A Week in Germany

Less than a week will hardly give you enough time just for Berlin--maybe one day trip, but certainly there will not be time for neighboring countries.
Try Booking.com for excellent selection of places to stay in Berlin.

I think we need more information about your preferences in order to give you some ideas of what type of area you would like. For us to give you appealing suggestions tell us what types of things you are looking to do,and what type time of year you will be traveling. There are so very many places to see in any country, each person has different priorities. For example, some people are fascinated by World War 2 or the Berlin wall, others want to tour the BMW plant. Some people want museums others want nightlife. Of course it depends what time of year you are traveling.

If you have not done so already, I suggest you look on youtube for Rick Steves Germany link. That may Give you some ideas of what type of area you would like, scenery, museum s,activities.

You should get Rick Steves Snapshot Berlin. He doesn't cover everything in the city (no one could, as there's LOTS to see and do there), but he does provide a good start, as well as listing hotels in various neighborhoods and prices.

Where to go and what to do depends on your interests. You would do well to start with an introductory walking tour, such as the "Discover Berlin" one from Berlin Walks: http://www.berlinwalks.de/public/

If you want more specific recommendations, you have to provide us with more information. Do you want Nazi era sights, Communist era sights, Berlin Wall sights, Jewish sights, gay history sights, art museums, galleries, zoos and aquariums, theater, pretty neighborhoods to walk around, nightclubs...or something else? Berlin has it all. Similarly, Berlin has all kinds of food all over the place (although, ironically, it can be hard to find "German" food - the kind that belongs with oompah band accompaniment).

Berlin is not a good location from which to see neighboring countries. You can get to the Polish border town of Frankfurt an der Oder in about 2 hours; anything else is going to require a flight or a LONG train ride. But if you tire of Berlin and surrounding area sights like Potsdam, you can go to Leipzig, Dresden or Hamburg (all worthwhile, and quite different from each other).

I've now been to Berlin in 1999, 2004, and 2012, and it's one of my favorite places. My trip report from 2012 on Berlin, Dresden, and Goerlitz is here: http://tinyurl.com/9woj9zo (note that some of the links have died, so sentences like "my opinions are here" are now cryptic, when "here" used to be a link).

Hi,

If you have just about a week to spend in Berlin, you're thinking of going to other countries too? It's possible depending on you are willing to do it. Which neigboring countries? Doable timewise is going to CZ (to Prague), Denmark ( ICE train Berlin Hbf. to Hamburg, then to Copenhagen), Poland, Austria (to Vienna), Hungary (to Budapest). For Vienna and Budapest there is the night train option from Berlin Hbf., unless you want to fly.

You can easily spend the whole week in Berlin without getting bored. IMHO 5 days are the minimum anyway, 6 with a day trip to Potsdam (although Potsdam deserves 2 full days). Most people only see Sanssouci, but the park is so big that one full day is barely enough. And Sanssouci is just one of 4 or 5 royal parks, and not even my favorite. The old town itself is also quite beautiful, with the Dutch, Russian and Bohemian quarter.

I'm not sure if I would recommend Ricks Snapshop Berlin. I had a look inside, and miss many, many places I like. The Botanical Garden for instance, the Garden of the World, Treptower Park with the Soviet War Memorial, the Museum of Technology, the House of the Wannsee Conference, the Olympic Stadium, the Tierpark (that's the zoo of Ostberlin), the Jewish Cemetery, the Classic Remise... basically everything which is a bit away from the centre. It's a good book for 2 or 3 days in the city, but not if you stay for a whole week (which is highly recommended).

The only neighboring country you can see is Poland, but the Western part of Poland, until 1945 part of Germany, suffered badly in WW2 and the 40 years afterwards and isn't exactly beautiful. If you just want to set yout foot on Polish soil take the train to Frankfurt/Oder or Szczecin, but both aren't interesting. The third option is Görlitz, which is one of the most beautiful German towns, but it takes 3 hours to get there.