp was built here to house arrested Gypsies. Now it will be interesting to come here to visit the Stasi prison museum, as well as the Gardens of the Worlds.

Since hosting guests via AirB"n"B in Berlin has recently become illegal, your options for where to stay are now unfortunately limited by the availability of suitable accommodation in the area. I usually look for hotels on, and you can compare prices from different sites.

What are the prices for holidays?

Berlin is becoming more and more expensive every year. However, prices are still the lowest in Germany. However, Berlin offers a wide variety of budget activities - from street galleries, parks, festivals and flea markets.

Let’s imagine a day in Berlin according to the maximum price/quality ratio program:

• Housing – 40 euros;
• Day transport – 8 euros;
• Lunch – 15 euros;
• Day excursion – 20 euros;
• Dinner – 25 euros;
• Club (entrance) – 12 euros;
• Taxi to the hotel – 20 euros.

Total, 140 euros.

Main attractions. What to see

In Berlin, you need to see what you are passionate about. The first two times my friends brought me exclusively to Kreuzberg and Neukölln. And we walked there, walked, walked. The whole city seemed like a living open museum. When they had to drive past Alexanderplatz (read more about the central Berlin square), they pointed in that direction and said: “Well, where are all these sights, you can walk by yourself later.”

And yet, what are these places, without which Berlin is not Berlin, and what you need to know about them.

Top 5

Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor)

As a rule, similar arches in Europe were a fragment of the walls surrounding the city, and, accordingly, the main entrance. The Brandenburg Gate was built as the Peace Gate between 1778 and 1791 to replace the old ones. Using them, one could trace the history of Germany and the events that changed the direction of the country's development: the victorious marches of the victorious soldiers - the formation of the German Empire, and the revolution of 1918; and processions of National Socialists, and Soviet shells.

Perhaps it was 1961 that became a turning point for the modern meaning of the gate. The construction of the Berlin Wall began from them, and the gates were isolated. They formally belonged to the Soviet zone, but were cut off from the city by two walls. Ronald Reagan’s speech in 1987 with an appeal to Gorbachev and a call to “open the gates,” that is, to tear down this wall, also becomes symbolic here. And two years later - a celebration of unification and freedom!

Today, however, the carefully restored gates do not show. One can only imagine all the vicissitudes and destruction to which they were subjected.

Memorial to the victims of X olok osta(Holocaust-Mahnmal)

More than 6 million Jews were killed during World War II.

Two thousand seven hundred concrete steles are a giant gray mass in the middle of the city - Peter Eisenman's project about a crime that is impossible to comprehend.

There is an information center at the Memorial. You can visit it for free.

Galere I East Side(East Side Gallery)

This is the name of the longest fragment of the wall, currently an open-air gallery.

In 1990, 118 artists from 21 countries gathered here to create their statements about the mechanisms of absurdity and subordination, imprisonment and sacrifice, freedom and hope, peace and morality.

Those le tower (Fernsehturm)

Now it seems as if the tower was not slammed into the city center in 1965, but the city was built around the tower. As conceived by the GDR government, it was supposed to be visible from anywhere in West Berlin, serve as evidence of technological progress and show the prestige of the new socialist East Germany. Of course, with an additional instruction to designers that they should not feel limited by the presence of buildings of ancient architecture on the development site.

In fact, the tower is now one of the central attractions, a landmark at any time of the day (for Alexanderplatz) and an observation deck with a restaurant.

Museum Island (Museum sinsel)

It is rightfully considered the center of world art. Located on a very small island of the Spree River, five museums have collected amazing works by recognized masters, collections of ancient art and ancient artifacts.

In addition, work is underway next door to restore the City Palace - Stadtschloss, which was partially destroyed during the war and then finally demolished by order of the leader of the GDR. The space of the new building will be occupied by exhibits from the ethnographic museum and the museum of Asian art. The opening is planned for 2019.

Beaches. Which ones are better

Beaches, beach bars, outdoor pools blend perfectly with the Berlin urban environment. Needless to say, people don’t come here for a bronze tan. But already the first warm days of May give Berliners the freedom to pour sand along the banks of the canals, arrange sun loungers and again create romance out of nothing.

Let's see where you can go for sunbathing.

Churches and temples. Which ones are worth visiting?

Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)

Walking around the museum island, you cannot ignore it. A stately baroque giant 98 meters high and a neat green lawn. In the immediate vicinity is the Lustgarten park in its original vision by Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

Anyone who decides to go inside (entrance 7 euros), among other things, will have the opportunity to climb the dome and serenely look at the city, as well as listen to the organ of the great master Wilhelm Bauer.

St. Mary's Church (St. Marienkirche Berlin)

Dating from the early 14th century, it is one of the oldest surviving churches in Berlin.

It is notable for the fresco “Dance of Death”, its width is 22 meters.

Memorial Church of Kaiser Wilhelm, Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, Gedächtniskirche)

Also considered iconic in Berlin. Its dome was destroyed during World War II and rebuilt in 1961 in the style of a “box of glass, metal and concrete” designed by designer and architect Egon Eiermann.

The most convenient way to get there is from the Kurfürstendamm metro station (U1, U9), or Berlin Zoologischer Garten, where metro, train and bus lines run.

German and French cathedrals (Deutscher Dom, Französischer Dom)

Located on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt square.

Both churches with a long history, restored after the war, now serve as museums.

Church of St. Hedwig (Sankt-Hedwigs-Kathedrale)

You can also visit this cathedral, built in the 18th century for Catholic immigrants. It houses the remains of Bernard Lichtenberg, a canon of the cathedral who, from 1931 (until he was arrested by the Nazis), held public evening prayer services here in memory of the dead Jews.

Apart from the Kaiser Wilhelm Church, all the others are within walking distance of each other in the Mitte area from Alexanderplatz to Stadmitte.

On the map I marked all the above-mentioned Berlin churches. As you can see, everything is nearby.

Museums. Which ones are worth visiting?

Berlin museums are a huge separate subject for studying. Indeed, literally everything is worth a visit. Although for this you will probably have to move here for a while.

Roughly speaking, the city’s museum life can be divided into the following categories:

• state museums with art galleries of old masters, history of antiquity and culture different countries;
• museums dedicated to war, terror, the Berlin Wall, East Germany;
• contemporary galleries, small and non-profit foundations;
• specialized: technical, music, design, cinema;
• event-based – biennials and other festivals.

I will add that if you have the intention of visiting traditional historical or art galleries, then the best option to save money here would be to buy a 72-hour pass + Museumsinsel (Museum Island), where you should first go to the Old National Gallery. Read about this place.

Parks

A huge green forested area in the center of Berlin is the Tiergarten with winding paths and various monuments.

Only Berlin-Tempelhof is larger in area than it. This is a former airport with a significant past, which, after its closure, the townspeople did not allow the authorities to develop, but showed by their own example how to properly manage empty lawns.

Local parks can be found in every area. Mauerpark in Prenzlauer Berg, Görlitzer Park and Viktoriapark in Kreuzberg, Volkspark, which means People's Park, in Friedrichshain. You can read more about which one is better to go to on a warm day and how to spend time there in review of Berlin parks.

What to see in the area

The city is very close to Berlin. It is even located in the same department and belongs to the tariff zone of urban transport - zone C.

When you hear "Potsdam", the first association is the Potsdam Conference. It actually took place here from July 17 to August 2, 1945 at the Cecilienhof Palace.

However, why you should go here is to see the magnificent palaces and parks - more than 150 heritage monuments. They appeared here after 1660 because the city first became the hunting residence of Frederick William I, Crown Prince of Brandenburg, and subsequently the residence of the Prussian royal family.

Read the optimal route and a short excursion to the capital of the federal state of Brandenburg Here.

Food. What to try

Brelin's multinationality sets a corresponding tone in food. Apart from the famous German fast food currywurst, that is, numerous variations of serving sausages, the most delicious cuisine here will be any other cuisine: Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian.

Prices vary greatly. You can find satisfying and fairly high-quality street food for 3 euros, have dinner in an affordable cafe for 20 euros, and spend an evening in a restaurant for 50 euros.

Out of interest in national cuisine You can order schnitzel or pork knuckle (Eisbein), which will be served with German-style sauerkraut. However, be careful with the Königsberger Klopse dish if you do not want to be disappointed. They will bring you something very reminiscent of Russian tender meatballs with mashed potatoes. On the street, feel free to take the above-mentioned currywurst.

Budget

• Curry 36 on Mehringdamm 36;
• Konnopke's Imbiss on Schönhauser Allee 44b;
• Imren on Boppstr. 10;
• Miss Saigon at Skalitzer Strasse 38.

Mid-level

• Chicha on Friedelstr. 34;
• Industry Standard at Sonnenallee 83;
• Standard Pizza on Templiner Straße 7.

Expensive

• Zenkichi at Johannisstraße 20;
• The Store Kitchen on Torstr. 1;
• Nobelhart & Schmutzig on Friedrichstr. 218;
• Einsunternull at Hannoversche Straße 1;
• Dóttir at Mittelstraße 40;
• Crackers on Friedrichstr. 158.

Holidays

Probably, in Berlin it is worth listing not so much holidays as festivals and events. The dates are mostly floating, so I will indicate approximately.

• Berlinale Film Festival in mid-February. Designed for a wide audience: the program includes Hollywood premieres, films by established European directors, and new independent ones, a children's program, documentaries, a retrospective of classics, and modern visual art. The film is shown in the original language with German and English subtitles. Ticket sales open 3 days before the film screening.
• May Day demonstration (Myfest, 1. Mai) in Kreuzberg, which, on the one hand, is known for a rather aggressive protest march, and on the other hand, it flows into mass celebrations, concerts and barbecues.
• Carnival of Cultures with a four-day program of national foods, dances and musical performances from around the world in mid-May.
• Love Parade (Zug der Liebe) at the end of July. This is a techno-declaration of tolerance and humanism, a dance procession-statement about boundless love, regardless of differences and opposites.

• Beer festival(Internationales Berliner Bierfestival) at the beginning of August. Just like Oktoberfest, representatives of beer factories come from all regions and offer about 2,000 different types of beer on tap.
• Long night for the muse ev (Lange Nacht der Museen) also held in August.
• Berlin Marathon(BMW Berlin-Marathon) in September, one of the most prestigious in the world.
• Festival of lights in October. In it, Berlin is transformed into one vibrant installation. Concerts and laser shows are added to this.
• Christmas markets with the smell of mulled wine begin in November a month before Christmas and take place simultaneously in several places. The most famous is Weihnachtszauber on Gendarmenmarkt.
• New Year can be found at the Brandenburg Gate: live music, food stalls and lots and lots of fun.

Safety. What to watch out for

Despite the fact that the city does not seem to be full of prosperity, absolutely everyone says that Berlin is more than safe. Well, unless bicycles are stolen, yes. And so, in any situation you just need to adhere to common sense.

Lately They ask a lot about refugees. Berlin has always been a special space where people of different cultures and views coexist, where it is customary to openly express one’s position and accept others. Due to this, aggression is reduced to a minimum.

Things to do

First thing

Realize that you can’t do everything in Berlin. But precisely because of the mass of what is happening, perhaps, that very relaxed feeling arises: if you miss one thing, then there will definitely be something else. And then, to find out for sure and not bite your elbows later, open Zitty (this is the most famous Berlin guide, there is a printed and online version), which contains reviews of all upcoming events in the field of music, cinema, art and entertainment,

In advance

The Reichstag, as a symbol of democratic Germany, is a must-see. But in order for this not to be “for show,” you need to get to know it from the inside: sign up for a lecture (in the gallery overlooking the meeting room) on how Parliament functions. It is held in English.

Or, the second option - visit the dome with a view of Berlin and a short excursion into the history of the Bundestag (audio guide). All this is free, you just need to plan your visit in advance: the available visiting time may be another two weeks later.

On Thursday

Markthalle neun or indoor market no. 9. At the end of the 19th century, there were 14 such markets in Berlin, and, as the story goes, some of them were destroyed, while others were rebuilt as commercial supermarkets.

The Markthalle 9 project envisioned the revival of the culture of high-quality and healthy food from local producers, which now sounds more than modern. On Thursdays from 17:00 to 22:00 there is a kind of food festival called Street food Thursday. On it you will find “home” cuisines from completely different parts of the country, and, as expected, it promises a lot of organic, bio and simple human fun.

On a rainy day

If you find yourself in bad weather, the best way to hide from the cold, biting wind and rain and gloomy mood is the Berlin Botanical Garden (Botanische Garten).

Greenhouses and conservatories with a microclimate appropriate for plants with a total area of ​​6000 m² will not only warm you up, but will also awaken the research potential in everyone.

What I listed above is more of a starting point, like a plan for waking up and starting your day without thinking for a long time. All you need is to grasp your state and build your plan around it (what’s nearby and what you want).

Thus, Markthalle 9 lies on the way to explore Kreuzberg from Bethaniendamm to Oberbaumbrücke towards the East Side Gallery and numerous bars any day of the week until the morning.

Near Botanical Garden You can find the Berlin-Dahlem Museum Center with collections from the Ethnological Museum, Asian art and European cultures.

Where there is the Reichstag, there is the Tiergarten, the Brandenburg Gate, there is the Holocaust Memorial, and the Church of St. Mary, then Museum Island. On the other side is Potsdamer Platz - a modern center of attraction for tourists, rebuilt from scratch in the late 90s. There is also the Sony Center and the Berlinale Palace - the venue for the Berlin Film Festival and other international film premieres. Behind it is the Philharmonic and the Kulturforum gallery complex.

Bars. Where to go

High ceilings, shabby walls, huge windows opening outwards, vintage armchairs - this is probably what the most typical Brelin establishment now looks like, attracting seemingly eternally resting young people, regardless of whether it’s a weekday or a weekend.

A good example of this is Nathanja and Heinrich– a spacious and noisy, but completely unobtrusive bar.

Address: Weichselstrasse 44. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 13:00 to 03:00. Cocktails ot 7 euros.

The next point is a claim to cocktail skill. Schwarze Traube. Its owner is something of a legend in the world of mixology. It is not customary to choose from the menu here; they create cocktails according to the individual wishes of the guests.

Address: Wrangelstraße 24. Open daily 19:00–02:00, Friday and Saturday until 04:00. Average price per cocktail –10 euros.

Bar Central– minimalist interior, promising atmosphere. Amazing cocktail menu.

Address: Lotte-Lenya-Bogen 551. Waiting for guests every day from 17:00 to 02:00, on Friday and Saturday until 03:00. The price for a cocktail is 10 euros.

But if you still prefer traditional German beer, then this Prater –"beer garden" serving visitors since 1852. In the courtyard there are massive wooden tables, plates filled with local snacks bratwurst and bretzeln (sausages and pretzels) and, of course, beer. And inside there is a traditional German restaurant, where brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 16:00.

Address: Kastanienallee 7-9. The beer garden is open daily from midday from April to September, and the restaurant is open only on Sundays from 12:00. Other days – from 18:00. Closes at 24:00.The average check is 20 euros. Be careful, cards are not accepted for payment, only cash.

Bierhaus Urban – this is an old Berlin pub that claims to be open 24 hours a day. Here on Tuesdays and Thursdays you can listen to Jazz and Blues live sessions.

Address: Urbanstr.126. Prices are average. P ivo – 3-5 euros, cocktails – 8-13 euros.

In fact, there are countless bars in Berlin. New places with lively and vibrant energy are constantly opening:

• Ora. Oranienplatz 14, Mon – Sat 10:00–01:00, Sun until 00:00, €€;
• Luzia. Oranienstraße 34, 10:00–3:00 daily, €€;
• Twinpigs. Boddinstrasse 57, Tuesday to Saturday, 14:00–03:00, €€;
• Victoria Bar. Potsdamer Strasse 102, daily 18:30–03:00, Fri–Sat until 04:00, €€€;
• Prince Charles. Aufbau Haus, Prinzenstrasse 85, Wednesday to Saturday, from 20:00 until the morning, €€€;
• Stagger Lee. Nollendorfstrasse 27, open from 18:00, in summer from 20:00; Mon-Sat until 02:00, Sun until 00:00, €€€.

Clubs and nightlife

Club life in Berlin is so developed that if you turned the clock over, you could lead a full-fledged nightlife.

The strongest techno scene combined with dozens of industrial spaces and other industrial premises, once used for their intended purpose, but now rebuilt as dance floors, create a unique image of the world capital of electronic music.

Let's try to figure out which clubs are worth visiting, how to get there and what to expect in my next material.

Souvenirs. What to bring as a gift

On the shelves of souvenir shops you will immediately notice the most popular products here: Berlin bears, traffic light men (Ampelmann), I love Berlin bags. Other items with the symbols of the city have also not been canceled.

But I would still highlight one quite souvenir item: this mint liqueur in the shape of the Brandenburg Gate. Berliners themselves enjoy drinking the drink, and it costs only 12 euros in the store.

For handmade souvenirs, you can go to Karl-Marx-Straße 83, where the products of the Ajoy souvenir factory are presented. They work with local artists and communities to create pieces that reflect the mood of the times.

How to get around the city

The transport system in Berlin functions as a single organism: S-bahn, U-bahn, buses, trams, ferries. There can be countless combinations of how to get from point A to point B. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is download a special application. Can it be official? BVG, I use a similar one with a convenient interface - VBB.

All. Now you can safely set routes and not be afraid of getting confused. You may not understand how the S-bahn differs from the U-bahn. And what metro lines are there? Just understand that trains are very rarely late. And that at night traffic intervals increase; not all routes operate.

Although, perhaps, it is still worth deciding on the zones. The entire network is divided into three zones: A, B and C. Most often you will move in zone AB. And zone C, for example, may be needed if you are traveling to Schonefeld airport or went for a walk in Potsdam.

The second thing you need to do is buy a ticket. It’s worth going into a little more detail here.

What I would like to know in advance, even before the trip, is that travel should be an integral part of the budget. And better than cash.

So, to choose the most suitable type of ticket, you need to answer several questions for yourself:

1. How often will you use public transport?
2. How long are you planning to stay in Berlin?
3. How far will you travel?

Single and day tickets

A one-time one may be useful to you, for example, if you have just arrived and have not yet had time to decide on the above issues. Or you decided that you will travel on foot or, say, by bicycle.

Price one way ticket, which is valid for 2 hours:

• zone AB – 2.80 euros;
• ABC zone – 3.30 euros.

There is also short single ticket, up to three u-bahn/s-bahn stations (transfers are allowed), up to 6 tram/bus stops (transfers are not allowed) Moreover, in the case of an express route, stops that the bus skips must also be counted. The cost of such a ticket is 1.70 euros.

Day ticket costs 7 euros for zone AB and 7.60 for ABC. Valid current day until 3am.

It is most convenient to buy tickets at the terminals, which are located there. On the bus, a one-time ticket can be purchased from the driver.

You need to know that the purchased ticket is notwill be valid until you “validate” it in a special machine, where the current date and time will be printed. Such machines are located in metro stations (on the platform) and in buses/trams (inside, in carriages).

Tariffs for tourists

For tourists planning to actively visit local attractions, Berlin transport offers special tickets Berlin CityTourCard and Berlin WelcomeCard, with which you can not only move freely in selected areas, but also receive discounts from 15% to 50% on visits to museums, excursions, restaurants and others entertainment. Cards differ in the set of included discounts, so it is most convenient to buy such a ticket by studying the catalog in the Info Center. It seemed to me that the Welcome Card provides more opportunities to get a discount on traditional attractions, when the CityTourCard is more focused on entertainment.

If it is not possible to immediately go to the Berlin Tourist Info, you can purchase a tourist ticket from a machine, then find a BVG sales office and receive a discount card with the ticket (without it you will not be able to take advantage of the offers).

So, you will be able to choose:

• Cards with travel for 48 hours, 72 hours, 72 + Museumsinsel (free entry to museums located on Museum Island). The clock starts counting from the moment they are “composted”.
• Travel cards for 4, 5 and 6 days. Valid from the date of purchase and ends at midnight on the fourth, fifth and sixth days respectively.

If you prefer to travel by rented car, you can look at offers and prices.

Taxi. What features exist

One taxi ride in Berlin is comparable in cost to a bus ticket to Prague and back. Even Uber, which is not banned as an app, carries at the usual Berlin rates, that is, something like this: from 3.90 euros and then 2 euros per km according to the meter.

Rent a Car- also an aggregation of prices from all rental companies, all in one place, let's go!

Anything to add?

“I will never buy tickets with such an early departure again,” I thought at 3 in the morning, standing under a hot shower, “It seems like I didn’t forget anything: cosmetics, passport, money, credit card... I shouldn’t forget my head.” With these thoughts, I was getting ready to go to Domodedovo airport to go with my friends to Berlin.

In April, when AirBerlin went on sale, we grabbed cheap tickets from December 8th to 11th for some shopping and exploring the European Christmas markets.

Why did we decide to fly to Berlin? Everyone knows that they have to go to Milan, Paris, and New York for shopping. I will not further list all the existing stereotypes. I don’t know where all these people are hiding, filling the Internet with such rumors, and who dress only in fashion capitals. Personally, I am surrounded by people, mostly dressed in gray, black and brown colors of identical clothes. Apparently, the Milanese are now racing along Rublyovka in white Cayennes.

So why Berlin? Why is it worth going to Berlin in winter? What to see, what to do?

Firstly, the cost of a round trip flight does not exceed 5,000 rubles if you buy a ticket in advance.

Secondly, Berlin hotels simply amaze with their quality (in the literal, good sense) and cheapness (List of hotels in Berlin with prices).

Thirdly, in Berlin there are many shops for every taste with prices much lower than in Moscow. We did not plan to buy designer clothes and accessories, we were not chasing brands and show-offs, so Berlin was 100% suitable.

By the way, we chose the tickets here.

I personally planned to buy everyday knitted sweaters, bright, high-quality and not for 100 euros apiece, but for 30-35. And also skirts, dresses, jeans, all with the same criteria. Taking into account the trip budget per person is about 8,000 rubles, which is no different in cost from a weekend in some Suzdal, it is still more profitable than shopping in Moscow.

In the meantime, I sat in the back seat of the car, which was crawling along the snowy Moscow Ring Road, and decided: to fall asleep or endure it until the plane. Our flight to Berlin departed at 7:40 am, so at 5:00 am I was already passing through Domodedovo.

I really enjoyed my flight with AirBerlin. Clean and new planes, polite flight attendants, smooth takeoff and landing. There was no shaking during the flight; the flight attendants, unlike ours, did not wake up sleeping passengers. So, the German low-cost airline is simply super, even when compared with Lufthansa.

Weather in Berlin in winter

Winter in Berlin can be quite harsh, so assess your strength. Even some measly minus 2 in Berlin feels like minus 15 in Moscow. It's all about the strong humidity, in which the cold penetrates to the skin.
The taxi driver turned out to be Ukrainian and told us a lot interesting stories. Including how Germans survive the cold. They learned to dress properly to survive in such a climate. The Germans wear a cotton shirt, a synthetic jacket and a sweater on top. On my feet, synthetic socks over cotton and winter boots “a la shitty boots.” We looked at ourselves and realized that we didn’t know how to dress. Stupid penguins.

But who knew that we would be so cold! We came not from Barcelona, ​​not from Thailand, but from harsh Russia!

So, the first rule for traveling to Berlin in winter is to dress warmly and in layers.

We experienced dry frosty weather, heavy snowfall, and a subsequent thaw. Lucky, so lucky.

In Berlin, the underground public transport system is well thought out, created “for people”: there is an underground U-Bahn metro, and an overground metro (or electric train) S-Bahn. Moreover, the Mero branches connect many radial lines; there is no such centric system of rings as in Moscow. Yes, the metro is not as luxurious in interiors as ours, but it is functional. In addition, there is a widely developed network of ground transport: buses and trams. All this variety of transport follows with maximum breaks of 5 minutes. In addition, absolutely everywhere there is an electronic display, where you can clearly find out how long it will take for a particular route to arrive. Ground transport is quite warm, so in cold weather it is quite possible to ride buses.

Shopping in Berlin

It’s worth talking about shopping in Berlin separately, because shopping streets There are many department stores and shopping centers even more. Sales in Berlin begin after Catholic Christmas, but even without them the prices are much lower than in Moscow.

For example, you can easily buy a good leather bag for 70 euros, sweaters for 15, and woolen skirts for 25.

There are a variety of brands in Berlin: from affordable H&M, C&A to elite Dior, Valentino, etc.

I had 1,000 euros with me for shopping, which I successfully spent on a whole bunch of skirts, knitted sweaters, dresses, T-shirts and boots with a bag.

We were shopping so much that at night I dreamed of suitcases, hangers, shelves... and I shouted: “Enough!”

Christmas markets in Berlin

Since mid-November, Berlin has been immersed in an atmosphere of anticipation for Christmas. The city is beautifully decorated: there are garlands all around, glowing figures, elegant shop windows. And all this Christmas attire is complemented by fairs scattered throughout the city.
Read a detailed note about Christmas markets in Berlin (addresses, passwords, appearances)
Christmas markets in Berlin are quite small, but cozy. And since there are many of them, people from all over the city do not go to one site and do not create crowds.

The fairs are rows of wooden houses selling various Christmas treats and gifts. Here, mulled wine and hot drinks flow like a river, sausages are crackling, the fire is burning and music is playing. Some ride on carousels, others on ice skates. And on Alexanderplatz there is a decorated Ferris wheel open even in the evening.

Fairs can definitely be found at: Alexanderplatz, Postdamer Platz, Gendarmplatz, near the Zoo and Charlottenburg Palace.

And this is how the Berlin authorities take care of the Christmas mood of the citizens. Compare with Moscow and you will understand where people love you more. It’s not just that they didn’t hang garlands for us, they even screwed such light bulbs into our ordinary lanterns that we couldn’t see anything. They're really envious.

Belly Festival in Berlin or local restaurants

For lovers of food and beer, Berlin will seem like a paradise. Restaurants serve such portions that I immediately remembered starving children. They call appetizers those dishes that two people can eat. From traditional food Special mention should be made of sausages with sauerkraut and pork knuckle. At the same time, the products from which food is prepared, be it breakfast in a hotel or dinner in a restaurant, are really tasty, that is, they have a taste not of Chinese plastic, but of normal human taste, from which we in Moscow have almost lost the habit.

And the prices are also pleasantly surprising: for 17 euros for two you can simply burst into tears in one of the tourist restaurants (That’s how they feed here).

Top 11 attractions in Berlin that you can visit in winter

In winter you can’t walk through Berlin’s chic parks, you can’t go to the suburbs (Potsdam and Sans Souci), but you can’t miss the main attractions of the city.

Brandenburg Gate (Branderburger Tor) – a symbol of the unification of Berlin and the Victory Column (Siegessaule)
Berlin Cathedral (BerlinerDom), including climb to the dome
Charlottenburg Palace
Reichstag building
Unter den Linden street
Gendarme Square (Gendarmenmarkt)
Museum Island (Museumsincel)
Observation tower (FERNSEHTURM) at Alexander Platz
Checkpoint Charlie
Sony-centre, Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz
Remains of the Berlin Wall

We will talk more about the sights of Berlin in a separate article.

Berlin Museums

Winter is the best time to visit Berlin's many museums. The weather is unlikely to encourage you to take long walks, but you can enrich yourself culturally. Agree, in the summer it’s such a pity to waste time on museums!

1. Charlottenburg Palace (Schloss Charlottenburg), where you will see the luxurious life of German monarchs, reflecting the fashion of the 18-19 centuries.

2. Museums " museum island» (5 museums):

Pergamon Museum (review and impressions from Eka)

Old Museum (Altes Museum)

New Museum (Neues Museum)

Bode Museum

Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie).

3. Underground bunker from World War II (Berliner Unterwelten)

4. New National Gallery (Neue Nationalgalerie), containing an exhibition of famous works of cubism, expressionism and surrealism

5. Topography of Terror (Torographie des Terrors), the name of the museum speaks for itself. The museum contains exhibits and materials from the times of the SS and fascism.

6. Jewish Museum (Judisches Museum)

7. Museum complex in Dahlem

There are more than 1000 museums and exhibitions in Berlin, I think everyone will find something interesting for themselves.

Sightseeing in Berlin by bus

If you are unlucky with the weather like we were, you can use secret public transport routes.

In Berlin there are magical buses No. 100 and 200, which travel to the main attractions of the city.

We joked that these buses literally compete with city excursion buses (such as City Tour).

I advise you to take a map of the movement of the city tour bus, a city map (download the map or look at the route on a Google map) and find ten differences.

So, feel free to buy a pass, book a hotel located next to one of the stops and go! Then you will not be afraid of snow, rain, or frost.

In custody

I would describe Berlin as a city of mood. He is not Paris, which almost everyone likes, he is not Khimki, which most people criticize. This is a city where you need to catch the wave and feel its free and modern spirit.

I noted that completely different Germans live here: cheerful, open and very positive. There is no feigned stiffness, you get the feeling that you are sincerely welcome everywhere.

Personally, Berlin didn’t make a strong impression on me, although I can’t say that I didn’t like it and left it indifferent. I didn’t give him a piece of my heart, but I took with me pleasant emotions and memories.

Here is a list of hotels in Berlin